Featured Articles in National Business News

Elon Musk’s xAI Acquires X in $33 Billion Deal, Marking a New Era for AI and Social Media Integration

In a groundbreaking move that fuses artificial intelligence with social media, Elon Musk’s xAI has acquired X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, in an all-stock deal valued at $33 billion. Announced by Musk on X late Friday, the acquisition raises xAI’s valuation to an impressive $80 billion, creating a combined entity that aims to Read More…

Nvidia Warns of Impact from U.S.-China Trade Tensions on Future Revenue

In a cautious assessment of its business in China, Nvidia executives warned during the company’s quarterly earnings call Wednesday that the ongoing U.S.-China trade conflict is hurting its revenue, with tariffs and export controls adding significant uncertainty to its outlook. CEO Jensen Huang highlighted that Nvidia’s sales in China have been slashed by half since Read More…

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Injunction sought against new law on independent contractors

(The Center Square) – Less than two months before implementation, a federal law impacting gig workers is being challenged in a Georgia court. Founders of Fight for Freelancers, a coalition of more than 2,500 independent contract workers in varying professions, seeks an injunction to prohibit enforcement of the new law announced this month by the Read More…

When can we stop worrying about rising prices? The latest inflation report offers no easy answers

When can we stop worrying about rising prices? The latest inflation report offers no easy answers D. Brian Blank, Mississippi State University and Brandy Hadley, Appalachian State University Tired of thinking about inflation’s impact on your wallet? You’re not alone. But like it or not, higher prices continue to be an economic and – with the Read More…

Energy group: Biden policies sow seeds for ‘new energy crisis’

(The Center Square) – Federal policies must focus on strengthening American energy independence, the American Petroleum Institute emphasized  Wednesday at its annual State of the American Energy conference. API CEO Mike Sommers and Senior Vice President of Policy, Economics and Regulatory Affairs Dustin Meyer blasted the Biden administration over what they called its “short-sighted” energy Read More…

GM bought out Buick dealers who opted against selling EVs

General Motors (GM) has acquired approximately half of its Buick dealerships across the United States as a result of their reluctance to promote electric vehicles (EVs) during GM’s transition to an electric future. Roughly 1,000 of GM’s 2,000 Buick dealerships opted for the voluntary buyout, which remains open for additional dealers to choose instead of Read More…

GM ends Camaro model after 57 years

According to filings with the state of Michigan, General Motors (GM) is set to initiate layoffs affecting just over 1,300 workers across two Michigan plants early next year. The larger layoff, involving 945 employees at GM’s Orion Assembly plant responsible for producing Chevrolet Bolts, is scheduled to commence on January 1. However, the company has Read More…

Gig workers are hiding in plain sight

Millions of Americans are engaged in informal gig work, a phenomenon not captured in the government’s official employment statistics, as indicated by recent research shedding light on the true extent of this type of employment. If a more accurate representation of Americans’ willingness to work is considered beyond conventional economic data, the job market may Read More…

ChatGPT and Generative AI in Payments: Reality, Hype, What’s Next, and How to Prepare

ChatGPT, a conversational AI model built by OpenAI, is the most talked-about technology of 2023. And it has caught the attention of payments services providers keen to unlock the potential of the generative AI that powers it. Generative AI is set to revolutionize various sub-verticals within the payments industry. The most significant impact is expected Read More…

Musk slashes Twitter down to about 1,000 employees: report

Two people familiar with the company told Business Insider that the headcount is “much lower” than the 1,500 employees CEO Elon Musk had told BBC News remained on staff, particularly when excluding remaining contract workers. The billionaire did not specify whether his total included such employees. The outlet said getting closer to 1,000 means Twitter’s workforce is Read More…

Fed recap: Here are Chair Powell’s market-moving comments after the latest rate hike

The major averages turned lower following Fed Chair Jerome Powell’s press conference. Investors seemed to have turned their attention to Powell’s comment that the rate-setting committee has “a view that inflation is going to come down not so quickly.”“It will take some time, and in that world, if that forecast is broadly right, it would Read More…

Woodstock for capitalists, coming May 6th

The Berkshire Hathaway annual meeting is May 6 in Omaha, Nebraska. Often referred to as Woodstock for capitalists, the meeting has become a highly anticipated event for investors, drawing thousands of attendees from around the world. At the Berkshire Hathaway annual meeting, Warren Buffett and his longtime business partner, Charlie Munger, spend several hours answering Read More…

Ford and General Motors tell car dealers to stop ripping off customers

Two major U.S. automakers are calling out car dealers for allegedly jacking up prices beyond sticker value and ripping off customers. Ford and General Motors warned dealers to stop exploiting supply chain shortages by setting prices above the manufacturers’ suggested retail prices, or MSRP. “We have very good knowledge of who they are,” Ford CEO Jim Farley said while unveiling the company’s latest quarterly Read More…

Facebook working on mysterious ‘authentic’ robot eyeball that could track where humans are looking

Facebook has patented a new technology for an “authentic” robot eye. The idea, granted in December, would let the social media company build a “high performing and realistic” eyeball that would be like an “animatronic device” to track humans’ eye movements. Tracking eye movements is used in digital ads to detect what people look at, as Read More…

As workers quit in droves, companies get creative to attract and retain employees

WASHINGTON — With workers quitting their jobs in record numbers across the United States, employers are getting creative with their offerings to attract and retain talent. Many are providing more money and benefits amid a nationwide labor shortage that has worsened supply chain shortages and hampered businesses, especially those that employ front-line workers. In Arizona, one Read More…

One-third of workers would take a pay cut to never dress for work again. Here’s how retailers are responding

This past fall, Lululemon’s design team noticed something unusual. Wall Street bros were flocking to the Brookfield Place store in the Financial District to buy the On the Move trousers, which look like chinos but are made from the same soft, stretchy, moisture-wicking material used in the brand’s activewear. That’s right: Finance execs were finally ditching their Read More…

Lucid stock tanks after being slapped with SEC subpoena over SPAC deal

Shares of Lucid Motors tanked Monday morning after the electric car maker disclosed that its been slapped with a subpoena as part of an investigation into the merger that took Lucid public earlier this year. “On December 3, 2021, [Lucid] received a subpoena from the [Securities and Exchange Commission] requesting the production of certain documents related to an Read More…

‘F—k you, dude’: Startup valued at $7B gets flak as CEO lays off hundreds over Zoom

Just days after receiving a $750 million cash infusion, a tech startup that Forbes branded in October as a “unicorn,” valued at $7 billion, laid off hundreds of employees in a manner that some online deemed “brutal.” Better.com, a digital mortgage lender with offices in Oakland, laid off 900 employees weeks before Christmas on a mass Zoom call. Only those Read More…

‘Let’s go Brandon’ cryptocurrency sees massive boom

“Let’s go Brandon” to the moon? A cryptocurrency digital coin labeled $LGB, which stands for the phrase “Let’s go Brandon,” went up 150%. The cryptocurrency is “America’s Coin,” according to its website . The digital coin is part of the mission to fight back “against the establishment, their mismanagement, and the financial fleecing of the American people,” the website Read More…

Barclays CEO Jes Staley Steps Down Amid Pressure Over Jeffrey Epstein Ties

Jes Staley stepped down as chief executive of Barclays PLC under pressure from regulators about how he characterized his relationship with the convicted sex offender and financier Jeffrey Epstein. Barclays said Mr. Staley stepped down “in view of the conclusions” made by U.K. regulators in its long-running investigation into what Mr. Staley told the bank about his Read More…

Southwest drops plan to put unvaccinated staff on unpaid leave starting in December

Southwest Airlines has scrapped a plan to put unvaccinated employees who have applied for but haven’t received a religious or medical exemption on unpaid leave starting by a federal deadline in December. Southwest Airlines and American Airlines are among the carriers that are federal contractors and subject to a Biden administration requirement that their employees are vaccinated against Covid-19 by Read More…

YouTube announces crackdown on anti-vaccine content

YouTube is cracking down on anti-vaccination content on its site, taking down several channels from high-profile anti-vaccination activists. A representative for Google, YouTube’s parent company, confirmed to the Washington Examiner that channels belonging to “well-known vaccine misinformation spreaders,” such as Joseph Mercola, the Children’s Health Defense Fund, which is affiliated with Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Erin Elizabeth, Read More…

Twitter to Pay $809.5 Million to Settle Lawsuit Alleging Jack Dorsey, Others Misled Investors

Twitter disclosed a binding agreement to settle a class-action lawsuit, under which the social network will pay $809.5 million to resolve claims it provided misleading user-engagement info to investors. The original lawsuit, filed in 2016 by a Twitter shareholder, alleged Dorsey and others including former CEO Dick Costolo and board member Evan Williams hid facts about Read More…

Paulson says cryptocurrencies will eventually be ‘worthless’

John Paulson, the hedge fund billionaire who made a fortune in 2008 when he shorted the housing bubble, said in an interview published Sunday that he believes cryptocurrencies will eventually go bust. The 65-year-old told “Bloomberg Wealth with David Rubenstein” that he wouldn’t recommend the investment to anyone. He said there is a cryptocurrency bubble that will Read More…

Reese Witherspoon’s Hello Sunshine to Be Sold to Media Company Backed by Blackstone

Reese Witherspoon’s media business, Hello Sunshine, is selling itself to a firm backed by private-equity giant Blackstone Group Inc., the companies said, part of a plan to build an independent entertainment company for Hollywood’s streaming era. The companies didn’t disclose the terms of the deal. People familiar with the matter said it values Ms. Witherspoon’s Read More…