Business

TechCrunch reports: Cruise unveiled Tuesday evening a “production ready” driverless vehicle called Origin, the product of a multi-year collaboration with parent company GM and investor Honda that is designed for a ride-sharing service. The shuttle-like vehicle — branded with Cruise’s trademark orange and black colors — has no steering wheel or pedals and is designed to travel at highway speeds. …

The New York Post reports: Legendary Big Apple grocer Fairway Market is getting ready to call it quits, The Post has learned. The New York City chain — known for its wide selection of cheeses and cheap produce — is planning to file for a Chapter 7 bankruptcy, which means the grocery chain does not currently have a plan to …

CNBC reports: Technology giant Amazon is working to allow customers to connect their credit card information to their hands, so that they can scan for purchases with their palms at checkout areas in physical stores. While Amazon’s plan is in the early stages, the company has reportedly begun working with Visa on testing out the terminals, and has discussed the …

The Hollywood Reporter reports: Almost a year after Disney’s acquisition of 21st Century Fox closed, the studio is making some name changes. The Fox moniker has been dropped from the studio’s 20th Century and Searchlight labels, which will now be branded as, simply, Searchlight Pictures and 20th Century Studios. The original 20th Century Fox was formed in a merger in …

CNBC reports: For the first time in decades, Boeing’s commercial airplane business lost orders over the course of an entire year, a stark example of just how much the 737 Max crisis has hurt the company. For all of 2019, Boeing lost orders for 87 commercial airplanes, meaning it had more cancellations than new purchases, the company said Tuesday. The …

The New York Times reports: Dennis A. Muilenburg, who was ousted as Boeing’s chief executive last month as the company contended with the biggest crisis in its history, will depart with more than $60 million, the company said Friday. Mr. Muilenburg will not receive any additional severance or separation payments in connection with his departure, and Boeing said he had …

The New York Times reports: Boeing employees mocked federal rules, talked about deceiving regulators and joked about potential flaws in the 737 Max as it was being developed, according to over a hundred pages of internal messages delivered Thursday to congressional investigators. “I still haven’t been forgiven by God for the covering up I did last year,” one of the …

Axios reports: Chief financial officers are bracing for an economic slowdown this year, according to Deloitte’s quarterly survey of nearly 150 executives at top North American companies. Multiple surveys showed plunging optimism among top executives last year, thanks largely to trade war uncertainty. Deloitte’s survey is a signal that skittishness continues to curb companies’ hiring and spending plans this year, …

Business Insider reports: Macy’s is closing 30 stores in early 2020. In 2016, Macy’s said it would close 100 stores after it reported six consecutive years of declining sales. Since then, it has been closing these locations as their leases expire. A representative for the company did not comment on whether this recent wave of closures was included in the …

Axios reports: The Institute of Supply Management’s index of manufacturing activity released Friday hit its lowest level since the end of the Great Recession in December. Why it matters: It shows worsening conditions for the U.S. manufacturing sector, which has been in contraction for five straight months, and reignites concerns about the trade war’s impact on the economy. Stocks, already …

From a post on Bill Gates’ personal blog: I start with the understanding that the U.S. government simply does not bring in enough money to meet its obligations. This isn’t a value judgment; it’s just a fact. The government collects about 20 percent of GDP in taxes while spending about 24 percent. And the cost of commitments is going up. …

Axios reports: U-Haul will not hire people who use nicotine products in 21 states beginning Feb. 1 in an attempt “to establish one of the healthiest corporate cultures in the U.S. and Canada,” the company announced in a statement. The ACLU considers anti-nicotine hiring policies “discriminatory” and a violation of worker privacy, but smokers are not a protected class under …

CNBC reports: Lebanon received an Interpol arrest warrant on Thursday for ousted Nissan boss Carlos Ghosn, a Lebanese judicial source told Reuters. The request, an Interpol red notice that calls on authorities to arrest a wanted person, was received by Lebanon’s internal security forces and has yet to be referred to the judiciary, the source said. Ghosn fled to Beirut …

The Associated Press reports: Nissan’s former Chairman Carlos Ghosn said Tuesday from Lebanon that he was not fleeing justice but instead left Japan to avoid “injustice and political persecution” over financial misconduct allegations during his tenure leading the automaker. “I am now in Lebanon and will no longer be held hostage by a rigged Japanese justice system where guilt is …

CNBC reports: Carlos Ghosn, the ousted boss of the Renault-Nissan carmaking alliance who was awaiting trial in Japan, flew into Lebanon on Monday evening, France’s Les Echos newspaper reported. It was unclear how Ghosn, who holds both French and Lebanese citizenship, would have been able to leave Japan, where he has been under strict court-imposed restrictions on his movements. Reuters …

The Associated Press reports: U.S. retailers including Walmart Inc will add “Do Not Sell My Info” links to their websites and signage in stores starting Jan. 1, allowing California shoppers to understand for the first time what personal and other data the retailers collect, sources said. Large U.S retailers are rushing to comply with a new law, the California Consumer …

Bloomberg News reports: In 2019, the world’s richest 500 people saw their collective net worth jump by 25 percent or $1.2 trillion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index published Friday. Combined, the collective net worth of the world’s 500 wealthiest individuals totaled $5.9 trillion. American billionaires alone added $500 billion to their wealth, with Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg gaining $27.3 …

The Sacramento Bee reports: Amazon and Ring, the home security company owned by Amazon, will soon have to answer for their hacking incidents, according to a new lawsuit brought against the companies. John Baker Orange filed a class-action lawsuit on Dec. 26 in California, alleging that Amazon and Ring’s “lax security standards” and “defective design” left their cameras vulnerable to …

Bloomberg News reports: Holiday shopping set records over the weekend, with Super Saturday sales reaching $34.4 billion, the biggest single day in U.S. retail history, according to Customer Growth Partners. “Paced by the ‘Big Four’ mega-retailers — Walmart, Amazon, Costco and Target — Super Saturday was boosted by the best traffic our team has seen in years,” said Craig Johnson, …

The New York Times reports: Boeing on Monday fired its chief executive, Dennis A. Muilenburg. It said Dave Calhoun, the chairman, would replace Mr. Muilenburg, on Jan. 13. Until then, Boeing’s chief financial officer, Greg Smith, will serve as interim chief executive, the company said. Boeing said in a statement that its board of directors “decided that a change in …