Economic Indicators

According to research, 96 percent of American adults shop at the small businesses in their local shopping centers. This is not an accident.

Shares were mostly higher in Asia on Friday in volatile trading, with mainland Chinese stocks bouncing more than 3% as regulators apparently stepped in to support the markets.

American consumers could begin to feel the effect of the heightened tariffs around the end of May.

Australia's opposition party on Friday promised to deliver bigger budget surpluses if it wins elections next week, while the ruling coalition warned the policies would harm the economy.

German exports rose unexpectedly in March, outpacing import growth and widening the trade surplus for Europe's largest economy.

Nine candidates are vying in an election Sunday to become Lithuania's next president, including a well-known economist, a former finance minister and the incumbent prime minister.

U.S. and Chinese negotiators are set to resume trade talks just hours before the United States plans to raise tariffs on Chinese imports in a dramatic escalation of tensions between the world's two biggest economies.

U.S. stocks slumped with other markets around the world Thursday after China said it would retaliate if the U.S. follows through with a plan to raise tariffs on Chinese imports.

Trump's tariff increase on $200 billion in Chinese imports takes effect, heightening US tensions with Beijing.

The Latest on trade talks between China and the United States (all times local): 10:40 a.m.

Chinese exporters of all sorts of products, from power adapters and computers to vacuum cleaners, are anxiously hoping trade talks in Washington this week will yield a deal that might stave off higher U.S. tariffs on imports from China.

In trying to hammer out a trade agreement with China, the Trump administration may be drawing inspiration from classic rock, specifically The Who's anthem "Won't Get Fooled Again."

California Gov. Gavin Newsom proposed a $213 billion state budget Thursday that boosts spending on K-12 education, wildfires and homelessness.

Vice President Mike Pence is rolling into the Midwest to tout the administration's new North American trade agreement, while back in Washington President Donald Trump tries to salvage a transformative trade deal with China.

The Health and Human Services Department says a major drugmaker has agreed to donate medications that reduce the risk of HIV transmission for up to 200,000 people a year in support of the government's plan to end the epidemic in the U.S. The pledge by California-based Gilead Sciences may last up to 11 years, said HHS Secretary Alex Azar.

A disability rights nonprofit in Oregon has filed a letter of complaint with the city of Portland over new rules for its electric scooter pilot program, which just began its second phase.

A strike by Uber and Lyft drivers in cities across the United States this week caused barely a ripple to passengers looking to catch a ride, highlighting the challenges in launching a labor movement from scratch in an industry that is by nature decentralized.

In a move sure to get attention in a 2020 battleground state, President Donald Trump indicated Thursday that his administration may approve a Florida plan to import lower-cost prescription drugs from abroad for use by residents.

___ Escalation in Trump tariffs looms over US-China trade talks WASHINGTON (AP) — The two countries are sparring over U.S. allegations that China steals technology and pressures American companies into handing over trade secrets — part of an aggressive campaign to turn Chinese companies into world leaders in robotics, electric cars and other advanced industries.

Stocks recovered much of an early swoon and ended moderately lower Thursday as a midnight deadline approached for the U.S. and China to reach a trade deal.