>>Report: Apple Cancels Electric Car Project
(Cupertino, CA) -- Apple is canceling its electric car project. That's according to Bloomberg, which cited people with knowledge of the matter. The outlet reported the decision to end the project was disclosed internally Tuesday to the almost two-thousand employees working on the project. Apple had been working on the electric car project for a decade. Bloomberg says executives told project workers that many of them will be moved to the company's artificial intelligence division.
>>Home Prices In U.S. Hit All-Time High At End Of Last Year
(Washington, DC) -- New data shows home prices in the U.S. hit an all-time high in December. According to the S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller US National Home Price Index, prices in December were up a fifth of a percent from the month before. Prices were five-and-a-half-percent higher that month compared to December 2022. That's up from a five-percent annual gain in November. Half of the 20 metro markets beat previous price records. >>Netflix Expected To Hike Prices Again In 2024 (New York, NY) -- Netflix may raise prices this year. That's according to analysts at UBS Securities. Analysts wrote in a research note that they expect to see a price hike from the streaming giant. That, along with more revenue from its ad-supported tier and more subscribers, would push its total revenue growth to 15-percent. That estimate is compared to just seven-percent growth in 2023.
>>Family Dollar To Pay Millions After Warehouse Rat Infestation
(West Memphis, AR) -- Family Dollar Stores will pay a 40-million dollar fine after pleading guilty to unsanitary conditions in a "rodent-infested warehouse." The FDA in February 2022 reported finding over one-thousand rats inside the West Memphis, Arkansas warehouse which caused a recall of products from over 400-stores. The fine is part of a plea deal and is the largest monetary criminal penalty ever given in a food safety case. Family Dollar must now meet safety standards for the next three years.
>>Macy's To Close 150 Stores By 2026
(New York, NY) -- Macy's plans to close 150 stores by 2026. CEO Tony Spring made the announcement Tuesday, saying Macy's is entering a "bold new chapter." Fifty stores will shutter by the end of this year as the company changes its focus to keep up with consumers' changing shopping habits. Macy's will now look more toward its Bloomingdale's and Bluemercury luxury brands with plans to open smaller versions of those stores. The iconic department store chain that's been around for more than 150 years has closed almost 300 stores since its stock price hit its peak price in 2015.
>>Expedia Lays Off 1,500 Employees
(New York, NY) -- Expedia is laying off about 15-hundred employees as part of an "organizational and technological transformation." The online travel agency's cuts add up to close to nine-percent of its over 17-thousand employees. They come as the post-pandemic travel boom comes to a cool down and changes in the company, including a new CEO. According to a regulatory filing, Expedia says the cuts will amount to an 80-to-100-million-dollar charge in severance and compensation benefits.
>>Sony To Layoff 900 PlayStation Division Workers
(Tokyo) -- Pink slips are flying at Sony Interactive Entertainment. The company said today it plans to layoff about 900 workers in its Playstation unit which is about eight percent of its global workforce. Sony is the latest technology company to announce cuts. In an email to employees, unit President and CEO Jim Ryan said it's become clear changes were needed to continue to grow the company.
>>Best And Worst States For Women 2024
(New York, NY) -- A new survey is finding where women in the U.S. can find the best opportunities. WalletHub compared the 50 states and Washington, D.C. across 25 key indicators of living standards for women including median earnings for female workers, to women's health care, to the female homicide rate. The top performing states were generally in the northeast with Massachusetts taking the top spot, followed by D.C, Minnesota, Vermont, Maine, Maryland, New York, Hawaii, New Jersey, and Delaware. The worst states for women according to the survey are Oklahoma, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Texas, Arkansas and West Virginia.
