Business Highlights

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OPEC agrees to pump more oil but crude prices jump anyway

VIENNA (AP) — The OPEC oil countries have agreed to increase their production by almost 1 million barrels a day. Analysts say the move should help contain the recent rise in global energy prices. Questions remain, however, over the ability of some OPEC nations to increase production as they struggle with domestic turmoil and sanctions. Oil prices rose after OPEC's announcement, which analysts cited as evidence that investors believe the actual increase in production will be smaller.

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Police: Backup driver in fatal Uber crash was distracted

PHOENIX (AP) — Investigators say the backup driver of an autonomous Uber SUV was streaming the television show "The Voice" and looking away shortly before her vehicle fatally struck a pedestrian. A report released Thursday by Tempe police said the crash wouldn't have happened had driver Rafaela Vasquez not been distracted. Vasquez looked up a half second before striking Elaine Herzberg in suburban Phoenix three months ago.

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Car dealers gear up for Saudi women to hit the roads

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia (AP) — Car companies are looking to boost their sales in Saudi Arabia by pitching their brands to women, who'll be allowed to drive for the first time starting Sunday. Helping women transition to the driver's seat are Saudi saleswomen navigating the floors of the traditionally male-dominated car showrooms.

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From boat makers to farmers, US-led tariff war inflicts pain

WASHINGTON (AP) — A Florida boat builder absorbs $4 million in lost business and expects more pain. An Ohio pork producer is losing access to a key export market and fears the damage will last for years. A motorcycle shop near Cologne, Germany, wonders if it even has a future. As the European Union began imposing tariffs on goods ranging from whiskey and motorcycles to peanuts and cranberries to retaliate for President Donald Trump's own tariffs, a trade brawl begun by the United States is starting to draw blood.

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Airbus threatens to leave Britain in case of no-deal Brexit

LONDON (AP) — Aviation giant Airbus has threatened to leave Britain if the country leaves the European Union without an agreement on future trading relations. The company, which employs about 14,000 people at 25 sites in the U.K., says it will "reconsider its long-term footprint in the country" if there is no deal.

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EU imposes tariffs on US peanuts, motorcycles and whiskey

BRUSSELS (AP) — The European Union is enforcing tariffs on $3.4 billion in U.S. products as of Friday in retaliation to duties the Trump administration has put on European steel and aluminum. The goods targeted include typical American products like bourbon, peanut butter, and orange juice, in a way that seems designed to create political pressure on U.S. President Donald Trump and senior U.S. politicians.

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UK split by Brexit divide 2 years after vote to leave EU

LONDON (AP) — It's been two years since the shoppers and traders of London's Romford Market voted by a wide margin for their country to leave the European Union. Enthusiasm for Brexit in this working-class district hasn't dimmed. But with Britain still not out the EU exit door and Brexit negotiations slowed to a crawl, impatience is growing. The divisions opened up by the 2016 referendum have not healed but hardened, splitting Britain into two camps: leavers and remainers.

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For once in a tie, Greek PM Tsipras hails new debt deal

ATHENS, Greece (AP) — For once sporting a necktie, Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras has pledged to tread the path of fiscal prudence after international creditors announced new debt relief measures to wean the country off its eight-year bailout program. Tsipras said the deal hammered out Friday in Luxembourg was a historic milestone for his austerity-battered country, whose third — and last — bailout deal runs out in two months from now. He says "Greece is ... regaining its political and financial independence."

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US stocks finish mostly higher as energy companies climb

NEW YORK (AP) — US stocks rise as energy companies and oil prices surge after major oil producers agree to produce more oil, but not as much as investors feared. US crude climbs 4.6 percent, its biggest gain since late 2016. The European Union placed import taxes on $3.4 billion in goods from the U.S. in response to the Trump administration's steel and aluminum tariffs, and Trump threatened a 20 percent tariff on cars imported from Europe.

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The S&P 500 index added 5.12 points, or 0.2 percent, to 2,754.88. The Dow gained 119.19 points, or 0.5 percent, to 24,580.89. The Nasdaq composite fell 20.13 points, or 0.3 percent, to 7,692.82. The Russell 2000 index of smaller-company stocks sank 3.37 points, or 0.2 percent, to 1,685.58.

U.S. crude climbed 4.6 percent to $68.58 a barrel in New York. Brent crude, the standard for international oil prices, rose 3.4 percent to $75.55 a barrel in London. Wholesale gasoline jumped 2.9 percent to $2.07 a gallon. Heating oil added 2.7 percent to $2.13 a gallon. Natural gas skidded 1 percent to $2.95 per 1,000 cubic feet.

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