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Another burst of hiring shows off the resilience of the job market

WASHINGTON (AP) — America’s employers delivered another healthy month of hiring in February, adding a surprising 275,000 jobs and again showcasing the U.S. economy’s resilience in the face of high interest rates. Last month’s job growth marked an increase from a revised gain of ...

Kyoto’s geisha district fights back against over-tourism with keep-out signs

TOKYO (AP) — Japan’s ancient capital of Kyoto, long a popular destination for tourists, is closing off some private-property alleys in its famous geisha district because of complaints about misbehaving visitors. Tourists crowd the narrow, quaint streets of the area called Gion, often following tour guides who show people around and lecture for long hours, local district official Isokazu Ota said Friday. A sign will say in both Japanese and English: “This is a private road, so you are not allowed to drive through it,” although the keep-out warning is aimed mainly at ...

Powell: Rate cuts likely this year, but more evidence is needed that inflation is tamed

WASHINGTON (AP) — Chair Jerome Powell reinforced his belief Wednesday that the Federal Reserve will cut its key interest rate this year but said it first wants to see more evidence that inflation is falling sustainably back to the Fed’s 2% target. Powell’s comments to a House committee largely echoed those he made at a news conference Jan. 31. Since then, however, government reports have shown that inflation picked up from December to January, and hiring accelerated. Those signs suggested that the economy remains hot and that the process of further slowing inflation will likely ...

Bitcoin briefly hits an all-time high, less than two years after FTX scandal clobbered crypto

NEW YORK (AP) — Bitcoin has hit an all-time high less than two years after the collapse of the crypto exchange FTX severely damaged faith in digital currencies and sent prices plunging. The world’s largest cryptocurrency jumped 4% this week and briefly surpassed $68,800 Tuesday, according to CoinMarketCap. That’s just above bitcoin’s previous record set in November 2021. The volatile asset soon fell some, standing at just under $62,000 as of 3 p.m. ET, but the price is still up more than 175% from one year ago. Gains in recent months have been fueled by the anticipation, ...