Business

The New York Times reports: Exxon reported income of $17.9 billion for the three months through June, more than three times what it earned a year ago. Revenue at the energy giant jumped to $115.6 billion, from $67.7 billion a year ago. Chevron’s performance was similar, with profit more than tripling to $11.6 billion as sales rose to $65 billion, …

Ars Technica reports: Twitter is moving ahead with a shareholder vote on the merger with Elon Musk a few weeks before its lawsuit against Musk goes to trial. Twitter yesterday sent a letter to shareholders inviting them to a September 13 special meeting where they will be asked to approve the merger agreement that Musk is now trying to get …

Via press release: Today, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) took action against U.S. Bank for illegally accessing its customers’ credit reports and opening checking and savings accounts, credit cards, and lines of credit without customers’ permission. U.S. Bank pressured and incentivized its employees to sell multiple products and services to its customers, including imposing sales goals as part of …

The Miami Herald reports: Continuing to target what he calls “woke” corporations, Gov. Ron DeSantis wants to prohibit state investments that use “environmental, social and governance” ratings, which can include taking into account impacts of climate change. DeSantis plans to have the State Board of Administration, which oversees investments, direct pension-fund managers against “using political factors when investing the state’s …

CNBC reports: JetBlue Airways reached a deal to buy Spirit Airlines, hours after the discount carrier scrapped plans to merge with Frontier Airlines. JetBlue said it will pay $33.50 a share in cash for Spirit in a $3.8 billion deal. A JetBlue acquisition of Spirit would create the country’s fifth-largest carrier, and if approved by regulators, would leave Frontier as …

The New York Times reports: The Federal Reserve raised interest rates by three-quarters of a percentage point on Wednesday, continuing its aggressive campaign to cool rapid inflation even as the economy begins to slow. Central bankers voted unanimously to make the unusually large interest rate move, and the policy-setting Federal Open Market Committee signaled in its post-meeting statement that more …

Reuters reports: The U.S. Justice Department has opened a criminal investigation into Cassava Sciences Inc involving whether the biotech company manipulated research results for its experimental Alzheimer’s drug, two people familiar with the inquiry said. The Justice Department personnel conducting the investigation into Austin, Texas-based Cassava specialize in examining whether companies or individuals have misled or defrauded investors, government agencies …

Popular Information reports: June 24, the day the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, the Republican Attorneys General Association reached out to its supporters with an urgent plea for money: “[E]very donation will help Republican Attorneys General combat the Democrats’ pro-abortion agenda and stand tall for life.” Several days later, on June 29, according to a filing submitted to the …

Axios reports: Facebook wants to shape your online life around the algorithmically-sorted preferences of millions of strangers around the globe. That’s how TikTok sorts the videos it shows users, and that’s largely how Facebook will now organize its home screen. The dominant player in social media is transforming itself into a kind of digital mass media, in which the reactions …

The Guardian reports: Elon Musk has denied a Wall Street Journal report claiming he had an affair with Nicole Shanahan, the wife of the Google co-founder Sergey Brin, accusing the outlet of running “hit pieces” on him and Tesla. The chief executive of the electric carmaker tweeted on Monday rejecting the claim that he had an affair with Shanahan as …

The Wall Street Journal reports: Elon Musk engaged in a brief affair last fall with the wife of Sergey Brin, prompting the Google co-founder to file for divorce earlier this year and ending the tech billionaires’ long friendship, according to people familiar with the matter. Their falling out is one of a string of personal issues Mr. Musk has faced …

NBC News reports: A pair of shoppers at a Walgreens in Wisconsin said an employee refused to sell condoms to them on religious grounds — something Walgreens said is permitted under its policies. Nathan Pentz tweeted earlier this month that his partner, Jess, went to buy condoms at a store in Hayward because she forgot her birth control. He said …

Yahoo News reports: Electric car maker Tesla sold $936 million worth of bitcoin during the second quarter, the company said Wednesday, citing uncertainties related to COVID-19 shutdowns in China. Tesla’s remaining digital asset holdings total $218 million, a sharp drop from its previous stash of $1.2 billion, which had gone untouched over the previous three quarters. “We are certainly open …

Axios reports: Only 10% of companies have made, or plan to make, a public statement about abortion in the wake of the Supreme Court’s decision overturning Roe v. Wade, according to a survey of approximately 300 public, private and nonprofit entities released Tuesday by the Conference Board. In recent years, businesses have increasingly taken stands on social issues — particularly …

Reuters reports: Twitter Inc’s lawsuit to hold Elon Musk to his $44 billion takeover will go to trial in October after a Delaware judge said on Tuesday the social media company deserved a quick resolution of the deal’s uncertainty. The ruling is a blow to Musk who pushed for a trial in February which his lawyer told the court would …

The Wall Street Journal reports: Amazon said it filed a lawsuit against the administrators of what it says are more than 10,000 Facebook groups used to coordinate fake reviews of Amazon products. Those in charge of the Facebook groups solicit the reviews for items ranging from camera tripods to car stereos in exchange for free products or money, Amazon said …

The Associated Press reports: A former Southwest Airlines flight attendant who was fired after sparring with her union president over abortion and other issues won a $5.1 million jury verdict against the airline and the union. If it stands, Charlene Carter could collect $4.15 million from Southwest and $950,000 from Local 556 of the Transport Workers Union, mostly in punitive …

Bloomberg News reports: Elon Musk’s lawyers say Twitter Inc. officials are unfairly pushing for a “warp speed” trial over claims the billionaire improperly canceled his proposed $44 billion buyout of the social media company, and asked that the case be heard next year instead. Musk is requesting a Feb. 13, 2023, trial at the earliest, “an extremely rapid schedule for …

The New York Daily News reports: State regulators approved rules Thursday governing New York’s soon-to-begin retail cannabis sales, ensuring the first batch of licenses will go to business owners with past pot convictions. Under the state’s Seeding Opportunity Initiative, between 100 and 200 dispensary licenses could be issued by this fall, with sales allowed before the end of the year. …

The Insider reports: In a lawsuit filed Tuesday, Twitter cited posts made by billionaire Elon Musk — including one of a single poop emoji — as evidence he had disparaged the company in violation of contracts he was beholden to when he agreed to buy it for $44 billion. When Musk sent the poop emoji on May 16, the single-character …