Business Highlights

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Officials spar with senators over plan for mortgage giants

WASHINGTON (AP) — Trump administration officials are defending their plan to Congress for ending government control of mortgage finance giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. They clashed with Democratic senators on whether the change would raise home borrowing costs and neglect lower-income homeowners. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson testified Tuesday before the Senate Banking Committee on the plan for returning Fannie and Freddie to private ownership.

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Apple unveils a cheaper iPhone and pricing for streaming TV

CUPERTINO, Calif. (AP) — Apple unveiled new iPhones that are largely unchanged from previous models and accompanied by an unexpected price cut for the cheapest model, underscoring the company's efforts to counteract a sales slump of its flagship product. The new devices are so similar to last year's lineup they may be upstaged by Apple TV Plus, the company's upcoming video service, which is rolling out on Nov. 1 at $5 per month.

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Share of uninsured Americans rises for 1st time in a decade

WASHINGTON (AP) — The proportion of Americans without health insurance edged up in 2018 — the first increase in nearly a decade after coverage had significantly increased under President Barack Obama's health care law. The Census Bureau also said in an annual report Tuesday that household income rose last year at its slowest pace in four years and finally matched its previous peak set in 1999.

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Big Tech's 'nemesis' in EU gets new term — and more power

LONDON (AP) — The European Union's competition chief is getting a new term — with expanded powers — in a move that underlines how the bloc's battle to regulate big tech companies is only just beginning. Margrethe Vestager, who angered the Trump administration by imposing multibillion-dollar penalties on the likes of Google and Apple, was reappointed Tuesday for a second five-year term as the bloc's competition commissioner.

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States sue SEC, claiming investors left behind by new rules

NEW YORK (AP) — Seven states and the District of Columbia have sued the Securities and Exchange Commission, saying the regulatory agency is putting investors in jeopardy by relaxing rules for brokers. The lawsuit filed Monday in Manhattan federal court asks a judge to force the agency to scrap new rules it contends relax protections for consumers. A message seeking a response was left with the SEC Tuesday. The states say they are harmed because bad investment advice leaves consumers with less money to spend.

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Alibaba's Ma steps down as industry faces uncertainty

BEIJING (AP) — Jack Ma, who founded Alibaba Group, the world's biggest e-commerce company, is stepping down as chairman at a time when its industry faces rapid change and uncertainty amid a U.S.-Chinese trade war. Ma gave up his post on his 55th birthday as part of a succession announced a year earlier.

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US seeks dismissal of tribes' lawsuit over Keystone pipeline

BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — Attorneys for the Trump administration want a US judge to throw out a lawsuit from Native American tribes trying to block the proposed Keystone XL oil pipeline from Canada to Nebraska. Tribes in Montana and South Dakota say President Donald Trump approved the pipeline in March without considering potential damage to cultural sites from spills and construction. The judge will preside over a Thursday hearing on the government's attempt to dismiss the case.

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Israeli spyware firm adopts 'human rights policy'

JERUSALEM (AP) — An Israeli spyware company that has been accused of helping authoritarian governments stifle dissent says it has adopted "a new human rights policy" to ensure its software is not misused. The NSO Group said Tuesday it would institute a series of oversight measures to ensure adherence and would henceforth evaluate potential clients' "past human rights performance."

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Relatives of passengers killed in Boeing crash protest in DC

WASHINGTON (AP) — Family members of passengers who died in a Boeing 737 Max crash in Ethiopia protested in Washington for a complete recertification of the plane. They also want pilots to go through training on flight simulators before the Max is allowed to fly again. Boeing favors computer-based training first and simulator sessions later to avoid a longer delay in returning the plane to service.

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US stock indexes end mostly higher after late buying burst

NEW YORK (AP) — Major U.S. stock indexes closed mostly higher Tuesday, erasing much of an early slide, as investors favored smaller, U.S.-focused companies for the second straight day. Industrial, energy and health care stocks helped power the market higher. Banks also notched solid gains as the yield on the 10-year Treasury note climbed to 1.73%. For the second day in a row, traders unloaded tech stocks, a shift from recent weeks when the sector drove much of the market's gains.

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The S&P 500 index inched up 0.96 points, or less than 0.1%, to 2,979.39. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 73.92 points, or 0.3%, to 26,909.43. The Nasdaq slid 3.28 points, or less than 0.1%, to 8,084.16. The Russell 2000 index of smaller-company stocks added 18.76 points, or 1.2%, to 1,542.99.