Business News

The Federal Reserve is set to issue an interest rate decision on Wednesday as a surge of inflation puts pressure on central bankers to raise rates days before the midterm elections.An acceleration of price increases this year has posed a challenge for Fed officials tasked with containing inflation. The central bank raised interest rates a quarter of a percentage point last month in an effort to battle back price woes. […]

As it prepares for its initial public stock offering, Anthropic has outlined in a Securities and Exchange Commission filing the risks to would-be investors, including the possibility that its artificial intelligence models could pose a "catastrophic or existential risk to humanity."Typically, companies making public stock offerings file a report with the SEC warning of the potential downsides of investing, such as competition from rivals, market demands and talent development. Anthropic, […]

(Getty Images stock photo) (NEW YORK) -- Converse has discontinued an advertisement following public backlash last week over what critics said appeared to be Ku Klux Klan symbolism and lynching in the shoe and apparel company's ad campaign.One of the images in the ad showed the bottom half of a person wearing a white, calf-length skirt-like garment that some critics said resembled a KKK robe, while holding a pair of […]

Anthropic, the company behind the AI chatbot Claude, filed papers Monday to prepare for a potential initial public offering (IPO), taking a major step toward a listing on public markets.The long-anticipated move comes months after Anthropic said it had "confidentially submitted a draft registration statement on Form S-1" with the Securities and Exchange Commission.Monday's filing touts AI as "one of the most consequential technologies in human history. If managed well, […]

Consumer sentiment stands near the lowest level numerically ever recorded in the 74-year history of the University of Michigan's monthly survey, just weeks before the U.S. midterm elections.Shopper attitudes stayed near their lowest levels in October as inflation squeezed household budgets and a global fuel supply shortage kept gasoline prices elevated, according to fresh data released on Friday.The final reading of the University of Michigan index registered at 48.0 in […]

(NEW YORK) -- Toys R Us is planning a major expansion in the U.S. with the addition of 120 new standalone stores by the end of 2026.The toy retailer, which currently has 40 standalone stores and Toys R Us shops inside Macy's stores across the country, announced the strategic move, which is being carried out in partnership with Go! Retail Group, on Thursday."This is a major moment for [Toys R […]

High gas prices continue to weigh on wallets as voters list affordability as a top concern ahead of early November's midterm elections.The national average price of a gallon of gas stands at $4.27, marking an increase of nearly $1.30, or 43%, since the outbreak of the Iran war in February, AAA data showed.Fuel prices are unlikely to ease significantly before Election Day on Nov. 3, some analysts told ABC 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 […]