LONDON (AP) — British and Irish officials met Monday as tensions rise over the movement of asylum seekers from the U.K. to neighboring Ireland and Ireland's proposal to send them back.
Irish premier Simon Harris said Sunday that Ireland will not "provide a loophole for anybody else’s migration challenges” after one of his ministers said more than 80% of asylum seekers entering Ireland now come across the land border from Northern Ireland, which is part of the U.K.
Irish officials on Tuesday are expected to discuss emergency legislation for a new policy to “return” the migrants to the U.K. British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has said he was not interested in any such deal and that his government will decide who is allowed to enter.
“We’re not going to accept returns from the EU via Ireland when the EU doesn’t accept returns back to France, where illegal migrants are coming from," Sunak said Monday.
Sunak claims that the increase in migrants crossing into Ireland from the U.K. shows that his controversial Rwanda policy, which aims to send some asylum seekers arriving in Britain on a one-way trip to the African country, is working. Parliament passed the legislation last week.
The prime minister says it will deter risky English Channel crossings by people desperate to reach the U.K. Human rights activists and migrants’ groups call the policy unethical, inhumane and costly.
Sunak suggested over the weekend that the deterrent was “already having an impact because people are worried about coming here.”
Chris Heaton-Harris, the U.K.'s Northern Ireland secretary, and Irish Deputy Prime Minister Micheal Martin sought to play down any rift over the migrant issue at a news conference Monday.
The countries are jointly committed to “protect the common travel area from abuse,” Heaton-Harris said.
The Irish government's proposed legislation to return asylum seekers to the U.K. is a response to an Irish High Court ruling last week which found that Ireland's designation of the U.K. as a “safe third country” for asylum seekers is contrary to EU law.
Ireland’s Justice Minister Helen McEntee asserted last week that the number of asylum seekers crossing from Northern Ireland into Ireland was now “higher than 80%.” She did not provide exact figures.
Full AP coverage of migration: https://apnews.com/hub/migration
Northern Ireland Secretary Chris Heaton-Harris, left, and Tanaiste Micheal Martin hold a joint press conference during the British-Irish intergovernmental conference at 100 Parliament Street in London, Monday April 29, 2024. Established under Strand 3 of the Belfast (Good Friday) Agreement, the British-Irish Intergovernmental Conference is a bilateral forum, aiming to take place three times per year, to bring together the British and Irish Governments to promote cooperation at all levels on all matters of mutual interest within the competence of both Governments. (Yui Mok/PA via AP)
Northern Ireland Secretary Chris Heaton-Harris, left, and Tanaiste Micheal Martin hold a joint press conference during the British-Irish intergovernmental conference at 100 Parliament Street in London, Monday April 29, 2024. Established under Strand 3 of the Belfast (Good Friday) Agreement, the British-Irish Intergovernmental Conference is a bilateral forum, aiming to take place three times per year, to bring together the British and Irish Governments to promote cooperation at all levels on all matters of mutual interest within the competence of both Governments. (Yui Mok/PA via AP)
From left, Northern Ireland Secretary Chris Heaton-Harris, Tanaiste Micheal Martin, and Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Northern Ireland Lord Caine arrive for the British-Irish intergovernmental Conference presser, at 100 Parliament Street, in London, Monday April 29, 2024. (Yui Mok/Pool via AP)
NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stocks edged back from their record heights Thursday after the Dow Jones Industrial Average briefly topped the 40,000 level for the first time.
The Dow slipped 38.62 points, or 0.1%, to 39,869.38. The S&P 500 index, which is much more widely followed on Wall Street, dipped 11.05, or 0.2%, to 5,297.10, and the Nasdaq composite fell 44.07, or 0.3%, to 16,698.32. All three indexes had rallied on Wednesday to all-time highs.
Deere weighed on the market and sank 4.7% despite reporting stronger profit for its latest quarter than expected. It cut its forecast for upcoming profit this fiscal year, below analysts’ estimates, as farmers buy fewer tractors and other equipment.
Homebuilders also helped drag the market lower following a weaker-than-expected report on the housing industry. They gave back some of their big gains from the day before, when hopes for lower mortgage rates had sent them sharply higher. D.R. Horton sank 4.2%, Lennar fell 3.3% and PulteGroup dropped 2.8%.
Also sinking were GameStop and AMC Entertainment, which slid for a second straight day following their jaw-dropping starts to the week. They’ve been moving more on excitement drummed up by investors than any changes to their financial prospects.
GameStop fell 30%, though it’s still up nearly 59% for the week so far. AMC Entertainment lost 15.3%.
Such drops helped offset a 7% jump for Walmart, which reported stronger profit for the latest quarter than analysts expected. The retailer also said its revenue for the year could top the forecasted range it had earlier given.
Walmart's strength could be an encouraging signal for the broader economy. Worries have been rising about whether U.S. households can keep up with still-high inflation and more expensive credit-card payments, particularly households at the lower end of the income spectrum.
Target, which reports its quarterly results next week, climbed following Walmart's report, along with other retailers like Dollar General and Dollar Tree. Each added at least 2%.
Chubb rose 4.7% after Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway disclosed it had built an ownership stake in the insurer.
Under Armour swung between losses and gains after it warned that its revenue will be likely down by “a low double-digit percentage rate” this upcoming fiscal year, citing weaker demand from wholesalers and “inconsistent execution across our business.”
The company announced a restructuring plan to cut costs and also announced a program to buy back up to $500 million of its stock. It dropped 1.3%.
Stronger-than-expected profit reports have been one of the main reasons U.S. stock indexes have broadly jumped through May to records following a tough April. Another has been revived hopes that the Federal Reserve will be able to cut its main interest rate at least once this year. The Fed has been keeping its federal funds rate at the highest level in more than two decades.
A string of worse-than-expected reports on inflation at the start of the year had put the potential for such cuts in jeopardy, but some more encouraging data has since arrived.
Treasury yields have largely eased in May as hopes rose that the economy could hit the hoped-for sweet spot, where it cools enough because of high interest rates to stifle inflation but not so much that it causes a bad recession.
Yields rose Thursday following some mixed data on the economy, including the report that hurt homebuilder stocks, which showed the industry broke ground on fewer projects than expected.
One report showed slightly more workers applied for unemployment benefits last week than economists expected, though the number remains low compared with history. Others said manufacturing growth in the mid-Atlantic region was weaker than hoped and import prices rose more than forecast.
“Today’s numbers were in line with the overall theme of the week — nothing dramatic, but showing signs of a steady-to-cooling economy,” said Chris Larkin, managing director, trading and investing, at E-Trade from Morgan Stanley.
The yield on the 10-year Treasury climbed to 4.37% from 4.35% late Wednesday. The two-year yield, which moves more closely with expectations for action by the Fed, rose to 4.79% from 4.72%.
In stock markets abroad, indexes were modestly lower in much of Europe after mostly rising in Asia. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng jumped 1.6% after reopening following a holiday, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 rose 1.4%.
AP Business Writers Matt Ott and Elaine Kurtenbach contributed.
FILE - An entrance to the New York Stock Exchange is shown on May 8, 2024, in New York. Shares opened lower in Europe on Thursday, May 16, 2024, after most Asian benchmarks gained, tracking a Wall Street rally driven by hopes that inflation is heading back in the right direction. (AP Photo/Peter Morgan, File)
A person passes an entrance to the Wall Street subway station in New York on Wednesday, May 15, 2024. Trading on Wall Street is muted early ahead of the U.S. government's latest reports on inflation and retail sales. (AP Photo/Peter Morgan)
A currency trader passes by the screen showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) at the foreign exchange dealing room of the KEB Hana Bank headquarters in Seoul, South Korea, Thursday, May 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)
Banners for Pinterest, displayed to mark the fifth anniversary of the company's listing, hang on the front of the New York Stock Exchange in New York on Wednesday, May 15, 2024. U.S. stocks are rising toward records with hope that inflation is heading back in the right direction. (AP Photo/Peter Morgan)
A currency trader passes by the screen showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI), left, and the foreign exchange rate between U.S. dollar and South Korean won at the foreign exchange dealing room of the KEB Hana Bank headquarters in Seoul, South Korea, Thursday, May 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)
Currency traders work near the screen showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) at the foreign exchange dealing room of the KEB Hana Bank headquarters in Seoul, South Korea, Thursday, May 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)
