Business News Digest

Here are AP Business News' latest coverage plans, top stories and promotable content. All times EDT. For up-to-the minute information on AP's coverage, visit Coverage Plan at newsroom.ap.org.

TOP STORIES:

FACEBOOK-POLITICAL ADS — Facebook has decided not to limit how political ads are targeted to specific groups of people, as Google has done. Nor will it ban political ads, as Twitter has done. And it still won't fact check them, as it's faced pressure to do. But the company said on Thursday that it is adding some controls for users so they can see fewer political and social issue ads in their news feed. It is also making it easier to search for ads in its ad library, where it saves political ads for seven years. By Barbara Ortutay. SENT: 450 words, photos.

VILLAGE-VS.-FACEBOOK — A tiny coastal village in Oregon is opposing a plan by Facebook to build a landing spot for a submarine cable connecting America with Asia. Representatives of the social media giant say Tierra del Mar is a rare spot on the U.S. West Coast that's suitable for the cable. They say the cable is needed to meet an increasing demand for internet services worldwide. But village residents worry vibrations from drilling for the cable landing will damage the foundations of homes and septic systems. By Andrew Selsky. SENT: 920 words, photos.

CARLOS GHOSN-JAPANESE JUSTICE — Though former Nissan Chairman Carlos Ghosn is unlikely to stand trial in a real court, he has made himself a key witness in putting Japan's justice system on trial. By Yuri Kageyama. SENT: 1,030 words, photos.

With:

LEBANON-CARLOS GHOSN — A Lebanese official says prosecutors have issued a travel ban for fugitive ex-Nissan chief Carlos Ghosn and asked him to hand in his French passport, following an interrogation about an Interpol-issued red notice on him. By Sarah El Deeb. SENT: 980 words.

IRAN-PLANE CRASH-BOEING — Still reeling from a crisis involving its long-grounded Max jet, Boeing faces new questions after an earlier model of the 737 crashed Wednesday in Iran. It is too early to know what caused the crash and whether Boeing bears any responsibility for the lives of all 176 people who died aboard the 3 1/2-year-old plane. By David Koenig. SENT: 720 words, photos.

MARKETS & ECONOMY:

FINANCIAL MARKETS — Stocks are opening broadly higher on Wall Street as traders welcome news that China's top trade official will head to Washington next week to sign a preliminary trade deal with the U.S.. By Damian J. Troise. SENT: 470 words, photos. UPCOMING: Will be updated through 5 p.m.

INDUSTRY:

INTERNATIONAL-AIRLINES-GROUP-CEO — The parent company of British Airways and Iberia says its longtime CEO Willie Walsh is retiring. SENT: 120 words.

ELECTION 2020-DEMOCRATS FUNDRAISING — Democrats' online fundraising platform ActBlue routed more than $1 billion in campaign contributions to the party's candidates and causes in 2019. The groundswell of financial support dwarfs what it helped raise during the same period of any past election cycle. By Brian Slodysko. SENT: 610 words, photos.

RETAILERS-HOLIDAY SALES — Mall-based retailers J.C. Penney, Kohl's and Victoria's Secret parent are reporting sales declines for the holiday season, underscoring challenges ahead from online rivals. By Anne D'Innocenzio. SENT: 260 words, photos.

TECHNOLOGY & MEDIA:

GRUBHUB SALE — Grubhub may put itself up for sale with competition in the online delivery business growing increasingly intense. By Michelle Chapman. SENT: 360 words, photo.

PERSONAL FINANCE:

NERDWALLET-RECERTIFY IDR 2020 — Income-driven repayment plans help more than 8 million federal student loan borrowers afford their monthly payments. But these borrowers can still run into trouble if they don’t update, or recertify, their income information on time annually. Missing this deadline can increase your monthly payments and the total you repay. By Ryan Lane of NerdWallet. SENT: 780 words, photo.

MORTGAGE RATES — Freddie Mac reports on this week’s average U.S. mortgage rates. UPCOMING: 250 words by noon, photo.

INTERNATIONAL:

BREXIT — Britain is set to pass a major milestone on the road to Brexit, when the bill authorizing the country’s departure from the European Union receives final approval from the House of Common. By Jill Lawless and Raf Casert. SENT: 700 words, photos.

BRITAIN-ECONOMY — The outgoing head of the Bank of England has hinted that U.K. interest rates could be cut as soon as this month to shore up the economy even as some of the Brexit uncertainty has dissipated. By Pan Pylas. SENT: 520 words, photos.

FRANCE-STRIKES — Rail workers, teachers, doctors, lawyers and others joined a nationwide day of protests and strikes to denounce French President Emmanuel Macron's plans to overhaul the pension system. SENT: 320 words, photos.

TOKYO-CARDBOARD-BEDS — Tokyo Olympic athletes should beware. The beds frames in the Athletes Village at this year's Olympics will be made of cardboard. Officials guarantee the single beds will be able to support up to 200 kilograms, or about 440 pounds. The idea was to find a material that could be recycled after the Olympics and Paralympics. By Stephen Wade. SENT: 370 words, photos.

RUSSIA-CALVEY — A Moscow court is due to decide on whether to extend the house arrest for US investor Michael Calvey, who was detained on embezzlement charges in February 2019.

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