Wire stories category, Page 35
UBS confident about Credit Suisse deal despite ‘huge’ risk
GENEVA — The UBS chairman voiced confidence Wednesday that the Swiss bank will succeed in a government-engineered takeover of hobbled rival Credit Suisse, pledging the deal will reduce costs, benefit shareholders and buttress Swiss finance despite “huge” risks in knitting the global lenders together. Speaking to UBS shareholders, Colm Kelleher...
Robotaxis aim to take San Francisco on ride into the future
SAN FRANCISCO — Two trailblazing ride-hailing services are heading toward uncharted territory as they seek regulatory approval to transport passengers around the clock throughout one of the most densely populated U.S. cities in vehicles that will have no one sitting in the driver’s seat. If Cruise, a subsidiary of General...
Student aid startup founder arrested on fraud charges
NEW YORK — The founder of Frank, a student loan assistance startup company that J.P. Morgan Chase acquired for $175 million two years ago, has been arrested on charges that she duped the financial giant by dramatically inflating the number of customers her company had, authorities said Tuesday. Charlie Javice,...
Officials reach deal to restart northern Iraq oil exports
BAGHDAD — Iraq’s central government and officials from the semi-autonomous Kurdish region reached a deal Tuesday to resume oil exports from northern Iraq via a pipeline to Turkey. Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani and Masrour Barzani, prime minister of the semi-autonomous Kurdish region, announced the deal at a press...
Biden offers $450M for clean energy projects at coal mines
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden’s administration is making $450 million available for solar farms and other clean energy projects across the country at the site of current or former coal mines, part of his efforts to combat climate change. As many as five projects nationwide will be funded through the...
TikTok fined $15.9M by U.K. watchdog over misuse of kids’ data
LONDON — Britain’s privacy watchdog hit TikTok with a multimillion-dollar penalty Tuesday for misusing children’s data and violating other protections for users’ personal information. The Information Commissioner’s Office said it issued a fine of 12.7 million pounds ($15.9 million) to the short-video sharing app, which is wildly popular with young...
Stocks end mixed as jump in oil prices fans inflation fearsVideo
NEW YORK — Stock markets around the world were mixed Monday, as a jump in oil prices threatens to add upward pressure on inflation. The S&P 500 gained 15.20 points, or 0.4%, to 4,124.51, though more stocks in the index fell than rose. The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 327.00,...
McDonald’s temporarily closes U.S. offices ahead of layoffsVideo
McDonald’s has closed its U.S. offices through Wednesday and told its corporate staff to work remotely as it prepares to announce a round of layoffs. In a memo to workers posted on the website TheLayoff.com, the Chicago-based burger giant said it wanted to “ensure the comfort and confidentiality of our...
UFC, WWE combine to form $21.4B sports entertainment company
WWE is saying goodbye to existing as a family-run business as it joins with the company that runs Ultimate Fighting Championship to create a $21.4 billion sports entertainment company. The deal announced Monday between Endeavor and World Wrestling Entertainment, on the heels of its biggest event of the year, catapults...
Tesla sales rise 36% in first quarter, following price cuts
DETROIT — Tesla’s first-quarter vehicle sales rose 36% after the company cut prices twice in a bid to stimulate demand. The electric car, SUV and heavy truck maker said it delivered 422,875 vehicles worldwide from January to March, up from just over 310,000 a year ago. But the increase fell...
Saudis, other oil giants announce surprise production cuts
Saudi Arabia and other major oil producers on Sunday announced surprise cuts totaling 1.15 million barrels per day from May until the end of the year, a move that could raise prices worldwide. Higher oil prices would help fill Russian President Vladimir Putin’s coffers as his country wages war on...
Twitter pulls check mark from main New York Times account
Twitter has removed the verification check mark on the main account of The New York Times, one of CEO Elon Musk’s most despised news organizations. The removal comes as many of Twitter’s high-profile users are bracing for the loss of the blue check marks that helped verify their identity and...
Richard Branson’s Virgin Orbit slashing 85% of its workforce
Richard Branson’s Virgin Orbit is letting go of almost its entire work force with the satellite launch company finding it difficult to secure funding three months after a failed mission. The company, headquartered in Long Beach, California, will cut 675 jobs, about 85% of its workforce, according to a Friday...
Biden calls to revive bank regulations that Trump weakened
WASHINGTON — Weeks after the failure of two banks, President Joe Biden called Thursday for independent regulatory agencies to impose tighter rules on the financial system, telling them that they can act under current law without additional steps taken by Congress. The public push is part of a larger effort...
Inflation is declining, but health premiums and medical costs are heading higher
WASHINGTON — During the pandemic, health care costs — usually a main driver of U.S. inflation — remained surprisingly stable, rising just about 2% annually even as prices for many goods and services soared more than three or four times that rate. But signs are emerging that medical inflation is...
Starbucks’ CEO Howard Schultz defends union stance before SenateVideo
Longtime Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz insisted the coffee chain hasn’t broken labor laws and is willing to bargain with unionized workers during an often testy, two-hour appearance before the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee. But he also was firm in his stance that the Seattle coffee giant already...
Should U.S. airlines pay passengers for delays like the EU?
Southwest Airlines spent the early part of 2023 trying to make good after a historic meltdown resulted in more than 16,700 canceled flights during the 2022 holidays. The airline reimbursed passengers for the cost of alternative travel arrangements and sent many travelers additional loyalty points. Southwest wasn’t legally required to....
Consumers more hopeful about the outlook for the economy, jobsVideo
Consumer confidence unexpectedly improved in March as Americans grew more optimistic about the outlook for business conditions and the labor market. The Conference Board’s index increased to 104.2 from a 103.4 reading in February, data out Tuesday showed. The median forecast in a Bloomberg survey of economists called for the...
U.S. renewable electricity surpassed coal in 2022
Electricity generated from renewables surpassed coal in the United States for the first time in 2022, the U.S. Energy Information Administration announced Monday. Renewables also surpassed nuclear generation in 2022 after first doing so last year. Growth in wind and solar significantly drove the increase in renewable energy and contributed...
U.S. opens investigation into Tesla seat belts coming loose
DETROIT — U.S. highway safety regulators have opened yet another investigation into problems with Teslas, this time tied to complaints that the seat belts may not hold people in a crash. The investigation by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration covers an estimated 50,000 Model X SUVs from the 2022...
Chipotle agrees to pay after closing store that sought union
PORTLAND, Maine — Chipotle Mexican Grill has agreed to pay $240,000 to former employees as part of a settlement stemming from a complaint that the company violated federal law by closing a restaurant where workers wanted to unionize. Chipotle announced it was permanently closing its Augusta, Maine, location last year...
Twitter celebs balk at paying Elon Musk for blue check mark
William Shatner, Monica Lewinsky and other prolific Twitter commentators — some household names, others little-known journalists — could soon be losing the blue check marks that helped verify their identity on the social media platform. They could get the marks back by paying up to $11 a month. But some...
Twitter: Parts of its source code leaked online
NEW YORK — Some parts of Twitter’s source code — the fundamental computer code on which the social network runs — were leaked online, the social media company said in a legal filing on Sunday. According to the legal document, filed with the U.S. District Court of the Northern District...
New Starbucks CEO plans to work in stores monthly
Starbucks’ new CEO Laxman Narasimhan says he plans to work a half-day shift once a month in one of the company’s stores in an effort to stay close to the company’s culture and customers. Narasimhan, who took the reins as CEO earlier this week, said in a letter to Starbucks’...
Wall Street quiet ahead of Fed rate hike decision
Wall Street quietly drifted between small gains and losses early Wednesday ahead of a closely-watched decision by the Federal Reserve on whether to raise interest rates in the midst of a global banking crisis. Futures for the Dow Jones Industrials inched less than 0.1% higher, while futures for the S&P...
