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Just as Wall Street appeared to come to terms with the idea of high interest rates sticking around for longer, a cooler-than-expected jobs report on Friday brought the idea of rate cuts back into the conversation. The Labor Department reported that job and wage growth in April came in lower than economists had expected, a shift after months of piping-hot labor market reports. The findings rekindled hopes that the Federal Reserve — which has been looking for signs that interest rates are slowing the economy — may yet cut rates before the end of the year. “This is the jobs report the Fed would have scripted,” said Seema Shah, chief global strategist at Principal Asset Management. The S&P 500 rose 1.3 percent on Friday, its best day in more than two months.

Persons: ”, Seema Shah, Russell Organizations: Labor Department, Federal, Asset Management

☆ Peloton Chief Executive Steps Down as Company Cuts 15% of Staff
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-02 | by ( J. Edward Moreno | More About J. Edward Moreno | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Peloton said on Thursday that its chief executive, Barry McCarthy, was stepping down and it would lay off more workers, as it continued to struggle in the fitness market. The connected-fitness company announced disappointing quarterly earnings on Thursday, with revenue down 4 percent from last year. The company, which has not turned a profit since December 2020, is also looking to refinance more than $1 billion in debt. Peloton had a spectacular rise at the start of the pandemic, when gyms and fitness centers closed and consumers were hungry for at-home workout options. But after gyms reopened, Peloton began to face stiffer competition from companies like Bowflex and Lululemon.

Persons: Barry McCarthy, Kevin Dietsch Organizations: Spotify, Netflix

☆ Johnson & Johnson Proposes $6.5 Billion in New Talc Settlement Offer
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-01 | by ( J. Edward Moreno | More About J. Edward Moreno | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Johnson & Johnson said on Wednesday that it would ask tens of thousands of people suing the company over claims that its talcum powder products caused their cancer to approve a new $6.5 billion settlement, its third attempt to resolve the lawsuits. The proposal would settle nearly all current and future claims that its talcum powder products caused ovarian cancer, the company said. Judges have rejected the two previous attempts, on the grounds that bankruptcy court isn’t the right venue for them. Representatives for Johnson & Johnson declined to comment beyond its announcement. The company has long denied those claims, but has in recent years stopped selling talc-based baby powder worldwide.

Persons: Johnson, — Organizations: Johnson

☆ Southwest Quits Four Airports in Cost-Cutting Drive
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-25 | by ( J. Edward Moreno | More About J. Edward Moreno | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Southwest Airlines is ceasing operations at four airports, and reducing flights from others, in an effort to cut costs after its growth plans were curtailed by fewer than expected plane deliveries from Boeing. The airline, which flies only Boeing 737 planes, said on Thursday that delays from the embattled aircraft manufacturer were behind its struggles. Southwest reported a loss of $231 million for the first quarter, worse than analysts expected, sending its share price down 10 percent in early trading. To cut costs because of its curtailed growth plans, Southwest said it would cease operations at four airports from early August: Bellingham International Airport in Washington State, Cozumel International Airport, George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston, and Syracuse Hancock International Airport. It would also “significantly restructure” its flights from other airports, most notably by reducing flights at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport and Chicago O’Hare International Airport.

Persons: George Bush Organizations: Airlines, Boeing, Bellingham International Airport, Cozumel International Airport, George, George Bush Intercontinental Airport, Syracuse Hancock International, Hartsfield, Jackson Atlanta International Airport, Chicago O’Hare International, Max, Alaska Airlines Locations: Bellingham, Washington State, Cozumel, Houston

☆ Business Groups Sue to Stop F.T.C. From Banning Noncompete Clauses
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-24 | by ( J. Edward Moreno | More About J. Edward Moreno | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The lawsuit, filed in a U.S. District Court in Texas, argued that the F.T.C. The Chamber of Commerce was joined by three other business groups: the Business Roundtable, the Texas Association of Business and the Longview Chamber of Commerce. announced a final rule to ban the noncompete agreements. The rule was approved in a 3-to-2 vote, with both Republican commissioners voting against the measure. The Chamber of Commerce vowed to challenge the rule shortly after the vote.

Organizations: U.S . Chamber, Commerce, Federal Trade Commission, Business, Texas Association of Business, Longview Chamber of Commerce Locations: U.S, Texas, Longview

☆ Supreme Court to Hear Starbucks Challenge to Labor Ruling
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-23 | by ( J. Edward Moreno | More About J. Edward Moreno | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The Supreme Court is set to hear Starbucks’s challenge on Tuesday to a federal judge’s order to reinstate workers who were attempting to unionize a store in Memphis. Starbucks is asking the court to make it harder for the National Labor Relations Board to obtain intervention by judges in cases where a company is accused of violating labor law. Starbucks, which has faced hundreds of accusations of labor law violations across the country, argues that there is a patchwork of standards under which the N.L.R.B. The appellate court in this case, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, applies a lower standard, and Starbucks is pushing the Supreme Court to apply a more strict, uniform standard that is in line with other circuits. Starbucks Workers United, the union representing the company’s workers, filed an unfair labor practice charge over the firings, arguing that the company selectively enforced the rules against organized workers.

Organizations: National Labor Relations Board, Starbucks, U.S ., Appeals, Sixth, Starbucks Workers United Locations: Memphis

☆ F.T.C. Issues Ban on Worker Noncompete Clauses
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-23 | by ( J. Edward Moreno | More About J. Edward Moreno | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The Federal Trade Commission on Tuesday banned employers from limiting their workers’ abilities to work for rivals, a sweeping change that the agency says could help raise wages and increase competition among businesses. The move bars contracts known as noncompetes, which prevent workers from leaving for a competitor for a certain amount of time, in most circumstances. The agency has said the proposal would raise wages by forcing companies to compete harder for talent. The proposal was approved by the agency in a 3-to-2 vote. She estimated the decision would lead to 8,500 new start-ups created in a year.

Persons: Melissa Holyoak, Andrew N, Ferguson, ’, Lina M, Khan Organizations: Federal Trade Commission

☆ U.S. Mortgage Rates Jump Above 7% for the First Time This Year
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-18 | by ( J. Edward Moreno | More About J. Edward Moreno | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Mortgage rates rose above 7 percent for the first time this year, crossing a symbolically concerning threshold that threatens to keep millions of potential home buyers and sellers on the sidelines of a U.S. housing market that is increasingly showing signs of slowing. Mortgage rates reached a recent high of nearly 8 percent late last year — a level not seen since 2000. As mortgage rates have risen in recent months, making homeownership costlier for buyers, potential sellers who may feel locked into lower rates on their existing loans have been keeping their houses off the market, in effect pushing prices higher, too. “Potential home buyers are deciding whether to buy before rates rise even more, or hold off in hopes of decreases later in the year,” Sam Khater, Freddie Mac’s chief economist, said in a statement. “It remains unclear how many home buyers can withstand increasing rates in the future.”

Persons: Freddie Mac, ” Sam Khater, Freddie Mac’s, ” Locations: U.S, United States

As sales of Teslas drop and demand for electric vehicles cools — even as more models enter the market — an increasing number of automakers are competing for a slice of a shrinking pie. Nearly 269,000 electric vehicles were sold in the United States in the first three months of this year, according to Kelley Blue Book. And amid the quarter-to-quarter slowdown in the industry, Tesla’s market share has fallen from 62 percent at the start of 2023 to 51 percent now. Elon Musk told employees on Monday that Tesla would cut 10 percent of its work force. Investors, in turn, have been spooked: Tesla’s stock price has dropped over 30 percent this year, erasing billions of dollars in market capitalization.

Persons: Kelley, Elon Musk, Tesla Locations: United States

☆ Norfolk Southern Settles Derailment Suit for $600 Million
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-09 | by ( J. Edward Moreno | More About J. Edward Moreno | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Norfolk Southern announced on Tuesday that it agreed to pay $600 million to settle a class-action lawsuit stemming from a February 2023 derailment of a train carrying hazardous materials in East Palestine, Ohio. The settlement, which must be approved by U.S. District Judge Benita Y. Pearson, includes payments to residents and businesses within 20 miles of the derailment. It also resolves personal injury claims within a 10-mile radius of the derailment. “Individuals and businesses will be able to use compensation from the settlement in any manner they see fit to address potential adverse impacts from the derailment,” Norfolk Southern said in a statement. “This could include health care needs and medical monitoring, property restoration and diminution, and compensation for any net business loss.”The lawyers representing the victims said the settlement was “a fair, reasonable and adequate result for the community on a number of levels,” including the speed in which the resolution was reached and how much money residents and businesses would receive.

Persons: Benita Y, Pearson Organizations: Norfolk Southern, U.S, District Locations: East Palestine , Ohio

The Walt Disney Company and Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida have reached a settlement over control of a special tax district that includes the Disney World theme park in Orlando, the company said on Wednesday. “We are pleased to put an end to all litigation pending in state court in Florida,” Jeff Vahle, president of Walt Disney World, said in a statement. Disney and Mr. DeSantis have been fighting for two years over Disney World, the 25,000-acre theme park and resort complex south of Orlando and one of the state’s largest employers. In response to Disney’s criticism of a Florida education law that opponents called “Don’t Say Gay,” Mr. DeSantis took over the tax district, appointing a new board and ending the company’s long-held ability to self-govern Disney World as if it were a county.

Persons: Ron DeSantis, “, ” Jeff Vahle, DeSantis, ” Mr Organizations: Walt Disney Company, Gov, Disney, Walt Disney Locations: Florida, Orlando

☆ Crafts Retailer Joann Files for Bankruptcy
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-18 | by ( J. Edward Moreno | More About J. Edward Moreno | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

Joann, the arts-and-crafts retailer that has operated for more than 80 years, has filed for bankruptcy as consumers pare back on D.I.Y. Its filing listed liabilities of $1 billion to $10 billion, and assets of $500 million to $1 billion. Joann’s shares will be delisted after its bankruptcy proceedings, and the company will be owned by its lenders and other stakeholders. The private equity firm Leonard Green & Partners bought Joann for roughly $1.6 billion in 2011, and spun it off publicly in 2021. Joann owes about $12 million to Spinrite, a craft yarn supplier, its largest unsecured creditor.

Persons: Joann, pare, Ann, Leonard Green, Jones Lang LaSalle Organizations: Nasdaq, Leonard Green & Partners, FedEx Locations: D.I.Y, Hudson , Ohio

☆ Family Dollar to Close Nearly 1,000 Stores
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-13 | by ( J. Edward Moreno | More About J. Edward Moreno | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

Family Dollar will close nearly 1,000 stores, a move its executives say is a result of declining sales and economic headwinds. Dollar Tree, which owns Family Dollar, said Wednesday that it would close 600 Family Dollar locations this year and phase out 370 more when their leases expire. Family Dollar currently has about 8,000 stores. The company said stubborn inflation, theft and the end of pandemic-era additional benefits from the federal government’s Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program were weighing on the company. “Family Dollar is a victim of the macro environment out there,” Dollar Tree’s chief executive, Rick Dreiling, told analysts on Wednesday.

Persons: Rick Dreiling Organizations: Assistance

☆ Labor Unions End Starbucks Board Fight
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-05 | by ( J. Edward Moreno | More About J. Edward Moreno | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

A coalition of labor unions said Tuesday that it had ended its boardroom fight with Starbucks after the coffeehouse chain agreed to negotiate labor agreements, a sign of progress after years of tumultuous relations between the company and its organized workers. The Strategic Organizing Center union alliance pulled its slate of three board candidates about a week before a March 11 shareholder vote on the 11-member board. The announcement comes more than two years into a campaign that has unionized nearly 400 Starbucks stores. On Tuesday, the alliance said it was “time to acknowledge the progress that has been made and to allow the company and its workers to focus on moving forward.”“We think it’s imperative that shareholders continue to monitor the board’s performance and Starbucks’ approach to labor relations issues in the coming months — and we plan to continue to hold the company accountable going forward,” the alliance said.

Persons: ” Organizations: Starbucks, Organizing Center

☆ JetBlue and Spirit Call Off Their Merger
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-04 | by ( J. Edward Moreno | More About J. Edward Moreno | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

JetBlue Airways and Spirit Airlines announced on Monday that they would walk away from their planned $3.8 billion merger after federal antitrust regulators successfully challenged the deal in court. JetBlue said it would pay Spirit $69 million to exit the deal. A federal judge in Boston blocked the proposed merger on Jan. 16, siding with the Justice Department in determining that the merger would reduce competition in the industry and give airlines more leeway to raise ticket prices. “We wish the very best going forward to the entire Spirit team.”JetBlue and Spirit appealed Judge Young’s decision. JetBlue filed an appellate brief last week arguing that the deal should be allowed to go through.

Persons: William G . Young, ”, Joanna Geraghty, “, Judge Young’s Organizations: JetBlue Airways, Spirit Airlines, JetBlue, Justice Department, U.S, District of, Spirit Locations: Boston, District of Massachusetts

☆ FirstEnergy Ex-C.E.O. and 2 Others Are Indicted in Bribery Scandal
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-12 | by ( J. Edward Moreno | More About J. Edward Moreno | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Two former executives of FirstEnergy and a former public utility commissioner have been indicted in a multimillion-dollar public corruption scandal, Ohio’s attorney general, Dave Yost, said on Monday. Collectively, the three men are charged with 27 counts, including theft, bribery and fraud. The charges were filed on Friday but weren’t made public until Mr. Yost announced them on Monday. The indictments are the first against FirstEnergy executives in perhaps the biggest public corruption scandal in Ohio’s history, one that has already landed a former lawmaker in prison. State and federal officials have accused the company, an Ohio-based electric utility that serves six million customers, of paying state lawmakers and regulators millions of dollars in exchange for subsidies and other favorable treatment.

Persons: Dave Yost, Charles Jones, Michael Dowling, Samuel Randazzo, weren’t, Yost Organizations: Public Utilities Commission, FirstEnergy Locations: State, Ohio

The NumbersThe S&P 500 climbed 0.6 percent on Friday to close at 5,026.61. Tech giants, including Apple, Microsoft, Meta, Amazon and Alphabet, have enormous sway over the index because of their size, and after they reported earnings last week, several of these stocks have soared. The rally hasn’t been limited to tech stocks: Disney, Ford and Chipotle, for instance, also reported earnings in the past week that beat analyst estimates and pushed their shares higher. Nearly 70 percent of the companies in the S&P 500 had reported earnings as of Friday, with three-quarters of those reports better than expected, according to FactSet. The gains in the S&P 500 have continued even after the Fed signaled that it wouldn’t move as quickly as investors had initially hoped.

Persons: Russell, —, underscoring, Jerome H, Powell Organizations: Nasdaq, Technology, Tech, Apple, Microsoft, Meta, Disney, Ford, Federal Reserve, Investors

☆ Meta’s Stock Surges After Jump in Profits
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-02 | by ( J. Edward Moreno | More About J. Edward Moreno | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Meta’s stock price soared on Friday, adding hundreds of billions of dollars to the market value of the social media giant that owns Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp. The company said on Thursday, after the market closed, that its latest quarterly profit more than tripled, as it benefited from a rebound in digital ads. It also announced its first dividend and authorized an additional $50 billion in share buybacks. Meta’s stock rose more than 20 percent in early trading on Friday, pushing it further into record territory. The rise on Friday added some $200 billion to Meta’s market value, roughly as much as the entire market capitalization of major multinational companies — like McDonald’s.

☆ Walmart to Add 150 Stores in Five Years in Big Expansion Drive
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-31 | by ( J. Edward Moreno | More About J. Edward Moreno | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

Walmart will add 150 stores in the United States over the next five years, a major expansion drive for the retail giant. Walmart employs roughly 1.6 million people in the United States, and said it hires hundreds of people each time it opens a new store. Walmart had just over 4,600 stores at the end of October 2023. Most of the stores Walmart plans to open in the coming years will be newly built, while others will be conversions of existing locations to new formats. The first two new stores will open in the spring, in Florida and Georgia, and the company is finalizing construction plans for 12 other stores this year.

Organizations: Walmart Locations: United States, U.S, Florida, Georgia

☆ UPS to Cut 12,000 Jobs as Wages Rise and Package Volumes Fall
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-30 | by ( J. Edward Moreno | More About J. Edward Moreno | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

United Parcel Service plans to cut about 12,000 jobs this year as the company tries to slash costs in the face of falling package volumes and higher wages linked to a union contract it signed in the summer. Ms. Tomé said most of the job cuts would happen in the first half of the year and reduce expenses by about $1 billion. UPS narrowly averted a strike in the summer when the union that represents more than 300,000 of its workers, the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, threatened to walk off the job if a labor agreement that included higher wages wasn’t reached. A contract settlement was reached shortly after the previous agreement expired, but the uncertainty about a potential walkout hurt the company’s package volumes. UPS said about 60 percent of the volume it lost during the standoff had returned by the end of December.

Persons: Carol Tomé, Tomé, wasn’t Organizations: Parcel Service, UPS, ” Revenue, International Brotherhood of Teamsters

☆ JetBlue Says It May Back Out of Deal to Acquire Spirit Airlines
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-26 | by ( J. Edward Moreno | More About J. Edward Moreno | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

JetBlue Airways said on Friday that it might back out of a $3.8 billion acquisition of Spirit Airlines after a federal judge blocked the deal. The announcement comes just a week after JetBlue and Spirit had said they would appeal the decision, which was made in an antitrust case brought by the Justice Department. In a regulatory filing on Friday, JetBlue said that the deal could be terminated after Sunday if certain conditions weren’t met. Spirit said in its own filing that it disagreed with JetBlue’s contention and believed “there is no basis for terminating” the deal. A federal judge in Boston blocked the proposed merger on Jan. 16, ruling that Spirit plays an important role in keeping airline fares low and that a takeover by JetBlue would hurt travelers.

Persons: weren’t, Spirit, Biden Organizations: JetBlue Airways, Spirit Airlines, JetBlue, Spirit, Justice Department Locations: Boston

☆ Exxon Sues to Prevent Climate Proposal From Getting a Shareholder Vote
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-22 | by ( J. Edward Moreno | More About J. Edward Moreno | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Exxon Mobil is suing two activist investors to prevent their proposal calling for emissions cuts at the oil giant from going to a vote of shareholders. In a complaint filed in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas on Sunday, Exxon accused the investors, Arjuna Capital and Follow This, of abusing the process for proposing shareholder votes to advance their priorities with votes “calculated to diminish the company’s existing business.”Arjuna filed a proposal in December for a nonbinding resolution that urged Exxon to accelerate its plans to reduce its carbon emissions and expand the scope of the emissions it measures to include its suppliers and customers. Follow This joined in support of the proposal shortly thereafter, according to the complaint. The proposal “does not seek to improve ExxonMobil’s economic performance or create shareholder value,” Exxon said in the complaint, but is instead “constraining and micromanaging” the company’s operations.

Persons: Arjuna, ” Arjuna, Exxon Organizations: Exxon Mobil, Northern, Northern District of, Exxon Locations: U.S, Northern District, Northern District of Texas

☆ Judge Blocks JetBlue From Acquiring Spirit Airlines
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-16 | by ( J. Edward Moreno | More About J. Edward Moreno | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

A federal judge on Tuesday blocked JetBlue Airways’ proposed $3.8 billion acquisition of Spirit Airlines, a victory for the Department of Justice, which argued that the deal would harm travelers. The proposed merger would have created the nation’s fifth-largest airline. The Justice Department had argued that smaller, low-cost airlines like Spirit help reduce fares and that allowing the company to be acquired by JetBlue, which tends to charge higher prices than Spirit, would have hurt consumers. The four largest U.S. airlines — American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, Southwest Airlines and United Airlines — control about two-thirds of the market. The merger would have given JetBlue a market share of 10 percent, still shy of United, the fourth-largest U.S. airline, which has 16 percent.

Persons: William G . Young Organizations: JetBlue Airways ’, Spirit Airlines, Department of Justice, U.S, District, Massachusetts, Justice Department, The Justice, JetBlue, — American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, Southwest Airlines, United Airlines, U.S .

☆ Who’s Who Behind the Dawn of the Modern Artificial Intelligence Movement
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-03 | by ( J. Edward Moreno | More About J. Edward Moreno | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

While artificial intelligence has taken the limelight over the past year, technology that can appear to operate like human brains has been top of mind for researchers, investors and tech executives in Silicon Valley and beyond for more than a decade. Image Credit... Jim Wilson/The New York TimesSam AltmanMr. Altman is the chief executive of OpenAI, the San Francisco A.I. lab that made the chatbot ChatGPT that went viral over the past year and ushered in recognition of the power of generative artificial intelligence. Mr. Altman helped start OpenAI after meeting with Elon Musk about the technology in 2015. At the time, Mr. Altman ran Y Combinator, the Silicon Valley start-up incubator.

Persons: Jim Wilson, New York Times Sam Altman Mr, Altman, San Francisco A.I, Elon Musk Organizations: New York Times, OpenAI, San, Elon Locations: Silicon Valley, San Francisco

☆ The Who’s Who Behind the Modern Artificial Intelligence Movement
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-03 | by ( J. Edward Moreno | More About J. Edward Moreno | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

While artificial intelligence has taken the limelight over the past year, technology that can appear to operate like human brains has been top of mind for researchers, investors and tech executives in Silicon Valley and beyond for more than a decade. Here are some of the people involved in the origins of the modern A.I. lab that made the chatbot ChatGPT that went viral over the past year and ushered in recognition of the power of generative artificial intelligence. Mr. Altman helped start OpenAI after meeting with Elon Musk about the technology in 2015. At the time, Mr. Altman ran Y Combinator, the Silicon Valley start-up incubator.

Persons: Jim Wilson, New York Times Sam Altman Mr, Altman, San Francisco A.I, Elon Musk Organizations: New York Times, OpenAI, San, Elon Locations: Silicon Valley, San Francisco

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