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Business Highlights

Business Highlights

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UK's May says next vote is on Brexit delay

LONDON (AP) -- British Prime Minister Theresa May says Parliament will vote Thursday on whether to seek a delay to Britain's March 29 departure from the European Union. May said lawmakers are at the point where they must approve a withdrawal agreement in coming days and request a short postponement to Brexit day or request a "much longer" extension from the EU to negotiate a new arrangement.

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US, Canada ground Boeing 737 Max 8s after Ethiopia crash

President Donald Trump has issued an emergency order grounding all Boeing 737 Max 8 aircraft in the wake of a crash of an Ethiopian airliner that killed 157 people, a reversal for the U.S. after federal aviation regulators had maintained it had no data to show the jets are unsafe. The decision came hours after Canada joined some 40 other countries in barring the Max 8 from its airspace.

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Fiat Chrysler recalling nearly 900,000 vehicles on emissions

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Fiat Chrysler is recalling nearly 900,000 vehicles because they don't meet US emission standards. The recall will be performed in phases during the year.

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UK review urges new rules to deal with power of tech giants

LONDON (AP) -- A review of competition in the U.K.'s digital market says the country needs tough new rules to help counter the dominance of big tech giants like Facebook, Google and Amazon. The independent review published Wednesday says global tech giants don't face enough competition and that existing rules are outdated and need to be beefed up.

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Facebook, Instagram suffer outages

NEW YORK (AP) -- Facebook says it is aware of outages on its platforms including Facebook, Messenger and Instagram and is working to resolve the issue. According to downdector.com, which monitors websites, the outages started around 12 p.m. EDT on Wednesday in parts of the U.S., including the East and West Coast, parts of Europe and elsewhere. Both Facebook's desktop site and app appeared to be affected.

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Gluten, lactose in drugs? Study raises questions about risk

WASHINGTON (AP) -- A new report says pills can have extra ingredients like gluten, lactose or allergy-triggering dyes that may cause problems for certain patients. Boston researchers began studying so-called "inactive" ingredients after a patient with celiac disease who's supposed to avoid gluten received a prescription drug containing it. The extra ingredients are safe for most people, but Wednesday's report says more information is needed to help patients who need to avoid certain compounds.

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AT&T raises prices for DirecTV Now streaming service

NEW YORK (AP) -- AT&T is raising prices for its DirecTV Now streaming TV service, while removing some networks from the cable-like television package. The changes come just weeks after a U.S. appeals court upheld the company's Time Warner takeover. The Justice Department fought the takeover, arguing it would lead to higher prices.

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US health officials move to tighten sales of e-cigarettes

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Food and Drug Administration is moving ahead with a plan aimed at keeping e-cigarettes out of the hands of teenagers by restricting sales of most flavors in convenience stores and online. The new guidelines are the latest government effort to reverse what health officials call an epidemic of underage vaping. E-cigarette makers would be required to limit sales of most flavors to stores that verify the age of customers or include a separate, age-restricted area for vaping products.

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Carlson comments signal brawl for advertisers

NEW YORK (AP) -- A controversy over comments Tucker Carlson made to a DJ decades ago is really about a bare-knuckles brawl over Fox News Channel's financial future. Fox held its first-ever sales pitch for advertisers on Wednesday.

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With lawsuits looming, OxyContin maker considers bankruptcy

The company that has made billions selling OxyContin says it is considering bankruptcy protection, among other legal options, as trial dates for opioid lawsuits get closer. Connecticut-based Purdue Pharma is being sued by well over 1,000 state and local governments that allege it aggressively sold the drug as less addictive despite knowing it carried major risks. The bankruptcy filing could change the course of the lawsuits.

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Health, tech companies lead US stocks to 3rd straight gain

NEW YORK (AP) -- Health care and technology companies powered stocks broadly higher on Wall Street Wednesday, giving the market its third straight gain. Boeing briefly dipped, but finished slightly higher, after the U.S. said it was joining other countries in grounding the company's 737 Max 8 airplane following a fatal crash of an Ethiopian airliner over the weekend. The S&P 500 has now clawed back all its losses from last week, when the benchmark index posted its worst week since December.

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The S&P 500 gained 19.40 points, or 0.7 percent, to 2,810.92. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 148.23 points, or 0.6 percent, to 25,702.89. The Nasdaq composite climbed 52.37 points, or 0.7 percent, to 7,643.41. The Russell 2000 index of smaller companies picked up 6.05 points, or 0.4 percent, to 1,555.88.