Business News

No end for Boeing labor strike as workers reject latest contract proposal

SEATTLE (AP) — Boeing factory workers have voted against the company’s latest contract offer and will remain on the picket lines six weeks into a strike that has stopped production of the aerospace giant’s bestselling jetliners. Local union leaders in Seattle say 64% of the members of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers voted against the proposal Wednesday. The offer included pay raises of 35% over four years. Boeing workers told Associated Press reporters the company’s refusal to restore a traditional pension plan that was frozen a decade ago is a sticking point. A spokesperson for Boeing said officials didn’t have a comment on the vote.

Tesla posts surprise $2.17 billion third-quarter profit, up 17.3% from a year ago

DETROIT (AP) — Tesla’s third-quarter net income rose 17.3% on stronger electric vehicle sales. An optimistic CEO Elon Musk predicted the company would achieve up to 30% sales growth next year. The performance changed the trajectory of the year for the Austin, Texas, company, which had seen sales and profits decline in the first two quarters. Tesla said Wednesday that it made $2.17 billion from July through September, more than the $1.85 billion profit a year ago. The earnings came despite price cuts and low-interest financing that helped boost sales of the company’s aging vehicle lineup. After the results were announced, Tesla’s stock soared almost 12%.

Stock market today: Wall Street drifts as IBM’s drop helps cancel out Tesla’s surge

NEW YORK (AP) — Wall Street is drifting as a sharp drop for IBM helps cancel out a surge for Tesla. The S&P 500 rose 0.2% Thursday. It’s coming off of its first three-day losing streak since early September. The Nasdaq composite rose 0.7%, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average was lagging the rest of the market with a drop of 145 points. Tesla jumped after reporting a better profit for the latest quarter than analysts expected. But IBM fell sharply after reporting revenue for the latest quarter that came in short of expectations. Treasury yields eased in the bond market.

IMF chief warns that world risks falling into slow-growth rut and urges China to enact reforms

WASHINGTON (AP) — The world economy, buffeted by conflict and growing geopolitical rivalries, is in danger of getting stuck in a slow-growth, high-debt rut, the head of the International Monetary Fund warned Thursday. She also urged Chinese leaders to take more decisive action to jump-start their country’s sluggish economy or risk seeing economic growth plummet. “These are anxious times,’’ the fund’s managing director, Kristalina Georgieva, told reporters during the fall meetings of the IMF and its sister agency, the World Bank.

US applications for jobless benefits fall, but continuing claims rise to highest level since 2021

The number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits fell last week, but the total number of those collecting benefits rose to its highest level in almost three years. The Labor Department reported Thursday that applications for jobless claims fell by by 15,000 to 227,000 for the week of Oct. 19. That’s less than the 241,000 analysts forecast. Continuing claims, the total number of Americans collecting jobless benefits, rose by 28,000 to 1.9 million for the week of Oct. 12. That’s the most since November 13, 2021. Applications for jobless benefits are considered a proxy for U.S. layoffs.

Nigeria releases American crypto executive after dropping money laundering case

WASHINGTON (AP) — An American cryptocurrency executive held in Nigeria for the past eight months has been released after authorities there announced that they were ending his money laundering trial on health and diplomatic grounds. Tigran Gambaryan, Binance’s head of financial crime compliance, was freed on humanitarian parole and was returning to the United States to receive medical attention. That’s according to White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan, who expressed gratitude to the Nigerians for the release in a statement Thursday. Nigerian authorities had accused Binance and Gambaryan of using the platform to launder up to $35 million and to manipulate the local naira currency, which they deny.

CVS workers reach tentative contract agreement after weekend strike

LOS ANGELES (AP) — The unions representing more than 7,000 CVS workers in Southern California have reached a tentative agreement on a contract. This came after workers went on strike at seven stores in the Los Angeles area over the weekend demanding better pay, staffing, and more affordable healthcare. The previous contract expired in June. Workers now have an opportunity to review and vote on the contract. Last Friday, thousands of Rite Aid pharmacy workers in the Los Angeles area also voted to authorize a strike. More than 2,400 Kaiser mental health workers walked off the job Monday in an open-ended strike.

Nevada jury hands $5.2 billion verdict against Vegas company in bottled water liver damage lawsuit

LAS VEGAS (AP) — A jury in Nevada has delivered a $5.2 billion award in the latest large-sum civil lawsuit against a former Las Vegas-based bottled water company found responsible for causing liver damage in customers in 2021. The verdict came Wednesday in the negligence and product liability trial of AffinityLifestyles.com and its Real Water brand. Attorney Will Kemp, representing several plaintiffs in this and other cases, told the Las Vegas Review-Journal the company has filed for bankruptcy. The company was headed by Brent Jones, a Republican Nevada state Assembly member from 2016 to 2018. Jones and attorneys for the company didn’t respond to emails seeking comment. Other juries have delivered verdicts totaling almost $3.4 billion in three previous trials against the company.