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Disaster dogged Boeing in 2024. Can it turn around in 2025?

Business / Business News /

A year after a panel blew off a 737 Max midflight, Boeing says mistakes like those leading up to the near-disaster on Jan. 5, 2024, won’t happen again.

The company has increased inspections, created new procedures to make sure airplane parts and airplane work are documented, and, it says, recommitted itself to the quality and safety of the ...Read more

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GM notches best sales since 2019 as all brands see annual growth

Business / Business News /

Sales across General Motors Co.'s brands grew in 2024, with the automaker reporting Friday that it had the best overall U.S. sales total since prior to the pandemic in 2019.

GM's 2.7 million vehicles sold for the year in the U.S. was a 4% uptick from 2023 — still under 2019's nearly 2.9 million, but marking continued steady sales growth since...Read more

Ford/TNS/TNS

Ford reports highest annual sales since before COVID, but EVs fall behind GM

Business / Business News /

Ford Motor Co.'s U.S. sales grew 4.2% year-over-year in 2024 to their highest level since pre-pandemic 2019, and it recorded a record year of electric vehicle deliveries, but fell behind crosstown rival General Motors Co. in sales of battery-powered models.

Even as affordability became an increasingly prominent issue for buyers in 2024 from ...Read more

Stellantis/Stellantis/TNS

Auto dealers battle a growing problem: synthetic identity fraud

Business / Business News /

Grand theft auto might be a problem for Metro Detroit dealers, but a growing concern among dealers nationally is fraudulent sales that appear like any other transaction.

Vehicle thefts done through identity theft, synthetic identities and similar schemes are on the rise as lucrative fraud opportunities elsewhere dry up and vehicle prices remain...Read more

Chase Stevens/Las Vegas Review-Journal/TNS

Monstrous CES technology show opening in Las Vegas

Business / Business News /

The New Year’s celebrations are over and all the party-goers have left. Long-time Las Vegans know what that means — CES attendees are on their way to the city.

The city’s largest audited annual trade show, sponsored by the Consumer Technology Association, begins its four-day run Tuesday with media previews and pre-show events running ...Read more

General Motors/General Motors/TNS

Auto review: 2025 Chevrolet Suburban is America's mobile rumpus room

Business / Business News /

Today, we suffer from delusions of Autobahn grandeur, where every automaker feels compelled to endow their car with chiropractor-inducing suspension tuning. Engineered for top speed on the Autobahn, not the reality of America’s clogged arteries, they rarely offer comfortable seats or the comfort we require.

Of course, there was a time when ...Read more

Henry Payne/The Detroit News/TNS

Auto review: Kia K4, compact in a tux

Business / Business News /

AUSTIN, Texas — The handsome 2025 Cadillac CT5 is here and it’s a stunner. Signature teardrop front and rear taillights, wide stance, coupe-like roofline, twin, 33-inch hoodless instrument display. Ohhhh. Alas, most buyers can’t afford its $50K-plus sticker price.

Happily, the CT5 has a $23K doppelganger called the 2025 Kia K4.

Teardrop ...Read more

Marc Grasso/Boston Herald/TNS

Auto review: 2024 Maserati GranTurismo delivers the WOW factor

Business / Business News /

Simply put, this is the luxury sports car of the Italian fleet. Produced by parent company Stellantis and Fiat Chrysler (FCA), Maserati does it again with their Italian stallion, the 2024 Maserati GranTurismo Trofeo. This beast not only looks amazing and rides and handles unbelievably well, but it also has power that sets it apart from the rest....Read more

Patrick Connolly/Orlando Sentinel/TNS

World's largest collector car auction back in Kissimmee with 4,500 vehicles

Business / Business News /

Mecum Auctions is once again gearing up to bring its larger-than-life collector car auction in Kissimmee, Florida, with 4,500 vehicles.

Billed as the world’s largest collector car auction, Mecum Kissimmee kicks off Jan. 7 and goes through Jan. 19 with hundreds of cars crossing the auction block every day, including classic Corvettes, American...Read more

Jerry Holt/Minnesota Star Tribune/TNS

3M tech making it easier for drivers to see on dark, rainy roads

Business / Business News /

When JC Ojeda and Marlene Lopez Ibarra pitch products to prospective customers, they first talk about their own families — and bringing them home safely.

The technical specifications of 3M’s reflective pavement markings can wait.

“When I see what we’re doing on the road, when I see that we’re saving families, when I see the ...Read more

Richard A. Brooks/AFP/Getty Images North America/TNS

Biden to block Nippon Steel takeover of US Steel on Friday

Business / Business News /

President Joe Biden has decided to block the sale of United States Steel Corp. to Japan’s Nippon Steel Corp., according to three people with knowledge of the matter.

The White House announcement of the decision is planned for Friday, some of the people said. The people requested anonymity to discuss a senstitive issue.

The Washington Post ...Read more

Al Seib/Los Angeles Times/TNS

Paramount, Skydance fire back at critics of their pending merger

Business / Business News /

Paramount Global and Skydance Media responded to critics of their pending merger, saying in a regulatory filing that they fail to show they’ll be harmed by the deal, and instead make demands that threaten free speech rights.

The merger of Paramount, owner of CBS and MTV, with independent film producer Skydance Media had drawn criticism at the...Read more

Richard A. Brooks/AFP/Getty Images North America/TNS

Biden to announce US Steel decision as early as Friday, CBS says

Business / Business News /

U.S. President Joe Biden will make a decision as soon as Friday on whether to approve Nippon Steel Corp.’s acquisition of U.S. Steel Corp., CBS reported, citing people familiar with the process.

The president has indicated his opposition to the proposed $14.1 billion acquisition, though the White House has never said outright that he would ...Read more

China plans export curbs on battery parts, mineral technology

Business / Business News /

China plans to tighten export restrictions on certain technology used to make battery components and the processing of two crucial metals amid rising trade tensions globally.

Beijing proposes including battery cathode material preparation technology to its catalog of applications that are subject to export bans or restrictions, according to a ...Read more

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Treasury wins back role in 'eventual release' of Fannie, Freddie

Business / Business News /

The agencies that control mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac set out a roadmap for releasing the pair from government supervision, reinstating the U.S. Treasury’s power to approve any such plan in a bid to keep the process “orderly.”

“The agreement restores Treasury’s previous right to consent to a release of the GSEs from ...Read more

Ken Lambert/The Seattle Times/TNS

Amazon's Seattle campus still quiet as 5-days-in-office deadline hits

Business / Business News /

Amazon’s first day back in the office felt like any other Thursday. Which is to say, none too busy in downtown Seattle.

In Seattle’s South Lake Union and Denny Triangle neighborhoods — home to Amazon’s largest corporate campus with more than 50,000 employees — bundled-up Amazonians trickled into office towers throughout the morning ...Read more

Luis Sinco/Los Angeles Times/TNS

Business groups sue over California's new ban on captive audience meetings

Business / Business News /

California business groups have sued to stop the state from implementing a new law that prohibits companies from ordering workers to attend meetings on unionization and other matters.

The law, Senate Bill 399, went into effect Jan. 1 and makes it illegal to penalize an employee who refuses to attend a meeting at which their employer discusses ...Read more

Budrul Chukrut/SOPA Images via ZUMA Press Wire/TNS

Apple to pay $95 million to settle privacy lawsuit over Siri recordings

Business / Business News /

Apple agreed to pay $95 million in cash to settle a lawsuit that alleges the tech giant recorded private conversations from people who used its voice assistant Siri without their consent.

The iPhone maker was sued in 2019 for allegedly violating users' privacy after The Guardian reported that contractors hired by the company to review Siri's ...Read more

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Tesla's annual sales fall for first time in company history

Business / Business News /

Tesla sales declined for the first time in the company’s history last year, the company reported Thursday, reflecting what analysts said was a lack of new models in an increasingly competitive market for electric vehicles.

Vehicle deliveries fell to 1.79 million, representing a drop of 1.1% from 1.81 million vehicles in 2023.

Tesla shares ...Read more

Kent Nishimura/Los Angeles Times/TNS

Michael Hiltzik: Business leaders bow to anti-DEI activists -- except at Costco

Business / Business News /

It has long been clear that relying on corporate leaders to stand fast for social and economic progress is a mug's game.

Big business talks the talk, of course. As I've written before, after the insurrection of Jan. 6, 2021, many corporate leaders pledged publicly to oppose the assaults from the political right wing on democracy.

Leading ...Read more