BUSINESS BRIEFS

WASHINGTON (AP) — American consumers and home buyers, business people and political leaders have been waiting for months for what the Federal Reserve is poised to announce this week: That it’s cutting its key interest rate from a two-decade peak.

It’s likely to be just the first in a series of rate cuts that should make borrowing more affordable now that the Fed has deemed high inflation to be all but defeated.

At the same time, plenty of uncertainty still surrounds this week’s Fed meeting. How much will the policymakers reduce their benchmark rate? By a traditional quarter-point or by an unusually large halfpoint? Will they keep cutting when they meet later this year and into 2025?

The next generation of Buffetts is poised to become one of the biggest forces in philanthropy

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — When the legendary businessman and leader of Berkshire Hathaway, Warren Buffett, eventually passes away, the next generation of Buffetts — Howard, Susie and Peter — are poised to become one of the most powerful forces in philanthropy. But it wasn’t always going to be that way. Buffett announced in June that he would donate his remaining fortune to a charitable trust managed by his children when he dies — instead of giving it to the Gates Foundation. In an interview with The Associated Press, Howard Buffett says his 94-year-old father is as sharp as ever, and, “It’s pretty amazing that he’s giving us this opportunity.”

TikTok heads to court over U.S. law that could lead to a ban on the popular platform

(AP) — The U.S. government and Tik-Tok will go head-to-head in federal court on Monday as oral arguments begin in a consequential legal case that will determine the future of TikTok in the country. Attorneys for the two sides will appear before a panel of judges at the federal appeals court in Washington. TikTok and its China-based parent company, ByteDance, are challenging a U.S. law that requires them to break ties or face a ban in the U.S. by mid-January.

The U.S. sees TikTok as a national security threat due to its connections to China. But the company has argued the law being used to resolve those concerns is unconstitutional. The legal battle is expected to reach the U.S. Supreme Court.

Air Canada and pilots union reach tentative agreement

OTTAWA, Ontario (AP) — Air Canada and the union representing its pilots have come to terms on a labor agreement that is likely to prevent a shutdown of Canada’s largest airline.

The airline said early Sunday that talks betwen the company and the Air Line Pilots Association produced a tentative, four-year collective agreement. Air Canada says terms will remain confidential until ratification by union members and approval by the airline’s board of directors over the next month. Union leaders say they approved the agreement on behalf of more than 5,400 Air Canada and Air Canada Rouge pilots in anticipation of a $1.9 billion increase for the employees over the period of the agreement. Federal Labor Minister Steven MacKinnon has confirmed the sides reached a deal.

Autoworkers demonstrate in Brussels to protest layoff threats across the EU industrial base

BRUSSELS (AP) — Trade unions and thousands of disgruntled workers are demonstrating in the Belgian capital to protest the threat of massive layoffs in a state-of-the-art Brussels car factory and other key industries.

The trigger for Monday’s protest was the announcement by the German carmaker Audi that it would phase out production at its Forest plant in southern Brussels.

That would threaten the jobs of 3,000 staffers, many of whom are experts in electronic vehicle production.

A union leader vows to continue a strike against Cambodia’s biggest casino

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia (AP) — A Cambodian union leader freed from prison after serving time for her part in a strike against the country’s biggest casino has vowed to continue the labor action until justice is done. Chhim Sithar was sentenced in connection with the strike against the NagaWorld casino, the longest such labor action in Cambodia’s history.

It began in December 2021 to protest mass layoffs and alleged union-busting at the casino in the capital, Phnom Penh. NagaWorld in late 2021 had fired 373 employees during financial struggles related to the coronavirus pandemic. Some continue to protest, but the government says more than 200 have accepted compensation.

Argentina’s President Milei presents budget

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP) — Libertarian President Javier Milei of Argentina has presented the 2025 budget to Congress, outlining policy priorities that reflected his key pledge to kill the country’s chronic fiscal deficit and signaled a new phase of confrontation with lawmakers. In an unprecedented move, Milei personally pitched the budget to Congress instead of his economy minister, lambasting Argentina’s history of macroeconomic mismanagement and promising to veto anything that compromised his tough slog of tight fiscal policy. The president’s budget proposal Sunday followed a week of political clashes in the legislature — where Milei controls less than 15% of the seats — over spending increases.