U.S. shoppers boosted retail spending by nearly 10% in March as federal-stimulus funds made their way to households and the economy reopened more fully from pandemic-related restrictions.106
The New York bank said it would exit its consumer operations in 13 countries, mostly across Asia, to focus on wealth management and other businesses.
U.S. stocks climbed Thursday as blue-chip companies reported strong earnings and fresh economic data showed a sharp improvement in consumer spending and the labor market.
Moscow was targeted by President Biden’s wide-ranging action in response to what the administration describes as “the full scope of Russia’s harmful foreign activities.” The U.S. also expelled 10 Russian diplomats.
Domestic leisure bookings are rising, but many international markets remain closed and business travelers have been slow to return.
Breakthrough cases represent 0.008% of the fully vaccinated population and are in line with expectations because the approved vaccines in the U.S. are not 100% effective.
Kim Potter, the former officer who fatally shot 20-year-old Daunte Wright, was taken into custody and charged with second-degree manslaughter, in a killing that has sparked four nights of protests.
Business & Finance
He Xiaopeng, the founder of Chinese electric-vehicle maker XPeng, has owned four Telsa vehicles. Now locked in long-running feud with Elon Musk, he has unveiled a new vehicle that embraces technology the Tesla CEO has scorned.10
UnitedHealth’s total revenue grew by 9% to $70.2 billion in the first quarter, up from $64.4 billion in the same three months a year earlier.
The personal-computer maker said the deal would strengthen its financial position as it looks at new markets and works to reach clients revamping their digital strategies.
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing, the world’s largest contract chip maker, said it would increase its investment budget and raise its revenue growth forecast for 2021.
Shell detailed a first-of-a-kind shareholder vote over its pivot away from oil, asking investors to endorse its energy transition strategy in a nonbinding vote next month.
World
As China’s Communist Party revs up its 100th-birthday plans, it is celebrating a new addition to its list of accomplishments: the production of a genuinely popular patriotic TV drama.
One building was damaged, and no casualties were reported in the attack on Erbil airport.
One of the world’s most ambitious anti-gentrification experiments came to an end after Germany’s constitutional court declared the city’s residential rent cap void.
U.S.
The state has stopped enforcing a nationwide moratorium that has been extended through June, accelerating some tenants’ displacement and risking a clash with the federal government.25
A House panel approved legislation that would create a commission to study the possibility of offering reparations to the descendants of enslaved people in the U.S.
The outcome of the impending redistricting process will be one of the biggest factors determining which party controls the House after the 2022 elections.1
The Senate recently advanced a bill to expedite the Justice Department’s review of hate crimes related to the coronavirus pandemic.6
Life & Arts
Novelist Kirstin Valdez Quade spent years visiting the city’s museums, close to her beloved grandmother’s house. Now that Covid has devastated her family and kept her away, she longs for those treasure-filled sanctuaries.2
The three-day auction featured works that show a single pixel, can be destroyed or switched by their owners. ‘Pak is our Picasso.’
The latest series of “No Activity” is animated. A top college basketball coach trains a high-school women’s team in “Big Shot.” Kate Winslet is a small-town detective in “Mare of Easttown.” Find out more in our streaming guide.6
Looser regulations around the U.K. are making it easier for developers to add more stories to residential buildings.14
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