Biz/Tech

By Natasha Chen, CNN Santa Cruz, CA (CNN) — Chris Zephro’s warehouse full of latex masks, “Saw” movie props, and zombie apocalypse games is a testament to his love of horror. “Horror is not necessarily Halloween. It’s really a lifestyle,” Zephro said. But the fake blood inside his Santa Cruz, California, warehouse pales in comparison

By Liam Reilly, CNN (CNN) — A comedy festival in Saudi Arabia featuring high-profile American performers is drawing intense criticism from human rights advocates who say the star-studded event helps gloss over the kingdom’s ongoing human rights abuses. The Riyadh Comedy Festival, which kicked off on September 26, has styled itself as “the world’s largest

By Matt Egan, CNN (CNN) — Democratic Sen. Elizabeth Warren is calling on the Trump administration to release the September jobs report on Friday despite the ongoing government shutdown, a Senate aide told CNN on Thursday. The monthly jobs report, compiled and published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, is arguably the most critical piece

By Chris Isidore, CNN (CNN) — Tesla sales surged to a record in the third quarter as American buyers rushed to buy its cars before a $7,500 federal tax credit expired on September 30. The company sold a record 497,099 vehicles worldwide from July through September, a tally just ahead of the company record set

By Jordan Valinsky, CNN New York (CNN) — Berkshire Hathaway, the Warren Buffett-owned conglomerate, has announced its biggest deal in three years with the planned acquisition of OxyChem for $9.7 billion. This will be Buffett’s biggest deal since he paid $11.6 billion for Alleghany, an insurance company, in 2022. Buffett, 95, recently announced he was

By Jeanne Sahadi, CNN (CNN) — A new rule is going into effect next year that will affect high earners who make “catch-up contributions” in their 401(k)s or other tax-deferred workplace retirement plans. The rule, which was created under the Secure 2.0 retirement law, will essentially eliminate the immediate tax break for catch-up contributions that

By John Liu, Wayne Chang, CNN Hong Kong (CNN) — Taiwan imported $1.3 billion worth of the petroleum product naphtha from Russia in the first half of this year, more than from any other country, according to a new report. The purchases come despite Taiwan’s opposition to Russia’s war in Ukraine, backed by some sanctions

By Clare Duffy, CNN New York (CNN) — Meta will soon use what people tell its artificial intelligence chatbot to get even better at selling them things. The company said on Wednesday that users’ chats and interactions with Meta AI will soon be used to target them with even more personalized ads. Users will start

By Ana Nicolaci da Costa, CNN London (CNN) — ChatGPT is not yet causing the massive upheaval in the US labor market that many have feared since the chatbot’s launch in 2022, according to a new study by a research center at Yale University. The study comes amid widespread concerns that the proliferation of generative

By David Goldman, CNN (CNN) — When ABC executives told Jimmy Kimmel last month that his show was being pulled off the air, the late-night show’s audience was seated, a guest chef had already started making food, the musical guest had performed a warm-up act, and Kimmel was in the bathroom. “It was about 3:00;

By Alicia Wallace, CNN (CNN) — Private payrolls plunged in September, complicating the picture for the US economy as policymakers and investors struggle to assess the state of the labor market amid a government shutdown. The Bureau of Labor Statistics is unlikely to release the monthly jobs report this Friday due to the closure. That

By Jordan Valinsky, CNN New York (CNN) — Peloton is unveiling a sweeping revamp of its portfolio with a focus on artificial intelligence as the once-hot fitness company looks to kickstart growth. On Wednesday, the company is releasing five products, including a cheaper base model and more expensive “plus” versions of its bike and treadmill

By John Towfighi, CNN New York (CNN) — Stocks closed slightly higher on Wednesday as the US government officially entered a shutdown and Wall Street grappled with the uncertain implications for the economy. The Dow rose 43 points, or 0.09%. The broader S&P 500 rose 0.34% and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite rose 0.42%. The S&P

By John Liu, CNN (CNN) — Taiwan has vowed to resist pressure from Washington to shift half of its chip production capacity to the United States, throwing down the gauntlet to the Trump administration. Washington has grown increasingly concerned about its heavy dependence on Taiwan, where chip giant TSMC supplies the vast majority of the

By Brian Stelter, CNN (CNN) — Cuts to NPR, PBS and other public media outlets have been in the news all year long, but now the federal funds have actually run out. With Tuesday marking the end of the federal government’s fiscal year, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting is saying farewell to staffers and winding

By Ramishah Maruf, CNN New York (CNN) — Home-search website Zillow allegedly paid its rival Redfin $100 million dollars to stamp out competition in the online listing business, the Federal Trade Commission said in a lawsuit on Tuesday. As part of their February 2025 deal, Redfin allegedly agreed that its website would be “an exclusive

By Clare Duffy, CNN New York (CNN) — After an artificial intelligence-generated “actress” drew intense backlash from human actors, the character’s maker says it’s not meant to replace people. But many in Hollywood aren’t buying it. It’s just the latest movie-industry feud over a technology that many creatives worry has stolen their work and could

By Bryan Mena, CNN Washington (CNN) — A member of the Trump administration has seemingly raised a red flag after China bought millions of tons of Argentinian soybeans, taking advantage of a financial lifeline the US Treasury Department said it plans to provide to Buenos Aires – all while American soybean farmers are struggling with

By Jordan Valinsky, CNN New York (CNN) — Publishers Clearing House – the bankrupt sweepstakes company that told its past prize winners they would no longer receive their ‘forever’ payments – has a new CEO, who has a plan to protect the company’s prize winners. Future winners. Past winners are still out of luck. ARB

By Alicia Wallace, CNN (CNN) — In what could be the last piece of federal jobs data released this week if the government shuts down, a new report Tuesday showed that the number of available roles remains low for the year, a sign that opportunities continue to dwindle for Americans looking for work. Tuesday’s Job

By Clare Duffy, CNN New York (CNN) — The artificial intelligence industry has a big problem: 95% of companies that try AI aren’t making any money from it, according to a report from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology last month. One AI executive believes he knows why. “There has been this general promise of, hey,

By The Associated Press New York (AP) — Charlie Javice, the founder of a startup company that promised to revolutionize the way college students apply for financial aid, was sentenced Monday to more than seven years in prison for cheating JPMorgan Chase out of $175 million by greatly exaggerating how many students it served. Javice,

By John Liu, CNN Hong Kong (CNN) — The Trump Administration ramped up its pressure on Chinese tech firms on Monday by expanding restrictions imposed on certain companies to also cover their subsidiaries, a move that’s drawn the ire of Beijing as the two powers remain locked in a technology race. The US action aims

By David Goldman, CNN (CNN) — President Donald Trump on Monday ordered significant new tariffs on wood and various wooden products, including imported lumber, timber, kitchen cabinets and upholstered furniture – potentially adding costs to homebuilding and furnishing, which have surged in price in recent months. In a proclamation, Trump said the United States would