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Mattel to lay off 120 workers in latest cost-cutting move

Business / Business News /

Mattel, the toymaker behind Barbie and Hot Wheels, is laying off 120 workers from its El Segundo headquarters, according to a notice provided to state and local officials.

The toy and entertainment company is cutting various roles including in marketing, design and information technology. Some of the employees held positions as managers, ...Read more

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Sean Hannity promotes new Tesla as 'greatest car ever invented'

Business / Business News /

Fox News host Sean Hannity joined President Trump in throwing his support behind Republican mega-donor Elon Musk’s embattled electric vehicle company.

The veteran TV personality hosted Musk for an interview Tuesday night, when he heaped praise on Tesla — much to the liking of the automaker’s polarizing CEO. Hannity started by stating he ...Read more

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Boeing blamed for whistleblower's death in new lawsuit

Business / Business News /

The family of John “Mitch” Barnett, a Boeing whistleblower whose death last year brought fresh attention to the company’s persistent struggles with quality, filed a wrongful-death lawsuit Wednesday in U.S. District Court in Charleston, South Carolina, blaming the aerospace company for Barnett’s suicide.

Barnett was found March 9, 2024,...Read more

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Tech review: New Anker laptop chargers bring small size but plenty of power

Business / Business News /

As device charging becomes more important to our daily lives, I’m drawn to better and smarter chargers.

When I leave town, I’m usually carrying a laptop, my phone, an iPad and my watch. Now add my wife’s laptop and phone and her Fitbit and we have a serious nightly charging requirement.

I’m the kind of person who puts together a ...Read more

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Chicago Public Media's cost-cutting buyout reduces Sun-Times staff by 20%

Business / Business News /

The Chicago Sun-Times, which bills itself as the hardest-working newspaper in America, may have to work even harder after more than a fifth of its staffers took a buyout, heading off potential layoffs in a sweeping cost-cutting initiative by Chicago Public Media.

Thirty Sun-Times employees, including 23 reporters and editors, will be ...Read more

Kevin Clark/The Seattle Times/TNS

Danny Westneat: Here's a 'dead' person on Social Security in Seattle, with plenty to say

Business / Business News /

“DOGE Has 10 Staffers at Social Security in Hunt for Dead People,” the headlines read this past week.

I found a dead person on Social Security. Right here in Seattle, on Capitol Hill.

Of course the circumstances of Ned Johnson’s death were completely the opposite of what Elon Musk and his Department of Government Efficiency had claimed ...Read more

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General Mills aims to cut $100M in costs to weather bleak economic outlook

Business / Business News /

Consumers aren’t turning to comfort foods like Lucky Charms or Chex Mix to quell their economic anxieties, forcing General Mills to enter cost-cutting mode.

“Our imperative is to get back to growth,” CEO Jeff Harmening said. “It’s very clear to us we have an opportunity to improve the way we go about our business and become more ...Read more

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Medtronic recalls aneurysm-treating devices linked to four deaths

Business / Business News /

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Tuesday announced a Class 1 recall — the most serious level — affecting more than 26,000 Medtronic devices used to treat brain aneurysms. The recall comes after four reported deaths and 17 injuries.

The recall affects two versions of the device. For its Pipeline Vantage 021 models, Medtronic is ...Read more

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Here's how to claim up to $75 in the MGM data breach settlement

Business / Business News /

MGM Resorts International customers who believe their personal information was exposed in two data breaches that occurred in July 2019 and September 2023 have until June 3 to submit a claim form through a class-action lawsuit.

U.S. District Judge Gloria Navarro, in January, preliminarily approved a $45 million settlement in a lawsuit brought ...Read more

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Tesla granted taxi permit in California amid protests, vandalism

Business / Business News /

Tesla was granted a permit in California allowing it to operate its own fleet of taxis driven by company employees, state officials said, the first in a step toward autonomous Tesla taxis.

Approved by the California Public Utilities Commission on Tuesday, its new transporter charter-party carrier, or TCP permit, only allows it to use company-...Read more

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Fed holds rates, sees slower growth and higher inflation

Business / Business News /

Federal Reserve officials held their benchmark interest rate steady for a second straight meeting, though they telegraphed expectations for slower economic growth and higher inflation.

The Federal Open Market Committee voted on Wednesday to keep the benchmark federal funds rate in a range of 4.25%-4.5%, and said it would further slow the pace ...Read more

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Seattle law firm Perkins Coie drew Democrats' cash, and Trump's wrath

Business / Business News /

Seattle-based Perkins Coie isn't typically the underdog in a court fight.

For more than a century, the Seattle law firm has zealously defended the biggest names in Seattle business, from Boeing to Microsoft to Amazon. It has grown from a hometown stalwart to a global player, with $1 billion-plus in annual revenues and 1,100 attorneys in 21 ...Read more

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Nvidia looks to expand its AI reign with robots, personal supercomputers

Business / Business News /

Nvidia Corp., looking to cement its place at the heart of the artificial intelligence boom, laid out plans for more powerful chips, a model for robotics, and “personal AI supercomputers” that will let developers work on desktop machines.

Speaking at the company’s annual GTC event in San Jose, California, Chief Executive Officer Jensen ...Read more

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Liam Denning: China's BYD cemented its lead on Tesla in five minutes

Business / Business News /

Sometimes a chart is just a chart. Sometimes, when you’re looking at Tesla Inc. and BYD Co. Ltd. in early 2025, it’s a striking squiggly metaphor.

Tesla, the biggest U.S. electric vehicle maker, has shocked the world this year with its overt politicization and slumping sales and stock price. BYD, its great Chinese rival, just shocked the ...Read more

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'Spy' hired by Bay Area tech firm stole secrets for rival then fell for 'honeypot' trap, lawsuit claims

Business / Business News /

Two heavyweight arch rivals in the world of Bay Area workforce-management startups are locked in a legal battle with one accusing the other of planting a spy within its ranks, and claiming in a federal lawsuit filed Monday that it caught the alleged mole after baiting its rival with a trap.

When the alleged corporate spy was handed a court ...Read more

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Michael Hiltzik: Most of what you've heard about the stock market's gyrations is wrong, probably

Business / Business News /

With the stock market experiencing gyrations that haven't been seen in, well, months, investors are fretting about the future of their portfolios and the prospects of a recession triggered by Donald Trump's will-he-or-won't-he follow through with his tariff threats.

This isn't the place to come for advice on how to trade the stock market. When ...Read more

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Stellantis stockpiles parts, speeds car shipments as Canada, Mexico tariffs approach

Business / Business News /

A top Stellantis NV executive said Tuesday the automaker is bracing for higher tariffs in April by shifting extra parts into its U.S. plants and rushing production of certain Canada and Mexico-produced models that dealers need on their lots.

"That's not the way we would normally operate," Chief Financial Officer Doug Ostermann said of working ...Read more

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GM, Nvidia partner for factories of the future, self-driving vehicle tech

Business / Business News /

General Motors Co. is expanding its partnership with technology company Nvidia Corp. to leverage artificial intelligence for designing future manufacturing plants and to improve self-driving systems.

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang announced the collaboration on Tuesday at the company's annual GTC AI Conference in San Jose, California. GM says the ...Read more

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Stocks hit by tech rout on eve of Fed decision day: Markets wrap

Business / Business News /

Heavy selling resumed in Wall Street’s largest technology companies, with American shares snapping a two-day rebound amid signs investors are paring exposure in U.S. risk assets. European stocks gained.

One day before a Federal Reserve decision that will be parsed for an assessment on how President Donald Trump’s trade policies are ...Read more

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Wiz snubbed Google, then said 'yes' to an extra $9 billion

Business / Business News /

Last summer, investors persuaded the founders of cyber startup Wiz to turn down Google’s $23 billion takeover offer. They feared the U.S. government would block the deal and argued that Wiz was better off as an independent company.

On Tuesday, Wiz’s founders said they’d changed their minds.

It didn’t hurt that Google parent Alphabet ...Read more