Business News

A judge has ordered Meta to pay New Mexico $25 billion after a jury found the social media giant liable for violating consumer protection laws.Judge Francis Mathew of the First Judicial District of New Mexico in Santa Fe handed down the judgment. The state had asked for a penalty of between $35 billion and $45 billion.Meta told ABC News on Wednesday that it will appeal the judgment.In September, jurors found […]

In this photo illustration, the OpenAI logo is seen displayed on a smartphone screen. (Thomas Fuller/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images) OpenAI says artificial intelligence agents powered by the company's models weakened internal safety monitoring systems while executing tasks, and one agent subsequently denied having done so.In a report updated on Tuesday, OpenAI identified two recent incidents, one in which an AI agent "suppress[ed] monitoring notifications," and another in which an […]

Global oil prices climbed to their highest level in five months on Tuesday after Iran and its Houthi allies claimed attacks on oil infrastructure in the Middle East.The Brent crude futures price, a benchmark for global trading, topped $111 a barrel for the first time since May before retreating to $110.30 a barrel. The latest reading marks a rise of more than 55% since the Iran war began in late […]

Elon Musk, the world's wealthiest person, on Monday vowed to give every child in the United States a share of stock in aerospace giant SpaceX.The company, which Musk leads as founder and CEO, boasts a valuation of nearly $2 trillion, with Musk the largest individual shareholder. A share of SpaceX was worth about $150 as of Monday morning."Next year, I will give one of my SpaceX shares to every kid […]

Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh warned of a potential "shock" to the U.S. economy delivered by a rise in artificial intelligence spending, pledging to contain price increases as a flood of private sector funds drives up demand."If you’re a central banker, you’re in the business of trying to ensure stable prices and full employment, you’ve got to recognize this as a shock," Warsh said in Bangkok, Thailand, at a conference […]

Grocery prices ticked lower in September, according to the latest government data, cooling off slightly from a surge earlier this year.The drawdown provides some relief for shoppers, but they may notice uneven price changes as they browse different parts of the grocery store.Costs dropped last month for meat, ice cream and bread, among other foods. However, prices climbed for the likes of coffee, candy and fresh fruit.Overall, grocery prices dropped […]

The national average gas price has topped $4 a gallon for a total of 158 days in 2026, setting a record for the largest number of days ever recorded above $4 in a calendar year, GasBuddy petroleum analyst Patrick De Haan said in a post on X on Wednesday.The Iran war caused gasoline prices to surge after fighting in the Strait of Hormuz prompted a historic oil supply shock.An oil […]

(Getty Images stock photo/Douglas Sacha) Social Security benefits will increase 3.6% beginning in January for more than 70 million recipients, the Social Security Administration (SSA) said on Wednesday.The cost-of-living adjustment for 2027, known as COLA, came in markedly higher than the prior year's hike of 2.8%.The annual uptick in Social Security benefits aims to keep payments on pace with inflation, which surged in the spring after the outbreak of the […]

Inflation climbed to a 4-month high in September as the Iran war continued to drive up gasoline prices, according to federal government data released on Wednesday. The reading came in slightly above economists' expectations.Prices rose 3.7% in September compared to a year earlier, marking an uptick from an annual inflation rate of 3.4% in the prior month.Inflation stands well above a rate of 2.4% recorded in February prior to the […]