Wire stories category, Page 32
California employees share what a 4-day work is really like
OAKLAND, California — It’s after noon on a recent Wednesday, and the kitchen and patio at ThredUp’s Oakland headquarters are packed. Employees are eating lunch and chatting around a long table in the kitchen. Smaller groups are clustered outside and enjoying a sunny spring day after weeks of rain. But...
TikTok files lawsuit to overturn Montana’s 1st-in-nation ban on the video sharing app
HELENA, Mont. — Social media company TikTok Inc. filed a lawsuit Monday seeking to overturn Montana’s first-in-the-nation ban on the video sharing app, arguing the law is an unconstitutional violation of free speech rights and is based on “unfounded speculation” that the Chinese government could access users’ data. The lawsuit...
Venmo to be officially available for teenagers
NEW YORK — Teenagers will officially be allowed to open a Venmo account with their parent’s permission, the company said Monday, expanding the popular social payments app to a age demographic that is likely to embrace it almost immediately. Using Venmo won’t necessarily be new to a good number of...
Disney scraps plans for $1B Florida campus as fight with DeSantis continues
LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. — The Walt Disney Co. announced Thursday that it was scrapping plans to build a new campus in central Florida and relocate 2,000 employees from Southern California to work in digital technology, finance and product development. The decision follows a year of attacks from Gov. Ron...
Sam Zell, billionaire real estate investor, dies
Sam Zell, a Chicago real estate magnate who earned a multibillion-dollar fortune and a reputation as “the grave dancer” for his ability to revive moribund properties died on Thursday. He was 81. Zell died at home due to complications from a recent illness, according to Equity Group Investments, a company...
EPA rule would force clean-up of toxic coal ash dumped in landfills, ponds near power plants
WASHINGTON — The Environmental Protection Agency is strengthening a rule aimed at controlling and cleaning up toxic waste from coal-fired power plants. A proposal announced Wednesday would for the first time require safe management of so-called coal ash dumped in hundreds of older landfills, “legacy” ponds and other inactive sites...
5 tips to tackle a home remodel in an uncertain economy
Spring is kickoff season for many kitchen remodels, bathroom updates and deck repairs, but recent economic turmoil may have homeowners questioning their home improvement plans. Spending on home renovations is expected to slow this year because of factors such as declining home sales and values, rising interest rates , continuing...
Musk says he’s not stepping down as Tesla CEO
Elon Musk on Tuesday dismissed speculation that he might step down as Tesla’s CEO and told the company’s annual shareholders meeting that the electric car and solar panel company would start doing some advertising. “Say it ain’t so,” one shareholder asked Musk about stepping down as Tesla’s leader. “It ain’t...
Ford recalls 310,000 trucks to fix problem with airbags
DETROIT — Ford is recalling more than 310,000 trucks in the U.S. because the driver’s front air bag may not inflate in a crash. The recall covers certain F-250, F-350, F-450, and F-550 Super Duty trucks from the 2016 model year. The company says dust can accumulate in a cable...
IRS moves forward with free e-filing system in pilot program to launch in 2024
NEW YORK — Most taxpayers are interested in filing their taxes directly to the IRS for free, a new report says, and that option will be tested next year. The IRS has spent the past nine months studying whether U.S. taxpayers want to see a free, e-filing system run by...
‘Taco Tuesday’ trademark tiff flares anew between fast food competitors
CHEYENNE, Wyo. — Declaring a mission to liberate “Taco Tuesday” for all, Taco Bell is asking U.S. regulators to force Wyoming-based Taco John’s to abandon its longstanding claim to the trademark. Too many businesses and others refer to “Taco Tuesday” for Taco John’s to be able to have exclusive rights...
Mountain Valley Pipeline gets new permit to build in Appalachian national forest
CHARLESTON, W.Va. — A controversial and long-delayed natural gas pipeline got the green light for construction on national forest land in Virginia and West Virginia after the U.S. Forest Service reissued its approval for a permit, despite past federal appeals court rulings determining developers had “inadequately considered” the project’s environmental...
Federal Appeals Court says Elon Musk must abide by SEC settlement
NEW YORK — Elon Musk cannot back out of a settlement with securities regulators that was reached after his 2018 tweets claiming he had secured funding to take Tesla private caused the electric vehicle maker’s share price to jump and led to a temporary halt in trading, an appeals court...
Wall Street slips as households get more nervous
NEW YORK — Stocks are slipping Friday as a listless week on Wall Street appears to be heading toward a quiet close, even as big worries continue to roil under the surface. The S&P 500 was edging 0.2% lower and on pace for a sixth straight week where it moved...
Average long-term mortgage rate falls to 6.35% this week, lowest level in 5 weeks
LOS ANGELES — The average rate on a long-term U.S. home loan is down to the lowest level in five weeks, welcome news for house hunters facing a market constrained by persistently high prices and a near-historic low number of homes for sale. Mortgage buyer Freddie Mac said Thursday that...
Peloton recalling more than 2 million exercise bikes. Here’s why:
Peloton is recalling more than 2 million of its exercise bikes because the bike’s seat post assembly can break during use, posing fall and injury hazards. The recall includes about 2.2 million of the Peloton Bikes Model PL01. The bikes were sold from January 2018 through May 2023 for about...
Fed’s Tom Barkin: Inflation still ‘stubbornly high’ and isn’t easing fast enough toward 2% targetVideo
Inflation remains “stubbornly high” and is no longer making much progress toward the Federal Reserve’s 2% target, a top Fed official said Wednesday, hours after price data for April were released. In an interview, Tom Barkin, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond, said he is also seeing some...
Goldman to pay $215 million to end case on underpaying women
Goldman Sachs Group Inc. has agreed to pay $215 million to put an end to a long-running class-action lawsuit that accused the Wall Street giant of systemically underpaying women. The New York-based bank struck the deal with lawyers representing about 2,800 female associates and vice-presidents, according to a joint statement...
Wendy’s turns to AI-powered chatbots for drive-thru orders
Wendy’s will begin testing an artificial intelligence-powered chatbot next month that will talk to customers and take drive-thru orders, becoming the latest fast-food chain to employ the technology. The system, powered by Google Cloud’s AI software, will be as natural as talking to an employee and has the ability to...
Millennial Money: Should I join a class-action lawsuit?
It might have happened to you a few times in past years: You received an email or mail notice inviting you to join a class-action lawsuit, or notifying you that you’ve been automatically included. But being part of such a lawsuit might be intimidating, especially if you need to opt...
Maybe investors shouldn’t worry about Buffett’s successor
OMAHA, Neb. — Many investors worry about the future of Berkshire Hathaway after its legendary CEO Warren Buffett is gone, but most of the conglomerate’s companies have already made the transition to reporting to the man who will eventually replace the 92-year-old. Buffett himself and executives at Berkshire Hathaway companies...
Fed raises key rate but hints it may pause amid bank turmoil
WASHINGTON — The Federal Reserve reinforced its fight against high inflation Wednesday by raising its key interest rate by a quarter-point to the highest level in 16 years. But the Fed also signaled that it may now pause its streak of 10 rate hikes, which have made borrowing for consumers...
U.S. job openings dip to 9.6 million, lowest since 2021
WASHINGTON — U.S. job openings fell in March to the lowest level in nearly two years, a sign that the American labor market is cooling in the face of higher interest rates. Employers posted 9.6 million vacancies in March, down from nearly 10 million in February and lowest since April...
Millennial Money: Trusts can aid those with mental illness
More than 50% of Americans will be diagnosed with a mental illness or disorder during their lifetime, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Chances are, some of these individuals will be inheriting wealth at some point. If a family member’s mental health issues may interfere with their...
Treasury’s Yellen says U.S. could default as soon as June 1
WASHINGTON — Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen notified Congress on Monday that the U.S. could default on its debt as early as June 1, if legislators do not raise or suspend the nation’s borrowing authority before then and avert what could potentially become a global financial crisis. In a letter to...
