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Disaster dogged Boeing in 2024. Can it turn around in 2025?
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
GM notches best sales since 2019 as all brands see annual growth
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 reports highest annual sales since before COVID, but EVs fall behind GM
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
Auto dealers battle a growing problem: synthetic identity fraud
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
Monstrous CES technology show opening in Las Vegas
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
Auto review: 2025 Chevrolet Suburban is America's mobile rumpus room
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
Auto review: Kia K4, compact in a tux
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
Auto review: 2024 Maserati GranTurismo delivers the WOW factor
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
World's largest collector car auction back in Kissimmee with 4,500 vehicles
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
3M tech making it easier for drivers to see on dark, rainy roads
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
Biden to block Nippon Steel takeover of US Steel on Friday
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
Paramount, Skydance fire back at critics of their pending merger
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
Biden to announce US Steel decision as early as Friday, CBS says
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
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
Treasury wins back role in 'eventual release' of Fannie, Freddie
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
Amazon's Seattle campus still quiet as 5-days-in-office deadline hits
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
Business groups sue over California's new ban on captive audience meetings
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
Apple to pay $95 million to settle privacy lawsuit over Siri recordings
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
Tesla's annual sales fall for first time in company history
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
Michael Hiltzik: Business leaders bow to anti-DEI activists -- except at Costco
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
Popular Stories
- Michael Hiltzik: A Faulkner classic and Popeye enter the public domain while copyright only gets more confusing
- China plans export curbs on battery parts, mineral technology
- Paramount, Skydance fire back at critics of their pending merger
- Auto review: 2024 Maserati GranTurismo delivers the WOW factor
- Amazon's Seattle campus still quiet as 5-days-in-office deadline hits