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FINANCIAL MARKETS
Asian shares track Wall Street rebound, Shanghai up 1.3%
BANGKOK (AP) — Shares are higher in Asia today, with the Shanghai Composite up 1.3% as China's central bank stepped up its intervention by channeling another 400 billion yuan ($57 billion) in extra funds into the market.
Markets are still far from giving the all-clear on the virus outbreak that has spread to more than 20 countries and killed more than 400 people. But calm returned after Monday's 8% plunge in Shanghai.
Japan's Nikkei 225 index gained 0.6%, while the Kospi in South Korea jumped 2%. Australia's S&P ASX/200 rose 0.4%, while the Hang Seng in Hong Kong climbed 1.0%. The Shanghai Composite jumped 1.3%. Taiwan's benchmark surged 1.8% and the Sensex in India gained 2%.
Yesterday on Wall Street, stocks recovered some of their losses from earlier weeks. The Dow gained 143.78 points, or 0.5%, to 28,399.81. The S&P rose 23.40 points, or 0.7%, to close at 3,248.92. And the Nasdaq climbed 122.47, or 1.3%, to 9,273.40.
STATE OF THE UNION-ECONOMY
Trump's economy: Solid and steady but vulnerable to threats
WASHINGTON (AP) — A portrait of a robust U.S. economy is sure to fill center stage tonight when President Donald Trump gives his third State of the Union address.
It is an economy that has proved solid and durable yet hasn't fulfilled many of Trump's promises.
Nine months before the election, the economy keeps growing steadily if only modestly.
Yet what Trump now calls an unprecedented boom is, by some measures, not all that different from the solid economy that he inherited from President Barack Obama.
BOEING PLANE-SEC
Boeing confirms SEC investigating disclosures around 737 Max
WASHINGTON (AP) — Boeing Co. has confirmed that securities regulators are investigating the company in connection with the 737 Max, which was grounded after two deadly crashes.
Boeing disclosed the Securities and Exchange Commission investigation in a regulatory filing Friday.
The filing provides few details of the probe beyond saying that Boeing is cooperating with government investigations including those by the Justice Department and the SEC. Boeing said it cannot estimate possible losses that could result from lawsuits and investigations.
Boeing said that in preparing financial statements, it made assumptions about the outcome of accident investigations and the expected costs it would bear in 2020 and 2021 from the Max's grounding. It didn't disclose those assumptions, but said they are “highly uncertain and significantly affect the estimates inherent in our financial statements.”
CALIFORNIA WILDFIRES-UTILITY
California bill seeks takeover of nation's largest utility
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) —A California lawmaker wants to transform the nation's largest electric utility into a publicly owned company.
State Sen. Scott Wiener announced his legislation Monday involving Pacific Gas & Electric. The company and its sprawling network of power lines has been blamed for starting catastrophic wildfires. PG&E is trying to emerge from bankruptcy by June 30 so it can participate in a state insurance fund. Gov. Gavin Newsom has threatened a state takeover if the company does not restructure its board and improve its electric grid.
PHONY PHARMACIST-WALGREES SETTLEMENT
Walgreens to pay $7.5M in settlement over phony pharmacist
OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — Walgreens will pay $7.5 million to settle with California authorities after an employee was charged with impersonating a pharmacist and illegally filling more than 745,000 prescriptions.
Kim Thien Le has pleaded not guilty to felony impersonation charges. Prosecutors say she used the license numbers of registered pharmacists in order to dispense prescriptions at Walgreens stores in the San Francisco Bay Area. They allegedly included prescriptions for fentanyl, morphine and codeine. The district attorneys in both counties filed a consumer protection action against Walgreens. The company says it has re-verified the licenses of all its pharmacists nationwide.
HARRY’S SALE-FTC
FTC sues to block Harry's sale to Schick owner Edgewell
NEW YORK (AP) — Federal antitrust regulators say a proposed merger that would combine old-school shaving company Schick with upstart Harry's would end up costing consumers some skin.
The Federal Trade Commission on Monday sued to block Edgewell Personal Care Co.'s $1.37 billion acquisition of Harry's, which was supposed to be finalized this year. The FTC argues that bringing two major shaving brands together would hurt competition.
Edgewell's Schick is the No. 2 razor maker in the U.S., behind Gillette. Both brands were forced to slash prices and overhaul their marketing strategies in recent years response to the rise of Harry's and rival Dollar Shave Club, which both started as direct-to-consumer digital brands.
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