Business Briefs – June 30, 2016

UK Stock Index Above Pre-Vote Level: Crisis Over? Not Likely

LONDON (AP) – Britain’s main stock market has rebounded to its pre-Brexit vote levels that does not mean all is now fine for the country’s economy.

The index is dominated by multinationals that do not reflect the national economy, which the Bank of England’s chief said Thursday would need more monetary stimulus after the vote plunged Britain into an existential crisis and opened up new uncertainties for businesses.

“The bank has identified the clouds on the horizon,” Mark Carney said in a speech. “The economic outlook has deteriorated and some monetary policy easing will likely be required over the summer.”

Government Urges Owners of Old Hondas to Get Air Bags Fixed

DETROIT (AP) – The U.S. government is urging owners of 313,000 older Hondas and Acuras to stop driving them and get them repaired after new tests found that their Takata air bag inflators are extremely dangerous.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said Thursday that it has data showing that chances are as high as 50 percent that the inflators can explode in a crash, injuring people by sending metal shrapnel into the passenger compartments.

Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx said the vehicles are unsafe and need to be repaired immediately.

Claims for Unemployment Aid Rise but Remain at Low Level

WASHINGTON (AP) – More Americans applied for unemployment benefits last week, but the level of jobless claims remains low enough to suggest that most workers enjoy job security.

The Labor Department said Thursday that weekly U.S. applications rose by 10,000 to a seasonally adjusted 268,000 in the week that ended June 25. The 4-week average, which is less volatile, was unchanged at 267,000.

Unemployment claims are a proxy for layoffs. They have remained below 300,000 for 69 straight weeks, longest such streak since 1973. But hiring has slowed this spring. Employers added just 38,000 jobs last month, the fewest in more than five years.

Obama Quickly Signs Puerto Rico Financial Rescue Bill

WASHINGTON (AP) – President Barack Obama signed a rescue package on Thursday for financially strapped Puerto Rico, which is facing more than $70 billion in debt and a major payment due Friday.

Obama signed the bill hours after it won final passage in the Senate. Obama said there is still tough work to do to get Puerto Rico out of the hole that it’s in.

But he said the bill is an “important first step on the path of creating more stability, better services and greater prosperity over the long term for the people of Puerto Rico.”

This article appeared in print on page 11 of the July 1st, 2016 edition of Hamodia.