All posts tagged: Collections: Business

US Stocks and Oil Prices Flip-Flop Ahead of Trump’s Deadline to Bomb Iranian Power Plants

US Stocks and Oil Prices Flip-Flop Ahead of Trump’s Deadline to Bomb Iranian Power Plants

Published by Sam Flores

NEW YORK (AP) — The U.S. stock market is making only hesitant moves Monday, while oil prices are flip-flopping ahead of a deadline that President Donald Trump has set to bomb Iranian power plants. The S&P 500 edged up by 0.2% in afternoon trading, coming off its first winning week in the last six. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 33 points, or 0.1%, as of 1:44 p.m. Eastern time, and the Nasdaq composite was 0.3% higher. Oil prices likewise seesawed between gains and losses amid continued uncertainty about what will happen in the war with Iran and how long it will slow the global flow of oil and natural gas. Iran on Monday rejected the latest ceasefire proposal and instead said it wants a permanent end to the war, though the talks may not have collapsed. “We won’t merely accept a ceasefire,” Mojtaba Ferdousi Pour, head of the Iranian diplomatic mission in Cairo, told The Associated Press. “We only accept an end of the war with guarantees that we won’t be attacked again.” …

Why One Las Vegas Newspaper Just Stopped Printing Its Rival

Why One Las Vegas Newspaper Just Stopped Printing Its Rival

Published by Sam Flores

LAS VEGAS (AP) — The Las Vegas Review-Journal announced Friday that it will no longer print its rival the Las Vegas Sun for the first time in decades, sharpening their legal dispute over the nation’s last joint operating agreement stemming from a 1970 law designed to preserve newspapers. Readers “will not find a printed Las Vegas Sun insert inside,” the Review-Journal wrote in an editorial, noting the Sun maintains a website, has a few hundred thousand followers across social media platforms, and is free to produce its own newspaper. “We encourage them to do so. The Review-Journal competes with countless sources of news and entertainment, but we would welcome one more. We just don’t want to foot the bill. It is time the Sun stood up on its own two feet,” the editorial said, without specifying the cost. It was the first day in 76 years the Sun hasn’t been printed, Sun attorney Leif Reid said in an email. “This does irreparable harm to our community, as no one benefits when a local newspaper is …

SpaceX Files Initial Paperwork to Sell Shares to the Public and Likely Make Musk a Trillionaire

SpaceX Files Initial Paperwork to Sell Shares to the Public and Likely Make Musk a Trillionaire

Published by Sam Flores

NEW YORK (AP) — Elon Musk’s space exploration company has filed preliminary paperwork to sell shares to the public, according to two sources familiar with the filing, a blockbuster offering that would likely rank as the biggest ever and could make its founder the world’s first trillionaire. A SpaceX IPO promises to be one of the biggest Wall Street events of the year, with several investment banks lining up to help raise tens of billions to fund Musk’s ambitions to set up a base on the moon, put datacenters the size of several football fields in orbit and possibly one day send a man to Mars. The sources spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk publicly about the confidential registration with the Securities and Exchange Commission. SpaceX did not respond immediately to a request for comment. Exactly how much SpaceX plans to raise has not been disclosed but the figure is reportedly as much as $75 billion. At that level, the offering would easily eclipse the $29 billion that Saudi …

Lawsuit Says Taylor Swift’s ‘Showgirl’ Pose Comes Too Close to the Work of a Real One

Lawsuit Says Taylor Swift’s ‘Showgirl’ Pose Comes Too Close to the Work of a Real One

Published by Sam Flores

Maren Wade says in the trademark infringement lawsuit filed Monday in federal court in California that the glittery branding of Swift’s 2025 album comes too close to the aesthetic of her own “Confessions of a Showgirl.” That was the name of a column she wrote on backstage Sin City life in the Las Vegas Weekly starting in 2014, which she turned into a live show that she took on a national tour. “Both share the same structure, the same dominant phrase, and the same overall commercial impression,” the lawsuit says. “Both are used in overlapping markets and are directed at the same consumers.” Wade is described as a “singer, songwriter, comedian, and writer” in the lawsuit filed under her legal name, Maren Flagg, and her “Showgirl” brand encompasses performances, writing and digital media. “The Life of a Showgirl,” the stadium-packing superstar’s 12th studio album, released in October, sold 4 million copies in its first week. Its cover features her in Las Vegas cabaret garb, submerged in water with her current favorite color scheme of orange …

US Paves Way for Private Assets to Be Included in 401(k) Retirement Plans

US Paves Way for Private Assets to Be Included in 401(k) Retirement Plans

Published by Sam Flores

By Utkarsh Shetti, Suzanne McGee, Arasu Kannagi Basil and Isla Binnie March 30 (Reuters) – The Trump administration on ⁠Monday ⁠issued a long-awaited proposed rule to open up retirement ⁠plans to alternative assets, paving the way for private equity and cryptocurrencies to be added to 401(k) accounts.  The measure, announced by ​the U.S. Department of Labor, is intended to ease longstanding barriers to incorporating these less liquid and less transparent assets into American retirement plans. It follows an executive order from President Donald Trump last ‌summer and could clear the way for alternative ‌asset management firms to tap a large new source of capital.  Industry groups have argued private market investments can enhance long-term returns and diversification for retirement savers, while skeptics warn higher fees, complexity ⁠and limited liquidity could ⁠limit those gains and pose risks for retail investors. Some private market funds that are already available to wealthier ​individual investors have shown signs of strain in recent months. Private credit funds known as business development companies have seen a wave of withdrawals. ‘MINDFUL OF …

Microsoft Takes Over a Texas AI Data Center Expansion After OpenAI Backs Away

Microsoft Takes Over a Texas AI Data Center Expansion After OpenAI Backs Away

Published by Sam Flores

Microsoft is taking over a data center construction project in Texas after OpenAI declined to pursue it, in a move that will make the two companies neighbors at one of the nation’s largest complexes for running artificial intelligence. Data center developer Crusoe said Friday it is working with Microsoft to build two new “AI factory” buildings and an on-site power plant in Abilene, Texas, right next to where Crusoe has been building an even larger computing campus for OpenAI and Oracle. OpenAI’s existing project, the flagship of a broader initiative called Stargate, is so massive that President Donald Trump was the first to officially announce it just after his inauguration last year to signal AI investments he called a “resounding declaration of confidence in America’s potential.” Microsoft was once OpenAI’s exclusive cloud computing provider and still holds a roughly 27% stake in the ChatGPT maker, but the two companies are increasingly pursuing AI development separately, even though they are on the same tract of land. Crusoe has already completed two buildings for OpenAI and its …

Vance Holds First Meeting of a New Anti-Fraud Task Force Targeting Benefit Programs

Vance Holds First Meeting of a New Anti-Fraud Task Force Targeting Benefit Programs

Published by Sam Flores

WASHINGTON (AP) — Vice President JD Vance on Friday held the inaugural meeting of a new anti-fraud task force he’s leading as the Trump administration seeks to show it’s cracking down on potential misuse of social programs. Vance, speaking Friday before the task force held a closed-door meeting, said that the federal government, for decades, had not taken the issue of fraud seriously and that it needed to be tackled with “a whole-government approach.” “This is not just the theft of the American people’s money,” Vance said. “It is also the theft of critical services that the American people rely on.” President Donald Trump, a Republican, has made a crackdown on fraud a central part of his domestic agenda as voters have expressed concern about affordability ahead of November’s midterm elections. That effort comes after allegations of fraud involving day care centers run by Somali residents in Minneapolis prompted a massive immigration crackdown in the Midwestern city, resulting in widespread protests. Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, a Democrat who faced Vance as a vice presidential candidate …

How to Help Those Impacted by the Hawaii Floods

How to Help Those Impacted by the Hawaii Floods

Published by Sam Flores

Damages from both storms could exceed $1 billion, according to Hawaii Governor Josh Green, who has asked President Donald Trump for a major disaster declaration to channel federal resources to the recovery effort. “These storms have impacted every county in our state and stretched our emergency response capabilities,” Green said in a statement. “This request is about getting our communities the support they need to recover quickly and safely.” Meanwhile, neighbors and aid groups are rallying to help affected households secure temporary housing, replace food, receive medical care and muck out debris-laden homes. “So many families have been displaced, homes have been damaged, and communities are facing immediate needs,” said Hawaiian Council CEO Kuhio Lewis. “The path to recovery begins now — it cannot wait.” Here are some of the groups accepting financial support to help those impacted. Lahui Foundation is accepting donations for its mutual aid work distributing supplies and financial aid to Oahu’s North Shore families. The group is also organizing volunteers to help residents clean out homes and neighborhoods. North Shore-born musician …

‘Project Hail Mary’ Adds to a Winning Streak for Originality at the Movies

‘Project Hail Mary’ Adds to a Winning Streak for Originality at the Movies

Published by Sam Flores

NEW YORK (AP) — Franchise movies have been the dominant currency in Hollywood for years, but, lately, the upside of originality has been hard to miss. All of these successes came at considerable expense. “Project Hail Mary,” based on the Andy Weir bestseller, cost close to $200 million to make. But its $80.5 million debut vindicated Amazon MGM’s big bet, and gave the studio its largest box-office hit yet. “They made a tremendous investment and it’s going to pay off,” Lord said in an interview alongside Miller last week. “How exciting to reward the people that took a shot.” “Project Hail Mary,” despite its title, isn’t anyone’s idea of a long shot. It stars one of the most widely liked actors in Ryan Gosling. Its source material, Weir’s novel, is beloved. And it trades on much of the same science-first sci-fi appeal of 2015’s best picture-nominated “The Martian,” from an earlier book by Weir. Lord and Miller, the filmmakers of the “Spider-Verse” movies and “The Lego Movie,” have a long track record of success with …

FCC Approves Merger of Local Television Owners Nexstar and Tegna as Two Lawsuits Seek to Block It

FCC Approves Merger of Local Television Owners Nexstar and Tegna as Two Lawsuits Seek to Block It

Published by Sam Flores

The Federal Communications Commission on Thursday said it had approved the merger of local television giants Nexstar Media Group and rival Tegna, the same day that two lawsuits trying to block the deal were announced. Nexstar said last August that it would buy Tegna for $6.2 billion. The deal would create a company that owns 265 television stations in 44 states and the District of Columbia, most of them local affiliates of ABC, CBS, Fox and NBC. FCC Chairman Brendan Carr said the company had agreed to divest itself of six of those stations. The deal needed the approval of the Republican Trump administration’s FCC because the government had to waive rules that limit how many local stations that one company can own. Nexstar said it had also received approval from the Justice Department, but attempts to independently confirm that were not immediately successful Thursday. “We are grateful to President Trump, Chairman Carr and the DOJ for recognizing the dynamic forces shaping the media landscape and allowing this transaction to move forward,” said Perry Sook, …