Business News

Boeing CEO to exit in broad management shakeup as manufacturing issues plague storied plane maker

Boeing CEO David Calhoun will step down from the embattled plane maker at the end of the year as part of a broad management shakeup Monday after a series of mishaps at one of America’s iconic manufacturers. Boeing has been under intense pressure since early January, when a panel blew off a brand-new Alaska Airlines 737 Max. Fallout from the Jan. 5 blowout has raised scrutiny of Boeing to its highest level since two Boeing 737 Max jets crashed in 2018 in Indonesia and 2019 in Ethiopia. In all, the crashes killed 346 people.

As Boeing turbulence persists: A look at past crashes and safety issues involving the plane maker

NEW YORK (AP) — Boeing keeps hitting more and more turbulence. The American plane maker has been under intense pressure since early January, when a panel blew off a brand-new Alaska Airlines 737 Max midflight. That’s spotlighted a lengthy series of safety and manufacturing problems that have piled up for Boeing over the years — including two devastating crashes that also involved Max jets. Leadership shakeups have arrived amid this turmoil, too. On Monday, Boeing announced CEO David Calhoun would be stepping down from his post at the end of the year as part of broader management changes. Calhoun became CEO in 2020 after his predecessor was fired following the deadly 2018 and 2019 Max crashes.

Judge dismisses lawsuit by Musk’s X against nonprofit researchers tracking hate speech on platform

A federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit by Elon Musk’s X Corp. against the non-profit Center for Countering Digital Hate, which has documented the increase in hate speech on the site since it was purchased by the Tesla owner. X, formerly known as Twitter, had argued the center’s researchers violated the site’s terms of service by improperly compiling public tweets, and that its subsequent reports on the rise of hate speech cost X millions when advertisers fled.

Stock market today: Wall Street’s momentum cools after its latest record-setting week

NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stocks are drifting at the start of what will be a shortened trading week. The S&P 500 was down 0.1% Monday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was 120 points lower, and the Nasdaq composite was mostly unchanged. The market is cooling after last week’s run, which sent all three indexes to records on Thursday. This week could be relatively quiet, with the headline report on U.S. consumer spending and inflation coming Friday. U.S. stock and bond markets will be closed that day for Good Friday. Treasury yields were rising in the bond market.

Big brands could pivot easily if TikTok goes away. For many small businesses, it’s another story

NEW YORK (AP) — A lot of “What ifs” still surround a bill the U.S. House passed last week that would mandate TikTok′s Beijing-based parent company to sell its stake in the platform or face a nationwide ban. Big brands that have relied on TikTok videos to reach younger consumers do not appear to be panicking as they wait to see what happens. But they have started planning. Some are retooling promotional campaigns originally intended just for TikTok. To mitigate any risks, many companies are researching alternatives and prioritizing influencers who have sizable followings on multiple social media networks. Industry analysts say it will be more difficult for smaller firms and solo entrepreneurs to rebound if TikTok goes away.

Apple, Google, Meta targeted under new European law meant to prevent cornering of digital markets

LONDON (AP) — European Union regulators have opened investigations into Apple, Google and Meta, in the first cases under a sweeping new law designed to stop Big Tech companies from cornering digital markets that took effect earlier this month. The European Commission, the 27-nation bloc’s executive arm, said Monday it was investigating the companies for “non-compliance” with the Digital Markets Act. It’s a broad rulebook that targets Big Tech “gatekeeper” companies forcing them to comply with a set of do’s and don’ts, under threat of hefty financial penalties or even breaking up businesses. The rules have the broad but vague goal of making digital markets “fairer” and “more contestable.”

Trump’s social media company to start trading on the Nasdaq on Tuesday

Trump Media & Technology Group, whose flagship product is social networking site Truth Social, will begin trading on the Nasdaq stock market on Tuesday. Shareholders of Digital World Acquisition Corp., a publicly traded shell company, approved a deal to merge with the Trump’s media business in a Friday vote. The common stock of Trump Media & Technology Group will trade under the ticker symbol “DJT.”

Energy agency announces $6 billion to slash emissions in industrial facilities

The industrial sector is getting $6 billion in federal funding for projects that will slash planet-warming greenhouse gas emissions, the largest-ever U.S. investment to decarbonize domestic industries. The Biden administration announced the funding Monday through the Inflation Reduction Act and the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. One-third of all energy-related greenhouse gas emissions in the U.S. come from the industrial sector, which has been difficult to decarbonize. Iron, steel, aluminum, concrete, and cement facilities are some of the funding recipients and will lower emissions through technologies such as industrial heat pumps and hydrogen-powered furnaces. This funding aims to eliminate 14 million metric tons of pollution each year.

Wind and sun are free, but it’s harder to get renewable energy projects built these days. Here’s why

SPRAKEBUELL, Germany (AP) — These are turbulent times for wind and solar energy. High interest rates needed to finance renewable projects are coming on top of long waits to buy equipment. And those headwinds are blowing at a time when investment needs to massively ramp up to meet ambitious climate goals by generating electricity without producing greenhouse gases. In poorer countries, financing is even costlier and projects stall even where sunshine is an obvious power source. A gusty village of 260 people in north Germany has already become self-sufficient in renewable energy and could offer ideas for solutions for other parts of the world.

U.S. sanctions Russian entities accused of enabling digital currency sanctions evasion

WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. is imposing sanctions on a collection of mostly Russian fintech firms and people accused of enabling sanctions evasion. Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control announced Monday that it was sanctioning 13 firms and 2 people. Five of the firms are owned by someone who is already sanctioned. According to the Treasury Department, the sanctioned firms and people either helped build or operate blockchain-based services or enabled virtual currency payments for the Russian financial sector. The Department says those actions enable “potential sanctions evasion.” Included in Monday’s sanctions are a group of Moscow-based fintech companies and a Russia-based virtual currency exchange.