Like many Americans born in the 20th century, I measure each day by my productivity. My children laugh and call me a “try-hard.” But you should try hard, I say. They laugh again. They might be smarter than me.

If you’re not sure what “productivity” means, your boss certainly does. In economic terms, productivity measures how ...Read more

MINNEAPOLIS — Eden Prairie, Minnesota-based Anagram International pulled nearly $3 million of business from work programs at Minnesota prisons, leaving hundreds of inmates without a source of income or the opportunity for more time outside of their cells.

The company employed more than 700 people to package balloons through Minncor Industries...Read more

The earnings gap between men and women slightly widened last year, according to a new analysis published Thursday.

The left-leaning Economic Policy Institute calculated women last year earned 18.6% less than men per hour on average. That’s up slightly from 2024, when the wage gap narrowed slightly to 18%.

The wage analysis, which examines ...Read more

There are at least two conflicting narratives about Gen Z and young millennials. One is that they are extremely risk averse — afraid even to go out of the house, much less on a date. Another is that they are extremely risk inclined — always betting on sports or speculating on exotic assets.

Both of these theories can be true. In fact, they ...Read more

Alphabet Inc.’s drone delivery company Wing will begin delivering parcels to homes in the San Francisco Bay Area this year, marking its latest expansion in a small but fast-growing market.

Partnering with companies including Walmart Inc. and DoorDash Inc., Wing already offers drone delivery in North Carolina, Virginia and Australia, but this ...Read more

Debt settlement companies technically aren’t allowed to charge fees until after lowering a consumer’s debt. But a loophole in the Telemarketing Sales Rule — and a mish-mash of federal and state laws — allows predatory firms the opportunity for exploitation.

A growing corner of the $23 billion debt relief industry has used a workaround ...Read more

Last summer, Juris Sarins hosted a bevy of first-time guests for two weeks on his property in Klickitat County's Snowden, feeding them fresh vegetarian meals. His visitors: More than 100 goats, chomping through several acres of thick vegetation.

They eat everything," he said.

Instead of a crew of landscapers, Sarins enlisted the help of a herd...Read more

For all the pain motorists are feeling at the gasoline pump these days, it’s a lot worse for diesel drivers.

Since late February, when the war in Iran upset global oil markets, diesel prices in Washington have jumped by around $1.40 a gallon, to an average of $6.20, according to AAA. By comparison, regular gasoline is up around 97 cents, to $...Read more

SAN JOSE, California — Andrea Lacy believes some challenges are blessings in disguise. Take her brownie recipe, for example.

Years ago while attending San Jose State University, she was baking a thank-you gift for a friend and noticed that the dough was thicker than usual. She baked the batch anyway, and they were a big hit. But when she ...Read more

Elon Musk defrauded Twitter Inc. investors when he disparaged the company in 2022 in an effort to buy the social media platform for a lower price than his original $44 billion bid, a jury concluded.

Jurors in federal court in San Francisco found Friday that Musk intentionally misled Twitter shareholders when he tweeted that the social network ...Read more

California’s petroleum watchdog says it’s on the lookout for potential price gouging as gas prices keep climbing in the wake of the war in Iran.

The Division of Petroleum Market Oversight, an independent arm of the California Energy Commission, has issued an enforcement bulletin and says it is “closely monitoring” refining wholesale and...Read more

Elon Musk defrauded Twitter Inc. investors when he disparaged the company in 2022 in an effort to buy the social media platform for a lower price than his original $44 billion bid, a jury concluded.

Jurors in federal court in San Francisco found Friday that Musk intentionally misled Twitter shareholders when he tweeted that the social network ...Read more

Major U.S. equity benchmarks dropped to the lowest level since September amid rising anxiety over the prospect of a prolonged war in the Middle East.

The S&P 500 Index finished 1.5% lower in New York while the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 declined 1.9%, dragged down by Nvidia Corp. and Micron Technology Inc. Both gauges were down more than 2% earlier...Read more

The Chicago Transit Authority filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration Friday, alleging the feds violated the U.S. Constitution when they froze about $2 billion in federal grant money for the agency’s long-awaited Red Line Extension project.

The CTA says that unless federal Judge Thomas M. Durkin steps in by March 27, it will have to ...Read more

California Attorney General Rob Bonta is asking a judge to unravel Nexstar Media Group’s $6.2 billion acquisition of rival TV station owner Tegna — the latest in a flurry of merger twists.

Nexstar announced late Thursday that it had consummated the Tegna takeover— despite a lawsuit that Bonta and seven other Democratic state attorneys ...Read more

California's economy might see a boost from the state's expanded film and TV tax credits, but local lawmakers say it's not enough.

Despite Gov. Gavin Newsom authorizing an expanded $750-million film and TV tax credit program last summer, the impending merger between Paramount and Warner Bros. and the projected budget cuts that are expected to ...Read more

Nvidia Corp.’s $20 billion licensing deal with artificial intelligence startup Groq is being probed by a pair of Democratic senators over whether it violates antitrust laws by improperly avoiding a merger review and illegally consolidating its power in the market for AI computing.

Sens. Elizabeth Warren from Massachusetts and Richard ...Read more

Costco's CEO and the warehouse club chain's beloved hot dog have entered the ring of fast food leaders sampling their brands' chow on camera as part of a viral social media trend.

The trend was kicked off — perhaps unknowingly — by McDonald’s CEO Chris Kempczinski, whose lackluster nibble of the new Big Arch burger was widely teased by ...Read more