Business News

Supporting a Hospice Patient Care Unit for the High Country
January 7, 2025
AP-Newswatch
January 7, 2025
Supporting a Hospice Patient Care Unit for the High Country
January 7, 2025
AP-Newswatch
January 7, 2025
Business News

AP-Summary Brief-Business

January 7, 2025

Meta replaces fact-checking with X-style community notes

Facebook and Instagram owner Meta says it’s scrapping its third-party fact-checking program and replacing it with Community Notes written by users similar to the model used by Elon Musk’s social media platform X. Starting in the U.S., Meta will end its fact-checking program with independent third parties. The company said it decided to end the program because expert fact checkers had their own biases and too much content ended up being fact checked. The social media company also said plans to allow “more speech” by lifting some restrictions on some topics that are part of mainstream discussion in order to focus on illegal and “high severity violations” like terrorism, child sexual exploitation and drugs.

Getty Images buying Shutterstock to create a $3.7 billion visual content company

NEW YORK (AP) — Getty Images is buying Shutterstock to create a $3.7 billion visual content company. The companies said Tuesday that they have complementary portfolios, and the transaction creates a broader set of visual content products across still imagery, video, music, 3D and other asset types. The merger comes at a time when companies that use still images are facing increased competition from images generated by artificial intelligence. Getty Images CEO Craig Peters will head the new company which will keep the Getty name.

US job openings rise unexpectedly to 8.1 million in November, a sign the labor market is resilient

WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. job openings rose unexpectedly in November, showing companies are still looking for workers even as the labor market has cooled overall. Openings rose to 8.1 million in November from 7.8 million in October, the Labor Department reported Tuesday. They were down from 8.9 million a year earlier and a peak of 12.2 million in March 2022 as the economy was roaring back from COVID-19 lockdowns. But they still exceed pre-pandemic levels. Economists had expected job openings to fall slightly in November.

Biden administration bans unpaid medical bills from appearing on credit reports

Unpaid medical bills will no longer appear on credit reports, where they can block people from mortgages, car loans or small business loans. That’s according to a final rule announced by the Biden administration on Tuesday. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau says its rule will remove $49 billion in medical debt from the credit reports of more than 15 million Americans. The CFPB estimates the change will raise credit scores by an average of 20 points and could lead to 22,000 additional mortgages being approved every year. Vice President Kamala Harris said in a statement announcing the rule that it would be “lifechanging” for millions of families.

Nvidia founder Jensen Huang unveils next generation of AI and gaming chips at CES 2025

LAS VEGAS (AP) — Chipmaker Nvidia has unveiled new technology for gamers and creators at CES 2025. Founder Jensen Huang announced Nvidia’s GeForce RTX 50 Series desktop and laptop GPUs. They’re its most advanced consumer graphics processor units for gamers, creators and developers. The tech is designed for use on both desktop and laptop computers. The units use the company’s next-generation artificial intelligence chip Blackwell and can deliver breakthroughs in AI-driven rendering.

Stock market today: Wall Street turns mixed following good news on the economy

NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stock indexes are slipping following better-than-expected reports on the job market and business activity. The S&P 500 swung to a dip of 0.4% in Tuesday morning trading after losing an earlier, modest gain. The Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 42 points, and the Nasdaq composite fell 0.9%. Stocks felt pressure from rising yields in the bond market, which jumped immediately after the release of the encouraging reports on the economy. While the strong reports good news for anyone worried about a possible recession, they also make it less likely the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates.

US rejection of Nippon Steel’s bid for US Steel rankles Washington’s key ally in Asia

BANGKOK (AP) — President Joe Biden’s decision to reject a bid by Nippon Steel to acquire U.S. Steel isn’t the first time friction over trade and investment has irked Washington’s closest ally in Asia. Secretary of State Anthony Blinken sought to smooth ruffled feathers in a visit to Tokyo on Tuesday. But the assertion that the proposed $15 billion deal could threaten U.S. national security has stung. Many in Japan see the decision as a betrayal after decades of U.S. pressure to lift barriers to investment and trade. Japanese businesses already are bracing for tariff hikes under President-elect Donald Trump. Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba was blunt in warning that spoiling the deal might hurt Japanese investment in the U.S.

US dockworkers threaten to strike against automation, creating economic uncertainty

WASHINGTON (AP) — Vowing to stop machines from taking their jobs, 45,000 U.S. longshoremen are threatening to go on a strike that would shut ports on the East and Gulf coasts and could damage the American economy just as President-elect Donald Trump returns to the White House. If the standoff sounds familiar, it’s because the same dockworkers — members of the International Longshoremen’s Association — staged a three-day walkout last fall. In October, they suspended the strike until Jan. 15 after reaching a tentative agreement with ports and shipping companies for a 62% pay raise over six years. But union members must approve a final contract before receiving the higher wages.

Chinese tech companies Tencent, CATL and others protest US listings as army-linked companies

HONG KONG (AP) — The U.S. Defense Department has added major Chinese technology companies including gaming and technology company Tencent, artificial intelligence firm SenseTime and the world’s biggest battery maker CATL to its list of companies it says have ties to China’s military. Tencent said Tuesday that it would initiate moves to “correct this mistake.” CATL also denied having any ties with the People’s Liberation Army. The U.S. Defense Department updates its list of companies affiliated with China’s military annually. With the latest revision it includes 134 companies. The National Defense Authorization Act of 2024 bans the U.S. Department of Defense from dealing with the designated companies beginning in June 2026.

Meta’s new board includes UFC boss Dana White, a familiar figure in Trump’s orbit

Meta has appointed three new members to its board of directors. The new members include Dana White, the president and CEO of Ultimate Fighting Championship and a familiar figure in the orbit of incoming President Donald Trump. Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg said in a Facebook post late Monday that the social media company is also adding auto tycoon John Elkann and tech investor Charlie Songhurst. White’s ties with Trump date back to 2001, when White hosted a UFC at the Republican’s former casino-hotel in Atlantic City, New Jersey, the Trump Taj Mahal. Trump has also appeared with White at UFC matches over the years, especially in his 2024 campaign as part of efforts to appeal to younger male voters.