Wire stories category, Page 58
Prince Harry, Meghan express ‘concerns’ over covid-19 misinformation on Spotify
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have “concerns” about how Spotify has allowed and promoted the spread of covid-19 misinformation on its platform. Prince Harry and Meghan, who inked an exclusive multiyear partnership with the service in December 2020, said Sunday that they are pressing Spotify to take more care...
Economy grew 5.7% in 2021 in rebound from 2020 recessionVideo
WASHINGTON — The U.S. economy grew last year at the fastest pace since Ronald Reagan’s presidency, bouncing back with resilience from 2020’s brief but devastating coronavirus recession. The nation’s gross domestic product — its total output of goods and services — expanded 5.7% in 2021. It was the strongest calendar-year...
Hot streak: Nevada casinos win record $13.4 billion in 2021
LAS VEGAS — Nevada casinos continued a hot streak in December, tallying a 10th straight month of $1 billion or more in house winnings and propelling end-of-year figures to a record $13.4 billion. A Nevada Gaming Control Board report released Thursday provided more evidence that gambling recovered last year after...
Stocks fall, yields rise after Fed signals rate hike ‘soon’
An early rally on Wall Street gave way to a broad slide for stocks and a surge in bond yields Wednesday after the Federal Reserve signaled it plans to begin raising interest rates “soon” to fight a spike in inflation that the central bank says is probably getting worse. The...
Traded cryptocurrency in 2021? Here’s how to approach taxes
Professionals have a major piece of advice for those who traded cryptocurrency for the first time last year: Take your tax prep seriously. The IRS has been zooming in on cryptocurrency reporting with increasing interest in recent years. And the last thing you want is to lose money and time...
Microsoft profits up 21%, giving cushion for gaming push
REDMOND, Wash. — Demand for Microsoft’s cloud-computing services and work software helped boost its quarterly profits by 21% as the pandemic continued to keep many office workers at home. The Redmond, Wash., company on Tuesday reported fiscal second-quarter profit of $18.8 billion. It posted revenue of $51.7 billion for the...
Stocks end lower on Wall Street after another volatile day
Another volatile bout of trading on Wall Street ended with a broad pullback for stocks Tuesday, as investors grapple with economic red flags and uncertainty over how aggressive the Federal Reserve will be in fighting rising inflation. Stock indexes fell sharply to start the day, then came well off their...
Biscuit World workers say no to 1st West Virginia fast-food union
CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Workers at a West Virginia franchise of a regional fast-food restaurant on Tuesday rejected efforts to form a union that would have been the first its kind in the state. Immediately after the vote, union organizers announced that they had filed unfair labor practice charges against the...
U.S. warns that chip shortage could shut down factories
The U.S. supply of computer chips has fallen to alarmingly low levels, raising the prospect of factory shutdowns, the Commerce Department reported Tuesday. Companies that use semiconductors are down to less than five days of inventory — a sharp drop from 40 days in 2019, according to a department survey...
Walmart invests in indoor vertical farming startup Plenty
Walmart said Tuesday it has taken a stake in agriculture startup Plenty, becoming the first large U.S. retailer to significantly invest in indoor vertical farming as a way to deliver fresher produce to its stores. Vertical farmers tout their high-quality produce that brings higher yields while using less water and...
Stocks extend losses for 3rd week; Netflix plunges
Stocks capped another day of losses on Wall Street Friday with the worst weekly drop for the S&P 500 since the start of the pandemic. Stocks have been falling amid concerns about rising inflation and the Federal Reserve’s plan to raise interest rates from historic lows to try and curtail...
Mars gives M&M’s a makeover to promote inclusivity
Candy maker Mars is giving a makeover to its six M&M’s characters as a way to promote inclusivity. The company said that it will provide a modern take on the appearances of the characters — which Mars calls “lentils” — and give them more nuanced personalities. The lentils, which are...
McDonald’s expanding test of McPlant in U.S. stores
McDonald’s is expanding sales of its meatless McPlant burger to hundreds of locations. The company said the McPlant —— which it co-developed with plant-based protein company Beyond Meat —— will be sold at 600 stores in the San Francisco and Dallas areas starting Feb. 14. It’s a major expansion for...
American Airlines reports $2 billion in losses for 2021 as omicron weighs on near future
American Airlines lost $931 million in the fourth quarter to finish a 2021 year that was as much about surviving the covid-19 and its variants as it was about recovering from the devastating pandemic, the company reported Thursday morning. American’s losses totaled $2 billion for the full 2021, a vast...
Rapid rise in mortgage rates startles homebuyers; blame inflation fears
All the big unknowns surrounding the rapid jump in inflation — including how high consumer prices will go and how quickly the Fed will raise interest rates — have put the mortgage market on high alert in early 2022. “Rates have gone up rather quickly and there’s still a little...
Starbucks nixes vaccine mandate after Supreme Court ruling
Starbucks is no longer requiring its U.S. workers to be vaccinated against covid-19, reversing a plan it announced earlier this month. In a memo sent Tuesday to employees, the Seattle coffee giant said it was responding to last week’s ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court. In a 6-3 vote, the...
Construction to begin soon on new U.S. offshore wind farm
Construction will soon begin on the second commercial-scale, offshore wind energy project to gain approval in the United States, the developers said. The U.S. Department of the Interior approved it in November, and the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management issued its approval letter for the constructions and operations plan Tuesday,...
Is the allure of cryptocurrency fading?
Bitcoin dropped to a three-month low recently and its movement has closely mirrored financial markets in its decline. Bitcoin bulls often describe it as an asset that is uncorrelated to traditional financial markets, CNBC reported, however experts have noticed growing parallels in the price movements of bitcoin and stocks. It...
Major airlines cancel, change flights to U.S. over 5G dispute
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Major international airlines canceled flights heading to the U.S. or changed the planes they’re using Wednesday, the latest complication in a dispute over concerns that 5G mobile phone service could interfere with aircraft technology. Some airlines said they were warned that the Boeing 777, a...
Technology, bank stocks drag Wall Street to new low for 2022
Technology companies led a broad sell-off Tuesday on Wall Street as bond yields surged amid renewed jitters that the Federal Reserve will act more aggressively than expected to tackle rising inflation. The S&P 500 fell 1.8%, with about 90% of the stocks in the benchmark index closing in the red....
Cracker Barrel ordered to pay man $9.4 million; served him cleaning chemical instead of water
Cracker Barrel has to cough up a pretty penny after a Tennessee jury ordered the “Old Country Store” to pay a man $9.4 million after serving him a cleaning chemical instead of water, CNN reports. Though, the amount might be capped because of Tennessee’s law on civil damages. William Cronnon’s...
AT&T, Verizon pause some new 5G after airlines raise alarmVideo
AT&T and Verizon will delay launching new wireless service near key airports after the nation’s largest airlines said the service would interfere with aircraft technology and cause massive flight disruptions. The decision from the telecommunication companies arrived Tuesday as the Biden administration tried to broker a settlement between the telecom...
Monster Energy buys Oskar Blues, other CANarchy brands for $330M
Corona-based Monster Beverage Corp., maker of Monster Energy drink, is acquiring Colorado’s Oskar Blues Brewery and several other brewing brands, as it makes its first foray into the alcoholic beverage space. According to an announcement Thursday, Monster has agreed to buy CANarchy Brewery Collective, which includes Oskar Blues, Florida’s Cigar...
Navient settles predatory student loan claims for $1.85B
BOSTON — Navient, a major student loan collecting company, agreed to cancel $1.7 billion in debt owed by more than 66,000 borrowers across the U.S. and pay over $140 million in other penalties to settle allegations of abusive lending practices. The $1.85 billion deal with 39 state attorneys general was...
Tax refunds could be delayed this year because of pandemic and budget issues, treasury officials say
Officials from the Treasury Department announced the Internal Revenue Service would face major challenges, leading to frustrations from both taxpayers and tax preparers. Tax refunds might be delayed as a result of budget cuts to the IRS, the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, and ongoing stimulus-related workload issues, The Washington Post reports....
