Business News

(NEW YORK) -- Microsoft said on Monday it will lay off 4,800 employees and that the job cuts would be especially pronounced in its Xbox department.The layoffs will affect 2.1% of Microsoft's global workforce, Amy Coleman, executive vice president and chief people officer, said in a public memo to employees.Coleman attributed the layoffs in part to a shakeup in the tech sector wrought by artificial intelligence. None of the terminated roles […]

(NEW YORK) -- Mortgage rates have dropped to their lowest level since May as negotiations between the United States and Iran ease financial markets.The average interest rate on a 30-year fixed mortgage stands at 6.43%, down from last week's rate of 6.49%, Freddie Mac data on Thursday showed.Still, mortgage rates register above their level before the war with Iran. Prior to the Middle East conflict in late February, a 30-year fixed mortgage clocked in at an […]

U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during a Cabinet meeting in the Cabinet Room of the White House on May 27, 2026 in Washington, DC. (Win McNamee/Getty Images) (NEW YORK) -- A court filing shows how businesses are getting money back from the U.S. government after the Supreme Court ruled many of President Donald Trump's tariffs were illegal.The Trump administration has sent out $20.6 billion in tariff refunds so far, according […]

(NEW YORK) -- Hiring slowed markedly in June, falling short of economists' expectations and displaying a wobbly labor market amid elevated inflation set off by the Iran war.The U.S. added 57,000 jobs in June, according to the federal government's monthly jobs report, which marked a decline from 172,000 jobs added in May.The sluggish pace recorded in June departs from strong performance for the labor market so far in 2026. Employers […]

(NEW YORK) -- The Social Security fund will run out of money in as little as six years, a shorter time frame than previously estimated, according to a report released earlier this month by the programs' trustees.News of the funding cliff prompted a pair of lawmakers to reach across the aisle and propose a rescue plan in an opinion piece last week for the New York Times.Sen. Bernie Moreno, R-Ohio, […]

(NEW YORK) -- Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh on Wednesday voiced optimism about artificial intelligence, describing the technology as a "paradigm shift" that would likely make the United States a "big winner in the medium-term.""We are in the first or second inning of this revolution," Warsh said in Sintra, Portugal, at a conference organized by the European Central Bank.Warsh, who took the helm of the Fed last month, weighed in […]

(NEW YORK) -- A trio of progressive Democrats sharply criticized billionaires on their way to victory in House primaries in New York City.The clean sweep for candidates endorsed by far-left New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani on Tuesday drew attention to economic populism as affordability remains a top issue for voters ahead of the midterm elections.In Manhattan and Brooklyn's 10th District, incumbent Rep. Dan Goldman lost in a landslide to […]

(NEW YORK) -- The top financial officer in New York City on Thursday warned that artificial intelligence could put thousands of workers in the nation’s largest metropolis out of a job as soon as this year, while acknowledging that the ultimate impact of AI remains uncertain.The only sure thing, New York City Comptroller Mark Levin said in a new report: AI promises a “radical transformation” in the globe’s financial capital, influencing everything from wages to […]

(NEW YORK) -- U.S. Treasury yields soared in recent days as the Iran war stoked inflation fears, threatening to drive up borrowing costs for everything from mortgages to credit cards to auto loans.The yields on 30-year bonds – the amount paid to a bondholder annually – touched their highest point since 2007. Ten-year Treasury yields peaked at about 4.69% on Tuesday, marking a roughly three-quarter percentage point jump from the […]