Category: Business

Trump win ignites crypto frenzy that sends bitcoin to a record high

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FILE -Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump speaks at the Bitcoin 2024 Conference, July 27, 2024, in Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey, File)

By KELVIN CHAN AP Business Writer

LONDON (AP) — The price of bitcoin hit a new high Wednesday and crypto-related shares rallied as investors bet that former President Donald Trump’s victory in the U.S. presidential election will be a boon for cryptocurrencies.

Bitcoin jumped nearly 8% in early trading, climbing above $75,000 and smashing its previous record set in March. Other cryptocurrencies also soared, including ether, the world’s second most popular cryptocurrency after bitcoin, which rallied 8%.

Another token, dogecoin, rocketed as much as 18%. It’s the favorite cryptocurrency of billionaire Elon Musk, one of Trump’s most prominent supporters. Continue reading

A presidential campaign unlike any other ends on Tuesday. Here’s how we got here

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Voters are reflected in a window near an American flag as they mark their ballots during early voting in the general election, Friday, Nov. 1, 2024, at City Hall in Providence, R.I. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)

By CHRIS MEGERIAN Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — It’s the election that no one could have foreseen.

Not so long ago, Donald Trump was marinating in self-pity at Mar-a-Lago after being impeached twice and voted out of the White House. Even some of his closest allies were looking forward to a future without the charismatic yet erratic billionaire leading the Republican Party, especially after his failed attempt to overturn an election ended in violence and shame. When Trump announced his comeback bid two years ago, the New York Post buried the article on page 26.

At the same time, Kamala Harris was languishing as a low-profile sidekick to President Joe Biden. Once seen as a rising star in the Democratic Party, she struggled with both her profile and her portfolio, disappointing her supporters and delighting her critics. No one was talking about Harris running for the top job — they were wondering if Biden should replace her as his running mate when he sought a second term. Continue reading

As coal plants shut in Romania, some miners transition to green energy while others are reluctant

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Sebastian Tirintica speaks next to solar panels in the RenewAcad training center in Petrosani, southern Romania, Friday, Oct. 11, 2024. (AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda)

By ANCA GURZU, Cipher News undefined

PETRILA, Romania (AP) — For many years, Sebastian Tirinticǎ worked in a coal mine, just like his father and grandfather before him.

These days, Tirinticǎ, now 38, is largely surrounded by solar panels and wind turbines as he travels across Romania to train former coal workers and others for jobs in renewable energies.

It’s been a huge professional shift for a worker from one of the main coal regions of this formerly Communist Eastern European country.

“It’s hard to unglue yourself from something you did your entire life,” said Tirinticǎ, who has a short beard sprinkled with grey hair. “It’s hard to start again from zero, and not everyone has the strength and courage to do it.” Continue reading

What Are Corporate America’s Top Frustrations in 2024?

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By creativeart freepik.com

By Michael Dinich | Wealth of Geeks undefined

Salary dissatisfaction, lack of appreciation and poor work-life balance are corporate America’s top frustrations — according to the nation’s Human Resources (HR) pros.

A new survey of 1,000 human resource professionals revealed the biggest challenges facing the workforce today, along with the pain points HR problem solvers are feeling in their departments.

Twenty-nine percent of respondents said feeling underpaid is the most common source of discontent for workers at their company, along with being unappreciated (26%), poor work-life balance (25%) and dissatisfaction with benefits (23%).

And according to the survey, the most common types of issues that get brought to the HR department are rooted in poor communication (44%), rule violations (40%), toxic negativity (38%), and gossip (37%). Continue reading

Amazon, Target and other retailers are ramping up hiring for the holiday shopping season

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FILE – Amazon employees load packages on carts before being put on to trucks for distribution to customers for Amazon’s annual Prime Day event at an Amazon’s DAX7 delivery station on July 16, 2024, in South Gate, Calif. (AP Photo/Richard Vogel, File)

By HALELUYA HADERO AP Business Writer

Retailers are ramping up hiring for the holiday season, but fewer seasonal employees are expected to be taken on this year to help customers in stores and assemble online orders in warehouses.

E-commerce giant Amazon said Thursday it will hire 250,000 full, part-time and seasonal workers for the crucial shopping period, rounding out a series of announcements made in recent weeks by the country’s top retailers.

Amazon is hiring the same number of employees it did last year, similar to Bath & Body Works and Target, which said in September it planned to bring in roughly 100,000 seasonal employees and offer current employees the option to work extra hours during the holiday shopping period. Continue reading

As theaters struggle, many independent cinemas in Los Angeles are finding their audience

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Cinephile Miles Villalon, left, stands underneath the marquee of the New Beverly Cinema revival theater, Friday, Aug. 9, 2024, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello)

By KRYSTA FAURIA Associated Press

LOS ANGELES (AP) — On a hot summer evening, Miles Villalon lined up outside the New Beverly Cinema, hours before showtime.

The 36-year-old already had tickets to the Watergate-themed double feature of 1976’s “All the President’s Men” and 1999’s “Dick.” But Villalon braved Los Angeles’ infamous rush-hour traffic to snag front-row seats at Quentin Tarantino’s historic theater.

This level of dedication is routine for the Starbucks barista and aspiring filmmaker, who typically sees up to six movies a week in theaters, and almost exclusively in independently owned theaters in and around Los Angeles.

“I always say it feels like church,” he said. “When I go to AMC, I just sit there. And I can’t really experience that communal thing that we have here, where we’re all just worshipping at the altar of celluloid.” Continue reading

Sustainable investing advocate says ‘anti-woke’ backlash in US won’t stop the movement

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(AP Illustration/Jenni Sohn)

By STAN CHOE AP Business Writer

NEW YORK (AP) — Maria Lettini already knew of the backlash against ESG investing when she took over as chief executive of US SIF last year.

US SIF is an advocacy group that supports sustainable investing, which encourages investors to consider a wider set of risks including the environment, social issues and corporate governance in hopes of improving their returns.

But returning to the U.S. after several years working in the U.K., Letting wasn’t prepared for how widespread the backlash against ESG was. Lettini spoke with The Associated Press about that and sustainable investing generally. The conversation has been edited for clarity and length. Continue reading

AI may not steal many jobs after all. It may just make workers more efficient

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Customer Experience Representatives Stanley Solis, center, and other representatives take calls at an Alorica center, Monday, Aug. 19, 2024, in San Antonio. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)

By PAUL WISEMAN AP Economics Writer

WASHINGTON (AP) — Imagine a customer-service center that speaks your language, no matter what it is.

Alorica, a company in Irvine, California, that runs customer-service centers around the world, has introduced an artificial intelligence translation tool that lets its representatives talk with customers who speak 200 different languages and 75 dialects.

So an Alorica representative who speaks, say, only Spanish can field a complaint about a balky printer or an incorrect bank statement from a Cantonese speaker in Hong Kong. Alorica wouldn’t need to hire a rep who speaks Cantonese.

Such is the power of AI. And, potentially, the threat: Perhaps companies won’t need as many employees — and will slash some jobs — if chatbots can handle the workload instead. But the thing is, Alorica isn’t cutting jobs. It’s still hiring aggressively. Continue reading

Better Cities For Startups Than Silicon Valley

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By Franklin Schneider | Wealth of Geeks undefined

Startups face difficult odds. About one-fifth of them fail in the first year, and nearly half don’t last five years.

Founders who start their business in a city with sky-high costs and limited access to talent may see their entrepreneurial dreams go under long before discovering if their business idea is even viable.

Historically, the West Coast has been a hub for startups and emerging tech companies, but as costs skyrocket, many young business owners moved across the country to more affordable cities on the East Coast, according to a new study from Clever Real Estate.

The top 10 startup cities in 2024 are:

  • Atlanta,Georgia
  • Miami, Florida
  • Orlando, Florida
  • Tampa, Florida
  • Austin, Texas
  • San Francisco, California
  • Washington, D.C.
  • Jacksonville, Florida
  • Charlotte, North Carolina
  • Dallas, Texas

Continue reading

Google agreed to pay millions for California news. Journalists call it a bad deal

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Read time : 3 mins

Level : Advanced

FILE – A Google sign hangs over an entrance to the company’s new building, Sept. 6, 2023, in New York. (AP Photo/Peter Morgan, File)

By TRÂN NGUYỄN Associated Press

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — Google will soon give California millions of dollars to help pay for local journalism jobs in a first-in-the-nation deal, but journalists and other media industry experts are calling it a disappointing agreement that mostly benefits the tech giant.

The agreement, which was hashed out behind closed doors and announced this week, will direct tens of millions of public and private dollars to keep local news organizations afloat. Critics say it’s a textbook political maneuver by tech giants to avoid a fee under what could have been groundbreaking legislation. California lawmakers agreed to kill a bill requiring tech to support news outlets they profit from in exchange for Google’s financial commitment. Continue reading