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Report: US health spending hits $3.5T but growth slows

WASHINGTON (AP) — The nation’s health care tab hit $3.5 trillion last year, or $10,739 per person, the government reported Thursday. But behind those staggering figures was some fairly good news: The rate of growth slowed for the second year in a row, according to economic experts at the federal Health and Human Services department. Health care spending increased by 3.9 percent in 2017, following a 4.8 percent increase in 2016. Private insurance spending grew more slowly in 2017, and so did Medicaid, while Medicare costs grew at about the same rate. The overall economy grew ...

S&P 500 slides into ‘correction’ for second time this year

U.S. stocks closed lower after a shortened session Friday, bumping the benchmark S&P 500 index into a correction, or drop of 10 percent below its most recent all-time high in September. Energy companies led the market slide as the price of U.S. crude oil tumbled to its lowest level in more than a year, reflecting worries among traders that a slowing global economy could hurt demand for oil. “Oil is really falling sharply, continuing its downward descent, and that appears to be giving investors a lot of concern that there’s slowing global growth,” said Jeff Kravetz, regional ...

NC environmental chief: Chemical maker must change its ways

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — The largest penalty a polluter has paid North Carolina should change the way one of the country’s biggest chemical companies makes compounds that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency said appear dangerous even in small amounts, the state’s top environmental official said Friday. A deal announced late Wednesday requires The Chemours Co. to pay the state a $12 million penalty, add $1 million for investigative costs, sharply reduce air emissions of the nonstick compound known as GenX, and spend millions to provide permanent replacement drinking water ...

Many shoppers say day is as much about the spectacle as it is about deals

NEW YORK (AP) — It would have been easy to turn on their computers at home over plates of leftover turkey and take advantage of the Black Friday deals most retailers now offer online. But across the country, thousands of shoppers flocked to stores on Thanksgiving or woke up before dawn the next day to take part in this most famous ritual of American consumerism. Shoppers spent their holiday lined up outside the Mall of America in Bloomington by 4 p.m. Thursday, and the crowd had swelled to 3,000 people by the time doors opened at 5 a.m. Friday morning. In Ohio, a group of women was ...

Cyber Monday shoppers will see more sites charging sales tax

WASHINGTON (AP) — Shoppers heading online to purchase holiday gifts will find they’re being charged sales tax at some websites where they weren’t before. The reason: the Supreme Court. A June ruling gave states the go-ahead to require more companies to collect sales tax on online purchases. Now, more than two dozen have moved to take advantage of the ruling, many ahead of the busy holiday shopping season. “Will your shopping bill look any different? ... The answer right now is it depends,” said Jason Brewer, a spokesman for the Retail Industry Leaders Association, which ...

Business Briefs for Nov. 19

Swanson joins Andrew Suby State Farm Insurance Andrew Suby State Farm welcomes Heidi Swanson to its team. Swanson is licensed in life, health, property, and casualty and has many years of experience in the financial industry and owning a small business. Swanson was born and raised in Tracy and has lived and worked in Marshall for 17 years. She and her husband, Chad, keep busy with community and school events with their two children.