WASHINGTON (AP) — Federal regulators and Facebook parent Meta are battling over Meta’s proposed acquisition of virtual-reality company Within Unlimited and its fitness app Supernatural. In a landmark legal challenge to a Big Tech merger, the Federal Trade Commission is suing to block the deal, asserting it would hurt competition and violate antitrust laws. Meta…
SAN RAMON, Calif. (AP) — Netflix next month will unveil the first version of its video streaming service with ads, giving cost-conscious viewers a chance to watch most of its shows at a steep discount in exchange for putting up with commercial interruptions. The ad-supported service is scheduled to debut Nov. 3 as Netflix tries…
NEW YORK (AP) — Tens of millions of older Americans will see a major increase in benefits this January when a new cost-of-living adjustment (or COLA) is added to Social Security payments. The 8.7% raise is meant to help them with higher prices for food, fuel, and other goods and services. The average recipient will…
WASHINGTON (AP) — Warning that inflation threatens to become “a runaway train,’’ the managing director of the International Monetary Fund urged policymakers to keep up the fight against rising prices even it means more pain at a time of extraordinary economic turmoil. Speaking to reporters Thursday, the IMF’s Kristalina Georgieva said that the world economy…
STOCKHOLM (AP) — Swedish home furnishings giant IKEA said Thursday that despite “unprecedented challenges” caused by the war in Ukraine, supply chain disruptions, increased inflation and lingering fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic, 2022 had been an “exceptional year.” The world’s biggest furniture brand reported retail sales of 39.5 billion euros ($38 billion) this financial year,…
Walgreens Boots Alliance topped earnings forecasts in the final quarter of fiscal 2022, and the drugstore chain’s early look at 2023 also fell mostly above expectations. A drop in COVID-19 vaccinations and a big charge tied to the company’s United Kingdom stores weighed on results, but shares edged up Thursday after Walgreens detailed its performance….
WASHINGTON (AP) — Average long-term U.S. mortgage rates reached their highest level in more than two decades this week and are likely to climb further as the Federal Reserve has all but promised more rate increases in its battle to tamp down persistent inflation. Mortgage buyer Freddie Mac reported Thursday that the average on the…
WASHINGTON (AP) — The number of Americans applying for unemployment benefits rose slightly last week but remains historically low even as the U.S. economy slows in the midst of decades-high inflation. Jobless claims for the week ending Oct. 8 rose by 9,000 to 228,000, the Labor Department reported Thursday. The four-week moving average ticked up…
LONDON (AP) — A senior member of the U.K. government on Thursday rejected suggestions that Prime Minister Liz Truss should step down after lawmakers from her own party criticized Truss for economic policies that have sparked turmoil on financial markets. During a stormy, private meeting with Conservative Party lawmakers on Wednesday evening, Truss was blasted…
MADRID (AP) — Spanish Socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez on Thursday announced a 3 billion-euro ($2.9 billion) package in new subsidies to help people weather high gas and electricity prices exacerbated by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The measures include set gas price rates for collective residential heating systems until the end of 2023 and more…
