General Motors' virtual command center has been running 24 hours nearly every day since the first of this year.

There, supply-chain managers act like air traffic controllers. They talk to every level of supplier, down to the smallest to direct scarce parts with semiconductor chips to factories that build GM's bestselling and biggest profit-...Read more

Amazon continues to rake in cash during the pandemic.

But for the first time in a year, there's an inkling that the company's record-setting pace of growth may be slowing ever so slightly, sending Amazon shares down in after-hours trading. Shares opened Friday morning down almost 7%.

By any standard but the outsize performance of the pandemic,...Read more

DES PERES, Mo. — A vegetable garden was first on Tom Millis' to-do list when he bought his home in the St. Louis suburb of Des Peres a decade ago. Then he and his now-wife, Elsa Stuart, added native flowers to their 2-acre property.

Bees were next. They'd help pollinate the plants and make a little honey, maybe even enough to give to friends....Read more

DETROIT — The transition to electric vehicles will cost the auto industry billions and likely create more partnerships and mergers, but leaders of top Michigan-based suppliers consider the technology-driven evolution more opportunity than concerning disruption.

Suppliers — including BorgWarner Inc., American Axle & Manufacturing Holdings ...Read more

What does it mean to be unemployed?

It is not a philosophical or etymological question. It is an economic one.

The COVID-19 pandemic amplified two very different jobless situations. Tens of millions of Americans were told, “Don’t come to work again until we call you back.” They were furloughed — temporarily out-of-work as the pandemic ...Read more

Cadillac has set itself on a bold course to go all-electric by the end of this decade. Call it the Yankee battle strategy as Cadillac follows California's Tesla — the only U.S. automaker to best the German juggernaut of Mercedes/BMW/Audi on the luxury front.

Caddy's decision comes after two decades following the European's performance model ...Read more

How many compact sedans did the former Big Three build last year? None. Zero. Zip. It’s as if they imperiously decreed that Americans no longer needed them. But what if you prefer a compact car?

Last year, Americans bought approximately one million compact cars, of which 261,225 were Honda Civics, the most popular car in the segment. American...Read more

Back to school sales should get a boost after millions of families banked their first monthly advance for the child tax credit in July. Another monthly payment is around the corner come Aug. 13, too.

But before you throw an extra pair of sneakers or a high-end backpack into the cart, pay attention to the fine print.

Did you know, for example, ...Read more

Rae Walker is scratching her head over her credit card bill.

"I noticed," she told me, "that the interest charged exceeds what appears appropriate for California's usury law," which caps the allowable interest rate for consumer loans at 10%.

Why, the Los Angeles resident wonders, is she being charged a rate of 23% on her card.

"They're ...Read more

Target is once again paying front-line employees a $200 bonus to thank them for their work over the past few months.

On Thursday, the Minneapolis-retailer announced the bonus will be awarded to full- and part-time team employees in Target stores and distribution centers as well as headquarters staff who support its customer and employee ...Read more

Satellite TV giant Dish Network and HBO's parent company, WarnerMedia, have taken off their boxing gloves.

It's been nearly three years since carriage talks between the two companies broke down, which led to Dish pulling HBO and Cinemax from its lineup of available TV channels. The popular networks also vanished from Dish's SlingTV service.

...Read more

Responding to state and local health officials' recommendations, Disneyland, Universal Studios Hollywood and other theme parks will require guests to wear masks in all indoor settings, regardless of vaccination status.

State public health officials issued the recommendations Wednesday that all vaccinated Californians wear masks in public indoor...Read more

NBCUniversal acknowledged TV ratings for the Tokyo Olympics

"We've had some bad luck," NBCUniversal Chief Executive Jeff Shell said Thursday during parent company Comcast's quarterly earnings call. "There was a drumbeat of negativity ... and that has resulted in linear ratings being probably less than what we expected."

Shell said, however, ...Read more

Pennsylvania employers must pay workers for time spent going through mandatory security screenings, the state Supreme Court has ruled, a decision that threatens to force Amazon.com to compensate hundreds of workers for thousands of previously unpaid hours.

The 5-2 decision last week stems from a proposed class action lawsuit against Amazon, ...Read more

Universal Orlando’s attendance returned to 2019 levels in the quarter ending June 30, executives from parent company Comcast revealed on a Thursday morning earnings call.

“For the first time since the pandemic, our theme parks returned nicely to profitability,” said Comcast CEO Brian Roberts. “This was led by Orlando, where we’ve seen...Read more

The number of tourists, office workers and partyers venturing out in Chicago is ticking up, and ride-share prices are rising with them.

The surge has left many riders wondering: when will prices go back down?

Ride-share users paid an average of $26.43 per trip in June, Chicago city data shows — the highest monthly average since the city ...Read more

Marijuana has long been an illicit yet integral part of the annual Lollapalooza music festival in Chicago. This year, it’s legal for the first time in the event’s 30-year history, and potentially big business.

The four-day event begins Thursday in Grant Park, and nearby Chicago cannabis dispensaries are stocking up and staffing up for what ...Read more

As lawmakers work their way through infrastructure proposals and appropriations bills, Democrats are confronted with a gap between President Joe Biden and members of Congress over how to address what both see as a big shortage of affordable housing.

The lines between the two aren’t always clear, but the president is broadly using the ...Read more

As air travel demand increases, a vast majority of flight attendants say they have dealt with unruly passengers and nearly 1 in 5 experienced a physical incident, including shoving, kicking seats and harassing flight crews at airports, according to a survey of flight attendants released Thursday.

The Assn. of Flight Attendants-CWA conducted the...Read more