>>Bend "Food 4 Less" Now "Local Acres Marketplace"
(Bend, OR) -- A popular discount grocery store changed names this week. Food 4 Less, located in the Cascade Village Shopping Center on the north end of Bend, is now Local Acres Marketplace. In a Facebook post, the store notes, the name change, is "to align with our commitment to providing the finest natural, organic, specialty and local products."
>>PepsiCo Q2 Report Beats Expectations
(Purchase, NY) -- PepsiCo's second quarter earnings report beat analyst predictions, despite falling demand. The company posted two-dollar-and-nine cents a share, 13 cents more than expected. Net sales rose two-point-four percent and the company raised its full-year outlook.
>>Mortgage Rates Hit Highest Levels This Year
(Washington, DC) -- Mortgage rates are at their highest since November. The Mortgage Bankers Association says average rates for the 30-year fixed rate mortgage went over seven percent last week, up from six-point-eight-five the week before. The MBA said markets expect the Federal Reserve will need to continue to hold rates higher longer to slow inflation.
>>Ex-Twitter Employees Sue Over Severance Pay
(San Francisco, CA) -- Twitter is being hit with a lawsuit from ex-employees who claim they didn't receive severance pay. Those suing the social media giant are part of terminations that happened after Elon Musk bought the company last year. The former workers are wanting 500-million dollars in damages as well as an order for Twitter to abide by all terms of a promised severance plan by paying all terminated employees what they are owed. Twitter let go about 80-percent of its workforce following Musk's takeover. Twitter is also facing a number of other lawsuits over severance pay, bonuses and layoffs that allegedly targeted women and workers with disabilities.
>>Elon Musk Announces New AI Company: xAI
(San Francisco, CA) -- Elon Musk is announcing a new AI company after months of teasing an alternative to ChatGPT. Musk says "xAI" will work to "understand the true nature of the universe." He promises more details on the company this Friday. Musk backed OpenAI early on, but later criticized its ChatGPT for giving "politically correct" responses.
>>FTC To Appeal Court Decision To Allow Microsoft-Activision Merger
(San Francisco, CA) -- The Federal Trade Commission is going to appeal a court decision to allow Microsoft to acquire video gaming giant Activision Blizzard. The FTC filed a notice of appeal Wednesday evening with the U.S. District Court in San Francisco. That followed a federal judge this week denying the FTC's request for an injunction to put a temporary hold on Microsoft's 69-billion dollar merger with Activision Blizzard, whose franchises include "Call of Duty" and "World of Warcraft."
>>Oldest U.S. Craft Brewery Shuts Down
(San Francisco, CA) -- America's oldest craft brewer is shutting down after 127 years. Anchor Brewing announced it would cease operations and liquidate the business after declining sales since 2016. The San Francisco-based company cited supply-chain issues and rising costs. Another reason for the shutdown might be Sapporo, the Japanese beer company that bought Anchor in 2017. Employees talked to VinePair last month, claiming Sapporo mismanaged the company and failed to understand craft beer in the U.S.
