By Sean Lyngaas, CNN A senior White House official asked US tech company Cloudflare to help circumvent internet censorship in Iran after protests erupted in that country last September but US sanctions prevented the firm from doing so, Cloudflare CEO Mathew Prince said Thursday at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. “I got a
Continue Reading By Sean Lyngaas, CNN A senior White House official asked US tech company Cloudflare to help circumvent internet censorship in Iran after protests erupted in that country last September but US sanctions prevented the firm from doing so, Cloudflare CEO Mathew Prince said Thursday at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. “I got a
Continue Reading By Alicia Wallace, CNN The Federal Reserve is seeing progress in its battle to bring down US inflation and remains laser-focused on reaching the Fed’s 2% target — but policy will have to remain restrictive for “some time” to come. That’s the message Thursday from Fed Vice Chair Lael Brainard, speaking at the University of
Continue Reading By Jordan Valinsky, CNN World Wrestling Entertainment executive chairman Vince McMahon has agreed to another multimillion-dollar legal settlement with a former female employee of the wrestling organization, according to the Wall Street Journal, which cited several anonymous sources familiar with the agreement. The Journal reported Thursday that McMahon completed a settlement last month with Rita
Continue Reading By Peter Valdes-Dapena, CNN Business Uber drivers don’t always need four wheels, front-facing passenger seats and top speeds over 50 miles an hour just to drive people or deliveries from one place to another in a city. So Uber is working with automakers to create custom-built cars for urban ride- hail and delivery work, Uber
Continue Reading By Julia Horowitz, CNN Jeff Maggioncalda, the CEO of online learning provider Coursera, said that when he first tried ChatGPT, he was “dumbstruck.” Now, it’s part of his daily routine. He uses the powerful new AI chatbot tool to bang out emails. He uses it to craft speeches “in a friendly, upbeat, authoritative tone with
Continue Reading By Anna Bahney, CNN Mortgage rates fell this week as economic data showed inflation is fading. The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 6.15% in the week ending January 19, down from 6.33% the week before, according to Freddie Mac. A year ago, the 30-year fixed rate was 3.56%. “As inflation continues to moderate, mortgage rates declined
Continue Reading By Paul R. La Monica, CNN The market is bracing for a perfect storm of bad news. The latest worry? The impending debt ceiling drama in Washington. The United States hit its borrowing cap on Thursday, forcing the Treasury Department to start taking “extraordinary measures” to keep the government open. If an agreement isn’t reached,
Continue Reading By Anna Bahney, CNN US home building fell in December, as the housing market continued to slow. December housing starts, a measure of new home construction, dropped by 1.4% from November, and were down 21.8% from a year ago, according to data released Thursday by the Census Bureau. But after mortgage rates declined modestly in
Continue Reading By Chris Isidore, CNN Americans can once again buy cars for less than sticker price. But that doesn’t mean they’re finding bargains at their local dealerships. A year ago, record tight inventories meant 80% of buyers were paying more than the manufacturers’ suggested retail price (MSRP), or sticker price, according to data from Edmunds. For
Continue Reading By Alicia Wallace, CNN The number of first-time claims for unemployment insurance fell unexpectedly to 190,000 for the week ending January 14, according to Department of Labor data released Thursday. The latest total is the lowest in 15 weeks and far below economists’ expectations of 214,000, according to consensus estimates on Refinitiv. The steady level
Continue Reading By Parija Kavilanz, CNN Consumers, spooked by accelerating job cuts, looming recession fears and continuing high prices for goods and services in 2023, are trading down when they’re shopping, and that includes in secondhand stores. Demand for secondhand goods remains red hot, with the resale market expected to reach $82 billion in sales by 2026,
Continue Reading By Samantha Murphy Kelly, CNN Business Instagram on Thursday announced a new feature called “quiet mode,” which aims to help users focus and set boundaries with friends and followers. When the option is enabled, all notifications will be paused and the profile’s activity status will change to ‘In quiet mode.” If someone sends a direct
Continue Reading By Chris Isidore, CNN Americans can once again buy cars for less than sticker price. But that doesn’t mean they’re finding bargains at their local dealerships. A year ago, record tight inventories meant 80% of buyers were paying more than the manufacturers’ suggested retail price (MSRP), or sticker price, according to data from Edmunds. For
Continue Reading By Jordan Valinsky, CNN Taco Bell is bringing back a fan-favorite menu item, but you have to act fast. Crispy chicken wings are back for a limited time, following a successful addition last year. Each order contains eight bone-in wings coated in a queso seasoning, and costs $6.99. Wings go on sale beginning January 26
Continue Reading By Nicole Goodkind, CNN Business The US government is set to hit its self-imposed borrowing limit today and both Wall Street and Washington are hoping for a resolution — but preparing for the worst. The ongoing brinkmanship in Congress over whether or not to allow the federal government to borrow more money to pay its
Continue Reading By Jordan Valinsky, CNN Amazon is shutting down its “Smile” charity donation program as the company cuts costs and rethinks its strategy. The Smile initiative will shut down by February 20, Amazon said in a statement Wednesday, explaining the “program has not grown to create the impact that we had originally hoped.” Amazon Smile donated
Continue Reading By Samantha Murphy Kelly, CNN Business When Kristen Asplin heard about a powerful new AI chatbot tool called ChatGPT going viral online recently with its ability to write frighteningly good essays in seconds, she worried about how her students could use it to cheat. Asplin, a professor at University of Pittsburgh at Greensburg, soon joined
Continue Reading By Samantha Murphy Kelly, CNN Business When Kristen Asplin heard about a powerful new AI chatbot tool called ChatGPT going viral online recently with its ability to write frighteningly good essays in seconds, she worried about how her students could use it to cheat. Asplin, a professor at University of Pittsburgh at Greensburg, soon joined
Continue Reading By Jordan Valinsky, CNN Anheuser-Busch may no longer be the only alcohol brand to advertise at the Super Bowl, but it will still have a major presence — even as rivals pounce on the opportunity, following a 33-year drought. The beer company announced Thursday that it will have three minutes of national air time during
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