Business News

Late-night TV shows announce their return after Hollywood writers strike ends

NEW YORK (AP) — TV’s late-night hosts planned to return to their regular evening sketches and monologues as the flow of topical humor is set to return after five silent months due to the just-ended Hollywood writers strike. “Real Time with Bill Maher” will be back on the air Friday. The hosts of NBC’s “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon” and “Late Night with Seth Meyers,” ABC’s “Jimmy Kimmel Live,” and “The Late Show With Stephen Colbert” on CBS announced they’d also return, all by Monday. “Last Week Tonight” with John Oliver will return to the air Sunday. Comedy Central’s “The Daily Show” will return Oct. 16.

Apple leverages idea of switching to Bing to pry more money out of Google, Microsoft exec says

WASHINGTON (AP) — A Microsoft executive says Apple gets Google to pay more to be the default search engine on iPhones and Macs by dangling the idea of switching its devices to Bing. Microsoft’s advertising and web services chief said in court Wednesday that Apple’s strategy translates into it making more money leveraging Bing than Bing makes off its own business. Analysts estimate Apple collects up to $20 billion a year in revenue-sharing payments from Google. U.S. antitrust prosecutors are accusing Google of using agreements with companies like Apple to lock out rival search engines like Microsoft’s Bing and Yahoo. They say the arrangements stifle innovation.

Stock market today: Wall Street yo-yos to a mixed close as oil and bond markets raise the pressure

NEW YORK (AP) — Wall Street has yo-yoed to a mixed finish as rising oil prices and bond yields crank up the pressure even higher on the stock market. The S&P 500 inched up by less than 0.1% Wednesday after taking several U-turns through the day. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 68 points, and the Nasdaq composite rose 0.2%. September is on track to be Wall Street’s worst month of the year as it tries to absorb a recent leap by Treasury yields. Yields rose further Wednesday, reaching heights unseen in more than a decade. Crude oil prices also rallied further.

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg kicks off developer conference with focus on AI, virtual reality

MENLO PARK, California (AP) — Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg kicked off the tech giant’s Connect developer conference on Wednesday with a focus on virtual and augmented reality and artificial intelligence. The company, which renamed itself Meta two years ago, unveiled the next version of its virtual reality headset, the Quest 3. It will cost $499 and begin shipping Oct. 10. Meta is in the midst of a corporate transformation that it says will take years to complete. It wants to evolve from a provider of social platforms to a dominant power in a nascent virtual-reality world called the metaverse. But the shift has been slower than expected.

Auto workers union to announce plans on Friday to expand strike in contract dispute with companies

DETROIT (AP) — The United Auto Workers union says it will announce on Friday how it plans to expand its strike against Detroit’s three automakers. The union says President Shawn Fain will make the announcement at 10 a.m. Eastern time in a video appearance addressing union members. The union went on strike Sept. 14 when it couldn’t reach agreements on new contracts with Ford, General Motors and Jeep maker Stellantis. At first it targeted one assembly plant from each company, and last week it added 38 parts distribution centers run by GM and Stellantis. Ford was spared the second escalation because talks with the union were progressing.

University of the People founder and Arizona State professor win Yidan Prize for education work

NEW YORK (AP) — Shai Reshef, president and founder of the online, tuition-free University of the People, and Arizona State University professor and researcher Michelene Chi, who has developed a framework to improve how students learn, are the 2023 winners of The Yidan Prize, the biggest award in education. Reshef and Chi will each receive 15 million Hong Kong dollars ($1.9 million) from The Hong Kong-based Yidan Prize Foundation, as well as another 15 million Hong Kong dollars ($1.9 million) in unrestricted funds to further their work, the foundation announced Wednesday. Edward Ma, the Yidan Prize Foundation’s secretary-general, said the new Yidan laureates will join previous winners to work together to improve education on both the local and global level.

Hyundai and Kia recall nearly 3.4 million vehicles due to fire risk and urge owners to park outdoors

DETROIT (AP) — Hyundai and Kia are recalling nearly 3.4 million vehicles in the U.S. and telling owners to park them outside due to the risk of engine compartment fires. The recalls cover multiple models from the 2010 through 2019 model years including Hyundai’s Santa Fe SUV and Kia’s Sorrento SUV. Documents posted Wednesday by U.S. safety regulators say the anti-lock brake control module can leak fluid and cause an electrical short. That can touch off a fire while the vehicles are parked or being driven. Dealers will replace the anti-lock brake fuse at no cost to owners, but owners won’t be notified by mail until November.

Britain approves new North Sea oil drilling in welcome news for the industry but not activists

LONDON (AP) — Britain has given the go-ahead for a major oil and gas project in the North Sea, ignoring warnings from scientists and the United Nations that countries must stop developing new fossil fuel resources if the world is to avoid catastrophic climate change. The North Sea Transition Authority approved development of the Rosebank field on Wednesday, allowing owners Equinor and Ithaca Energy to move forward with the project about 130 kilometers — or about 80 miles — northwest of the Shetland Islands. The authority is a U.K. regulator charged with both maximizing the economic benefits of Britain’s North Sea energy resources and helping the country meet its goals for reducing carbon emissions.

Biden vetoes two Republican-led bills to undo protections for the prairie bird and northern bat

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden has vetoed Republican-sponsored bills intended to undo federal protections for two endangered species that have seen their populations plummet over the years. Biden says the measure would overturn “science-based rulemaking” that offers important protections for the once-abundant lesser prairie chicken and northern long-eared bat. The president also says the bills would undermine the Endangered Species Act. Environmentalists have long sought stronger federal protections for the prairie bird, which is at risk from oil and gas development, livestock grazing and farming, along with roads and power lines. The long-eared bat is one of 12 bat types threatened by a fungal disease called white-nose syndrome.

Japan’s court recognizes more victims of Minamata mercury poisoning and awards them compensation

TOKYO (AP) — A Japanese court has ordered the central government, the Kumamoto prefecture and a chemical company to recognize more than 120 plaintiffs as patients of the decades-old Minamata mercury poisoning and pay compensation they have been denied because they developed symptoms after moving away from the region. The Osaka District Court on Wednesday recognized all 128 plaintiffs as Minamata disease victims and ordered the government, Kumamoto and Chisso Corp., which is held responsible for the pollution, to pay 2.75 million yen, or $18,400, each. Minamata disease, first diagnosed in 1956, was later linked to the consumption of seafood from the Minamata Bay on Japan’s southern main island of Kyushu, where Chisso dumped mercury compounds.