Wire stories category, Page 19
Small, well-built Chinese EV called the Seagull poses a big threat to the U.S. auto industry
LIVONIA, Mich. — A tiny, low-priced electric car called the Seagull has American automakers and politicians trembling. The car, launched last year by Chinese automaker BYD, sells for around $12,000 in China, but drives well and is put together with craftsmanship that rivals U.S.-made electric vehicles that cost three times...
Apple Store employees in Maryland vote to authorize a first strike over working conditions
TOWSON, Md. — Workers at the first Apple Store to unionize have now also authorized a first strike against the tech giant’s retail operations. Apple Store workers in Towson, Maryland, voted late Saturday to authorize a strike, according to a statement from the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers’...
Federal judge temporarily halts Biden plan to lower credit card late fees to $8
LOS ANGELES — A federal judge in Texas temporarily halted a plan by the Biden administration to lower late fees on credit cards to $8 that was slated to go into effect next week. The temporary nationwide injunction imposed by Judge Mark Pittman in the Northern District of Texas is...
Target to reduce number of stores carrying Pride-themed merchandise after last year’s backlash
NEW YORK — Target confirmed Friday that it won’t carry Pride Month merchandise at all stories this spring after the discount retailer experienced backlash and lower sales over its collection honoring LGBTQ+ communities. Target, which operates roughly 2,000 stores, said decisions about where to stock Pride-themed products, including adult apparel,...
With production of the Chevy Malibu ending, long era ends for ol’ Detroit sedans
DETROIT — In another case of Detroit automakers surrendering car sales to foreign competition, General Motors Co. this fall will retire its last mainstream gas-powered sedan when production of the Chevrolet Malibu ends after nine generations. The Detroit automaker confirmed Wednesday it will stop producing the mid-size sedan in November...
TikTok sues U.S. government, saying ban violates 1st Amendment
TikTok, the popular social video app, sued the U.S. government on Tuesday, saying the country’s new law that could ban the app violates First Amendment rights to free speech. President Biden last month signed into law a bill that would effectively ban the service in the U.S. if its Chinese...
Medicare and Social Security go-broke dates are pushed back in a ‘measure of good news’
WASHINGTON — The go-broke dates for Medicare and Social Security have been pushed back as an improving economy has contributed to changed projected depletion dates, according to the annual Social Security and Medicare trustees report Monday. Still, officials warn that policy changes are needed lest the programs become unable to...
Walmart recalls more than 8 tons of ground beef over E. coli fears
Food manufacturing giant Cargill has recalled more than eight tons of ground beef sold at Walmart stores over potential E. coli contamination. The manufacturer this week recalled ” approximately 16,243 pounds of raw ground beef products that may be contaminated with E. coli O157:H7,” according to a media release from...
The Fed indicated rates will remain higher for longer. What does that mean for you?
NEW YORK — Mortgage rates, credit card rates, auto loan rates, and business loans with variable rates will all likely maintain their highs, with consequences for consumer spending, after the Federal Reserve indicated Wednesday that it doesn’t plan to cut interest rates until it has “greater confidence” that price increases...
Federal Reserve says interest rates will stay at 2-decade high until inflation further coolsVideo
WASHINGTON — The Federal Reserve on Wednesday emphasized that inflation has remained stubbornly high in recent months and said it doesn’t plan to cut interest rates until it has “greater confidence” that price increases are slowing sustainably to its 2% target. The Fed issued its decision in a statement after...
Wall Street holds steady after the Federal Reserve says it will keep rates high
NEW YORK — U.S. stocks are holding relatively steady after the Federal Reserve said Wednesday it would keep its main interest rate at the highest level since 2001, just as markets expected. The S&P 500 was down 0.1% in afternoon trading, roughly where it was before the Fed’s announcement. The...
Workers, activists around the world hold May Day rallies urging greater rights, more pay
ISTANBUL — Workers, activists and others around the world took to the streets on Wednesday to mark May Day with protests over the pressure of rising prices and calls for greater labor rights. Pro-Palestinian sentiments were also on display. Police in Istanbul used tear gas and fired rubber bullets to...
Walmart launches store-label food brand as it seeks to appeal to younger shoppers
NEW YORK — Walmart is launching the U.S. retailer’s biggest store-label food brand in 20 years in terms of the breadth of items, seeking to appeal to younger customers who are not loyal to grocery brands and want chef-inspired foods that are more affordably priced. The brand, called Bettergoods, is...
Lawmakers, advocates make last-ditch push to extend affordable internet subsidy
WASHINGTON — Twenty-three million families in the United States will have bigger internet bills starting in May. That’s because a federal broadband subsidy program they’re enrolled in is nearly out of money. Dozens of people joined Biden administration officials, advocates and U.S. Sen. Peter Welch, a Democrat from Vermont, at...
Williams-Sonoma must pay almost $3.2 million for violating FTC’s ‘Made in USA’ order
NEW YORK — Home products retailer Williams-Sonoma will have to pay almost $3.2 million for violating a Federal Trade Commission “Made in USA” order. Williams-Sonoma was charged with advertising multiple products as being “Made in USA” when they were in fact manufactured in other countries, including China. That violated a...
U.S. growth slowed sharply last quarter to 1.6% pace, reflecting an economy pressured by high rates
WASHINGTON — The nation’s economy slowed sharply last quarter to a 1.6% annual pace in the face of high interest rates, but consumers — the main driver of economic growth — kept spending at a solid pace. The report Thursday from the Commerce Department said the gross domestic product —...
Strict new EPA rules would force coal-fired power plants to capture emissions or shut down
WASHINGTON — Coal-fired power plants would be forced to capture smokestack emissions or shut down under a rule issued Thursday by the Environmental Protection Agency. New limits on greenhouse gas emissions from fossil fuel-fired electric plants are the Biden administration’s most ambitious effort yet to roll back planet-warming pollution from...
Stock market today: Tesla cruises higher as most of Wall Street drifts in mixed trading
NEW YORK — U.S. stocks drifted to a mixed finish Wednesday as Wall Street’s momentum eased following some sharp swerves. The S&P 500 was virtually flat and edged up by 1.08, or less than 0.1%, to 5,071.63. It had jumped sharply in the first two days of the week to...
Biden adminstration finalizes rule to grant overtime for millions more salaried workers
NEW YORK — The Biden administration has finalized a new rule set to make millions of more salaried workers eligible for overtime pay in the U.S. The move marks the largest expansion in federal overtime eligibility seen in decades. Starting July 1, employers will be required pay overtime to salaried...
New FTC rule would bar ‘noncompete’ agreements for most employees
WASHINGTON — U.S. companies would no longer be able to bar employees from taking jobs with competitors under a rule approved by a federal agency Tuesday, though the rule is sure to be challenged in court. The Federal Trade Commission voted Tuesday 3-2 to ban measures known as noncompete agreements,...
Trump called this visa ‘very bad’ for Americans. Truth Social applied for one
MIAMI — The social media company founded by former President Donald Trump applied for a business visa program that he sought to restrict during his administration and which many of his allies want him to curtail in a potential second term. Trump Media & Technology Group, the company behind Truth...
FTC sues to block $8.5 billion merger of Coach, Michael Kors parent companies
The U.S. Federal Trade Commission sued to stop Tapestry Inc.’s $8.5 billion takeover of rival Capri Holdings Ltd., marking the first time the Biden administration has used its aggressive antitrust enforcement to try to stop a deal in the fashion accessories sector. Antitrust enforcers said Tapestry’s acquisition of Capri would...
Tennessee’s GOP governor says Volkswagen plant workers made a mistake in union vote
GALLATIN, Tenn. — Tennessee Republican Gov. Bill Lee said Monday that he thinks workers at a Volkswagen plant in Chattanooga made a mistake by voting to unionize under the United Auto Workers in a landslide election but acknowledged the choice was ultimately up to them. Ahead of the vote, Lee...
Express files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, announces store closures
NEW YORK — Express Inc — once a trendsetter of casual office attire that has struggled to compete with the likes of Zara and H&M — has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. The retailer based in Columbus, Ohio, and founded in 1980 also said Monday it is seeking to...
Tesla cuts the price of its Full Self Driving system by a third to $8,000
NEW YORK — Tesla knocked roughly a third off the price of its Full Self Driving system — which can’t drive itself and so drivers must remain alert and be ready to intervene — to $8,000 from $12,000, according to the company website. Tesla CEO and billionaire Elon Musk promised...
