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Getting a discounted electric vehicle is about to become harder

Business / Business News /

WASHINGTON — It will soon become harder to get a full $7,500 tax credit for a new electric vehicle under proposed rules released Friday by the U.S. Treasury Department — and interested buyers should move fast.

New battery component and mineral requirements will go into effect on April 18, the day after the new rules are officially published...Read more

Matthew Horwood/Getty Images North America/TNS

Long Beach's Virgin Orbit lays off 675 people, 85% of its workforce

Business / Business News /

Richard Branson's Virgin Orbit is laying off about 675 employees, or 85% of its workforce, as the air-launched rocket company failed to find funding to sustain its operations.

The Long Beach company plans to spend $8.8 million in severance payments and employee benefit costs, and an additional $6.5 million on outplacement services and other ...Read more

Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images North America/TNS

Musk must erase threatening tweet in labor fight, court says

Business / Business News /

Elon Musk is in tweeting purgatory again.

A federal appeals court ruled Friday that the billionaire must delete his 2018 Twitter post suggesting that Tesla Inc. workers could lose stock options if they formed a union, as it violated labor law.

The decision is a victory for the National Labor Relations Board and a blow to Tesla, which has ...Read more

Jessica Lynn Walker/Buick/TNS

GM changes infotainment strategy for future EVs

Business / Business News /

General Motors Co. on Friday said it's moving away from using the phone projection systems of Apple CarPlay and Android Auto.

Instead, the Detroit automaker plans to use infotainment systems developed with Google on future electric vehicles. The system will be integrated with applications such as Google Maps, Google Assistant, Audible, Spotify ...Read more

Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images North America/TNS

Michael Hiltzik: How Trump's frenzy of deregulation killed Silicon Valley Bank

Business / Business News /

Late in 2018, two Trump-appointed banking regulators, Federal Reserve Vice Chair Randal Quarles and FDIC Chair Jelena McWilliams, went on a nationwide tour to meet with regional bank examiners.

If you're looking for the roots of the banking crisis that took down Silicon Valley Bank and has rattled the entire financial sector for weeks, that's ...Read more

Justin Sullivan/Getty Images North America/TNS

The Week Ahead: What difference will a month with two bank failures make for jobs?

Business / Business News /

Thirty days ago, few Americans knew what Silicon Valley Bank was or worried about their own bank accounts. Thirty days ago, the Federal Reserve had one fight on its hands: inflation. Thirty days ago, investors were buoyed by decent economic data — but not too strong — supporting confidence the economy was withstanding higher borrowing costs....Read more

Dreamstime/Dreamstime/TNS

Ford invests in Indonesian nickel-processing project to lock up goods

Business / Business News /

Ford Motor Co. is partnering with mining companies from Indonesia and China to invest in a nickel-processing project as part of the Dearborn, Michigan, automaker's bid to shore up supplies of key raw materials for electric-vehicle batteries.

PT Vale Indonesia Tbk, a nickel producer in Indonesia, and China's Zhejiang Huayou Cobalt Co. on ...Read more

Gary Coronado/Los Angeles Times/TNS

Viral estate sale bears (chaotic) witness to the downfall of a corporate girl-boss brand

Business / Business News /

Some came seeking glory. Others, a velvet couch or a La Marzocco espresso maker.

But most shoppers who flocked to the viral estate sale at the Wing in West Hollywood over the weekend were there simply to bear witness, as a brand built on the aspirations of Instagram was dismembered by the vultures of TikTok.

"I used to take meetings here," ...Read more

Apple/Apple/TNS

Apple joins the 'buy now, pay later' lending trend. Do you know about the downsides?

Business / Business News /

Starting this week, Apple is rolling out its version of "buy now, pay later."

Using a short-term loan to finance a small or medium purchase — Apple says Pay Later loans will be available in amounts from $50 to $1,000 — is "sold like a no-brainer" to consumers, personal finance expert Carmen Perez said. "I've heard people say it seems like ...Read more

Jason Redmond/GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA/TNS

Brian Merchant: Column: Afraid of AI? The startups selling it want you to be

Business / Business News /

You've probably heard by now: AI is coming, it's about to change everything, and humanity is not ready.

Artificial intelligence is passing bar exams, plagiarizing term papers, creating deepfakes that are real enough to fool the masses, and the robot apocalypse is nigh. The government isn't prepared. Neither are you.

Tesla founder Elon Musk, ...Read more

Colin McPherson/Getty Images North America/TNS

Hollywood to drop COVID safety measures as federal emergency declaration ends

Business / Business News /

Key protocols used on film and TV sets to limit the spread of COVID-19 are set to end in May, the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) said in a statement Thursday.

The dropping of restrictions for Hollywood productions will coincide with the end of the federal COVID-19 Public Health Emergency declaration on May 11.

The ...Read more

Workers call for safety net benefits for undocumented Californians. 'It's a human right'

Business / Business News /

Since last fall, agricultural workers in California's Central Valley have had less work due to prolonged rain storms and the resulting flooding.

But undocumented immigrants are ineligible for unemployment insurance, disaster relief and many other safety net services. That’s left many farmworkers — like Mariano Carranza, an undocumented ...Read more

Stellantis/Stellantis/TNS

Auto review: The good buzz about the new 2023 Dodge Hornet

Business / Business News /

It was the car that dominated NASCAR so completely in its early years that Paul Newman voiced it in the Pixar animated movie “Cars.” It’s the Hudson Hornet, a name inherited by American Motors Corporation (AMC), which used the nameplate on a compact car in 1969. Stellantis now owns the name, having acquired AMC in 1987, and is reviving the...Read more

Marc Grasso/Boston Herald/TNS

Auto review: '23 Nissan Altima conquers commuter needs and wants

Business / Business News /

Price, price and price!

In Grasso’s Garage this week, Nissan is back with its ever-popular Altima. Our tester, the 2023 Altima SR 2.0 VC Turbo offered front wheel drive capabilities and an array of interior features fit for every driver.

The new Altima arrives at an opportune time. Consumers have written to me over the past few months ...Read more

Spring travel squeezing airports, airlines as summer surge looms

Business / Business News /

Anand Srinivasan was just about to check his baggage for a family spring break trip to Rhode Island, when he discovered the flight had been canceled.

“All of a sudden it became pure pandemonium in the airport” on that Saturday morning at Hartsfield-Jackson International in Atlanta, said Srinivasan, who lives in Georgia. A storm forecast in ...Read more

Fewer than half of US workers use all their vacation days

Business / Business News /

Spring break is here, and summer vacations are just around the bend. But while increasingly stressed-out U.S. workers say having paid time off is critical, many still don’t even take all that they’re allowed.

Only 48% of U.S. workers say they use all their vacation days, according to a new survey from Pew Research Center. Those who don’t...Read more

Nicolas Asfouri/Getty Images North America/TNS

Tesla deliveries face one big question: Did price cuts work?

Business / Business News /

Tesla Inc. shares are set to mark their best-ever start to a year, buoyed by price cuts across the electric-vehicle maker’s lineup in a bid to boost sales. Investors will soon discover if all the enthusiasm was justified.

The Elon Musk-led carmaker is expected to announce quarterly delivery and production figures in early April, providing an ...Read more

Henry Payne/The Detroit News/TNS

Henry Payne: The Hummer EV SUV is a crabwalking, neck-snapping, off-roading, mobile charging station

Business / Business News /

SAN FRANCISCO — Once upon time, Detroit automakers debuted crazy concept vehicles for auto shows like the six-wheeled Chrysler Voyager III and the V10-powered Tomahawk motorcycle and the 16-cylinder Cadillac Sixteen coupe.

Now, crazy gets put into production.

Behold the all-electric, 8,800-pound 2023 GMC Hummer SUV circus act in my hands. ...Read more

Matthew Horwood/Getty Images North America/TNS

Virgin Orbit ceases operations after failing to find funding

Business / Business News /

Virgin Orbit Holdings Inc., the satellite-launch company tied to British billionaire Richard Branson, is ceasing operations indefinitely, succumbing to growing cash-crunch pressures that have paralyzed startups in many emerging technologies.

The company said in a filing Thursday that it was cutting 675 jobs, or about 85% of its workforce, ...Read more

Roku to lay off another 200 workers in latest round of cuts

Business / Business News /

Streaming device maker Roku on Thursday said it plans to lay off 200 employees, or 6% of its workforce, as it seeks to trim down its expenses in a tough economic environment.

The San Jose company also said it plans to exit or sublease office space that it's not currently using.

It's the latest round of layoffs for the company, which announced ...Read more