Business

A collection of 1444 posts

Business

First home buyers drive 'up-crash' at cheaper end of market

Desperate first home buyers are driving a fierce contest for the cheaper end of the market, pushing a so-called 'up-crash' in prices even as interest rates rise. Lauren Jones, a buyer’s agent, said inner-city one-bedroom units in Brisbane have been rising close to $20,000 each week,

Business

US-Israel strikes on Iran disrupt global shipping, air cargo

US and Israeli military strikes on Iran have disrupted global supply chains, affecting one of the world’s most critical trade corridors. Major shipping lines are rerouting vessels, suspending services, and adding war-risk fees, while closed Middle East airspace has crippled freight capacity and fractured flight networks. Peter Sand of

Business

Oil could top $100 as insurers pull cover and Hormuz traffic stalls

Oil could hit $100 a barrel if tanker traffic through the Strait of Hormuz is not restored after US and Israel's strikes on Iran. US West Texas Intermediate futures spiked as much as 12% at the open and Brent jumped 13%, with WTI later trading 4.8% higher

Business

Trump Media Considers Spinning Out Truth Social

Trump Media & Technology Group is discussing a plan to spin out its social platform, Truth Social, into a publicly traded company. The talks involve TAE Technologies and Texas Ventures Acquisition III, building on a December merger agreement with TAE valued at more than $6 billion. If completed, Truth Social

Business

Oil surges and US futures fall after strikes on Iran

Oil prices jumped and US stock futures slid as traders repositioned after the weekend attacks against Iran by the US and Israel. Brent crude spiked about 9% and WTI rose roughly 7% shortly after markets opened, later trading 4.7% and 4.2% higher at $76.27 and $69.82

Business

Kalshi Founder Outlines Next Steps for 'Iran Leader Ousted By' Market

Tarek Mansour, co-founder of prediction market Kalshi, said the platform voided some positions opened after the death of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was confirmed. "We don’t list markets directly tied to death. When there are markets where potential outcomes involve death, we design the rules

Business

UAE Suspends Stock Trading Amid Iran Strikes

UAE’s Capital Markets Authority shut both the Abu Dhabi (ADX) and Dubai Financial Market (DFM) stock exchanges for March 2–3 after Iran struck major ports and oil tankers across the Middle East. The ADX and DFM are the two primary equities exchanges in the United Arab Emirates, together

Business

Netflix CEO Sarandos says he bailed on WBD because of price, not Trump

Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos said the company dropped out of the Warner Bros. Discovery bidding because it did not want to pay more. "I still believe in all the positives. I just believed in them up to $27.75 a share," he told Bloomberg, referring to the price

Business

Capital Flows Shift From Bitcoin Toward Gold and Tech Stocks

Gold and Bitcoin have diverged in 2026: gold has climbed 153% since the start of 2024 while Bitcoin is down roughly 30% over the same period. Analyst Jurrien Timmer said the gap reflects steady global money supply growth, cooling appetite for risky tech stocks, and falling crypto exchange balances, which

Business

Costco CEO Ron Vachris says he reads and replies to members' emails

Costco CEO Ron Vachris says he reads and responds to the majority of member emails. When the author emailed him, he replied the same day at about 10:30 p.m. Pacific time and wrote, "I do read my email and respond to the majority." He also noted

Business

I left Florida for North Carolina after 60 years. It became unlivable.

I was born and raised in Miami and spent my entire life in South Florida, but in 2025 my husband and I moved to a small town in North Carolina. Rising costs — homeowners’ and auto insurance, groceries, eating out — and constant congestion made staying feel impossible. I used to spend

Business

Young fashion fans help UK charity shops thrive

Young people inspired by secondhand fashion websites such as Vinted and Depop are helping charity shops thrive despite rising energy and employment costs. Save the Children’s retail sales rose 3% last year, helped by a surge in December when the charity rang up 11% more than the same month

Business

Gen Zer uses real estate to pursue financial independence

Carolyn Yu, 27, drew down about half her stock portfolio to pay cash for a two-bedroom, two-bath condo in Fort Worth, Texas in late 2024. She scaled that initial purchase into a five-property portfolio in roughly two years by reinvesting equity, and her goal is to grow rental income enough

Business

Strategist: Passive-investing bubble could trigger 1929-style crash

Michael Green, portfolio manager and chief market strategist at Simplify Asset Management, warns a 1929-style stock crash could stem from a bubble in passive investing. He says the risk from passive funds is far more pressing than any threat from the recent AI trade. Green previously drew attention for saying

Business

Investment in AI-resistant Halo companies lifts UK and EU markets

Investors have adopted a new mantra as AI threatens to reshape the global economy: the Halo trade. Interest in Halo — short for 'heavy assets, low obsolescence' — has risen as investors seek out companies with tangible, productive assets that might be insulated from AI disruption, such as energy and

Business

After 131.6M Subscribers, HBO Max Faces a Crucial New Era Under Paramount

The entertainment world is still reeling after Paramount purchased Warner Bros., a deal that ended Netflix's bid for the legacy studios. The acquisition raises immediate questions about job cuts and the contraction that often follows mega-mergers, and it puts HBO Max and Paramount+ under the same corporate umbrella.

Business

OSBP Engagement 2026: L.I.F.T.

Leveraging Industry and Supply Chains for Future Technology (L.I.F.T.) will take place September 15, 2026, as an in-person event at Space Center Houston, TX. The Office of Small Business Programs (OSBP) is committed to strengthening the agency’s industrial base by creating opportunities for small businesses and

Business

Paramount’s Warner Bros. Deal Could Reshape Cable with 20+ Channels

Paramount Skydance’s agreement to acquire Warner Bros. Discovery values the company at roughly $77 billion in equity and more than $110 billion including debt. The deal was unanimously approved by both boards but still needs regulatory and shareholder sign-off. David Ellison, who runs Paramount Skydance, says the merger will

Business

Burger King's updated Whopper is a clear upgrade

Burger King has updated its signature Whopper for the first time in a decade, giving it a new bun, creamier mayonnaise, and cardboard packaging designed to keep the burger from being squashed during transit. The change followed customer complaints about smashed Whoppers; "So the Whopper being smushed, literally, I&

Business

McDonald’s CEO Struggles With New Big Arch Burger In Viral Video

McDonald’s CEO and chairman Chris Kempczinski filmed himself eating the new Big Arch Burger for lunch in his office. The clip was posted to Instagram on February 3 and drew wider attention after it was shared on TikTok. He begins by referring to the sandwich as a “product,” then

Business

Ford is recalling 4.3 million trucks and SUVs to fix a towing software bug

Ford is recalling almost 4.4 million trucks, vans, and SUVs to fix a towing software bug. Last year the company set a new industry record by issuing 152 safety recalls; more than 24 million vehicles were recalled in the US, and over half—13 million—were Fords or Lincolns.

Business

Elon Musk tied to more than 90 Texas companies

An investigation that mapped out Elon Musk’s wealth found he is behind more than 90 companies in Texas. The work outlines the scale of his business presence across the state. Kirsten Grind, an investigations reporter, explains what her team found. elon musk, texas companies, kirsten grind, investigation, mapped wealth,

Business

Intel Strikes Deal With a Chip Start-Up Its C.E.O. Invested In

Intel has reached a multiyear technical partnership with SambaNova Systems, a nine-year-old semiconductor start-up that its chief executive, Lip-Bu Tan, helped fund and serves as chairman. The companies said they will work on developing a cloud A.I. service run by SambaNova, and Intel will contribute an undisclosed amount to

Business

Plastic, Plastic Everywhere

Beth Gardiner’s new book, Plastic Inc., examines an industry that largely operates out of sight but shapes human health, pollution and warming. She identifies corporate players, including Exxon Mobil and Saudi Aramco, that are working to expand plastic use (both companies say they are working to improve recycling technologies

Business

Paramount Raises Bid for Warner Bros. Discovery

Paramount has revised its offer for Warner Bros. Discovery to $31 a share, a proposal Warner said could reasonably be expected to lead to a “superior proposal” to the deal it signed with Netflix. The company said it will continue discussions with Paramount and, if it concludes the bid is