US consumer spending slowed in July as a decline in motor vehicle purchases due to shortages offset a rise in outlays on services, supporting views that economic growth will moderate in the third quarter amid a resurgence in Covid-19 infections.

The Biden administration, which was criticized this week for approving licenses for auto chips for Huawei, said it has not changed the policy on restricting sales of goods and technology to the Chinese company that was put in place during the Trump presidency.

Federal Reserve Board Chairman Jerome Powell’s wait-and-see approach in Friday’s long-awaited address gives investors and market participants an extraordinary central bank to support the economy. Assets that have reassured us that efforts are likely to support the more risky ones will be a little longer.

US companies including Airbnb Inc and Walmart Inc are lending a hand to the people of Afghanistan after the recent collapse of the US-backed government and takeover by the Taliban militant group.

US officials have approved license applications worth hundreds of millions of dollars for China’s blacklisted telecom company Huawei to buy chips for its growing auto component business, two people familiar with the matter said.

The dollar eased further on Tuesday as risk-related currencies benefited from rising commodity prices and markets set aside concerns about the spread of the Delta coronavirus variant to gauge data that showed a US economy in strong recovery mode.

US President Joe Biden’s plans to spend nearly $5 trillion to change the world’s largest economy advanced in the House of Representatives on Tuesday, after Democratic leaders reached an agreement with centrist lawmakers to end a dispute threatening the bills.

Walmart on Tuesday launched a delivery service for other merchants throughout the United States, an announcement that comes as sellers scramble to secure deliveries ahead of the all-important holiday shopping season.  

Oil prices soared and stocks rebounded Monday on bargain-buying after last week’s retreat, with traders riding a wave of renewed optimism.

US homes for sale were in short supply and expensive in July, but Americans continued buying, according to industry data Monday showing sales rose for a second straight month.

A dispute within the Democratic party has stalled US President Joe Biden’s massive spending plans for the United States as Congress postponed a key vote on the measures Monday.

The government of Papua New Guinea and US oil giant Exxon Mobil Corp plan to resume talks on the P’nyang natural gas project, nearly two years after negotiations broke down , Oil Search Ltd, a partner on the project, said Monday. 

General Motors Co said yesterday it would take a hit of US$1 billion (RM4.23 billion) to expand the recall of its Chevrolet Bolt electric vehicles due to the risk of fires from the high-voltage battery pack--a blow for the largest US automaker as it seeks to ramp up EV sales. 

The Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City said on Friday its annual economic symposium in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, will take place on August 27 virtually and not in person as planned, the clearest sign yet of the impact of the Covid-19 Delta variant on the Fed’s plans.

US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has told senior White House advisers she backs reappointing Jerome Powell as US Federal Reserve Chair, whose term expires in February, a Bloomberg News reporter wrote on Twitter.

Stocks recovered ground on Friday despite concerns about economic growth amid rising Covid-19 cases, which continued to take its toll on oil prices.

The White House is withholding support for a Democratic proposal to impose a pollution tax on imports from China and other countries, casting doubt on whether Democrats will be able to deploy what environmentalists consider one of the greatest weapons to tackle global climate change in a massive spending bill this year.

US energy firms this week added oil and natural gas rigs for a third week in a row, as a recovery in oil prices prompted some drillers to return to the wellpad over the past year. 

President Joe Biden’s administration announced steps on Thursday to allow US states to continue expanded unemployment benefits as the country grapples with a surge in the Delta variant of Covid-19, even as data showed jobless claims declining for a fourth straight week.

Global stocks and oil markets tanked Thursday but the dollar rallied versus some key rivals after the US Federal Reserve signalled it could rein in vast stimulus measures this year.