For more than 15 years, Google co-founder Sergey Brin didn’t spend a cent in California elections, but earlier this year, when it seemed likely a union-backed wealth tax would make its way onto the November ballot, he reopened his wallet.

The $85 million that he’s contributed so far this year eclipses his past political spending in the ...Read more

Stellantis NV reported a profitable second quarter Thursday that was boosted by rising demand for its vehicles in North America, but investors aren't yet convinced by the carmaker's ambitious new turnaround plan as shares fell in New York and elsewhere.

The maker of Jeep, Ram and Fiat vehicles posted quarterly net profit of $335 million (293 ...Read more

In the wake of the United Auto Workers corruption scandal several years ago, the federal watchdog overseeing the Detroit union issued a seemingly basic recommendation: Create an annual budget.

The UAW — a sprawling organization with roughly 400,000 dues-paying members and more than $1 billion spread across several funds — had not previously...Read more

Amazon.com Inc.’s driverless-car business will be allowed to commercially deploy as many as 2,500 vehicles annually in the U.S. over the next two years, clearing the way for more robotaxis in a market dominated by Alphabet Inc.’s Waymo.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration announced Thursday that it will give a temporary ...Read more

U.S. mortgage rates rose to a 12-month high as Treasury yields climbed in recent weeks and continued fighting in Iran fueled concern about higher inflation.

The average for a 30-year, fixed loan increased to 6.66% from 6.58% a week earlier, Freddie Mac said in a statement Thursday. The rate was the highest since July 31, 2025, when it was 6.72%...Read more

Fewer out-of-state residents, especially Californians, moved to Nevada last year, according to Nevada Department of Motor Vehicles driver’s license surrender data obtained by the Las Vegas Review-Journal.

The DMV collected approximately 82,072 surrendered out-of-state or country driver’s licenses or IDs in 2025, a 14 percent drop from 2024 ...Read more

Microsoft comfortably beat Wall Street estimates on Wednesday, reporting strong Azure cloud growth and better-than-expected profit for the fourth quarter of its 2026 fiscal year.

Microsoft's revenue for the quarter, which ended on June 30, came at $90 billion, beating analysts' estimates by more than $2 billion. Quarterly revenue grew by 18% ...Read more

Starbucks beat analyst projections in its latest quarterly earnings announced Wednesday.

The coffee giant's third quarter, which ended June 28, recorded $9.3 billion in revenue. Analysts had predicted $9.1 billion.

The quarterly revenue is a 1% drop from the same period a year ago.

We have more work to do, but we're relentlessly focused on ...Read more

Boeing may have improperly installed seats in their tracks on more than 1,000 of its 737 Max passenger jets, creating a potential safety risk, according to the Federal Aviation Administration.

Late Monday, the agency proposed requiring U.S. airlines to inspect seats on Boeing 737 Max 8, Max 9 and Max 8200 planes. The seats could disengage from ...Read more

Ford Motor Co. is betting a pick up in pickup production will set the stage in the second half of 2026 for next year when it has major product launches, hopes for trade clarity and the start of a new business vertical.

Second-quarter results that beat Wall Street expectations sent shares of the Dearborn automaker up almost 4% on Wednesday after...Read more

Kevin Warsh’s bare-bones communication style has left investors doubting his commitment to curb inflation, putting more pressure on the new Federal Reserve chairman to back up his words with interest-rate hikes.

Within hours of his press conference following the Fed’s latest policy meeting Wednesday, analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co. pulled ...Read more

Meta Platforms Inc. gave a disappointing quarterly revenue forecast, stepping up pressure on Chief Executive Officer Mark Zuckerberg to allay investor concerns that the company isn’t swiftly benefiting from its massive outlay on artificial intelligence.

The social media giant also reported the lowest free cash flow in years, a sign of ...Read more

Californian firms still are announcing big layoffs, and this time it is not only tech companies.

Visa announced in a memo to staff on Tuesday that it would be laying off 2,600 employees, or nearly 7% of its workforce. The San Francisco-based card payment company has not confirmed how many affected employees will be from its California offices. ...Read more

NEW YORK — Food delivery workers raked in an additional $104 million in tips after the city started enforcing a law to crack down on “deceptive” tipping practices from delivery apps, Mayor Mamdani said Wednesday.

“The days of City Hall accepting corporate abuse as the cost of doing business here in New York City are over,” Mamdani ...Read more

SiriusXM is leaning into its sporty side.

The satellite radio company is launching a new subscription plan built specifically for sports fans, called the Sports Pass. For $5 a month, listeners will be able to follow live game broadcasts for every home and away game for nearly every major sporting event.

Launching Sept. 1, SiriusXM will offer ...Read more

Moonshot AI secured a $35 billion valuation after raising a larger-than-anticipated $3.5 billion in a just-closed round of financing, riding the momentum from a breakthrough Kimi K3 model that sent ripples through Silicon Valley.

The Beijing-based startup managed to secure far more than the $1 billion to $2 billion it initially targeted, people...Read more

Since the start of the year, four high-speed charging stations have opened in Bentonville, Arkansas, even though the state has been a laggard in transitioning to electric vehicles.

Bentonville, however, is Walmart Inc. country and these are Walmart chargers — three at stores near the company’s headquarters and one at the airport.

In a ...Read more

What will happen to the world if artificial intelligence bots break free from our control and act independently?

While it's been a troubling conundrum addressed by AI experts and Hollywood science-fiction scriptwriters for decades, it may have just happened.

OpenAI said last week that it temporarily lost control of its AI in what some worry ...Read more