Oil prices fell on Friday after a weaker than expected US jobs report indicated a patchy economic recovery that could mean slower fuel demand during a resurgent pandemic. 

The engine of the US offshore energy production struggled to recover from Hurricane Ida on Friday as a lack of crews, power and fuel left most Gulf Coast oil and gas output offline five days after the storm passed. 

The Federated States of Micronesia will tap a US funding facility to construct a Pacific undersea communications cable, two sources told Reuters, after rejecting a Chinese company-led proposal that was deemed a security threat by US officials. 

The United States added far fewer jobs than expected in August as businesses grappled with the Delta wave of Covid-19, a major disappointment and yet another complication for President Joe Biden’s plans to remake the world’s largest economy.

The massive US service sector continued expanding in August but businesses remained worried about high prices and shortages of materials and labor, although there were signs that situation could be improving, an industry survey released Friday said.

The US trade deficit narrowed more than expected in July as imports declined likely because of shortages and a shift in domestic spending from goods to services.

US oil and gasoline firms strained to get offshore operations again up and operating on Thursday because the extent of Hurricane Ida’s damages grew to become extra obvious. 

US stock index futures inched higher on Thursday on hopes the Federal Reserve would maintain an accommodative policy amid signs that a broader economic recovery was slowing.

US officials are preparing a new antitrust lawsuit against Google over its power in the online advertising market,Bloomberg reported Wednesday.

Fear of the fast spreading Delta variant of Covid-19 and rising prices undermined Americans’ confidence in August, according to a survey released Tuesday.

Alphabet Inc’s Google unit, Facebook Inc and Microsoft Corp are the three biggest lobbying spenders in Europe in a battle against tough new laws aimed at curbing US tech giants’ powers, a study released on Tuesday showed.

The US economy and labor market have healed to the point that the central bank could begin to withdraw its stimulus measures by the end of the year, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said Friday.

US consumer spending slowed in July as a decline in motor vehicle purchases due to shortages offset a rise in outlays on services, supporting views that economic growth will moderate in the third quarter amid a resurgence in Covid-19 infections.

The Biden administration, which was criticized this week for approving licenses for auto chips for Huawei, said it has not changed the policy on restricting sales of goods and technology to the Chinese company that was put in place during the Trump presidency.

Federal Reserve Board Chairman Jerome Powell’s wait-and-see approach in Friday’s long-awaited address gives investors and market participants an extraordinary central bank to support the economy. Assets that have reassured us that efforts are likely to support the more risky ones will be a little longer.

The dollar eased further on Tuesday as risk-related currencies benefited from rising commodity prices and markets set aside concerns about the spread of the Delta coronavirus variant to gauge data that showed a US economy in strong recovery mode.

US President Joe Biden’s plans to spend nearly $5 trillion to change the world’s largest economy advanced in the House of Representatives on Tuesday, after Democratic leaders reached an agreement with centrist lawmakers to end a dispute threatening the bills.

US companies including Airbnb Inc and Walmart Inc are lending a hand to the people of Afghanistan after the recent collapse of the US-backed government and takeover by the Taliban militant group.

US officials have approved license applications worth hundreds of millions of dollars for China’s blacklisted telecom company Huawei to buy chips for its growing auto component business, two people familiar with the matter said.

Walmart on Tuesday launched a delivery service for other merchants throughout the United States, an announcement that comes as sellers scramble to secure deliveries ahead of the all-important holiday shopping season.