Goldman Sachs’s Malaysian subsidiary has pleaded guilty to charges that it conspired to violate US anti-bribery laws in a massive scheme involving the Southeast Asian country’s sovereign wealth fund, known as 1MDB. Goldman has agreed to pay about $2.9 billion to various authorities. About $1.3 billion of that will go to the US Justice Department,…

There will be no miracle on 34th Street this year. Santa Claus won’t be visiting any Macy’s stores in 2020, ending a 159-year holiday season tradition. The department store’s tradition started in 1861, but Santa meet-and-greets won’t be happening this year because of concerns about the coronavirus pandemic. Instead, Macy’s is creating an interactive virtual…

Every Guinness Irish stout has contained alcohol for the past 261 years. Until next week. Guinness announced 0.0, a non-alcoholic version of its famous stout, will go on sale in the UK and Ireland Monday at select retailers, and it will go on sale elsewhere — including pubs — in the spring. The drink isn’t…

The $4 billion takeover of US ticketing resale platform StubHub by its European rival Viagogo was thrown into jeopardy on Thursday after Britain’s competition watchdog said it could require the companies to part ways. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) said in a statement that the deal is “likely to result in a substantial lessening…

JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon is urging all Americans this election to respect the democratic process, especially the peaceful transfer of power. “The peaceful and stable transition of power ― whether it is to the second administration of a president or a new one ― is a hallmark of America’s 244-year history as an independent…

American Airlines and Southwest Airlines both reported billions of dollars in losses Thursday, but that’s what passes for an improvement in the battered industry these days. American, the world’s largest airline, reported it lost $2.8 billion in the third quarter excluding special items. That’s down from the $3.4 billion it lost in the second quarter…

HBO Max — WarnerMedia’s answer to Netflix, Disney+ and the like — is catching on quickly. The company doubled the number of HBO Max subscribers last quarter and now has 38 million HBO and HBO Max customers. That’s enough to surpass HBO’s year-end target. AT&T, which owns CNN parent company WarnerMedia and the fledgling streaming…

Burger King is planning to test reusable containers starting next year as part of its efforts to reduce waste. The trial is part of a partnership with TerraCycle’s zero-waste delivery platform, Loop. Customers can opt in for reusable packaging for menu items such as sandwiches, soft drinks and coffee. They can then return the reusable…

A Texas grand jury charged Paul Kruse, Blue Bell Creameries’ former CEO and president, was charged with wire fraud and conspiracy in connection with an alleged cover-up of the company’s 2015 listeria outbreak, the Department of Justice announced on Wednesday. Kruse, who served as the company’s CEO and president from 2004 to 2017, was charged…

Delivery is soaring in popularity as people order in instead of going to restaurants in the pandemic. That’s not entirely good news for Chipotle. The company said on Wednesday that while delivery helped send its revenue up 14% in the quarter ended Sept. 30, the costs associated with that hurt its profit. Shares of the…

Square and PayPal are disrupting the commercial banking industry. Now, the United States’ largest bank is fighting back. On Wednesday, JPMorgan Chase released a card payment provider, QuickAccept, as part of a new checking account service called Business Complete Banking. With the new service, the bank is hoping to attract small-business owners, a spokesperson said.…

Reverse mergers were long reserved to the backwaters of Wall Street. Today, they’ve become the hottest way to go public. Virgin Galactic, DraftKings and Nikola have all gone public by merging with special purpose acquisition companies, or SPACs. Even Playboy is joining the SPAC craze. High-profile dealmakers including billionaires Bill Ackman, Richard Branson and even…

Covid-19 Essentials is a pandemic-specific store for all your pandemic-specific needs, and the growing business already has eight locations at malls across America. The company sells a wide variety of more fashionable face masks and even makes personalized masks on location using materials like cotton and silk. Those willing to fork over a bit more…

“It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown” first aired on CBS in 1966 and eventually moved to ABC. But this year it will air on Apple TV+. The TV special, which has aired during Halloween every year for more than five decades is now available for Apple TV+ subscribers, and it will be streamed on the…

The board of private equity firm Apollo Global Management is reviewing ties between its CEO Leon Black and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, according to an Apollo spokesperson. Black requested the board’s conflict committee review and independently confirm information he provided about his professional relationship with Epstein, according to the spokesperson. “Mr. Black has previously…

With an unprecedented number of mail-in ballots to count, news organizations will probably exercise extreme caution before declaring a winner on the night of the election. Wall Street, on the other hand, isn’t known for its patience. Investors will be closely scrutinizing the results from pivotal battleground states, especially ones on the East Coast that…

Tesla began making cars in China about a year ago to bolster its presence in the world’s largest auto market. Now the country is about to become an even more critical part of its global strategy. The electric automaker will soon start exporting Chinese-made vehicles to Europe, Chinese state-run news outlet Xinhua reported Monday. The…

Bank tellers are out and robotics engineers are in, according to a new report that says the coronavirus recession is accelerating technological changes that could displace 85 million jobs within the next five years. “Automation, in tandem with the Covid-19 recession, is creating a ‘double disruption’ scenario for workers,” said the report published Wednesday by…

Disneyland will likely stay closed for several more weeks after California released its long-awaited guidance Tuesday for how theme parks in the state can safely reopen. Disney’s California parks, which have been closed for seven months, will be allowed to reopen at just 25% capacity, and only after the county where it’s located reaches a…

Netflix stock fell around 5% in after-hours trading Tuesday after the company posted slowing growth in new subscriptions and lower-than-expected profits, a sign that the streaming giant’s pandemic bump may be petering out. The company said it added 2.2 million net memberships in the three months ended September 30, down from 6.8 million new memberships…

America’s jobs recovery continued in September, but with two weeks to go until Election Day, plenty of states still have unemployment rates higher than the national average. Three of them are key swing states: Pennsylvania’s jobless rate stood at 8.1% last month, Michigan’s was 8.5% and Ohio’s came in at 8.4%, the Bureau of Labor…

Lowe’s is offering free Christmas tree delivery for the first time as home-bound Americans start the holidays earlier than usual. Beginning October 30, can order fresh-cut trees and wreaths online or at its stores and have them delivered within two to five days. Delivery is free as long as the order is $45 or more.…

UBS is returning billions of dollars to shareholders after reporting a huge profit surge even as the pandemic continues to ravage the global economy. The world’s largest wealth manager said in a statement Tuesday that third-quarter net profit nearly doubled to $2.1 billion compared to the same period last year. The strong result was driven…

The prospect of US lawmakers producing another big stimulus package before the election has tantalized investors for months. But there are good reasons to think additional relief won’t arrive anytime soon. The Dow closed down 1.4% on Monday as the 48-hour clock on stimulus negotiations imposed by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi ticked down without a major…

Air travel appears to be on the rise after facing challenges from the coronavirus pandemic. More than 1 million passengers were screened by the Transportation Security Administration on Sunday, according to the agency. Airport screenings reached a total of 1.03 million people, the most since March 16. But that’s still down from the same day…

The US housing market has remained red-hot this year during the pandemic as some flee expensive coastal cities for the suburbs. And experts say there could be election consequences. These urban-dwellers likely aren’t trying to make a political statement: They’re simply looking for more space and cheaper prices. But if more Democrat-leaning voters are suddenly…

Wall Street was on a wild ride Monday, with the Dow swinging wildly between highs and lows. Stocks opened moderately higher on hopes that a stimulus deal might still get done ahead of the election, as well as buoyant economic news out of China. But it wasn’t meant to last. With less than an hour…

LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman wants his fellow business leaders to unite around one thing — the need for a calm election in which every vote is counted. “Business leaders need to speak up and they need to speak up on the democratic process,” Hoffman told CNN’s Julia Chatterley Monday. He urged his corporate counterparts to…

Despite the gloom-and-doom in the oil industry and the specter of a blue wave in Washington, ConocoPhillips is doubling down on crude by making a major acquisition. Conoco on Monday announced a $9.7 billion all-stock takeover of Concho Resources, a fracker squarely focused on the Permian Basin, the massive West Texas oilfield at the heart…

MotorTrend named the new Land Rover Defender as its 2021 SUV of the Year. The newly designed Defender recently returned to the US market after the model had not been sold here for more than 20 years. Like the Jeep Wrangler or Ford’s Bronco, the Defender is built to withstand serious off-road use — even…

Hollywood has had a disastrous 2020 with the coronavirus pandemic leaving the entertainment industry reeling. But Hollywood’s loss is Netflix’s gain. Netflix thrived in 2020 as people were stuck at home during the global health crisis. The company posted colossal subscriber gains over the past two quarters, which helped drive its stock up nearly 70%…

Misinformation has claimed the spotlight yet again ahead of the 2020 election. So much so that many American voters seem to care less and less what’s proven to be fact or false, Time Magazine national correspondent Charlotte Alter says. On Sunday’s broadcast of “Reliable Sources,” Alter told CNN’s Brian Stelter that a number of voters…

Last week, the New York Post published a dubious story about Hunter Biden, the son of Democratic presidential nominee and former Vice President Joe Biden. The Post story claims Hunter Biden helped arrange a meeting between Joe Biden and an executive at a Ukrainian energy company Burisma in April 2015. The series of stories contained…

California biotech company Vaxart, which is working on a Covid-19 vaccine, is under federal investigation and is being sued by a number of investors for allegedly exaggerating its involvement in the US government’s Operation Warp Speed program for developing Covid-19 vaccines and treatments. Vaxart stated in an October 14 Securities and Exchange Commission filing that…

The coronavirus is surging again in Europe, forcing harsh new restrictions in London and Paris as governments carefully weigh their next steps. That’s bad news for the region’s economic recovery — and puts the United States on notice ahead of a difficult winter. What’s happening: Paris has imposed an overnight curfew. In London, people from…

A crisp Benjamin Franklin can get you your own private AMC movie theater. AMC Theatres joins a handful of cinemas letting customers rent out auditoriums for private screenings — a growing trend due to the Covid-19 pandemic. AMC allows rentals of up to 20 people. According to its website, rates start at $99, excluding tax,…

Texas tech mogul Robert T. Brockman has been charged in a $2 billion tax evasion case, the largest ever tax charge in the United States, law enforcement officials said. A federal grand jury returned an indictment alleging that Brockman, the CEO of software company Reynolds & Reynolds, engaged in tax evasion, wire fraud, money laundering…

When the pandemic first hit, things were looking precarious for pet supply company West Paw’s ordinarily steady business. But then people were suddenly spending more time at home, locked inside with their pets. People who’d never owned pets before started adopting them in droves. That’s resulted in extra attention — and dollars — going toward…

Boeing appears close to securing key regulatory approvals for its grounded 737 Max to fly again — a potential lifeline for the struggling plane maker. The approval process has moved at a glacial pace, taking more than a year longer than Boeing had hoped. Even with the recent progress, there are many bureaucratic procedures, plane…

Joe Biden’s town hall on ABC averaged 13.9 million viewers on Thursday night, easily surpassing the Nielsen ratings for President Trump’s town hall on NBC. That alone was a result virtually no one in the TV business expected. And that’s not even the most surprising part. The Trump town hall was simulcast by two of…

The Covid-19 vaccine Pfizer is developing with Germany’s BioNTech will probably not be available for emergency use until after the US presidential election, the company said Friday. In an open letter published on the company’s web site, Pfizer chairman and CEO Albert Bourla said that there must be certainty that the vaccine is safe and…

Many market experts are trying to figure out what might happen to stocks after the election: A blue wave? Trump gets re-elected? A contested election tied up in the courts? But some strategists believe it’s a waste of investors’ time to go through all the possible political permutations. It may be best to just ignore…

Retail sales climbed in September for the fifth straight month as people spent on clothing, sporting goods, furniture and other items in stores and online. US retail sales rose 1.9% in September, the Commerce Department reported Friday. That’s well above the 0.7% rise predicted by economists surveyed by Refinitiv. In August, retail sales grew 0.6%.…

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson is facing an expensive choice. The British economy has been pummeled by the pandemic. Now, with talks on a new trade deal with the European Union at risk of collapse, Johnson has to decide: Does he try to find common ground with Europe, or walk away? Britain already faces a…

Former President Barack Obama skewered the state of America’s media ecosystem, lamenting the fact that wild conspiracy theories such as QAnon have found haven in the Republican Party and calling out Fox News for its role in corrupting the public conversation. In a Wednesday interview with “Pod Save America,” a podcast hosted by former members…

Fisker, a Manhattan Beach, California-based electric car maker is partnering with Magna International, a major contract auto manufacturing company based in Canada, to build its new electric SUV. Unlike Tesla, which has its own car factories and has plans for more, Fisker plans to outsource the building of its cars. It has arranged for Magna,…

Senator Elizabeth Warren is calling on US financial regulators to investigate whether insider trading laws were violated when elite investors reportedly got wind of private concerns voiced by Trump officials about the pandemic in late February. “Numerous investors may have used this early and insider information about the looming, tragic economic and public health consequences…

Fastly shares plunged nearly 30% Thursday morning after the company said that demand from its largest customer — TikTok’s owner, ByteDance — “did not meet expectations.” In a preliminary third-quarter earnings report, the cloud computing service said it expects quarterly revenue of about $70 million to $71 million, which falls below analyst projections of $73.5…

With less than three weeks until Election Day, President Trump is trailing Joe Biden in the polls. And an ETF whose ticker is the acronym for Trump’s famous campaign slogan is lagging the market, too. The Point Bridge GOP Stock Tracker ETF, which trades under the symbol MAGA, is down 8% this year — in…

US stocks were down Thursday afternoon, though they rebounded from their lows of the day. Investors have plenty to worry about: There is still no US stimulus deal on the horizon and Europe is returning to restrictions to limit the spread of Covid-19. Wall Street opened sharply lower but has since pulled back from their…