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Tech firms from Dell to HP warn of memory chip squeeze from AI

Business / Business News /

Dell Technologies Inc., HP Inc. and other tech companies are warning of potential memory-chip supply shortages in the coming year due to soaring demand from the build-out of artificial intelligence infrastructure.

Consumer electronics makers including Xiaomi Corp. have sounded the alarm about potential price increases, while others including ...Read more

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Snapchat is nearing 1 billion monthly users. Why can't it turn a profit?

Business / Business News /

Snapchat, an app whose disappearing messages and silly face filters made chatting with loved ones more casual, is close to a milestone that few social media platforms achieve: reaching 1 billion monthly users.

But Snap, the Santa Monica company behind the app, faces a crucial test. The 14-year-old tech company is still losing money and has seen...Read more

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Campbell's fired executive accused of a racist rant

Business / Business News /

Campbell’s Co. said Wednesday it no longer employs an executive who was allegedly recorded criticizing the company’s food and making racist remarks.

Martin Bally, a vice president of information technology at Campbell’s, said the company’s products were highly processed food for “poor people” and referred to Indian co-workers as �...Read more

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Shuli Ren: Sam Altman's business buddies are getting burned

Business / Business News /

As investors start to take sides in the AI race, Sam Altman’s buddies are getting burned.

SoftBank Group Corp.’s shares have tumbled 40% from late October, while Oracle Corp.’s stock has given up all gains made since early September, when the legacy database software company all of a sudden got an AI halo after announcing a $300 billion ...Read more

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Battered by ICE raids, LA's Fashion District desperately needs Black Friday miracle

Business / Business News /

Lizzie Osorio remembers customers flooding Lion Boots in early May, browsing embroidered shoes and tasseled suede dresses.

Beyoncé had four concerts scheduled in Los Angeles at SoFi Stadium for her Cowboy Carter tour. So the store tucked in Santee Alley, where 24-year-old Osorio works selling cowboy boots and other Western-style clothing, was ...Read more

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In Minnesota farm country, a plan for a $4 billion data center takes root with vast wind, solar and battery projects

Business / Business News /

WORTHINGTON, Minn. — A power developer has a novel plan to build a $4 billion data center in rural southwestern Minnesota, as well as an armada of wind, solar and battery plants the company hopes will attract a wealthy buyer.

Somewhere among the farm fields that dominate the landscape around the tiny enclaves of Brewster and Reading, Geronimo...Read more

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Farmers Insurance to lift cap on new California home policies, seeks rate hike

Business / Business News /

SAN JOSE, Calif. — Farmers Insurance Group, California’s second-largest home insurance company, is seeking a rate hike amid plans to lift a cap on the number of new homeowner polices it writes each month in the state.

The insurer announced this month that it will eliminate the monthly 9,500 policy limit, while asking for state approval to ...Read more

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Florida AG vows to investigate Campbell's after claims of 'lab grown meat'

Business / Business News /

Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier said he plans to investigate Campbell Soup Company over allegations it uses “lab grown meat” in soups — a claim the company vehemently denies.

The investigation comes after a TV station in Detroit reported Monday on an audio recording of a Campbell’s vice president criticizing the company for ...Read more

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From Silicon Valley to Hollywood, why California's job market is taking a hit

Business / Business News /

California is among the world's largest economies, but the engines that drive it haven't been firing on all cylinders.

The state has been buffeted by a litany of layoffs this year from Hollywood to Silicon Valley — and beyond. Economists cite several explanations, including contraction in the entertainment industry, displacements caused by ...Read more

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Medicare negotiates 71% discount on Novo's Ozempic, Wegovy

Business / Business News /

The U.S. government said Tuesday it negotiated a 71% discount off of the list price of Novo Nordisk A/S’s blockbuster drugs Ozempic and Wegovy for patients in Medicare, the federal health insurance program for the elderly.

Medicare plans already get significant rebates and discounts off of drug company’s list prices, but the government ...Read more

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Alibaba's AI arm surges 34% though big spending hits profit

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Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. posted better-than-projected 34% revenue growth in its cloud business, offsetting a plunge in profit after the company unleashed spending on consumer subsidies and data centers to ride an AI boom.

The cloud division, which houses the flagship Qwen platform, propelled overall revenue 5% higher to 247.8 billion yuan ($...Read more

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'Forage of the future': Minnesota's StableFeed makes horse- and eco-friendly hay

Business / Business News /

KASSON, Minn. — There’s a little-known legume that blooms brilliant pink flowers and brings all sorts of benefits to both the soil it grows in and the animals that graze on it.

It’s called sainfoin, and Mary Hartman is building an industry on it.

“This is going to be the forage of the future,” she said.

Hartman’s business, ...Read more

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Seattle's small businesses are snared in an affordability trap

Business / Business News /

Feeding the community was always in her family’s blood.

From church gatherings to potlucks, Lillian Rambus’ grandmother’s sweet potato pies and other dishes would delight those who were lucky enough to partake.

So when Rambus and her mom, Barbara Collins, teamed up to fulfill their dream of opening a soul food restaurant, Simply Soulful,...Read more

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Traders crowd into Fed Futures targeting a December rate cut

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Investors are betting big that the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates again when policymakers meet next month, erasing doubts that had tipped the odds against a move as recently as last week and setting the stage for gains in U.S. bonds.

The amount of new positions held by traders in futures contracts tied to the central bank’s benchmark...Read more

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US-China tension fuels decoupling in tech research, study shows

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U.S.-China collaboration in technology research has fallen steadily to the lowest in 20 years, a shift an Australian think tank warns could reshape global innovation vital to security and economic growth.

Only a quarter of China’s collaborations involve American researchers, down from over half a decade ago, according to the Australian ...Read more

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NYC judge: OpenAI must turn over communication with lawyers about deleted databases

Business / Business News /

A federal judge ruled that OpenAI needs to turn over all its internal communications with lawyers about why it deleted two massive troves of pirated books from a notorious “shadow library” that the tech company is accused of using to train ChatGPT.

Manhattan Federal Court Magistrate Judge Ona Wang ruled Monday that the tech giant’s ...Read more

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Why long-term CDs can be a smart choice in any rate environment

Business / Business News /

You don’t have to look far to find predictions for the future of interest rates. While it’s wise to keep an eye on whether experts believe that rates are poised to rise or fall — the movements can play a big role in how much it costs to buy a home or a car — there are some decisions you can feel confident in making without worrying about...Read more

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HP announces job cuts as profit outlook falls short of estimates

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HP Inc. gave a profit outlook for current year that fell short of estimates and the company said it will cut 4,000 to 6,000 employees through fiscal 2028 by using more AI tools.

The PC and printer maker will exit 2028 with gross savings of $1 billion annually as a result of the cuts. The savings will come from HP applying AI tools to areas ...Read more

$10-billion One Beverly Hills project gets off the ground

Business / Business News /

Development of the massive One Beverly Hills residential and hotel complex reached a milestone over the weekend as construction started going vertical.

The work to erect the two tallest towers in Beverly Hills started Friday with an overnight continuous pour of 3,800 cubic yards of concrete, the equivalent of 41,000 wheelbarrows-full. It was ...Read more

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This California town banned chain businesses. So, how did a Little Caesars get city approval?

Business / Business News /

For years, this scenic Russian River Valley enclave has worked to foster a community supportive of local businesses, in part, by making it difficult for large chains to move in.

In 2018, Sebastopol leaders created an outright ban of certain chain businesses — particularly restaurants and hotels — from its downtown.

But this month, one of ...Read more