Federal regulators accused Bank of America on Tuesday of harming customers by double-dipping on fees, withholding credit card rewards and opening fake accounts. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau ordered Bank of America (BAC) to pay more than $100 million to customers and $90 million in penalties. The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency also […]
Category: Business
‘Fednow’ new instant money program may lead to crisis
FedNow is coming…now-ish. And that means money transfers are expected to get a whole lot faster. Sure, you can currently Venmo or Zelle your friends instantly, but the banking system hasn’t kept up. Most transfers currently run on old systems that take hours, or even days, to process the money. That’s all set to change […]
The USA is ‘king of corn’; but for how long?
Across the plains of America known as the Corn Belt, farmers are spending their days and nights nurturing, tending to and praying for the wellbeing of this common yet globally significant food. Scott Haerr, who harvests 4,000 acres of corn every year (an area nearly five-times the size of New York’s Central Park), is one. […]
90% of rise in unemployment attributed to Black workers.
The unemployment rate for African Americans jumped for a second straight month in June as workers left the workforce amid early signs of a cooling labor market. That cooling has been uneven: The number of unemployed African Americans has increased by 267,000 since April, meaning they account for close to 90% of the 300,000 increase […]
After 47 years, Ford retires the Fiesta
The last Ford Fiesta leaves the assembly line on Friday, marking the end of an era for a model that sold 22m vehicles globally and is the UK’s all-time bestselling car. As the final vehicle leaves production in its factory in Cologne, Germany, Ford will be ushering in a new line of electric vehicles. Ford […]
Watch out Twitter; here comes Threads
Ten million users signed up for Meta’s newly launched Threads app in its first seven hours, the company’s chief Mark Zuckerberg says. He pitched the app as a “friendly” rival to Twitter, which was bought by Elon Musk in October. Experts say Threads could attract Twitter users unhappy with recent changes to the platform. Threads […]
Wind turbines breaking, costing makers billions
Wind turbines make money when they spin. But when they shake, it can cost billions. Siemens Energy is struggling to contain the fallout after discovering a main piece on the frame of its wind turbine can move or twist over time, potentially damaging other critical components, according to people familiar with the matter. Executives and […]
Over $200 billion in Covid aid lost to fraud
The Small Business Administration distributed more than $200 billion in potentially fraudulent Covid-19 relief funds, according to a federal watchdog. The findings, released Tuesday by the SBA’s inspector general, underscored how the emergency funds from the government designed to combat a once-in-a-century pandemic became a magnet for fraudsters. At least 17% of the $1.2 trillion […]
NY plan to lower Pizza Oven emissions unpopular
A proposal to slice emissions from coal and wood-burning pizza ovens in New York City by 75% has left a bad taste in the mouths of some locals. A rule change proposed on Friday would require pizzerias to evaluate whether they can install emissions control devices for their kitchens stoves. Critics say the devices will […]
‘Today’s Titanic’; World’s biggest cruise ship set to sail
A vessel that’s set to be the world’s biggest cruise ship has completed construction at a shipyard in Finland and has made its first foray into open water for sea trials ahead of likely delivery in October this year. Royal Caribbean International’s Icon of the Seas is a mammoth 365 meters long (nearly 1,200 feet) […]
China now owns 300,000 acres of US soil
In 2021, a Chinese company bought land near an Air Force base in Grand Fork, N.D., sending lawmakers into a frenzy. Lawmakers feared that China, which many policymakers view as a strategic adversary even though it’s the country’s top trading partner outside North America, could gain control over the U.S. food and energy supply, as […]
What the heck is ‘Bidenomics’?
The White House is pressing congressional Democrats to embrace the concept of “Bidenomics” as President Joe Biden tries to reclaim messaging around the economy. In a memo sent to Hill Democrats earlier this week, White House officials detailed talking points to control the economic narrative as being under the control of Bidenomics, a catchall term […]