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NEW YORK, April 19- New York Governor Andrew Cuomo on Thursday ramped up pressure on banks and insurers to revisit whether their ties to the National Rifle Association and other gun rights groups harm their reputations and the public interest. The governor directed New York's Department of Financial Services to urge state-chartered banks and the more than...

April 19- Consumer activists and technology experts are advising consumers to hold off on buying Android handsets from China's ZTE until the company clarifies whether U.S. sanctions against the company prevent it from providing operating system updates for its devices. The U.S. Commerce Department on Monday banned U.S. companies from providing components,...

SAO PAULO, April 19- Brazilian engineering conglomerate Odebrecht SA has not yet secured new bank loans that it has requested to honor bond payments due next week, four sources with knowledge of the matter said, raising the possibility of a default triggering some $3 billion in early repayments. Talks with Brazil's biggest lenders, including Banco Bradesco SA,...

NEW YORK— Federal regulators plan to fine Wells Fargo as much as $1 billion as early as Friday for abuses tied to its auto-lending and mortgage businesses, The New York Times and other news outlets reported, citing unnamed sources. The potential $1 billion fine would be largest ever imposed by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, the bank's main national...

*Assets under management $449.6 bln in Q1 vs $434.1 bln in Q4. *Economic net income per share 65 cents vs expected 45 cents. Economic net income per share came in at 65 cents in the quarter, down from 81 cents a year ago.

NEW YORK, April 19- New York Governor Andrew Cuomo on Thursday ramped up pressure on banks and insurers to revisit whether their ties to the National Rifle Association and other gun rights groups harm their reputations and the public interest. The governor directed New York's Department of Financial Services to urge state-chartered banks and the more than...

*U.S. shares dragged down by Apple, Philip Morris. *Oil prices settle after 3- year peaks on report Saudis want higher prices. NEW YORK, April 19- Tobacco and tech stocks dragged down Wall Street on Thursday, while oil prices softened and other commodities walked back huge gains after a wild ride.

NEW YORK— Mattel Inc. announced Thursday that its CEO Margo Georgiadis is stepping down and is being succeeded by a company director and former studio executive. The toy giant, based in El Segundo, California, said the board has named Ynon Kreiz, a Mattel director since June 2017, as her replacement, effective April 26. Mattel, the maker of the iconic Barbie and...

*OPEC, non- OPEC panel finds oil glut virtually eliminated-sources. A global oil glut has been virtually eliminated, according to a joint OPEC and non- OPEC technical panel, two sources familiar with the matter said, thanks in part to an OPEC- led supply cut deal in place since January 2017. The global benchmark touched $74.75 a barrel, its highest since Nov. 27, 2014- the...

NEW YORK _ Pzena Investment Management Inc. on Thursday reported first-quarter earnings of $3.5 million. On a per-share basis, the New York- based company said it had profit of 20 cents. This story was generated by Automated Insights using data from Zacks Investment Research.

*Chip stocks, Apple tumble on TSMC's weak outlook. NEW YORK April 19- Wall Street's three major indexes closed lower on Thursday, with tobacco stocks leading a tumble in consumer staples while concerns about smartphone demand hurt the technology sector and rising bond yields and earnings helped financials rebound. The market pared some losses late in the...

Philip Morris International Inc., down $15.80 to $85.64. American Express Co., up $7.22 to $102.37. Procter& Gamble Co., down $2.53 to $74.95.

Cesar Rincon, a former manager at Bariven, the procurement unit of Venezuela's state-owned energy company Petroleos de Venezuela SA, entered his plea to one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering before District Judge Kenneth Hoyt in Houston, according to the U.S. Department of Justice. In entering his guilty plea, Rincon admitted that he took bribes...

The Army says it's considering 15 cities for the headquarters of its planned Futures Command, which will keep track of emerging technology and innovations that could be used in warfighting. The Army notified the cities this week and asked for detailed information. The contenders are Atlanta; Austin, Texas; Boston; Chicago; Dallas; Denver; Houston; Los Angeles;...

Cesar Rincon, a former manager at Bariven, the procurement unit of Venezuela's state-owned energy company Petroleos de Venezuela SA, entered his plea to one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering before District Judge Kenneth Hoyt in Houston, according to the U.S. Department of Justice. In entering his guilty plea, Rincon admitted that he took bribes...

NEW YORK— Starbucks is not giving out free drinks to people of color. It's likely an attempt to stir more bad sentiments about the coffee chain as it deals with the arrest of two black men at a Philadelphia store. This is part of The Associated Press' ongoing effort to fact-check misinformation that is shared widely online, including work with Facebook to identify...

*Chip stocks tumble on TSMC's weak outlook. NEW YORK April 19- Wall Street's three major indexes declined on Thursday as tobacco stocks led a tumble in consumer staples and concerns about smartphone demand hurt the technology sector while rising bond yields and earnings helped financials rebound. "It's an obsession with high interest rates right now," said...

*U.S. shares dragged down by Apple, Philip Morris. NEW YORK, April 19- Wall Street stocks fell on a broad-based slump in technology stocks and a tumble in consumer staples on Thursday, while oil prices softened and other commodities went on a wild ride. "I do think we could see $70 pretty quick, but I want to caution that maybe we'll see the market level out a little bit in a...