AP Business SummaryBrief at 9:01 p.m. EDT

Bluesky, championed by Jack Dorsey, was supposed to be Twitter 2.0. Can it succeed?

Bluesky is the internet's hottest members-only spot at the moment. It feels a bit like an exclusive club these days, populated by some Very Online folks, popular Twitter characters and fed up ex-users of the Elon Musk-owned platform. Born inside Twitter and championed by Jack Dorsey, it was supposed to one day replace Twitter as a decentralized social media system, where anyone can build a social media app that isn't controlled by a single person or company. The idea is to make social networks open and portable, like emails, blogs or phone numbers, and less like walled gardens like Facebook and Twitter.

Apple's Vision Pro goggles unleash a mixed reality that could lead to more innovation and isolation

CUPERTINO, Calif. (AP) — Reporters are a skeptical bunch, so it was unusual to hear so many of them raving about their firsthand experience with Apple's next Big Thing. That would be the high-priced headset called Vision Pro that's infused with totally virtual reality and augmented reality that projects digital images on top of real-world settings. After wearing the Vision Pro during a half-hour demonstration meticulously orchestrated by Apple, an Associated Press reporter also was blown away by the goggles-like headset. But that excitement was muted by a disquieting sense of having passed through a gateway that eventually will lead society down another avenue of digital isolation.

White House website highlights infrastructure, manufacturing investments as Biden pushes policy wins

WASHINGTON (AP) — The White House on Tuesday is starting a website to map and track tens of thousands of infrastructure projects and private manufacturing investments, an effort by the administration to show the impact of its policies on the U.S. economy. The site documents roughly 32,000 infrastructure projects and more than $470 billion worth of investments in the production of electric vehicles, batteries, computer chips, biotech, clean energy and other sectors. President Joe Biden is seeking reelection in 2024 by trying to show how his policies are reshaping the U.S. economy to address climate change and compete with rivals such as China. But high inflation has voters giving him low marks on economic leadership.

Coinbase targeted by SEC in latest shot at crypto firms for allegedly skirting securities laws

NEW YORK (AP) — Coinbase has been targeted by U.S. regulators in a new lawsuit that alleges the cryptocurrency platform is operating as an unregistered securities platform and brokerage service. The lawsuit from the Securities and Exchange Commission on Tuesday comes only a day after it filed charges against Binance, the world's largest crypto exchange, and its founder Changpeng Zhao are accused of misusing investor funds, operating as an unregistered exchange and violating a slew of U.S. securities laws. Coinbase shares plunged nearly 15% early Tuesday. In its complaint, the SEC said Coinbase made billions acting as the middle man for cryptocurrency buyers and sellers but did not give investors lawful protections while acting as a broker.

Banks' growing reliance on chatbots to handle customer service tasks worries consumer watchdog

NEW YORK (AP) — Can you trust Erica, or Sandi or Amy to increasingly control parts of your financial life without giving you inaccurate information or sending money to the wrong place? That's what the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is asking in a report released Tuesday, where the bureau lays out a number of concerns about the growing use of chatbots by banks to handle routine customer service requests. Among the agencies' concerns is that banks may cut back on human customer service employees and that chatbots, if poorly designed, may run afoul of federal laws that govern how debts are collected or how personal information is being used.

World Bank offers dim outlook for the global economy in face of higher interest rates

WASHINGTON (AP) — The global economy is likely slowing sharply this year, hobbled by high interest rates, the repercussions of Russia's invasion of Ukraine and the lingering effects of the coronavirus pandemic. That's the latest outlook of the World Bank, a 189-country anti-poverty agency, which estimates that the international economy will expand just 2.1% in 2023 after growing 3.1% in 2022. Still, that marks an upgrade from its previous forecast in January. That estimate had envisioned worldwide growth of just 1.7% this year. Central banks have been aggressively raising interest rates to combat a resurgence of inflation, set off by a stronger-than-expected rebound from the pandemic recession, persistent supply shortages and energy and food price shocks caused by the Ukraine war.

Merck sues federal government, calling plan to negotiate Medicare drug prices extortion

Merck is suing the federal government over a plan to negotiate Medicare drug prices, calling the program a sham equivalent to extortion. The drugmaker is seeking to halt the program, which was laid out in the Inflation Reduction Act and is expected to save taxpayers billions of dollars in the coming years. Merck said in a complaint filed Tuesday that the program does not involve genuine negotiation. Instead, it said the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services selects drugs to be included and then dictates the price. Federal government representatives did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Stock market today: Wall Street inches higher toward edge of bull market

NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks drifted on Wall Street amid a vacuum of market-moving data. The S&P 500 rose 0.2% Tuesday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average edged up by 10 points while the Nasdaq added 0.4%. Banks were some of the bigger gainers, recovering from their struggles earlier this year after high interest rates helped cause several high-profile failures. The cryptocurrency world took another hit after U.S. regulators accused the Coinbase crypto trading platform of operating as an unregistered securities exchange. The S&P 500 is within 0.2% of a 20% rally above where it was in mid-October.

Wheat prices jump following collapse of major dam in southern Ukraine

WASHINGTON (AP) — The collapse of a major dam in southern Ukraine sent global prices of wheat and corn higher. The destruction has renewed market fears about the fragility of the country's ability to ship food to Africa, the Middle East and parts of Asia as it fights a war with Russia. Wheat prices gained 2.4% early Tuesday on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, to $6.39 a bushel. Prices were higher earlier in the day, but declined somewhat in the hours following. The destruction of the dam has raised concerns about disruption to Ukraine's affordable grain supplies getting to developing nations where people are struggling with hunger and high food prices.

Recalled pillows linked to 10 infant deaths still being sold on Facebook Marketplace, US agency says

WASHINGTON (AP) — Federal safety regulators are urging consumers to stop using baby pillows that have been linked to 10 infant deaths but are still being sold on Facebook Marketplace, despite being recalled two years ago. The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission said Tuesday that Boppy Newborn Loungers are no longer legally for sale but it has found thousands of them on Facebook Marketplace since the 2021 recall began. The agency wrote to Mark Zuckerberg, the CEO of Facebook parent Meta Platforms, on Tuesday saying it had made repeated requests to have recalled items taken down from Marketplace. The company that Marketplace posts featuring recalled products are removed when identified.

Copyright 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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