Wire stories category, Page 69
Amazon begins new chapter as Jeff Bezos hands over CEO role
NEW YORK — Amazon founder Jeff Bezos stepped down as CEO on Monday, handing over the reins as the company navigates the challenges of a world fighting to emerge from the coronavirus pandemic. Andy Jassy, who ran Amazon’s cloud-computing business, replaced Bezos, a change the company announced in February. Bezos,...
Richard Branson plans 1st space trip days before Jeff Bezos blasts off
Richard Branson plans to fly to space on July 11, days before a similar journey by fellow billionaire Jeff Bezos. The shares of Branson’s Virgin Galactic Holdings Inc. surged. The VSS Unity spacecraft will also carry three Virgin Galactic employees and two pilots from the launch site in New Mexico,...
Stocks climb on Wall Street following encouraging jobs data
NEW YORK — Stock indexes are ticking higher on Wall Street Friday after a report showed the nation’s job market was even stronger last month than expected. The S&P 500 was up 0.3% in morning trading and on pace for its seventh straight gain, though slightly more stocks were falling...
Wall Street hits another record; energy stocks, banks gain
Stocks finished broadly higher Thursday on Wall Street, adding to the gains that helped the market close out its best first half of a year since the dotcom bubble. The S&P 500 rose 0.5%, marking its sixth straight gain and fourth consecutive record high. The price of U.S. crude oil...
CBO projects federal deficit will hit $3 trillion this year
The Congressional Budget Office says that the federal budget deficit will again hit $3 trillion this year, $745 billion more than its estimate five months ago, as it takes into account the cost of President Joe Biden’s $1.9 trillion coronavirus rescue plan. In an updated forecast Thursday, the CBO said...
Construction spending fell 0.3% in May, housing slowing
WASHINGTON — Construction spending fell 0.3% in May. Growth in housing, the economy’s standout performer, slowed while activity in areas most directly impacted by the pandemic showed further weakness. The Commerce Department reported Thursday that the May decline followed a slight 0.1% rise in April and left overall construction spending...
Judge dismisses government antitrust lawsuits against Facebook
WASHINGTON — A federal judge on Monday dismissed antitrust lawsuits brought against Facebook by the Federal Trade Commission and a coalition of state attorneys general, dealing a significant blow to attempts by regulators to rein in tech giants. U.S. District Judge James Boasberg ruled Monday that the lawsuits were “legally...
Juul to pay $40 million in North Carolina teen vaping suit settlement
DURHAM N.C. — Electronic cigarette giant Juul Labs Inc. will pay $40 million to North Carolina and take more action to prevent underage use and sales, according to a landmark legal settlement announced on Monday after years of accusations that the company had fueled an explosion in teen vaping. A...
Widow says antivirus software pioneer John McAfee was not suicidal
SANT ESTEVE SESROVIRES, Spain — The widow of John McAfee, the British-American tycoon who died in a Spanish prison this week while awaiting extradition to the United States, said Friday that her husband was not suicidal when she last spoke to him hours before he was found dead. Authorities in...
Stocks add to weekly gains, helped by infrastructure dealVideo
Stocks closed higher Thursday on Wall Street as traders were encouraged to see a bipartisan deal on infrastructure spending as well as some positive reports on the economy. The S&P 500 marked another record high, beating the peak it set early last week. Stocks added to their gains in the...
Boom in Native American oil complicates Biden climate push
NEW TOWN, N.D. — On oil well pads carved from the wheat fields around Lake Sakakawea, hundreds of pump jacks slowly bob to extract 100 million barrels of crude annually from a reservation shared by three Native American tribes. About half their 16,000 members live on the Fort Berthold Indian...
BuzzFeed to become a publicly traded company
NEW YORK — Digital media company BuzzFeed is setting its sights on growth. It plans to become a publicly traded company with an implied value of $1.5 billion through a merger with a special purpose acquisition company. BuzzFeed hopes the move will put it in a better position to capture...
Stocks end listless day on Wall Street mixed as calm returns
A listless day on Wall Street ended with indexes mixed on Wednesday, as nervousness continues to wash out of the market following last week’s jolt by the Federal Reserve. The S&P 500 slipped 4.60 points, or 0.1%, to 4,241.84 after earlier meandering between very modest gains and losses. It’s 0.3%...
As passengers return to air travel, bad behavior skyrockets
Air travel can be difficult in the best of times, with cramped planes, screaming babies, flight delays and short tempers. Throw in a pandemic, and the anxiety level can rise quickly. That has led to confrontations with flight attendants and other unruly behavior, including occasional fights that get captured and...
Wall Street rises, pushing S&P 500 back near record high
Stocks rose Tuesday on Wall Street, nudging the S&P 500 toward its record high, as the head of the Federal Reserve said again that inflation looks to be only a temporary problem for the economy and markets. The S&P 500 climbed 21.65, or 0.5%, to 4,246.44 after Fed Chair Jerome...
Wall Street snaps back following worst week since February
NEW YORK — Stocks rebounded Monday on Wall Street, clawing back most of their sharp loss from last week, as the initial jolt passes from the Federal Reserve’s reminder that it will eventually offer less help for markets. The S&P 500 snapped 58.34 points higher, or 1.4%, to 4,224.79 and...
American Airlines flight cancellations set to continue Monday
The series of flight cancellations from American Airlines this weekend will continue to plague travelers on Monday. Almost 100 flights from the airline have already been canceled for June 21, according to a representative from American Airlines Group Inc. That’s following 123 flights canceled on Saturday and at least 178...
Hit by a ransomware attack? Your payment may be deductible
As ransomware attacks surge, the FBI is doubling down on its guidance to affected businesses: Don’t pay the cybercriminals. But the U.S. government also offers a little-noticed incentive for those who do pay: The ransoms may be tax deductible. The IRS offers no formal guidance on ransomware payments, but multiple...
Appeals court upholds FCC subsidy ban for Huawei purchases
NEW ORLEANS — A federal appeals court refused Friday to hear Chinese tech giant Huawei’s request to throw out a rule used to bar rural phone carriers on national security grounds from using government funds to purchase its equipment. The 5th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the Federal Communications...
Tight U.S. housing market uncoils with sellers ready to cash out
Prospective home sellers who sat tight as U.S. prices climbed higher and faster than ever during the pandemic are finally emerging to cash out, a step toward easing a dire shortage in the frenzied housing market. The number of U.S. homes for sale climbed 6.7% in early June from the...
U.S. stocks lower after Fed official sees rate hikes in 2022
Stocks were broadly lower Friday after a Federal Reserve official said that the nation’s central bank might need to raise interest rates as early as next year, sooner than the Fed’s latest estimate of possible rate increases in 2023. The S&P 500 index fell 0.9% as of 9:50 a.m. Eastern....
Most stocks fall, tech holds up as markets digest Fed moves
NEW YORK — The S&P 500 ended Thursday barely changed after stocks sloshed around in mixed trading, as investors make preparations for a future where the Federal Reserve is no longer doing everything it can to keep interest rates super low. Markets around the world were mixed but mostly calm...
Scotch whisky makers welcome suspension of costly U.S. tariffs
LONDON — Scotch single malt whisky makers breathed a sigh of relief Thursday after the United States agreed to suspend tariffs on one of Scotland’s main exports following the resolution of a long-standing trade row between the U.S. and the EU over subsidies to aircraft companies Boeing and Airbus. President...
U.S. jobless claims tick up to 412,000 from a pandemic low
WASHINGTON — The number of Americans applying for unemployment benefits rose last week for the first time since April despite widespread evidence that the economy and the job market are rebounding steadily from the pandemic recession. The Labor Department said Thursday that jobless claims rose 37,000 from the week before...
Fed sees faster time frame for rate hikes as inflation risesVideo
WASHINGTON — The Federal Reserve signaled Wednesday that it may act sooner than previously planned to start dialing back the low-interest rate policies that have helped fuel a swift rebound from the pandemic recession but have also coincided with rising inflation. The Fed’s policymakers forecast that they would raise their...
