Money

Virgin Group founder Richard Branson is calling for a permanent end to capital punishment around the globe, and he wants more business leaders to get on board. The 70-year-old British billionaire announced a new campaign to build support for abolishing the death penalty at a virtual South By Southwest event Thursday. “I have always thought

The US airline industry hit a dubious milestone this week: For the first time since the pandemic began, air travel is up from a year ago. That’s a positive sign for battered airlines and a potentially worrying sign to health experts. But it’s also an incredibly low hurdle to clear. About 1.1 million people passed

A year after the pandemic shut down the US economy, America’s workers are still hurting. For the past 12 months, first-time claims for jobless benefits have been higher than during the worst moments of the Great Recession. Economists, politicians and workers alike are hoping that the continued vaccine rollout and warmer weather that allows more

Piers Morgan has always divided TV audiences, but he gained new notoriety this month after taking on the Duchess of Sussex. With two combative UK media outlets about to launch, that could help him land his next job. The host of “Good Morning Britain” abruptly left the show from broadcaster ITV last week after questioning

Kanye West officially became a billionaire last year. Now, he’s a billionaire six times over. The 43-year-old rapper turned fashion and athletic shoe mogul is now worth $6.6 billion, according to Bloomberg. The vast majority of West’s wealth is tied up in his apparel businesses: The combined value of West’s Yeezy sneaker partnership with Adidas

When one of my editors recently shared a celebratory picture of his vaccine card on Instagram, I sent him a direct message: “Didn’t you read our story about not posting your record? Scammers are watching!” He argued they’d be hard pressed to dupe him based on anything listed on the card: “What scam are you

Peloton is teaming up with Adidas to launch its most expansive branded apparel line yet, aimed at its fervent fans that can’t get enough of the trendy fitness company. The 11-piece line, called the adidas x Peloton SS21 collection, is priced between $30 to $85 and consists of tank tops, pants shorts and hoodies. Peloton

Piers Morgan has always divided TV audiences, but he gained new notoriety this month after taking on the Duchess of Sussex. With two combative UK media outlets about to launch, that could help him land his next job. The host of “Good Morning Britain” abruptly left the show from broadcaster ITV last week after questioning

YouTube’s TikTok competitor has come to the United States. On Thursday, the company said it’s expanding the beta program for its short-form video offering, called Shorts, to the United States now and over the next several weeks. Previously, it tested the product only in India. Globally, users have been able to view Shorts, but not

The Federal Reserve left interest rates near zero Wednesday and said it would continue to use all the tools in its arsenal to support the still bouncing-back US economy. But it struck a somewhat more hawkish tone in its monetary policy update, saying it is prepared to “adjust the stance of monetary policy as appropriate

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell has a clear message for investors: Don’t stress. We’ve got this. What’s happening: At a press conference Wednesday, Powell reiterated that the central bank does not plan to roll back its massive stimulus efforts until the economic recovery from the pandemic is complete. Wall Street cheered his remarks, sending stocks

The banking industry has a race problem, and a new study is putting a spotlight on the inequalities within the nation’s largest financial institutions. For people of color, the chances of getting promoted to the highest levels of management or senior and executive leadership at some of the nation’s most powerful consumer banks are much

Pinduoduo’s founder stepped down suddenly this week, shaking investors who had watched him take the Chinese e-commerce company from nothing to a potential Alibaba competitor in less than a decade. Colin Huang’s decision to resign as chairman wasn’t a complete surprise. The 41-year-old entrepreneur already quit as CEO last summer, and was expected to eventually

All 68 teams in the men’s NCAA college basketball tournament have been cleared to play ahead of today’s First Four games. Here’s what you need to know to Get Up to Speed and On with Your Day. (You can also get “5 Things You Need to Know Today” delivered to your inbox daily. Sign up

On Wednesday, BMW unveiled the i4, the latest addition to its line of electric cars. And while the luxury automaker plans to add more electric vehicles to its lineup, it made clear that it will still make cars with gas engines for the foreseeable future. BMW chairman Oliver Zipse said in an online press conference,

An Amazon warehouse employee testified before the Senate Budget Committee on Wednesday about the “grueling” working conditions that led her and others to organize the milestone union election currently underway in Bessemer, Alabama. “Amazon brags it pays workers above the minimum wage. What they don’t tell you is what those jobs are really like,” said