Business News

A driver’s test for autonomous vehicles? A leading expert says US should have one

ANN ARBOR, Mich. (AP) — At a time of growing concern about the safety of self-driving vehicles, a leading expert is calling on the federal government to develop a national driver’s test that such vehicles would have to pass before they could travel on public roads. Such a regulation would set minimum standards to ensure that the vehicles display basic skills and competence in traffic situations where their manufacturers want to use them, said Henry Liu, who leads the University of Michigan’s autonomous vehicle testing center. In recent years, autonomous vehicles have been involved in a number of high-profile crashes, and surveys have revealed widespread public uncertainty about their safety.

TikTok is designed to be addictive to kids and causes them harm, US states’ lawsuits say

More than a dozen states and the District of Columbia have filed lawsuits against TikTok. They are alleging the popular short-form video app is designed to be addictive to kids and harms young people’s mental health. At the heart of each lawsuit is the TikTok algorithm, which powers what users see on the platform by populating the app’s main “For You” feed with content tailored to people’s interests. The lawsuits also emphasize design features that they say make children addicted to the platform. TikTok says it strongly disagrees with the claims. It says many of the allegations in the lawsuits are wrong and misleading.

China puts provisional tariffs on European brandy after EU OKs duties on Chinese EVs

BEIJING (AP) — Chinese drinkers may pay more for Remy Martin and other European brandies after the government announced provisional tariffs of 30.6% to 39%. Tuesday’s announcement comes four days after a majority of European Union countries approved duties on electric vehicles made in China. The tit-for-tat move could give Chinese negotiators more leverage in talks with the EU on reducing or eliminating the tariffs of up to 35.3% on Chinese EVs, which would take effect at the end of this month. The brandy tariffs are provisional and require importers to make a deposit with the Chinese customs agency for the amount of the tariff, starting Friday. The EU vowed to challenge the move at the World Trade Organization.

PepsiCo lowers revenue forecast on “subdued” sales in US, China and elsewhere

PepsiCo lowered its sales forecast for the year after consumers in the U.S., China and elsewhere pulled back on its snacks and drinks. The company said Tuesday it now expects its organic revenue to see a low single-digit increase for the year. It had expected an increase of 4%. After years of price increases, PepsiCo has begun to see consumers pushing back. Chairman and CEO Ramon Laguarta said Tuesday that the company increased its spending on promotions and value for its Lay’s brand in the third quarter and is now expanding that effort to its Doritos and Tostitos brands.

Small business disaster loan program said to be in danger of running out of funds by end of month

NEW YORK (AP) — The Small Business Administration could run out of money to fund disaster loans in the wake of Hurricane Helene’s devastation. As is typical after a disaster, the government is offering aid to small businesses that were in Helene’s path. The SBA is offering disaster loans for small businesses in some counties in Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia. But President Joe Biden said in a letter to Congress Friday that aid could run out “in a matter of weeks” if more federal funding is not approved. And now another hurricane, Milton, is bearing down on Florida.

Pioneers in artificial intelligence win the Nobel Prize in physics

STOCKHOLM (AP) — Two pioneers of artificial intelligence have won the Nobel Prize in physics. John Hopfield and Geoffrey Hinton were awarded the prize Tuesday for discoveries and inventions that formed the building blocks of machine learning. Hinton said he was flabbergasted at being honored. He said AI is revolutionizing the way we work and live but also creates new threats to humanity. The physics prize carries a cash award of 11 million Swedish kronor ($1 million) from a bequest left by the award’s creator, Swedish inventor Alfred Nobel. Six days of Nobel announcements opened Monday with Americans Victor Ambros and Gary Ruvkun winning the medicine prize.

Stock market today: Wall Street rebounds after Hong Kong stocks fall to worst day since 2008

NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stocks are on the rebound as falling oil prices release some of the pressure that built up on the market. The S&P 500 was 0.9% higher Tuesday and clawing back nearly all of its loss from the day before. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 123 points, while the Nasdaq composite was up 1.2% as Big Tech stocks led the way. Wall Street held firm even though stock markets around the world sank following scary swings in China, as euphoria about possible stimulus for the world’s second-largest economy gave way to disappointment. Stocks in Hong Kong tumbled to their worst day since 2008.

Some East Palestine derailment settlement payments should go out even during appeal of the deal

People who lived near the disastrous East Palestine train derailment last year should still be able to receive personal injury payments even while the bulk of their $600 million class action settlement with Norfolk Southern railroad remains on hold during an appeal. A spokesperson for attorneys who represented residents said provisions of the deal will allow those personal injury payments to be made even while an appeal challenging whether the settlement is adequate and fair moves forward. Four additional residents filed notice Tuesday that they are appealing the deal.

Facebook, YouTube and TikTok users in Europe get forum to challenge social media content decisions

LONDON (AP) — Social media users across the European Union will soon have a new forum to challenge decisions by platforms to remove posts and videos for breaking their rules or leave up others that may violate them. An “out of court dispute settlement body” named the Appeals Center Europe said Tuesday it has been certified by Irish regulators to act as a referee on content moderation disputes across the EU, starting with cases involving Facebook, YouTube and TikTok. The center is similar to Meta’s Oversight Board, a quasi-independent body set up in 2020 that acts like a supreme court for thorny decisions about content moderation issues on Facebook, Instagram and Threads submitted by users around the world.

Supreme Court rejects appeal from ‘Pharma Bro’ Martin Shkreli

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court on Monday rejected an appeal from Martin Shkreli, who was once dubbed “Pharma Bro” after jacking up the price of a lifesaving drug. Shkreli appealed an order to return $64.6 million in profits he and his former company reaped after monopolizing the market for the medication and drastically increasing its price. His lawyers argued that money went to his company rather than him personally. Prosecutors, though, said the company had agreed in a settlement to pay $40 million, and because Shkreli masterminded the scheme he should bear responsibility for repaying profits.