AP National Business

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Blend Labs Inc. (BLND) on Thursday reported a loss of $82.7 million in its fourth quarter. On a per-share basis, the San Francisco-based company said it had a loss of 35 cents. Losses, adjusted for stock option expense and restructuring costs, were 21 cents per share. The

By FATIMA HUSSEIN Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen offered firm, upbeat reassurances to rattled bank depositors and investors Thursday, even as American financial institutions and European agencies ordered fresh rescue efforts following the second-largest bank collapse in U.S. history. Questioned closely, sometimes aggressively, Yellen told senators at a Capitol hearing that

The Associated Press Stocks rallied after a group of big banks offered a lifeline to the bank Wall Street had zeroed in on in its hunt for the next victim in the industry’s struggles.. The S&P 500 jumped 1.8% Thursday, erasing earlier losses following reports that First Republic Bank could get help or sell itself

By KEN SWEET AP Business Writer NEW YORK (AP) — Eleven of the biggest U.S. banks Thursday announced a $30 billion rescue package for First Republic Bank in an effort to prevent it from becoming the third to fail in less than a week and head off a broader banking crisis. San Francisco-based First Republic

By HALELUYA HADERO Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — Microsoft is infusing artificial intelligence tools into its suite of office software, including Word, Excel and Outlook emails. The company said Thursday the new feature, named Copilot, is a processing engine that will allow users to do things like summarize long emails, draft stories in Word

By STAN CHOE AP Business Writer NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks rallied Thursday after a group of big banks offered a lifeline to the bank that investors had zeroed in on in their hunt for the industry’s next victim. The S&P 500 jumped 1.8% for its best day in nearly two months after 11 of

By The Associated Press Federal investigators say an air traffic controller cleared a plane to take off from Sarasota, Florida, while an American Airlines jet was making its final approach to the same runway last month, leading the American pilots to abandon their landing. The National Transportation Safety Board said Thursday that the American and

By PAUL WISEMAN and KEN SWEET AP Business Writers WASHINGTON (AP) — The warning signs were all there. Silicon Valley Bank was expanding at a breakneck pace and pursuing wildly risky investments in the bond market. The vast majority of its deposits were uninsured by the federal government, leaving its customers exposed to a crisis.

By KELVIN CHAN and HALELUYA HADERO Associated Press The battle between the U.S. and China over TikTok came into full view when the social media platform’s CEO testified before Congressional lawmakers. Shou Zi Chew’s hearing is happening at what he’s called a “pivotal moment” for the hugely popular short video sharing app. TikTok is owned

By KEN SWEET AP Business Writer NEW YORK (AP) — A group of Wall Street banks is planning a rescue package of around $30 billion for First Republic Bank, sources told The Associated Press on Thursday. The rescue package comes as San Francisco-based First Republic has been battered by investors and worries have grown that

By JEFFREY COLLINS Associated Press COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — South Carolina lawmakers have launched an effort to sack the comptroller general for a $3.5 billion accounting error that could affect the state’s credit rating. A resolution introduced Thursday asks for a two-thirds vote from the House and the Senate to trigger a state constitutional provision

By AMY TAXIN Associated Press As river water gushed through a broken levee, thousands of people in a California farming town were forced to evacuate as their homes were flooded and businesses destroyed. Yet another potential casualty of the powerful rainstorms that drenched coastal California: hundreds of acres of fresh strawberries slated for America’s supermarket

By SYLVIE CORBET and ELAINE GANLEY Associated Press PARIS (AP) — French President Emmanuel Macron ordered his prime minister to wield a special constitutional power Thursday that skirts parliament to force through a highly unpopular bill raising the retirement age from 62 to 64 without a vote. His calculated risk set off a clamor among

By MICHAEL LIEDTKE AP Technology Writer Former Theranos executive Ramesh “”Sunny” Balwani is scheduled to begin his nearly 13-year prison sentence Thursday afternoon for a blood-testing hoax he engineered with his former boss and lover, Elizabeth Holmes, who is still fighting to remain free while she appeals her conviction. Balwani, 57, has until 2 p.m.

By STAN CHOE AP Business Writer NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks shook off an early stumble and gained ground Thursday amid hopes for help for a bank at the center of Wall Street’s hunt for what’s next to crack in the struggling industry. The S&P 500 was 1.8% higher in afternoon trading after erasing an

By JOHN HANNA AP Political Writer TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Republican lawmakers pushing to prevent Kansas from investing its funds using socially and environmentally conscious principles disagree about imposing rules for investment managers handling private funds. That’s complicating their efforts to thwart what they see as “woke” investing that could hurt the state’s investment earnings.

PARIS (AP) — French President Emmanuel Macron has chosen to shun parliament and impose his unpopular pension reforms via a special constitutional power, the so-called “Article 49.3.” The procedure has been regularly used in the past by different governments. But this time it’s drawing a lot of attention and prompting much criticism because of the

By BRIAN MELLEY Associated Press LONDON (AP) — Leaders of unions representing hundreds of thousands of nurses, ambulance crews and other health care workers in England have reached a deal to resolve months of disruptive strikes for higher wages. The deal negotiated by government officials and union leaders would give workers a lump sum payment

By The Associated Press DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Iran’s bazaars are packed ahead of the Persian New Year next week. But there’s little holiday cheer as customers survey the soaring prices of meat and holiday treats, wondering if they can afford either. Others are there to sell goods on the sidewalks, forced into

By MARK THIESSEN and MATTHEW BROWN Associated Press ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — The Biden administration’s approval this week of the biggest oil drilling project in Alaska in decades promises to widen a rift among Alaska Natives. Some say oil money won’t counter the damages caused by climate change and others defend the project as economically