By Siddharth Cavale and Richa Naidu (Reuters) – Walmart Inc will now provide up to one week of paid time-off if a worker contracts COVID-19, instead of its earlier policy for up to two weeks, according to a memo seen by Reuters. The memo sent on Tuesday to U.S. hourly associates and long-haul drivers states…

By Chuck Mikolajczak NEW YORK (Reuters) – The dollar fell on Wednesday but pared losses after minutes released from the Federal Reserve’s December meeting showed the U.S. central bank may need to act more quickly in hiking interest rates to combat inflation. Fed officials said the “very tight” U.S. labor market might warrant raising rates…

By Caroline Valetkevitch NEW YORK (Reuters) – The S&P 500 and Nasdaq added to losses while the Dow turned lower on Wednesday after minutes from the last U.S. Federal Reserve meeting showed officials said the central bank may need to raise interest rates sooner than expected and reduce asset holdings quickly. The technology sector was…

By Howard Schneider WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Federal Reserve officials said last month that the U.S. labor market was “very tight” and might need the U.S. central bank not just to raise interest rates sooner than expected but also reduce its overall asset holdings to tame high inflation, according to minutes of their Dec. 14-15 policy…

By Hyunjoo Jin SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) – Vietnamese car maker VinFast plans to build electric vehicle battery cells and packs in its planned U.S. manufacturing complex, its global chief executive told Reuters on Wednesday. VinFast, part of Vingroup JSC, the largest conglomerate in the Communist-ruled country, had previously said it planned to start producing electric…

By Stephen Nellis (Reuters) – Volvo Cars and self-driving sensor maker Luminar Technologies Inc said Wednesday that a hands-free driving system called “Ride Pilot” will be first released in California, though the companies did not give a specific date. Volvo is planning to deploy the technology, which will allow the car to fully take over…

LONDON (Reuters) – Bitcoin will take market share away from gold in 2022 as digital assets become more widely adopted, Goldman Sachs analyst Zach Pandl said in a research note to clients. Citing bitcoin’s $700 billion market capitalization, compared to the around $2.6 trillion worth of gold owned as an investment, Goldman Sachs said that…

By Chris Prentice WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)’s Texas office has launched a preliminary probe into lenders’ disclosures about their policies on hot-button issues like climate change and gunmakers, according to two people familiar with the matter. The inquiry appears to relate to two Texas laws, enacted last year, banning…

NEW YORK (Reuters) – The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Tuesday said it delayed its decision on a bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) proposal from NYDIG, which would be based on the price of bitcoin held in a trust. The SEC said it will make a decision about whether to allow the bitcoin ETF from…

By Joice Alves LONDON (Reuters) – European automobile stocks rose more than 2% to a record high on Wednesday as investors turned increasingly bullish on the sector on growing expectations for stronger car sales in 2022. Investors’ interest in car stocks across the region has ignited over the past few months with Europe’s auto and…