Business Briefs – June 8, 2017

GOP-Run House Votes To Roll Back Post-2008 Financial Rules

WASHINGTON (AP) – The Republican-led House has passed legislation to undo much of former President Barack Obama’s landmark banking law created after the 2008 economic crisis. Republicans argue that protections designed to prevent another meltdown are making it harder for community banks to lend and hampering the economy. The House passed the bill 233-186, on a mostly party-line vote.

Notably, it would sharply diminish the authority of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, which now oversees the practices of companies that provide products and services from credit cards and payday loans to mortgages and debt collection.

Top Republican Seeks Action Now To Steady Insurance Markets

WASHINGTON (AP) – A senior House Republican is calling for immediate action to stabilize shaky health insurance markets around the country. House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Kevin Brady says the government should keep paying billions of dollars to low-income people with deductibles and copayments. Without the government subsidies, insurers and state officials say premiums will skyrocket next year.

FDA Asks Drugmaker to Stop Selling Its Opioid Painkiller

WASHINGTON (AP) – U.S. regulators want a narcotic painkiller involved in the opioid epidemic off the market. The Food and Drug Administration said Thursday it has asked Endo Pharmaceuticals to stop selling its reformulated, extended-release painkiller, Opana ER. Endo officials did not immediately comment.

U.S. Household Wealth Ticks Up 1.4 Percent to $94.8 Trillion

WASHINGTON (AP) – Buoyed by higher stock prices, Americans’ household net worth rose 1.4 percent to $94.8 trillion in the first three months of this year, a trend that could support future spending. The Federal Reserve says that U.S. stock and mutual fund portfolios jumped $1.3 trillion in value in the January-March quarter.

Sometimes Inertia Helps: More Workers Save in Their 401(K)

NEW YORK (AP) – Workers are more likely to be saving for retirement, at least among those eligible for a workplace plan, and lower-income employees have made some of the biggest gains in recent years. Those are two of the encouraging trends borne out of numbers from Vanguard, which looks each year at how participants are behaving in the 401(k) plans and similar retirement accounts for which it keeps records.

Honda Plans Mostly Self-Driving Car, Follows Waymo, Others

DETROIT (AP) – Honda says it will have highly automated vehicles on the road in personal cars by 2025. The automaker joins a growing list of companies making promises about self-driving vehicles. A look at how their plans compare.

European Central Bank Won’t Call Time on Stimulus Just Yet

FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) – The European Central Bank has taken small steps toward phasing out its extraordinary support measures for the economy, but it is making it clear the recovery still needs backing from the bank despite its growing strength. The bank’s president, Mario Draghi, was careful not to give a clear signal about when it will start withdrawing stimulus.