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SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — Asian stocks rose today, boosted by strength in the dollar, but European markets fell in early trading. Futures point to a flat Wall Street opening today. Benchmark U.S. crude oil rose above $58.50 per barrel. The dollar strengthened against the yen and the euro.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Federal Reserve offers a look at its internal debate when it releases minutes from last month's interest-rate meeting this afternoon. In a statement after the meeting, the Fed downgraded its assessment of the economy, noting that growth slowed, business investment softened and exports declined during another cold and snowy winter. It kept its key interest rate unchanged, and gave no indication it is any closer to raising rates from a six-year low near zero.
BERLIN (AP) — Swiss bank UBS says it is pleading guilty to wire fraud and is paying $545 million to settle U.S. cases of market manipulation. The bank said today that under the deal with U.S. authorities it will be granted conditional immunity from prosecution in a Department of Justice probe on the manipulation of foreign exchange rates. UBS AG said it was the first to report to the DOJ potential misconduct by banks in forex markets.
TOKYO (AP) — Japan's economy grew at a faster-than-expected 2.4 percent annual pace in the January-March quarter, suggesting a recovery is gaining traction despite persisting weakness in corporate and household spending. About 2 percentage points of the first quarter's growth reflected an increase in inventories stemming from the plunge in demand that followed a sales tax increase in April 2014. An increase of 7.5 percent in housing investment also drove growth.
DETROIT (AP) — A major maker of air bags is now responsible for what will be the largest auto recall in U.S. history. Japanese company Takata has agreed to declare nearly 34 million air bags defective because the chemical that inflates them can explode with too much force, sending shrapnel into the vehicle. There have been six deaths and more than 100 injuries. The agreement adds 18 million bags to the recall.
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