Business
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After leaving ULA, Tory Bruno heads to Blue Origin
Earlier this week United Launch Alliance announced its president and CEO for nearly 12 years, Tory Bruno, was stepping down to pursue different opportunities.
The opportunity was revealed Friday as Bruno was named president for competitor Blue Origin’s newly formed National Security Group, reporting to Blue Origin CEO Dave Limp.
“We share ...Read more
Gold and silver smash records again as rally gathers momentum
Gold, silver and platinum jumped to all-time highs to extend a historic end-of-year rally for precious metals, with support from escalating geopolitical tensions, U.S. dollar weakness and thin market liquidity.
Spot gold rose as much as 1.2% to a peak above $4,530 an ounce on Friday. Spot silver for immediate delivery advanced for a fifth ...Read more
Stocks hover near record as Nvidia gains on AI licensing deal
U.S. stocks wavered near a record high in thin holiday trading, as yields on 10-year Treasuries bounced and investors shifted attention toward commodities. Nvidia Corp. climbed as analysts viewed a licensing deal with artificial intelligence startup Groq positively.
The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq 100 were both trading little changed at 12:32 p.m. ...Read more
Kaiser labor talks stall, raising fears of another strike
SAN JOSE, Calif. — Talks between Kaiser and a labor union representing health care workers ground to a halt late last week, raising concerns about another strike at California’s largest health care provider.
The union representing 31,000 Kaiser workers statewide — including about 2,000 rehab therapists, physician assistants, nurse ...Read more
They graduated from Stanford. Due to AI, they can't find a job
A Stanford software engineering degree used to be a golden ticket. Artificial intelligence has devalued it to bronze, recent graduates say.
The elite students are shocked by the lack of job offers as they finish studies at what is often ranked as the top university in America.
When they were freshmen, ChatGPT hadn't yet been released upon the ...Read more
Casey Williams: Whither the 'hot hatch' in the age of electric motoring?
It’s noon, and I’m sitting in Jackson, Tennessee, a waypoint on Interstate 40 an hour east of Memphis. My husband calls and wants to know if I’ll be home in Indianapolis for dinner. I look at the Volkswagen GTI while knowing there are hours of challenging roads ahead.
“Yeah, I’ll be there,” I said. I threw my bags under the hatch, ...Read more
Larry Printz: The top 10 test drives of 2025
For many people, automobiles serve a purely utilitarian purpose. They are a means of transportation, a necessity, and little more than a recurring expense. Yet for most of us, they are far more than that. In their design, one glimpses human aspiration; in their performance, a promise of escape. Behind the wheel, anxieties are momentarily left ...Read more
Henry Payne: The best auto features of 2025
Automobiles are rolling department stores containing everything from electronics to music to tires to wardrobe fashion. Wardrobe fashion? Check out the stylish blue leather seats in the Cadillac Optiq.
This year brought more cool features to keep the shoppers coming.
One feature I didn’t care for? The warning gong — BEEP BEEP BEEP — in ...Read more
Hack of Aflac potentially affected more than 22 million people, company says
A cybersecurity breach of Columbus, Georgia-based insurance giant Aflac Inc. potentially exposed the personal information of approximately 22.65 million people, the company said in a statement last week.
The affected files included names, contact information, claims information, health information, Social Security numbers, and/or other personal...Read more
ICE crackdown in Minn. chills sales at immigrant-owned businesses
MINNEAPOLIS — At Quruxlow Restaurant on Lake Street in Minneapolis, only a portion of the dining space is being used because of a drop-off in customers. Business at the African restaurant is also roughly half of what it was before this month’s ICE crackdown, according to the restaurant’s manager.
The restaurant is just one immigrant-owned...Read more
US jobless claims fall to 214,000 during volatile holiday season
Applications for U.S. unemployment benefits fell last week, highlighting the seasonal swings in the data at this time of year.
Initial claims decreased by 10,000 to 214,000 in the week ended Dec. 20, according to Labor Department data released Wednesday. The median forecast in a Bloomberg survey of economists called for 224,000 applications.
...Read more
US rare earth buyers still see China curbs despite Trump deal
China is still restricting the rare earth elements that the U.S. needs to produce its own permanent magnets and other products even after President Donald Trump reached a deal with his Chinese counterpart in October to lift restrictions on the supplies, according to market participants.
More than a dozen consumers, producers, government ...Read more
Toys are talking back thanks to AI, but are they safe around kids?
Stuffed animals that talk back. Chessboards with pieces that move on their own. And a chatty holographic fairy in a crystal ball.
Your next toy purchase might be powered by artificial intelligence and able to converse with your kids.
Chatbots and AI-powered assistants that can quickly answer questions and generate texts have become more common...Read more
California crypto company accused of illegally inflating Katy Perry NFTs and fraud
Four years ago, California startup Theta Labs' cryptocurrency was soaring, and its future appeared bright when it landed a partnership with pop star Katy Perry.
The Bay Area company had built a marketplace for digital collectibles known as nonfungible tokens, or NFTs, and had teamed up with Perry to launch NFTs tied to her Las Vegas concert ...Read more
Downtown LA's struggle is overstated and fixable, says the mogul who built the Grand
Downtown L.A. is doing better than you think it is, but the government needs to do more to energize the city, said one of the region's longest and most successful real estate leaders.
Bill Witte is retiring after running Related California, a large-scale developer of both luxury and low-income apartments, for more than three decades.
Among the...Read more
Courts rejects bid to beef up policies issued by California's home insurer of last resort
Retired nurse Nancy Reed has been through the ringer trying to get insurance for her home next to a San Diego County nature preserve.
First, she was dropped by her longtime carrier and forced onto the state's insurer of last resort, the California FAIR Plan, which offers basic fire policies — something thousands of residents have experienced ...Read more
Downtown Detroit sees wave of new retail
DETROIT — Downtown bustled this week with shoppers like Bill Atwood, 55, who stopped by GW Home to buy his wife a lamp for Christmas. The Detroiter has lived in Brush Park for 26 years and remembers the scarce retail offerings back then.
“I always dreamed of being able to Christmas shop here,” he said. “Back in 1999 there was almost ...Read more
They lost their homes in the LA wildfires. Now they can't get the mortgage relief the state promised
After business consultant Len Kendall lost his Pacific Palisades home in the January firestorms, he sought to put a temporary stop on his mortgage payments but set aside the effort after realizing the paperwork involved.
So he was pleased to learn in September about a new state law that required mortgage servicers to offer up to 12 months of ...Read more
C.H. Robinson, a logistics stalwart, disrupting industry with AI
C.H. Robinson, one of the world’s largest logistics providers, has gone from disrupted to disruptor.
Five to 10 years ago, the Eden Prairie-based company was facing an existential threat from digital startups in the logistics space.
Firms like Uber Freight and Conroy Logistics believed they could digitize the processes of connecting shippers...Read more
What a professional home appraiser wants you to know
If you’re buying a home, refinancing your mortgage, or just want to know how much your home is worth, you’re probably going to need a property appraisal.
At its most basic, “an appraisal is an opinion of value for a home,” said Matthew Sestito, a Philadelphia-based appraiser who works throughout the five-county area for the national ...Read more









