Stocks, Commodities Climb On Fed Rates; Swiss Franc Weakens

Traffic deaths spiked after the start of COVID-19 and remain elevated but have fallen for two consecutive years. U. S. traffic deaths fell 3.2% in the first three months of 2024 — the lowest number since the same period in 2020 — but crash fatalities still remain sharply above pre-COVID levels.

Domestic forecasts for next season’s harvest in Vietnam, the world’s second biggest coffee producer, remain grim. Vietnamese coffee growers have been hit hard this year by the worst drought in nearly a decade, raising concerns of pricier espressos across the world, even as some farmers keep yields healthy with clever countermeasures.

Rivian has never turned a quarterly net profit since it was founded in 2009 and lost $1.5 billion in the first quarter. Electric-vehicle maker Rivian‘s drive to cut costs and turn its first profit has removed over 100 steps from the battery-making process, 52 pieces of equipment from the body shop and over 500 parts from the design of its flagship SUVs and pickups.

Washington has for years tried to convince allies to cut telecoms equipment giant Huawei from their networks given fears that Chinese company could spy on customers and pass on the information to Beijing. Microsoft’s deal to invest $1.5 billion in artificial intelligence firm G42 is “generally a positive development” because it forced the United Arab Emirates-based company to sever ties to China’s Huawei, a White House official said on Monday.

Notably, the ban has no exceptions for babies with congenital anomalies, and the mortality rate for such infants increased by 23% in Texas. More newborns and infants are dying in Texas as the state’s abortion ban begins to show its impact.

As the retailer trails behind Walmart and Amazon in e-commerce, it’s banking on products from Shopify businesses to help boost online sales. When it comes to online shopping powerhouses, Target has been something of an also-ran compared to Amazon and Walmart. Now, the retailer is hoping to become a bigger player in the online marketplace—and it’s turning to Shopify as part of its plan.