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By Matt McFarland, CNN Business Twenty-one years ago, Bart Riley and co-founders bet their short-lived company, A123 Systems, on batteries free of nickel and cobalt. They believed the battery technology offered several benefits for automakers in the then-nascent electric vehicle space. The Massachusetts-based startup pitched Tesla on its batteries between 2008 and 2011, Riley recalled,
Continue ReadingBy Paul R. La Monica, CNN Business Inflation jitters are at a fever pitch, and some investing experts and economists are making comparisons to the 1970s and early 1980s. But could today’s surging prices really be as serious as the prolonged inflation shock of 40 years ago? (For those who didn’t live through it: It
Continue ReadingCNN By Paul R. La Monica, CNN Business Inflation jitters are at a fever pitch, and some investing experts and economists are making comparisons to the 1970s and early 1980s. But could today’s surging prices really be as serious as the prolonged inflation shock of 40 years ago? (For those who didn’t live through it:
Continue Readingby Matt Egan, CNN The severe drought in California threatens to significantly undermine the state’s ability to generate hydroelectric power, raising costs for families and driving up planet-warming emissions, according to a federal government forecast. Assuming drought conditions persist, California’s hydroelectric generation would be 48% less this summer than if water conditions were normal, the
Continue ReadingBy Chris Isidore, CNN Business The number of workers being fired or laid off has hit the lowest point on record, the Labor Department reported Wednesday. The Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey showed only 1.25 million people lost their job in April, breaking the previous record low of 1.26 million recorded in December. With
Continue ReadingOpinion by Bill Carter for CNN Business Perspectives Streaming networks were the center of attention last month when the television industry — or, more accurately now, the entertainment industry — staged its annual ritual known as the “upfronts.” Long-time attendees of these affairs surely felt some sense of disorientation, because the upfronts were invented as
Continue ReadingBy Anna Cooban, CNN Business Russia’s increasingly aggressive actions against its European gas customers are taking a toll. The country’s natural gas exports have tumbled by more than a quarter since January. But surging prices have kept Russia’s coffers bulging as it continues to cut off deliveries. Moscow’s gas exports to countries outside of its
Continue ReadingBy Chris Isidore, CNN Business Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is a major reason that US drivers are paying record prices for gasoline. But it’s not the only cause of the spike. Numerous factors are pushing prices up, with regular gasoline hitting a record $4.67 a gallon Wednesday according to AAA’s survey. Gas prices were already
Continue ReadingCNN By Nathaniel Meyersohn, CNN Business Target is stuck with too much home decor and too many TVs. To clear out the glut, it will ramp up discounts. The retail giant said Tuesday that it would mark down prices on some bigger-ticket items that consumers have pulled back on purchasing and cancel pending orders from
Continue ReadingCNN, CNNBUSINESS By Chris Isidore, CNN Business Next stop, $5. The US average for the price of a gallon of regular gas hit $4.99 according to the most recent reading from AAA Friday. It marked the 14th straight day, and the 31st time in the last 32 that gas has set a record in America.
Continue ReadingBy Matt Egan, CNN Business Gas prices just took another big step in the wrong direction. The national average for regular gasoline climbed by five cents on Wednesday to a fresh record of $4.67 a gallon, according to AAA. That leaves gas prices up by 48 cents in the past month alone. It now costs
Continue ReadingCNN By Julia Horowitz, CNN Business Investors have been increasingly eager in recent years to deploy their money in a way that supports sustainability and aligns with their values — a trend that, in theory, could leverage capitalism to help combat climate change and fight society’s ills. But has the rapid rise of funds that
Continue ReadingBy Julia Horowitz, CNN Business Investors have been increasingly eager in recent years to deploy their money in a way that supports sustainability and aligns with their values — a trend that, in theory, could leverage capitalism to help combat climate change and fight society’s ills. But has the rapid rise of funds that prioritize
Continue ReadingBy Nicole Goodkind, CNN Business The recent string of deadly shootings may send investors searching their portfolios to determine if they have exposure to ammunition manufacturers or companies that sell guns. Chances are that they do. The gunmakers In recent years, large asset managers like BlackRock have offered investors access to alternative funds that don’t
Continue ReadingBy Chris Isidore, CNN Business Canceled flights, surging airfares, a rental car shortage, record gas prices and rising hotel prices. Welcome to the summer of travel hell. Airlines had said they were prepared to avoid the service problems that plagued much of the industry last year. But between Friday and Monday, US airlines canceled 2,653
Continue ReadingCNN By Danielle Wiener-Bronner, CNN Business Starbucks is reopening in Shanghai, a sign of hope as the city slowly emerges from its strict Covid restrictions. Shanghai lifted its two-month lockdown on Wednesday. So far the coffee chain has reopened about 600 of its 940 stores in the city, according to Starbucks spokesperson Jaime Riley. Employees
Continue ReadingBy Melissa Alonso and Andy Rose, CNN A judge has denied former vice-presidential nominee and Alaskan governor Sarah Palin’s bid for a new trial in her defamation case against the New York Times, according to a written decision filed Tuesday in the US District Court for the Southern District of New York. Palin sued the
Continue ReadingBy Gregory Wallace and Pete Muntean, CNN White House officials met Tuesday with travel industry leaders who pressed the Biden administration to end its requirements that vaccinated international travelers take a coronavirus test before flying to the United States. Airlines for America, representing major US air carriers, and the US Travel Association, representing the broad
Continue ReadingBy Alicia Wallace, CNN Business The US cannabis industry is flush with fledgling companies and many unfamiliar brands. In that mix, however, is a 154-year-old company that is a household name: Scotts Miracle-Gro. Over the past decade, the lawn and garden giant has quietly entrenched itself in the young and fast-growing industry. Its Hawthorne Gardening
Continue ReadingBy Frank Pallotta, CNN Business Netflix’s world may be upside-down, but “Stranger Things” is still super popular. The latest season of the science-fiction horror series debuted this weekend to record numbers, becoming Netflix’s biggest debut ever for an English-language TV show. Netflix said that “Stranger Things 4 — Volume 1” clocked in at 286.7 million
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