NEW YORK (AP) – Shoppers tempered their spending in April as higher gas prices fueled by the Iran war meant less money left over for some nonessentials like clothing and furniture. But they’re still buying, thanks to more generous government tax refunds.

President Donald Trump is stopping offshore wind projects in the United States, just as the industry was poised to grow significantly. Offshore wind energy has the potential to deliver large amounts of clean energy along U.S. coastlines. Three offshore wind farms are open in the United States and three more have begun delivering power.

TOKYO (AP) – Honda racked up a 423.9 billion yen ($2.7 billion) loss Thursday, the first-ever full year loss for the Japanese automaker, acknowledging heavy costs for its electric-vehicle plans, stemming from President Donald Trump’s pro-U.S. policies.

Excerpts from recent editorials in the United States and abroad:

TOKYO (AP) – Japanese technology investor Softbank Group Corp. reported Wednesday that profits for the fiscal year through March zoomed by nearly five-fold from the previous year as its AI investments paid off.

WASHINGTON (AP) – The number of Americans filing for jobless aid rose last week but remains historically low despite the economic uncertainty caused by the war in Iran.

NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) – French and African leaders have announced more than $11 billion in renewable energy investments across Africa, underscoring the continent’s growing importance in the global push for cleaner energy and industrial development.

HONG KONG (AP) – China’s Alibaba said that growth accelerated for both its artificial intelligence and cloud businesses in the latest quarter, driven by the AI boom, even though overall revenue rose just 3% to 243 billion yuan ($36 billion). Revenue from its Cloud Intelligence Group, which focuses on cloud computing and AI developments, jumped 38%.