Business Headlines
Alex Jones asks judge to halt sale of Infowars site to The Onion
Joe Buglewicz/Getty Images(New York) -- Conspiracy theorist Alex Jones accused The Onion and Sandy Hook Elementary School families of "collusive bidding" and asked a bankruptcy court judge to halt the sale of his Infowars platform.Jones, who defamed the Sandy Hook families by calling the 2012 massacre a hoax and the parents of the 20 first graders actors, called The Onion's winning $1.75 million bid "sheer nonsense" because it's half of what the losing bidder offered.The Onion began a "systematic effort to confuse Mr. Jones's personal public following with messages espousing gun control in a manner such that Mr Jones's personal public following would be utterly confused and misled," Jones said in an overnight court filing.His request follows a similar push ... Read More
What could Trump do to lower grocery prices? Experts weigh in
Grace Cary/Getty Images(NEW YORK) -- President-elect Donald Trump sharply criticized the rising price of groceries throughout his campaign, even delivering an address outside his New Jersey home in August alongside a table covered with cereal boxes, coffee grounds and ketchup.A wave of consumer discontent appears to have helped lift him back into the Oval Office, but Trump now faces the task of how to ease voters' frustration.Food inflation soared to a peak of more than 10% in 2022, but price increases have slowed to about 2%, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data shows.Still, the yearslong bout of rapid inflation has sent food prices soaring more than 25% since President Joe Biden took office.Typically, prices do not fall across the board ... Read More
Why credit card rates remain high, even after interest rate cuts
Kent Nishimura/Getty Images(NEW YORK) -- Americans' credit card debt has hit a record high, the Federal Reserve of New York said in a report released this week.Credit card debt climbed $24 billion over a three-month stretch ending in September, soaring to a level 8% higher than where it stood a year ago, the report said.Debt holders may seek solace in a string of recent interest rate cuts at the Federal Reserve, which typically reduce borrowing rates for credit cards. But credit card interest rates have proven stubborn, leaving borrowers saddled with near record-high average payments even after the rate cuts.The average credit card interest rate stands at 20.35%, just slightly below a record-high of 20.79% attained in August before the ... Read More
Trump may try to reverse TikTok ban. Here’s how he could.
Karl Tapales/Getty Images(WASHINGTON) -- Social media platform TikTok is hurtling toward a U.S. ban that could upend its business and frustrate more than 150 million American users -- unless President-elect Donald Trump finds a way to reverse the policy.Trump, who boasts 14 million followers on TikTok, voiced opposition to the ban earlier this year. The policy, which orders TikTok to find a U.S. parent company or face a ban, is set to take effect on Jan. 19, a day before Trump’s inauguration.An effort to eliminate the ban may present formidable political challenges and legal hurdles, experts told ABC News. The outcome could depend on support from an array of major institutions ranging from Congress and the Supreme Court to tech ... Read More
Inflation expected to have increased in October
Hispanolistic via Getty Images(WASHINGTON) -- The U.S. government is set to release new inflation data on Wednesday, offering a fresh look at price increases little more than a week after the issue appeared to help former President Donald Trump win re-election.Inflation has cooled dramatically since a peak of 9% attained in 2022, now hovering near the Federal Reserve’s target rate of 2%.The slowdown of price increases has coincided with robust economic growth, establishing the twin conditions necessary for the U.S. to achieve a “soft landing.â€Economists expect prices to have risen 2.6% over the year ending in October. That figure would mark a slight uptick from the annual rate of 2.4% recorded during the previous month.Still, policymakers at the Fed forecast ... Read More
Shares in Trump’s social media company spike after president-elect says he won’t sell stake
Karl Tapales/Getty Images(NEW YORK) -- Shares in Donald Trump's social media company spiked after the president-elect again vowed not to sell his stake in the parent company of Truth Social and called for an investigation into "market manipulators or short sellers."Trump Media's stock price increased by nearly 16 percent to $32 per share on Friday, as investors reacted to the news.In interviews with ABC News before the election, some shareholders expressed optimism about the company's future if Trump won the election, in large part due to his potential ability to investigate and stop so-called "naked short sellers," who they blamed for the company's lackluster stock price.Earlier this year, Trump Media's CEO Devin Nunes called for Nasdaq to investigate whether the ... Read More
Why inflation helped tip the election toward Trump, according to experts
Noel Hendrickson/Getty Images(NEW YORK) -- A surging stock market, low unemployment and robust growth -- by just about every measure, the economy stood poised to deliver victory for Vice President Kamala Harris.The exception, of course, was inflation, and it appears to have overshadowed other indicators. More than two-thirds of voters say the economy is in bad shape, according to the preliminary results of an ABC News exit poll.Inflation likely shaped negative voter perceptions of the economy and helped fuel anger toward the party in power, just as it has done across the globe since the pandemic unleashed a wave of rapid price increases, experts told ABC News.The political potency of inflation stems from the visceral, recurring sense of unease caused ... Read More
Federal Reserve set to make interest rate decision days after election of Trump
Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images(WASHINGTON) -- The Federal Reserve on Thursday will announce its latest decision on the direction of interest rates, setting the path for borrowing costs just two days after the victory of President-Elect Donald Trump.The Fed cut its benchmark interest rate a half of a percentage point in September, dialing back its yearslong fight against inflation and delivering relief for borrowers saddled with high costs.The Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC), a policymaking body at the Fed, has forecast further interest rate cuts.By the end of 2024, interest rates will fall another half of a percentage point from their current level of between 4.75% and 5%, according to FOMC projections. Interest rates will drop another percentage point over the course ... Read More
US stock futures climb, as Trump Media and Tesla surge in early trading
Richard A. Brooks via Getty Images(WASHINGTON) -- As former President Donald Trump declared victory in the U.S. presidential election early Wednesday, shares of his media company, Trump Media & Technology, surged about 34% to about $45.49 in pre-market trading.With U.S. markets yet to open, early indicators appeared to show Wall Street's bullish view of a second term for Trump. As votes were still being, Dow futures were up, the U.S. dollar was strengthening and international markets were mixed.Dow Jones Industrial Average futures had surged about 2.9% by 6 a.m. in New York, having risen briskly from the 1.7% gain they had logged when former President Donald Trump took the stage in Florida at about 2 a.m.S&P 500 futures traded up ... Read More
Boeing workers vote on new contract that could end strike
ASON REDMOND/AFP via Getty Images(SEATTLE) -- Tens of thousands of striking Boeing machinists are casting ballots on Monday over whether to approve a contract offer that could end their work stoppage after seven weeks.The new offer delivers higher pay increases and a bolstered ratification bonus that would deliver each worker $12,000 if the union approves the deal, according to the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM), the union representing 33,000 Boeing workers in Washington, Oregon and California.The ongoing standoff has strained the finances of both sides. Union members have received $250 per week from a strike fund, beginning in the third week of the work stoppage. That compensation marks a major pay cut for many of the employees.Boeing and its shareholders have lost about ... Read More
US hiring slows but hurricane fallout blurs findings
Via e U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics(WASHINGTON) -- U.S. hiring slowed in October, but fallout from hurricanes and labor strikes likely caused an undercount of the nation’s workers.A fresh jobs report marked the final piece of major economic data before Election Day. However, the data offers little more than a blurry snapshot of the U.S. economy due to the one-off disruptions last month.Employers added 12,000 workers last month, falling short of economist expectations of 90,000 additional jobs, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data on Friday showed. The unemployment rate stands at 4.1%, which matches the previous month's level and remains historically low.The hiring in October amounted to a sharp slowdown from 254,000 jobs added in September, though it should be ... Read More
US economy grew at robust pace in third quarter
James Marshall via Getty Images(NEW YORK) -- The U.S. economy grew at a robust pace over three months ending in September, slowing slightly from the previous quarter but continuing to dispel any concern about a possible slowdown. The fresh report marks one of the last major pieces of economic data before the presidential election.U.S. GDP grew at a 2.8% annualized rate over three months ending in September. That figure fell slightly below economists' expectations.Economic growth was fueled by surge in consume spending, an uptick in exports and strong federal government spending, the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis said.The new data arrived weeks after the Federal Reserve cut its benchmark interest rate a half of a percentage point. The landmark decision ... Read More
Subway sued for allegedly shorting customers on meat, ‘false and misleading advertisements’
Jakub Porzycki/NurPhoto via Getty Images(NEW YORK) -- A newly filed lawsuit has accused Subway of “unfair and deceptive trade practices†and selling its steak-and-cheese sandwiches based on “false and misleading advertisements,†that the lawsuit claims show customers getting at least three times more meat than is actually in the product.The class-action complaint against Subway was filed on Monday in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York by plaintiff Anna Tollison, accusing Subway of using “photographs in its advertisements that make it appear that the Steak & Cheese sandwich contains at least 200% more meat than the actual sandwiches that customers receive,†according to the lawsuit.“Subway’s advertisements for the Product are unfair and financially damaging to ... Read More
Striking Boeing workers rejected a new contract. Here’s what happens next
JASON REDMOND/AFP via Getty Images(SEATTLE) -- Boeing machinists overwhelmingly rejected a contract proposal this week, opting to extend a weekslong strike and send negotiators back to the bargaining table.Sixty-four percent of workers voted against the new contract, according to the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM), the union representing 33,000 Boeing workers in Washington, Oregon and California.The outcome follows the resounding defeat of a previous proposal last month, which drew rebuke from more than 90% of union members.The consecutive "no" votes set the stage for a standoff between Boeing and its workers that will strain the finances of both sides over the coming days and weeks, experts told ABC News. That financial pressure will push the dispute toward ... Read More
Fed cuts interest rate by half a point
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Federal Reserve on Wednesday cut its benchmark interest rate by an unusually large half-point, a dramatic shift after more than two years of high rates that helped tame inflation but also made borrowing painfully expensive for American consumers. The rate cut, the Fed’s first in more than four years, reflects its new focus on bolstering the job market, which has shown clear signs of slowing. Coming just weeks before the presidential election, the Fed’s move also has the potential to scramble the economic landscape just as Americans prepare to vote. The central bank’s action lowered its key rate to roughly 4.8%, down from a two-decade high of 5.3%, where it had stood for 14 months as ... Read MoreWynn Resorts paying $130M for letting illegal money reach gamblers at its Las Vegas Strip casino
LAS VEGAS -- Casino company Wynn Resorts Ltd. has agreed to pay $130 million to federal authorities and admit that it let unlicensed money transfer businesses around the world funnel funds to gamblers at its flagship Las Vegas Strip property. The publicly traded company said a non-prosecution settlement reached Friday represented a monetary figure identified by the U.S. Justice Department as “funds involved in the transactions at issue†at the Wynn Las Vegas resort. In statements to the media and to the federal Securities and Exchange Commission, the company said the forfeiture wasn’t a fine and findings in the decade-long case didn’t amount to money laundering. U.S. Attorney Tara McGrath in San Diego said the settlement showed that casinos are ... Read More
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