Robots and happy workers: Productivity surge helps explain US economy’s surprising resilience
WASHINGTON — Trying to keep up with customer demand, Batesville Tool &Die began seeking 70 people to hire last year. It wasn’t easy. Attracting factory workers to a community of 7,300 in the Indiana countryside was a tough sell, especially having to compete with big-name manufacturers nearby like Honda and Cummins Engine.
Consumers are increasingly pushing back against price increases — and winning
WASHINGTON — Inflation has changed the way many Americans shop. Now, those changes in consumer habits are helping bring down inflation.
Capital One to buy Discover for $35 billion in deal that combines major US credit card companies
NEW YORK (AP) — Capital One Financial is buying Discover Financial Services for $35 billion, in a deal that would bring together two of the nation’s biggest lenders and credit card issuers.
One Tech Tip: Ready to go beyond Google? Here’s how to use new generative AI search sites
LONDON — It’s not just you. A lot people think Google searches are getting worse. And the rise of generative AI chatbots is giving people new and different ways to look up information.
Who’s behind these mysterious deliveries? California man showered with products he didn’t order
Daniel Williams, come pick up your junk.
Less is more? Consumers have fewer choices as brands prune their offerings to focus on best sellers
NEW YORK — How much choice is too much?
Japan slips into a recession and loses its spot as the world’s third-largest economy
TOKYO — Japan’s economy is now the world’s fourth-largest after it contracted in the last quarter of 2023 and fell behind Germany.
Cisco Systems to lay off more than 4,000 workers in latest sign of tighter times in tech
SAN FRANCISCO — Internet networking pioneer Cisco Systems is jettisoning more than 4,000 employees, joining the parade of technology companies in a trend that has helped boost their profits and stock prices while providing a sobering reminder of the job insecurity hanging over an industry increasingly embracing artificial intelligence.
Google rebrands its AI services as Gemini, launches new app and subscription service
SAN FRANCISCO — Google on Thursday introduced a free artificial intelligence app that will enable people to rely on technology instead of their own brains to write, interpret what they’re reading and deal with a variety of other task in their lives.
‘My Everything — Gone in a Matter of Moments’
LAHAINA, Maui — Twisted and charred aluminum mixed with shards of glass still lines the floor of the industrial warehouse where Victoria Martocci once operated her scuba diving business. After a wildfire tore through West Maui, all that remained of her 36-foot boat, the Extended Horizons II, were a pair of engines.
Inflation is nearly back to 2%. So why isn’t the Federal Reserve ready to cut rates?
WASHINGTON — From Wall Street traders to car dealers to home buyers, Americans are eager for the Federal Reserve to start cutting interest rates and lightening the heavy burden on borrowers.
Recent snowstorms may bolster California hydroelectric output this summer
All the rain that has led to swollen rivers and flooding in parts of San Diego and large portions of Southern California has coincided with multiple snowstorms that blew across the Sierra Nevada Mountains in the northern half of the state.
Nigeria mourns as authorities investigate helicopter crash that killed a major bank CEO
Nigerian leaders Sunday mourned the death of the CEO of one of the country’s largest banks after he and five others were killed Friday in a helicopter crash in Southern California’s Mojave Desert.
Anheuser-Busch stock climbs after Trump endorses Bud Light. ‘Not a Woke company’
ST. LOUIS — Anheuser-Busch InBev stock prices are inching closer to what they were last year before sales tanked, thanks at least in part to a recent endorsement by former President Donald Trump.
S&P 500 rockets from 4,000 to 5,000 with economy humming along
The S&P 500 Index finished above 5,000 for the first time ever Friday as investors continue to bet on the resilient U.S. economy and the Federal Reserve’s plans to start cutting interest rates later this year.
Europe’s farmers are struggling, but some sympathetic consumers have difficulty affording their food
BOUSSY-SAINT-ANTOINE, France — Truck driver Jeremy Donf understands French farmers are struggling and he wants to support local food producers. But like many consumers, buying French produced food isn’t always an option.
Fast trains, toxic chemicals: Why rail safety is still a problem
In the year since the derailment of a Norfolk Southern Inc. train brought national attention to US railroad safety, little has changed.
Paramount Global is for sale. Who’s buying and how did we get here?
A for-sale sign has appeared on the lawn of Paramount Global, home of one of the most storied movie studios in Hollywood, popular television network CBS, and several other legacy brands and franchises.
Powell: Federal Reserve on track to cut rates this year with inflation slowing and economy healthy
WASHINGTON — Chair Jerome Powell said in an interview broadcast Sunday night that the Federal Reserve remains on track to cut interest rates three times this year, a move that’s expected to begin as early as May.
Elon Musk cannot keep Tesla pay package worth more than $55 billion, judge rules
DOVER, Del. — Elon Musk is not entitled to landmark compensation package awarded by Tesla’s board of directors that is potentially worth more than $55 billion, a Delaware judge ruled Tuesday.
