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Business/Economy (News/Activism)

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  • An FBI arrest revives fears that U.S. tech companies are hiring spies

    10/15/2026 2:23:24 PM PDT · by E. Pluribus Unum · 15 replies
    The Washington Post ^ | October 15, 2026 5:00 a.m. EDT | lizabeth Dwoskin , Ian Duncan , Warren P. Strobel , Mohamad El Chamaa , Gerrit De Vynck and Zac
    Silicon Valley relies on foreign talent to compete in the global AI race. Some tech leaders say that’s a national security risk. On paper, Abdulrahman Alfozan seemed like an ideal candidate for one of Silicon Valley’s most coveted artificial intelligence jobs. The Saudi national attended the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and landed an engineering job at Meta, according to his LinkedIn page and online records. Alfozan later secured a green card, spoke enthusiastically on a podcast about his Silicon Valley career and was invited to speak at Stanford University, all while working as a part-time partner at a venture capital...
  • TSMC Weighs Texas Expansion, Confirms Talks With Musk’s Terafab

    10/15/2026 1:46:16 PM PDT · by NorthMountain · 5 replies
    The Epoch Times ^ | 10/15/2026|Updated: 10/15/2026 | Arthur Zhang
    The Taiwanese chipmaker has sent teams to Texas to evaluate expansion beyond Arizona, where its planned investment has reached $265 billion. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC) is evaluating Texas for additional U.S. chip production and has confirmed discussions about potentially using manufacturing capacity at Elon Musk’s planned Terafab semiconductor complex. TSMC Chairman and CEO C.C. Wei disclosed the developments during the company’s third-quarter earnings conference on Oct. 15, saying major American customers have been requesting more U.S. manufacturing capacity. “Texas is one. We send the teams to Texas to do all the evaluation,” Wei said, referring to locations outside Arizona...
  • Japan Invests $21 Billion to Build ‌2 Chip Factories in New York Under Trump Trade Deal

    10/15/2026 1:41:56 PM PDT · by NorthMountain · 36 replies
    The Epoch Times ^ | 10/15/2026|Updated: 10/15/2026 | Owen Evans
    The site will support more than 1,000 highly skilled manufacturing jobs in the state’s semiconductor industry, said New York Gov. Kathy Hochul. Japan will invest up to $21 billion to build two chip factories in New York under a trade agreement with U.S. President Donald Trump, as Washington seeks to expand domestic semiconductor production. They will be jointly owned by the U.S. government and Japanese interests and operated by GlobalFoundries, the company said on Wednesday. Construction of the first factory is scheduled to begin this year, with chip production expected in ⁠2029. GlobalFoundries executives said the partners will decide whether...
  • Trump admin ordered to reinstate 2027 Green Card Lottery

    10/15/2026 10:44:29 AM PDT · by Red Badger · 45 replies
    www.courthousenews.com ^ | October 15, 2026 | Quinn Welsch
    The State Department failed to launch the program on time, jeopardizing a pathway to permanent U.S. residency for up to 55,000 people. ========================================================================= SAN DIEGO (CN) — A federal judge in San Diego ordered the U.S. Department of State on Wednesday to reopen the diversity visa lottery for 2027, also known as the Green Card Lottery. U.S. District Judge Jinsook Ohta’s preliminary injunction will allow for up to 55,000 people from around the world to apply for permanent residence in the United States. The Trump administration, which has opposed the program, did not open the program’s registration period on time...
  • The Fierce Battle to Control How Americans Buy and Sell Their Homes

    10/15/2026 9:41:34 AM PDT · by E. Pluribus Unum · 30 replies
    The Wall Street Journal ^ | Oct. 15, 2026 6:00 am ET | Katherine Clarke
    Mega-brokerage Compass is taking more listings offline, sparking backlash from rivals who say the practice is upending decades of market transparency Social-media battles. A cease and desist. Lawsuits and threats. The real-estate industry is tearing itself apart over a question that home buyers haven’t had to ask in decades: When you search for a home online, are you actually seeing every property for sale? For the better part of two decades, the answer to that question has largely been yes, with the vast majority of listings available on sites like Zillow and Trulia. But Compass—now the nation’s largest brokerage—is changing...
  • Wholesale prices jumped 6.3% annually in September, biggest gain since 2022

    10/15/2026 9:29:47 AM PDT · by Fury · 18 replies
    CNBC ^ | 10/15/26 | Alex Harring
    September’s producer price index came in much hotter than economists forecast on Thursday, underscoring the continued inflationary pressure from energy amid the U.S. war with Iran. The measure of underlying inflation pressures climbed 1.3% in September and 6.3% on an annual basis, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. That marked the largest monthly and annual gains since March 2022 and December 2022, respectively. Both readings topped expectations of economists polled by Dow Jones, who forecast an advance of 0.6% on the month and 5.5% annually.
  • Ukraine's Zelensky defies Trump with Russian refinery strikes (today 10/15)

    10/15/2026 7:36:47 AM PDT · by Mariner · 138 replies
    France 24 ^ | October 15th, 2026 | Unattributed
    Kyiv (Ukraine) (AFP) – Ukraine will no longer abide by US President Donald Trump's demands not to strike Russian oil refineries, President Volodymyr Zelensky said in remarks published Thursday, amid deepening tensions between the two leaders over a US-Russia diesel agreement.Relations between Kyiv and Washington have soured since last week, when Trump eased sanctions on Russia in exchange for Moscow releasing large amounts of diesel onto global markets.Zelensky described the deal as a "weak decision", saying it would encourage Russia to prolong its four-and-a-half-year war with Ukraine, while several of Ukraine's European allies criticised the agreement.Addressing the criticism on Saturday,...
  • PRODUCER PRICE INDEXES - SEPTEMBER 2026

    10/15/2026 6:36:57 AM PDT · by buckalfa · 5 replies
    Bureau of Labor Statistics ^ | October 15, 2026 | Bureau of Labor Statistics
    The Producer Price Index for final demand increased 1.3 percent in September, seasonally adjusted, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Final demand prices moved up 0.5 percent in August and 0.2 percent in July. The September increase is the largest advance since rising 1.7 percent in March 2022. On an unadjusted basis, the index for final demand climbed 6.3 percent for the 12 months ended in September, the largest 12-month increase since moving up 6.4 percent in December 2022.
  • Chaos ensues when AI interviewer meets AI interviewee

    10/15/2026 6:02:41 AM PDT · by Salman · 15 replies
    The Register (UK) ^ | Wed 14 Oct 2026 | Brandon Vigliarolo
    Things got weird, but there's a lesson to be learned: Don't trust a bot to negotiate for you A YouTuber who’s gained a following for trolling AI interview bots brought his own computing companion to an interview with him. As chaos ensued, viewers learned that having an AI as your interview agent isn't a good idea. Graham Dot Zip is a comedian whose YouTube channel has blown up recently thanks to videos of him demonstrating the absurdity of AI bots used to conduct early-stage interviews with job candidates. AI interviewers have become quite the phenomenon in recent months, and not...
  • Social Security Administration announces 3.6% cost-of-living adjustment for 2027

    10/14/2026 5:55:05 PM PDT · by MinorityRepublican · 40 replies
    CNBC ^ | October 14, 2026 | Lorie Konish
    The Social Security cost-of-living adjustment will be 3.6% in 2027, the Social Security Administration said Wednesday. The cost-of-living adjustment, or COLA, provides an annual inflation adjustment to both Social Security and Supplemental Security Income, or SSI, benefits. Social Security retirement benefits will increase by $75 per month on average, the agency said. "Social Security will implement this cost-of-living adjustment for 76 million Americans, giving them greater financial stability," Social Security Commissioner Frank Bisignano said in a statement.
  • BofA’s bond portfolio surpasses US$100 bil in paper losses

    10/14/2026 8:58:48 AM PDT · by Red Badger · 15 replies
    The Edge - Maylasia ^ | October 14, 2026 | Yizhu Wang
    Home BofA’s bond portfolio surpasses US$100 bil in paper losses BofA’s bond portfolio surpasses US$100 bil in paper losses By Yizhu Wang / Bloomberg 14 Oct 2026, 08:10 pm Google News Preferred Icon Make The Edge Malaysia your preferred source on Google main news image Bank of America’s current securities portfolio is still the biggest among peers and yields the least (Oct 14): Paper losses on Bank of America Corp’s bond portfolio rose past US$100 billion (RM408.2 billion), bringing the spotlight back on a pain point that was at the heart of the 2023 regional-banking crisis. Yields on seven-year and...
  • Troy Jackson Cosponsored Bill Backed by Son’s Lobbying Firm Allowing ‘Predatory’ Loan Companies To Skirt Maine’s Interest Rate Caps

    10/14/2026 6:46:29 AM PDT · by george76 · 6 replies
    Washington Free Beacon ^ | October 13, 2026 | Collin Anderson
    As president of the Maine Senate, Democrat Troy Jackson, now running for U.S. Senate as an opponent of "greedy corporations," cosponsored a bill allowing online lenders to skirt Maine's interest rate caps when offering small-dollar loans to borrowers with poor credit. A lobbying firm that employed Jackson's son supported the 2022 bill on behalf of a "predatory" lending company that was sued months earlier for violating consumer protection laws, a Washington Free Beacon review found. The bill, which Jackson and five other Maine Democrats introduced in February 2022, was framed as a measure to "Establish Consumer Protections Regarding Small Dollar...
  • Major banks closed accounts of MAGA, pro-life and other conservative groups disfavored by Biden admin: bombshell report

    10/14/2026 6:19:42 AM PDT · by MinorityRepublican · 56 replies
    New York Post ^ | Oct. 14, 2026 | Miranda Devine
    Major banks closed accounts and refused credit to MAGA merchants, pro-life causes, religious groups, conservative organizations and sectors disfavored by the Biden administration, such as firearms, oil and gas, and private prisons, a bombshell report from the federal banking regulator has found. The Debanking Review by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) investigated 100,000 complaints and scrutinized 50,000 internal bank records to reveal how customers were “debanked” based purely on their political, social, or religious beliefs. JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America, Citibank, Wells Fargo, U.S. Bank, Capital One, PNC, TD Bank, and BMO Bank were found to...
  • CONSUMER PRICE INDEX - SEPTEMBER 2026

    10/14/2026 6:13:08 AM PDT · by buckalfa · 76 replies
    Bureau of Labor Statistics ^ | October 14th, 2026 | Bureau of Labor Statistics
    The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) increased 0.6 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis in September after rising 0.4 percent in August, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Over the last 12 months, the all items index increased 3.7 percent before seasonal adjustment. The index for gasoline rose 9.1 percent in September, accounting for over half of the monthly all items increase. The energy index increased 5.2 percent over the month following a 2.1-percent increase in August. The shelter index rose 0.4 percent in September after rising 0.3 percent in August. The index for food...
  • Major U.S. Bank Hit With $1.21 Billion In Penalties After Ignoring Red Flags

    10/14/2026 5:59:19 AM PDT · by Twotone · 9 replies
    The Daily Wire ^ | October 13, 2026 | Kassy Akiva
    The Treasury Department announced more than $1.21 billion in penalties against Bank of America, the second-largest bank in the U.S., on Tuesday for anti-money laundering and sanctions violations. The enforcement actions include the largest fine in the history of the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) and the third-largest penalty in Treasury history. According to Treasury, Bank of America prioritized revenue while minimizing compliance resources, despite mounting warning signs. Treasury said Bank of America failed to report more than $5 billion in suspicious transactions on time, including activity indicative of Chinese money laundering networks. The bank also processed...
  • Department of Government Efficiency Faces Supreme Court Scrutiny Over DOGE Records and $215 Billion Savings Claim

    10/14/2026 4:15:50 AM PDT · by Cronos · 9 replies
    Aktualita.co ^ | 14th October 2026 | Daniel Brooks
    The Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), the federal reform initiative launched by President Donald Trump and initially associated with billionaire Elon Musk, is back in the national spotlight after the U.S. Supreme Court agreed to review a legal dispute over access to its government records. The Supreme Court granted the Trump administration's petition on Tuesday, October 13, 2026, opening another chapter in a legal battle that could determine how much information the public can obtain about DOGE's operations. The decision comes months after DOGE's temporary organization formally ended and amid growing questions about its reported federal spending cuts, workforce reductions,...
  • Horse-drawn carriages in New York City expected to be outlawed

    10/14/2026 3:59:48 AM PDT · by Recovering_Democrat · 75 replies
    BBC ^ | 10/13/26 | Madeline Halpert
    New York City Council is expected to outlaw horse-drawn carriages starting in June 2028, a ban that also has the support of the mayor. The legislation follows the death of a teenager who fell off a horse-drawn carriage in Central Park this year, and ongoing concerns about inhumane treatment of the horses.
  • Entrepreneur, Software engineer, and Venture Capitalist Marc Andreessen Explains the Problem With Affordability in America in 3 Minutes

    10/13/2026 8:46:48 PM PDT · by SeekAndFind · 14 replies
    Hotair ^ | 10/13/2026 | David Strom
    "Affordability" is one of those words that gets thrown around a lot without being well-defined, but we all have a general idea of what it means. Every election year, the economy, and by extension affordability, is always at the top of voters' concerns. Most years it is #1, and it is always in the top three, and for good reason: when we think of the "American Dream," we most often think of an ever-rising standard of living for families and their children. As Reagan put it succinctly, "Are you better off now than you were four years ago?"Many government policies...
  • Saudi National Arrested for Installing Surreptitious Audio Recording Device at OpenAI

    10/13/2026 2:12:09 PM PDT · by CFW · 11 replies
    Justice.gov ^ | 10/13/26
    An employee of OpenAI has been arrested for and charged with using or endeavoring to use an electronic, mechanical, or other device to intercept oral communications. Abdulrahman Alfozan, 35, a national of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, was arrested on Oct. 9, and made his initial appearance in federal court today. “This serious situation underscores why winning the global super intelligence race is a national security prerogative — and why President Trump’s leadership in creating the Super Intelligence Force is so important,” said Director of National Intelligence Jay Clayton. “I thank Director Patel and our FBI partners for their diligence...
  • An Interesting Take on Universal Basic Income

    10/13/2026 1:11:24 PM PDT · by SeekAndFind · 35 replies
    Hotair ^ | 10/13/26 | John Sexton
    This idea of the Universal Basic Income ( UBI ) has been talked about pretty extensively for years and there have been pilot programs in a number of cities, all of them attempting to build a case for a larger rollout of the idea. One of the things that drives me crazy about this topic is the way that it's usually covered by the left-leaning media. UBI is supposed to result in an improved life for people who receive it but the real world results have been mixed at best. Often, progressives do their best to cloud the issue by...