Business digest

BARCELONA, Spain — Climate activism has intensified in the past few years as the planet warms to dangerous levels, igniting more extreme heat, floods, storms and wildfires around the world. Tactics have been getting more radical, and activists are now turning their attention to the wealthy, after long targeting some of the world’s most profitable companies – oil and gas conglomerates, banks and insurance firms that continue to invest in fossil fuels.

BEIJING — Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo says she and her Chinese counterpart agreed to exchange information on U.S. export controls that irk Beijing and set up a group to discuss other commercial issues. But neither side appeared ready to make major concessions on disputes that have plunged relations to their lowest level in decades. Raimondo joined American officials including Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen in July who have visited China in the past three months in hopes of reviving chilly relations. Chinese leader Xi Jinping’s government wants to revive foreign investor interest in China as it tries to reverse a deepening economic slump.

NEW YORK — Artificial intelligence has been the buzzword of 2023 ever since ChatGPT made its public debut earlier this year, with businesses, schools, universities and even non-profits looking for ways to integrate AI in their operations. John Kim, chief product officer for PayPal, spoke with The Associated Press about how the company is using the early proliferation of artificial intelligence technologies in its business, as well as PayPal’s future in payments when there’s so much competition. Kim say PayPal plans on launching three new products with ties to AI in the next 120 days.

NEW YORK — Amazon has been quietly raising the amount some customers must spend on its site to get free shipping. To qualify for no-cost deliveries, some Amazon customers who don’t have Prime memberships now need to spend $35, up from $25 previously. Amazon spokesperson Kristina Pressentin confirmed that the company is testing the new qualification, which was first reported by the blog eCommerce Bytes. The change doesn’t impact Prime members who pay $14.99 per month, or $139 a year, for free shipping and other perks. The consumer education website Consumer World said Monday that for now, the new $35 minimum seems to apply to customers based on where they live.

RENO, Nev. — State and federal agencies are scrambling to find measures to combat what experts call one of the harshest and most neglected effects of climate change in the U.S.: rising heat deaths and injuries of people who work in triple-digit temperatures. State and federal governments have long implemented federal procedures for environmental risks exacerbated by climate change, namely drought, flood and wildfires. But extreme heat protections for workers have generally lagged. Complicating attempts to address the issue is the absence of one national standard for measuring heat deaths in the U.S.