Business category, Page 264
‘Middle of the herd’ no more: Amazon tackles climate change
NEW YORK — Online shopping giant Amazon revealed a carbon footprint Thursday that rivals that of a small country and vowed to reduce the damage to the planet by cutting its use of fossil fuels. The company, which ships more than a 10 billion items a year on fuel-guzzling planes...
Huawei debuts phone without Google apps as U.S. sanctions bite
MUNICH — Huawei launched a new flagship smartphone Thursday, but it comes without popular Google apps such as Chrome or YouTube after U.S. sanctions kicked in, limiting its appeal to consumers. The Chinese tech giant’s Mate 30 phone series, including one for new 5G networks, runs on an open source...
Walgreens, Google affiliate to launch drone delivery test
Walgreens and a Google affiliate are testing drone deliveries that can put drugstore products on customer doorsteps minutes after being ordered. Snacks like Goldfish Crackers or gummy bears as well as aspirin for sick kids will be delivered starting next month in Christiansburg, Virginia, by a 10-pound drone flying as...
Airbnb says it will go public in 2020
Airbnb Inc. said Thursday it plans to go public in 2020, a long-awaited move by the home-sharing company that is both loved and reviled for its disruption of the accommodation sector. Airbnb disclosed the news in a brief statement. It didn’t give a target date for the initial public offering...
Don’t have anywhere to sit? Wearable chairs are now a thingVideo
Standing room only may now be a thing of the past. A tweet Wednesday afternoon from Tech Insider revealed a wearable chair that would allow people to take a seat basically anywhere. The seat, also known as LEX, is designed as “an extension of your body” by way of “aerospace-grade...
A divided Fed reduces rates but may not cut again this yearVideo
WASHINGTON — A sharply divided Federal Reserve cut its benchmark interest rate Wednesday for a second time this year but declined to signal that further rate cuts are likely this year. The Fed’s move reduced its key short-term rate — which influences many consumer and business loans — by an...
Oil price drops for 2nd day as Saudi crude output recovers
NEW YORK — The price of oil fell Wednesday after Saudi officials announced oil production halted by an attack on the heart of its oil industry would be fully restored within weeks. Prices continued to slide even as the Saudi military blamed Iran for the attacks and U.S. Secretary of...
Researchers: AI surveillance is expanding worldwide
A growing number of countries are following China’s lead in deploying artificial intelligence to track citizens, according to a research group’s report published Tuesday. The Carnegie Endowment for International Peace says at least 75 countries are actively using AI tools such as facial recognition for surveillance. The index of countries...
U.S. economy could shrug off oil prices if disruption is brief
DALLAS — The price of gasoline crept higher after a weekend attack devastated Saudi Arabian oil output, but if the disruption to global supplies is short-lived, the impact on the U.S. economy will probably be modest. Prices spiked Monday by more than 14%, their biggest single-day jump in years, but...
WeWork delays its IPO amid tepid investor interest
NEW YORK — WeWork’s parent company put its stock market debut on the backburner Tuesday, struggling to drum up investor enthusiasm for a fast-growing enterprise that spread trendy communal office spaces across the globe while piling up massive losses and drawing concerns about its CEO’s corporate governance practices. The We...
Apple awards $250 million to supplier of glass for iPhones
FRANKFORT, Ky. — Apple has deepened its ties with a Kentucky manufacturing plant by awarding $250 million to support continued work to develop glass for iPhones and other devices. The award builds on the $200 million that Corning Inc. received from Apple’s Advanced Manufacturing Fund in 2017. Apple says the...
Kraft Heinz shares fall after key investor dumps holdings
NEW YORK — Kraft Heinz Co. shares are sliding after one of the company’s top investors sold 25 million shares. 3G Capital — a Brazilian private equity firm — reduced its stake in the company by 9%. 3G remains the company’s second-largest shareholder. 3G partnered with Berkshire Hathaway Inc. to...
NBC’s Peacock streaming service to launch in April
NEW YORK — Comcast’s NBCUniversal said Tuesday that its upcoming streaming service will be called Peacock, in an homage to NBC’s logo. It will become the home for some of the company’s most popular shows, including “Parks and Recreation” and “The Office.” That means both will be leaving Netflix, although...
American Airlines made a record $350 million for bags in 2nd quarter
DALLAS — American Airlines made more than $350 million by charging baggage fees between April and June, blowing past records after raising rates a year ago. U.S. airlines combined charged $1.5 billion for baggage in the three-month period, despite hundreds of cancellations because of the grounding of the Boeing 737...
Agency considering Three Mile Island nuclear debris in Idaho
BOISE, Idaho — The partially melted reactor core from the worst nuclear accident in U.S. history could remain in Idaho for another 20 years if regulators finalize a license extension sought by the Energy Department, officials said Monday. The core from Three Mile Island in Pennsylvania partially melted in 1979,...
John Dorfman: Retired farmer wins big in short-selling contest
Lloyd Dawson, a retired farmer from LaVista, Neb., beat a strong field to win my 16th annual “Short Sellers Don’t Have Horns” short-selling contest. Short selling is a technique for profiting from a stock’s decline. It is difficult since the market rises more often than it falls. It is also...
Walmart offering $30 gift cards for old child car seats
Have your kids outgrown their car seats? Walmart is offering $30 for old car seats. Walmart is teaming up with TerraCycle for a car seat recycling event in nearly all stores across the country. The event kicked off on Monday and goes to Sept. 30 to mark National Baby Safety...
UAW official: GM’s offer came too late to avoid strike
DETROIT — A strike by over 49,000 United Auto workers against General Motors could have been averted had the company made its latest offer sooner, the union’s top negotiator said in a letter to the company. In the letter dated Sunday, UAW Vice President Terry Dittes told GM’s labor relations...
Ohio receives $17.8 million to study self-driving vehicles
COLUMBUS, Ohio — Ohio has received $17.8 million to generate data on self-driving vehicles, an area of research in which the state is already playing a prominent role, according to the state’s U.S. senators. Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown and Republican Sen. Rob Portman said the grant, announced this week, will...
Purdue Pharma files for bankruptcy as part of settlement
OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma and its owners expressed sympathy but not responsibility for the nation’s opioid crisis as the company filed for bankruptcy protection late Sunday night, part of a move to settle some 2,600 lawsuits — most from state and local governments. “Like families across America, we have deep...
Rise in health uninsured may be linked to immigrants’ fears
WASHINGTON — When the Census Bureau reported an increase in the number of people without health insurance in America, it sent political partisans reaching for talking points on the Obama-era health law and its travails. But the new numbers suggest that fears of the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown may be...
UAW says its 49K members at GM plants will go on strike
DETROIT — Roughly 49,000 workers at General Motors plants in the United States plan to go on strike just before midnight Sunday, but talks between the United Auto Workers and the automaker will resume. About 200 plant-level union leaders voted unanimously in favor of a walkout during a meeting Sunday...
U.S. retail sales rise moderately as auto buying jumps
WASHINGTON — U.S. retail sales rose moderately in August, driven higher by a jump in auto buying and healthy online sales, evidence that consumers are still spending enough to support growth. The Commerce Department said Friday that retail sales increased 0.4% last month, down from a strong 0.8% in July....
U.S., China exchange goodwill gesture ahead of trade talks
WASHINGTON — The United States and China traded conciliatory gestures, raising hopes they can de-escalate a standoff over trade that has shaken financial markets and cast gloom over the global economy. In Beijing, China’s Commerce Ministry said Thursday that Chinese importers are asking U.S. suppliers for prices of soybeans, pork...
U.S. consumer prices up slight 0.1% in August
WASHINGTON (AP) — Consumer prices slowed in August, rising by a slight 0.1%, reflecting a big drop in the cost of gasoline and other energy products. The tiny increase in the consumer price index followed a much bigger 0.3% rise in July which had been driven by a jump in...
