Business

SF Gate reports: After a deep investment in electric vehicles — Hertz purchased 100,000 Teslas three years ago — the country’s second-largest rental car company is starting to scale back on its Tesla stock by selling off its electrified fleet at eye-raising prices. A Hertz customer posted a screenshot on Reddit last week with a deal to purchase a 2023 …

Bloomberg News reports: A mystery seller is asking $200 million for an empty waterfront lot next door to the properties Jeff Bezos bought in South Florida. The roughly 1.84 acre lot (0.74 hectare) is located at Indian Creek, a man-made barrier island that’s been dubbed “Billionaire Bunker.” Ilya Reznik, who’s brokering the transaction, declined to identify the seller but said …

Orlando’s CBS affiliate reports: Members of the former Reedy Creek Improvement District board of supervisors broke no criminal laws prior to Gov. Ron DeSantis appointing a new board to oversee Walt Disney World’s special taxing district, newly-released government records reveal. At the time, DeSantis expressed concern about a last-minute development agreement and restrictive covenants between Disney and the former RCID …

The Guardian reports: Toyota is donating $1m to Donald Trump’s inauguration. The report, per Reuters citing a company spokesperson, comes one day after Ford and General Motors said they would donate $1m each to the president-elect’s inaugural fund. The two US automakers will also provide vehicles to the 20 January event, the outlet reported. Trump’s proposed tariffs on goods from …

The Associated Press reports: Defense lawyers say the former longtime CEO of Abercrombie & Fitch may have dementia, and a competency hearing is necessary to determine if he can face sex charges. Lawyers for Michael Jeffries said in court papers unsealed Monday in federal court in Central Islip on Long Island that a neuropsychologist who examined Jeffries in October concluded …

USA Today reports: The Food and Drug Administration has classified a recall of eggs sold at Costco caused by potential salmonella contamination as the highest risk level for infection. The voluntary recall last month was of 108,000 cartons of Handsome Brook Farms eggs sold under the Kirkland Signature Organic Pasture Raised label. The FDA defines a Class I recall as …

USA Today reports: Another American-based big-leaguer is kicking in cash to incoming President-elect Donald Trump’s January inaugural fund. Ford Motor Company, headquartered in Dearborn, Mich., will donate $1 million as well as a fleet of vehicles for the festivities, a spokesperson confirmed to USA TODAY Monday. Earlier this month, Ford CEO Jim Farley told reporters his leadership team is carefully …

The Associated Press reports: The Container Store has filed for bankruptcy protection as the storage and organizational goods retailer with roots dating back to the 1970s grapples with mounting losses and cash flow shortages. The Texas company has faced increasing competition from retailers like Target and Walmart at the same time that demand for its goods is under strain in …

Reuters reports: Starbucks workers have expanded their strike to four more U.S. cities, including New York, the union representing over 10,000 baristas said. The five-day strike, which began on Friday and initially closed Starbucks cafes in Los Angeles, Chicago and Seattle, has added locations in New Jersey, New York, Philadelphia and St. Louis, Workers United said in a statement. The …

Reuters reports: Honda and Nissan are in talks to merge by 2026, they said on Monday, a historic pivot for Japan’s auto industry that underlines the threat Chinese EV makers now pose to the world’s long-dominant legacy car makers. The tie-up would create the world’s third-largest auto group by vehicle sales after Toyota and Volkswagen. It would also give the …

The Daily Mail reports: Three sources told DailyMail.com they had been made aware of the Bezos wedding taking place on December 28. One well-connected member of the Aspen community said that the Amazon founder arrived with his entourage on a private jet into the city’s airport on Saturday. The rumor in town – as yet unconfirmed – is that Bezos …

The New York Times reports: In recent weeks, the bird flu outbreak has wiped out flocks of egg-laying hens, causing wholesale prices to surge just as many Americans are planning holiday recipes that call for more eggs, like cookies, eggnog and latkes. As of Thursday, the average wholesale price for a dozen eggs in the United States was up more …

CNBC reports: U.S. President-elect Donald Trump on Friday said he told the European Union it must reduce its trade gap with the U.S. through oil and gas purchases or face tariffs. “I told the European Union that they must make up their tremendous deficit with the United States by the large scale purchase of our oil and gas. Otherwise, it …

Bloomberg News reports: Less than two months ago, shares of Tesla Inc. were on their way to just the third losing year in the electric-vehicle maker’s decade-and-a-half as a public company. But after a furious rally in the last seven weeks, the stock is suddenly among the S&P 500 Index’s best performers for 2024. Prior to the US presidential election …

Via press release from the Teamsters: At midnight last night, Amazon Teamsters at the JFK8 warehouse in Staten Island joined the historic strike against the corporate giant. They join thousands of Teamsters striking at DBK4 in New York City; DGT8 in Atlanta; DFX4, DAX5, and DAX8 in Southern California; DCK6 in San Francisco; and DIL7 in Skokie, Ill.; as well …

CNN reports: Party City is closing down all of its stores, ending nearly 40 years in business, CNN has learned. CEO Barry Litwin told corporate employees Friday in a meeting viewed by CNN that Party City is “winding down” operations immediately and that today will be their last day of employment. “That is without question the most difficult message that …

The Guardian reports: A company owned by two of Donald Trump’s top mega-donors has routinely brought dozens of its workers from Mexico to staff its warehouses in Wisconsin and other locations even though they do not appear to have permission to work in the US, according to a Guardian investigation. Uline – a giant Wisconsin-based office and shipping supply company …

NBC News reports: Tesla has issued a recall for nearly 700,000 vehicles due to a tire pressure light issue. The electric car company is recalling certain 2024 Cybertruck, 2017-2025 Model 3 and 2020-2025 Model Y vehicles because the tire pressure monitoring system warning light “may not remain illuminated between drive cycles, failing to warn the driver of low tire pressure,” …

Fast Company reports: After spending much of 2024 closing stores and recent months trying to solidify a sale of the company to keep its doors open, discount retail chain Big Lots has announced that it now plans to close all stores and go out of business. Big Lots had been working with the investment firm on a deal that would …

The Associated Press reports: Workers at Starbucks stores plan to go on a five-day strike starting Friday to protest lack of progress in contract negotiations with the company. The strikes are scheduled to begin in Los Angeles, Chicago and Seattle and could spread to hundreds of stores across the country by Christmas Eve. Starbucks Workers United, the union that has …