>>Oregon Gas Prices May Have Peaked
(Portland, OR) -- Gas prices are trending down across the country and Oregon's prices may have peaked for the spring. Triple-A reports the national average price for a gallon of gas declined seven cents to three-53 a gallon and Oregon's average fell half-a-cent to four-11. It's too soon to tell whether Oregon's prices will continue to decline. Lower crude oil prices and lower demand have helped bring prices down. Diesel in Oregon fell a nickel last week to four-50 a gallon.
>>Biden: Default Not An Option, Debt Talks To Continue Friday
(Washington, DC) -- President Biden says a first-ever government default is not an option. He delivered remarks Tuesday at the White House after meeting with Congressional leaders to try reach an agreement to raise the nation's debt ceiling before the start of June. Biden called the meeting productive, adding that they'll continue talks on Friday. The president didn't rule out a short term debt limit extension. Meantime, House Speaker Kevin McCarthy said he didn't see any new movement from Tuesday's meeting. Republicans refuse to raise the debt limit unless Biden and the Democrats agree to sweeping spending cuts. Biden has refused and has called on McCarthy to pass an increase without conditions.
>>NY Fed's Williams Hints At More Rate Hikes
(New York, NY) -- A top official at the Federal Reserve is not ruling out more rate hikes to bring down inflation. New York Fed President John Williams says policymakers remain focused on returning inflation to the central bank's two percent goal. In prepared remarks to the Economic Club of New York, Williams cautioned the Fed's previous interest rate increases will take time to work their way through the economy. He cited some positive signs, but added the Fed always has the option of raising rates.
>>Goldman Sachs Settles Discrimination Case For $215M
(New York, NY) -- Goldman Sachs is settling accusations of discriminating against women for pay and promotions for 215-million-dollars. The settlement, disclosed Monday, covers nearly three-thousand current and former employees who worked in investment banking, management and securities. The lawsuit had been in the courts for nearly 13 years.
>>LinkedIn Lays Off 700 Workers, Cuts China Jobs App
(Sunnyvale, CA) -- LinkedIn is laying off more than 700 workers worldwide as it gets ready to pull the plug on its China-specific jobs app. The popular business social networking platform announced the move in a message to employees on Monday. The company plans to delete all user data from InCareer by August 9th. LinkedIn noted it will continue to operate its other businesses in China.
>>Consumers Cold On In-Vehicle Subscription Services
(Detroit, MI) -- A study from Cox Automotive shows car buyers are, perhaps unsurprisingly, unwilling to start paying a monthly fee for optional car features like heated seats and hands-free driving. Regardless, that may be where the industry is headed. General Motors expects software microtransactions to generate 20 to 25 billion dollars in annual revenue by 2030. Other manufacturers like Dodge, Jeep, and Ford are likely to follow suit. GM has not indicated just which perks it may be putting behind a paywall, but luxury car brands have already made subscription services a mainstay in their business models.
>>GM Hires Ex-Apple Exec As Software VP
(Detroit, MI) -- General Motors is hiring an ex-Apple exec to their software development team. Mike Abbott, former vice president of engineering for Apple's Cloud Services division, will serve as GM's executive V-P of software. Abbott will oversee a department that combines General Motors' three existing software wings. GM sees software as a new frontier for business, especially with the success of tech-forward manufacturers like Tesla. Abbott also led teams at Twitter, Palm and Microsoft.
