Canadian authorities have arrested Meng Wanzhou, the company's CFO and daughter of its founder, at the request of the U.S. And Chinese officials have made quite clear they're not happy about it.
(Source: NPR)
Since millennials first started entering the workforce, their spending habits have been blamed for killing off industries ranging from casual restaurant dining to starter houses. However, a new study by the Federal Reserve suggests it might be less about how they are spending their money and more about not having any to spend.
A study published this month by Christopher Kurz, Geng Li and Daniel J. Vine found millennials are less financially well-off than members of earlier generations when they were the same ages, with “lower earnings, fewer assets and less wealth.”
Their finances were compared with Generation X, baby boomers, the silent generation and the greatest generation.
The researchers examined spending, income, debt, net worth and demographic factors among the generations to determine “it primarily is the differences in average age and then differences in average income that explain a large and important portion of the consumption wedge between millennials and other cohorts.”
(Source: NPR)
The hotel giant said information on up to 500 million customers worldwide was exposed in a breach of its Starwood reservation database. The data includes dates of birth and passport numbers.
(Source: NPR)
Prosecutors are investigating two Deutsche Bank employees who allegedly helped customers set up offshore firms to avoid anti-money laundering safeguards.
(Source: NPR)
When Kathy Klute-Nelson heads out on a neighborhood walk, she often takes her two dogs — Kona, a boxer, and Max, a small white dog of questionable pedigree who barrels out the front door with barks of enthusiasm.
The 64-year-old resident of Costa Mesa, Calif., says she was never one to engage in regular exercise — especially after a long day of work. But about three years ago, her employer, the Auto Club of Southern California, made her and her colleagues an offer she couldn’t refuse: Wear a Fitbit, walk every day and get up to $300 off your yearly health insurance premiums.
“I thought, ‘Why don’t I try this?’ ” Klute-Nelson says. “ 'Maybe it’ll motivate me.’ And it really did. You know, you get into little groups and you start walking around and come back and feel better.”
Today she’s among the millions of Americans who use wearable fitness devices such as Fitbits that track an assortment of personal information — everything from movement and sleep patterns to blood pressure and heartbeats per minute.
This year, an estimated 6 million workers worldwide will receive wearable fitness trackers as part of workplace wellness programs. That’s up from about 2 million in 2016, according to ABI Research, a market research firm.
Many of these voluntary programs offer workers free or discounted wearable trackers and annual financial incentives that range from about $100 to more than $2,000, depending on the company.
Photo: Morgan Walker for NPR
(Source: NPR)
Money is going a lot of different ways in the car industry. Experts say companies are investing in new technology simply because they don't want to be left behind.
(Source: NPR)
Amazon is expected to divide its second headquarters between the Long Island City neighborhood in Queens and the Crystal City area in Northern Virginia, according to a person familiar with the plan.
(Source: NPR)
More workers are demanding their leaders take stands on hot-button issues, and some CEOs don't shy away from the controversy. But they also must navigate the risks and benefits for their workforce.
(Source: NPR)
Analysts are estimating that Hurricane Michael has caused billions of dollars of damage and will create a substantial loss for insurers, but the industry is expected to cope — once again avoiding the kind of meltdown that Florida saw in the 1990s, after Hurricane Andrew.
It’s still too early for a full accounting of the financial fallout. And insurance adjusters — like residents, utilities and rescue teams — have grappled with blocked roads and downed communication systems as they try to quantify the extent of the damage.
Carl Nemeth, special investigative unit manager at Tower Hill Insurance, spoke to NPR from the outskirts of Panama City, Fla., over the weekend, explaining that there were still roads that weren’t safe to travel on. That has meant processing insurance claims for properties neither owners nor adjusters could yet access.
“In situations like that, we’re relying on aerial imagery … so if we can’t get to the site or get a look at it, at least we can get a decent picture of what’s going on,” he said.
Photo: Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP/Getty Images
Caption: Destroyed homes and debris are seen near Port St. Joe, Fla., on Friday, two days after Hurricane Michael hit the Florida panhandle.
(Source: NPR)
Sears — the iconic American retailer that has sold everything from clothing and toys to refrigerators and socket wrenches over its more than 125-year history — may have reached the end. The Sears Holdings company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on Monday, after failing to make a $134 million debt payment.
The bankruptcy filing is the latest and most significant milestone in a long decline for the company once best-known for pioneering the mail-order catalog that featured nearly everything the American consumer might desire.
Today, however, Sears is drowning in $5.5 billion of outstanding debt.
Photo: Scott Olson/Getty Images
(Source: NPR)