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Fender x Teufel/TNS/TNS

Tech review: Fender x Teufel speakers look and sound great

Business / Business News /

If you know anything about music, you’ve heard of Fender, the maker of guitars and amplifiers.

The Fender Stratocaster and Telecaster electric guitars have been revered since the 1950s, and their amplifiers are known for their pure sound, even after decades of use.

Fender has partnered with German speaker manufacturer Teufel (pronounced "toy...Read more

US mortgage rates drop to two-year low ahead of Fed rate cut

Business / Business News /

U.S. mortgage rates declined last week to the lowest level since September 2022 in anticipation of Federal Reserve interest-rate cuts, stoking an influx of applications for home purchases and refinancing.

The contract rate on a 30-year fixed mortgage dropped 14 basis points to 6.15% in the week ended Sept. 13, Mortgage Bankers Association data ...Read more

Eric1513/Dreamstime/TNS

Hackers have stolen your personal information in a data breach. Now what?

Business / Business News /

I almost threw away the mailing I got in mid-July from MNGI Digestive Health. I couldn’t remember ever patronizing the place. Must be more junk mail.

Then I remembered I’d recently written about MNGI and another Twin Cities medical firm, Consulting Radiologists. They had both been hacked, together exposing personal data of over 1 million ...Read more

Bonnie Cash/Getty Images North America/TNS

Fed to kick off rate cuts, signal next steps

Business / Business News /

The Federal Reserve is widely expected to lower interest rates this week after holding borrowing costs at a two-decade high for more than a year.

By how much, however, remains an open question.

Forecasters largely anticipate the Federal Open Market Committee will reduce rates by a quarter point to a range of 5% to 5.25%, though economists at ...Read more

Charley Gallay/Getty Images North America/TNS

A computer on your face? Snap and others still trying to make AR glasses a reality

Business / Business News /

In its relentless search for ways to weave digital products into people's lives, Big Tech has achieved some big wins. Smart phones are ubiquitous. Apple Watch users talk to their wrists. Artificial intelligence-powered assistants are everywhere.

But convincing people to wear computers on their faces has been a dud. So far, at least.

Augmented...Read more

Patrick Fallon/Zuma Press/TNS

Alaska and Hawaiian airlines clear hurdle to merger

Business / Business News /

Alaska Airlines expects to close its merger deal with Hawaiian Airlines soon after it cleared a Department of Transportation review Tuesday.

The DOT said SeaTac, Washington-based Alaska can acquire Hawaiian but, it required “enforcement, public-interest protections” from the two airlines before the merger. These include protecting the value...Read more

Coca-Cola/Coca-Cola/TNS

Fancy a rum and Coke in a can? Coca-Cola signs new deal with Bacardi

Business / Business News /

For many, it’s a flavor of college parties or perhaps a favorite beach cocktail. Now global brands Coca-Cola and Bacardi are teaming up to make rum and Coke in a can.

The Atlanta-based beverage giant is plowing deeper into the market for canned cocktails, announcing Bacardi Mixed with Coca-Cola, which will launch next year in Mexico and parts...Read more

Denver subpoenas 3 strip clubs in first use of new tool to investigate wage theft

Business / Business News /

Denver city officials for the first time issued subpoenas in an attempt to recover wages for dancers at a trio of strip clubs.

Denver City Council in April voted unanimously to give Denver Labor subpoena power to use during wage-theft investigations.

“It’s a win for Denver’s workers that we had this process in place in time,” Denver ...Read more

Dreamstime/Dreamstime/TNS

Express Scripts sues Federal Trade Commission for defamation, demands retraction

Business / Business News /

ST. LOUIS COUNTY, Missouri — Express Scripts, Inc. sued the Federal Trade Commission on Tuesday over a report the pharmacy benefit management company called “unfair, biased, erroneous and defamatory.”

Headquartered in North St. Louis County, Express Scripts, a subsidiary of The Cigna Group, is demanding the FTC retract a report it made in...Read more

Scott Olson/Getty Images North America/TNS

Here's why the auto industry supports a US Steel sale to Japan's Nippon Steel

Business / Business News /

WASHINGTON — With a deal still in flux, the U.S. auto industry keeps pushing top government officials to allow the proposed acquisition of United States Steel Corp. by Japanese rival Nippon Steel Corp.

That push, analysts told The Detroit News, signals how much the global auto industry operating in the United States stands to benefit from ...Read more

Ray Chavez/Bay Area News Group/TNS

War of names widens between the Oakland and San Francisco airports

Business / Business News /

OAKLAND, California — The war of the names between two of the region’s three major airports has widened now that San Francisco has asked a federal court to block Oakland from using the new name for the East Bay airport.

San Francisco has asked a federal court to block Oakland from continuing to use the new name of the East Bay aviation hub,...Read more

Pocketbook issues front of mind as Target, Best Buy launch holiday retail season

Business / Business News /

Target plans again to hire 100,000 seasonal workers and will have its first holiday sales event next month.

Richfield-based Best Buy and other retailers also are stretching the ever-important holiday retail season as long as possible.

Both Target and Best Buy have acknowledged they must work hard to entice consumers who are shopping more ...Read more

Justin Sullivan/Getty Images North America/TNS

'A stab in the back.' How Elon Musk's decision to move X from San Francisco is stirring mixed emotions

Business / Business News /

SAN FRANCISCO — When Elon Musk took over Twitter in 2022, it marked a new era for the struggling San Francisco company.

As the deal neared completion, Musk, the eccentric entrepreneur known for leading Tesla and SpaceX, tweeted, “Entering Twitter HQ — let that sink in!” with a video of him carrying a white sink into Twitter’s San ...Read more

John F Martin/TNS

Major auto suppliers tackle bumpy EV road with different strategies

Business / Business News /

FLAT ROCK, Michigan, and TROY, Michigan — A slower-than-expected ramp-up of electric vehicle production and sales present major risks for suppliers, and major Tier 1s are tackling that challenge differently.

Suppliers are making special requests, forging new types of partnerships and prioritizing adaptability as the mix of gas-powered, hybrid...Read more

Nelvin C. Cepeda/The San Diego Union-Tribune/TNS

Qualcomm partners with company that sued Apple – and won – over its smartwatch technology

Business / Business News /

At this point, smartwatches are expected to tell you more than just the time of day or your step count. So more technology companies have turned to your health, such as tracking sleeping patterns and your heart rate, as the next key upgrade.

San Diego’s Qualcomm has struck a new partnership to do just that with Masimo, a medical technology ...Read more

Dreamstime/Dreamstime/TNS

US says Google saw ad startup as a 'threat' -- and bought it

Business / Business News /

Google bought advertising technology provider AdMeld in 2011 because the search giant saw the startup as a “threat” to its online display ad strategy, antitrust enforcers sought to show at trial Monday.

The purchase of the company was portrayed by the Justice Department in its monopolization trial against the Alphabet Inc. unit as an ...Read more

Andrew Parsons/Parsons Media/Zuma Press/TNS

The Murdoch family's legal battle over a media empire: What you need to know

Business / Business News /

The fight for the future of Rupert Murdoch's media empire began Monday in a Nevada courtroom.

The 93-year-old media titan is petitioning to change his irrevocable family trust to ensure his eldest son, Lachlan, will have sole control over his media companies News Corp. and Fox Corp. after the elder Murdoch's death.

News Corp. owns influential ...Read more

Stellantis/TNS/TNS

UAW fears Stellantis wants to move Dodge Durango production from Detroit to Canada

Business / Business News /

The United Auto Workers says it's worried Stellantis NV wants to move Dodge Durango SUV production from Detroit to Canada, adding that the company has refused to share any information about its vehicle plans or investments recently.

The union said it filed an unfair labor practice charge with the National Labor Relations Board on Monday, which ...Read more

Marc Grasso/Boston Herald/TNS

Jeep cuts production of Gladiators and Wranglers at Toledo plant

Business / Business News /

Production cuts are hitting the Stellantis NV plant in Toledo, Ohio, that builds the Jeep Gladiator pickup and Wrangler SUV this week, the latest of several factory pauses or slowdowns by the automaker as it deals with large vehicle inventories and other challenges.

The automaker paused production of the Gladiator at the Toledo Assembly Complex...Read more

Karen Ducey/The Seattle Times/TNS

Barely getting by on one income in the Seattle area

Business / Business News /

Rabi Asghar, 37, didn’t realize just how expensive divorced life would be until after the paperwork was filed and the dust had settled.

Without a partner to split bills, the cost of daily life ballooned. For the first time in years, he found himself having to shoulder the full burden of utilities and groceries on his own. His ex had taken the...Read more