US stocks end worst week since ’11

US stocks end worst week since ’11

NEW YORK

A wave of late selling pummeled U.S. stocks Friday and pushed the market to its worst week in four years.

The dismal start to the new year comes as investors worry that China’s huge economy is slowing down. That has helped send the price of oil plunging to its lowest level since 2004, the latest blow to U.S. energy companies.

Industrial and technology companies such as Boeing and Apple that do a lot of business in China also have fallen sharply this week. Mining companies such as Freeport-McMoRan plunged as copper prices have fallen. China is a major importer of copper.

Those with older ID get 2-year reprieve

NEW YORK

Fliers who don’t have the latest driver’s licenses will have a two-year reprieve before their IDs are rejected at airport security checkpoints.

Many travelers had been worried that the Transportation Security Administration would penalize them because of a federal law requiring newer, more-stringent IDs at the start of this year.

But late Friday afternoon, the Department of Homeland Security said passengers could continue using their current IDs until Jan. 22, 2018. Some would have until Oct. 1, 2020.

After those dates, passengers without the proper driver’s licenses would have to use other federally approved forms of ID such as a passport.

The Real ID Act, approved by Congress in 2005, set minimum standards for licenses in response to security concerns after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. Enforcement of those requirements has been delayed repeatedly.

Coal production hits 30-year low

WASHINGTON

U.S. coal production has fallen to its lowest level in nearly 30 years as cheaper sources of power and stricter environmental regulations reduce demand, according to preliminary government figures.

A report released Friday by the U.S. Energy Information Administration estimates 900 million short tons of coal were produced last year, a drop from about 1 billion short tons in 2014. That’s the lowest volume since 1986.

The slump has led to bankruptcies and layoffs at mining companies, but the effects have rippled outward, stressing state budgets and forcing layoffs in other sector such as railroads, which are transporting less coal.

Consumers borrowed $14B more in Nov.

WASHINGTON

U.S. consumers boosted their borrowing in November, as higher credit-card spending partially offset slower growth in auto and student loans.

Consumer borrowing rose $14 billion in November to a fresh record high of $3.53 trillion, the Federal Reserve said Friday. Economists believe that strong job gains in the labor market will boost consumer confidence and convince households to finance purchases by taking on more debt.

Associated Press