WASHINGTON — The number of Americans applying for unemployment benefits fell last week to 860,000, a historically high number of people that illustrates the broad economic damage still taking place nine months after the first case of COVID-19 was detected in the U.S. The Labor Department ...
WASHINGTON — With the economy still struggling to recover from the pandemic recession, Federal Reserve policymakers signaled Wednesday that their benchmark short-term interest rate will likely remain at zero at least through 2023 and possibly even longer. Fed chair Jerome Powell said at a ...
SAN RAMON, Calif. — Apple introduced a cheaper version of its smartwatch, its latest attempt to broaden the appeal of its trend-setting products while many consumers are forced to scrimp during the coronavirus pandemic. The scaled-down Apple Watch follows on the heels of a budget iPhone ...
The short-video app TikTok has chosen Oracle as its corporate savior to avoid a U.S. ban ordered by President Donald Trump. The U.S. government will review the prospective deal. That much is known. Everything else is confusion, at least to outsiders. For instance: — What does it mean ...
BOSTON — The same Russian military intelligence outfit that hacked the Democrats in 2016 has renewed vigorous U.S. election-related targeting, trying to breach computers at more than 200 organizations including political campaigns and their consultants, Microsoft said Thursday. The ...
NEW YORK — Luxury goods giant LVMH is ending its takeover deal of jewelry retailer Tiffany & Co., saying the French government had requested a delay to assess the threat of proposed U.S. tariffs. Wednesday’s announcement came after the deal’s value had been eroded by wider ...
Late-stage studies of AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine candidate are on temporary hold while the company investigates whether a recipient’s “potentially unexplained” illness is a side effect of the shot. In a statement issued Tuesday evening, the company said its “standard review ...
Could the U.S. really see a coronavirus vaccine before Election Day? A letter from federal health officials instructing states to be ready to begin distributing a vaccine by Nov. 1 — two days before the election — has been met, not with exhilaration, but with suspicion among some public ...
WASHINGTON — The federal budget deficit is projected to hit a record $3.3 trillion as huge government expenditures to fight the coronavirus and to prop up the economy have added more than $2 trillion to the federal ledger, the Congressional Budget Office said Wednesday. The spike in the ...
SAN RAMON, Calif. — Zoom’s videoconferencing service is deepening its integral role in life during the pandemic as tens of thousands more businesses and other users pay for subscriptions to get more control over their virtual meetings. The surge in paying customers enabled Zoom to hail ...
WASHINGTON — The Federal Reserve announced a significant change Thursday in how it manages interest rates by saying it plans to keep rates near zero even after inflation has exceeded its 2% target level. The change means the Fed is prepared to tolerate a higher level of inflation than it ...
NEW YORK — The energy industry is bracing for catastrophic storm surges and winds as Hurricane Laura cuts a dangerous path toward the coastlines of Texas and Louisiana. Oil and gas producers have evacuated platforms and rigs in the Gulf of Mexico and companies are shutting down refineries ...
WASHINGTON — The Food and Drug Administration on Wednesday authorized the first rapid coronavirus test that doesn’t need any special computer equipment to get results. The 15-minute test from Abbott Laboratories will sell for $5, giving it a competitive edge over similar tests that need ...
SAN DIEGO — A Trump administration crackdown on nonessential travel coming from Mexico amid the coronavirus pandemic has created massive bottlenecks at the border, with drivers reporting waits of up to 10 hours to get into the U.S. An employee at a company that provides support for ...
NEW YORK — Teachers and parents got a brief glimpse of a new kind of pandemic-era nightmare Monday when Zoom — the video-conferencing service that powers everything from distance learning to business meetings to casual, socially distant get-togethers — abruptly went dead. For roughly ...
A former Uber executive was charged Thursday in federal court on allegations that he arranged to pay hackers $100,000 to cover up a high-tech heist that stole the personal information about 57 million of the ride-hailing service’s users and drivers during 2016. Two hackers pleaded guilty ...
BERKELEY, Calif. — Apple has become the first U.S. company to boast a market value of $2 trillion as technology continues to reshape a world where smartphones are like appendages and digital services are like instruments orchestrating people’s lives. The iPhone maker reached the $2 ...
A convenience store chain is offering a free beverage or sandwich in exchange for them. A laundromat owner drove 4 hours across state lines to get $8,000 worth. A young girl in Illinois wrote the tooth fairy saying she’ll gladly take dollars as a substitute if it helps. There is a shortage ...
TOKYO — Japan’s economy shrank at annual rate of 27.8 percent in April-June, the worst contraction on record, as the coronavirus pandemic slammed consumption and trade, according to government data released Monday. The Cabinet Office reported that Japan’s preliminary seasonally ...
NEW YORK — The stock market is not the economy. Rarely has that adage been as clear as it is now. An amazing, monthslong rally means the S&P 500 is roughly back to where it was before the coronavirus slammed the U.S, even though millions of workers are still getting unemployment ...