Oil prices spike as Saudi Arabia, Russia extend 1.3 million barrel a day oil cut through December

September 6, 2023

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Saudi Arabia and Russia agreed Tuesday to extend their voluntary oil production cuts through the end of this year, trimming 1.3 million barrels of crude out of the global market and boosting energy prices. The dual announcements from Riyadh and Moscow pushed benchmark Brent crude above $90 a barrel in trading Tuesday afternoon, a price unseen in the market since November. The countries’ moves could increase inflation and the cost for motorists at gasoline pumps. It also puts new pressure on Saudi Arabia’s relationship with the United States, as ...

10 drugs targeted for Medicare price negotiations

August 30, 2023

WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden touted the potential cost savings of Medicare’s first-ever price negotiations for widely used prescription drugs on Tuesday as he struggles to convince Americans that he’s improved their lives as he runs for reelection. The drugs include the blood ...

Average long-term US mortgage rate climbs to 7.09% this week to highest level in more than 20 years

August 18, 2023

The average long-term U.S. mortgage rate climbed this week to its highest level in more than 20 years, grim news for would-be homebuyers already challenged by a housing market that remains competitive due to a dearth of homes for sale. Mortgage buyer Freddie Mac said Thursday that the average rate on the benchmark 30-year home loan rose to 7.09 percent from 6.96 percent last week. A year ago, the rate averaged 5.13 percent. It’s the fourth consecutive weekly increase for the average rate and the highest since early April 2002, when it averaged 7.13 percent. The last time the ...

American industrial icon US Steel is on the verge of being absorbed

August 16, 2023

With two bidders revealed in a matter of days and more in the wings, United States Steel Corp. — a symbol of American industrialization that for more than a century helped build everything from the United Nations building in New York City to the New Orleans Superdome — appears be on the ...

IRS aims to go paperless by 2025 as part of its campaign to conquer paperwork

August 3, 2023

Most taxpayers will be able to digitally submit a slew of tax documents and other communications to the IRS next filing season as the agency aims to go completely paperless by 2025. The effort to reduce the exorbitant load of paperwork that has plagued the agency — dubbed the “paperless ...

President Biden pledges all US will have access to high speed internet by 2030

June 27, 2023

WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden on Monday said that high-speed internet is no longer a luxury but an “absolute necessity,” as he pledged that every household in the nation would have access by 2030 using cables made in the U.S. “These investments will help all Americans,” he said. ...