All Economy
- First LookBe Kind, Please Rewind: Oregon boasts last Blockbuster on EarthAll corporate-owned Blockbusters shuttered after the business聽belly-upped in 2010. The success of the last store of its kind in Oregon has thrived on Gen X nostalgia with its ailing dot-matrix printer and computer system run on floppy disks.聽
- Once a darling, Big Tech is now a targetThe push for regulating America鈥檚 largest tech firms is about more than Facebook. It鈥檚 about a world coming to terms with how information shapes people鈥檚 lives.
- Sign of hope or worry? When the dollar store comes to townDo dollar stores, which now outnumber McDonald鈥檚 restaurants, provide hope for low-income areas hungry for retail? Or is their arrival a symptom that an area is failing?
- First LookGrowth in 'gender-smart' investing helps women in business, and more鈥淕ender-smart鈥 investing support a broad spectrum of initiatives that ultimately support progress for women and girls. The trend is likely to expand as big banks continue to come on board.聽聽
- Behind Huawei鈥檚 court battle: open markets vs. national securityThis legal battle signals the rising strategic importance of internet security. The dawn of so-called 5G networks is raising the stakes, as the U.S. asks if Chinese equipment can be trusted.
- First LookChina to pass new law barring demands for technology handoverChina is expected to pass a foreign investment law that will聽bar government authorities from demanding that overseas companies share technology secrets in exchange for market share. The law addresses a key stumbling point in the US-China trade spat.
- First LookGM shutters car production at Ohio plantAfter more than 50 years of churning out cars and trucks, a changing consumer market is forcing General Motors to end vehicle production at its Lordstown plant. It is the latest closure in a region devastated by the collapse of the domestic manufacturing industry.聽
- Caregiving crisis? Employers slow to catch up to 鈥榮andwich generation.鈥Balancing work and family is a familiar challenge. We were intrigued by a new workplace survey that emphasizes the role that employers, not just government, can play in finding solutions.
- A Trump-Obama trend: revival of 鈥楳ade in the USA鈥A US economic sector that many had written off has been showing strong new life. Our reporter looks at the trend鈥檚 durability and at the debate over where credit lies.
- First LookWalmart phasing out greeters, workers with disabilities fear job lossIn an effort to compete with Amazon, Walmart has turned its storefront "greeters" into more physically demanding "customer hosts," a move that came as a heavy blow to greeters with physical disabilities, who say their job provided much-needed income and community.
- First LookStocks surge following US decision to postpone China tariff hikeThe US-China tech tug-of-war threatens to upend global trade. That's why the Trump administration's postponement of tariffs on Chinese imports signals to some that resolution is possible.
- Beyond Amazon debacle, wider doubts about tax breaks as toolsWhen New York City saw its deal for a corporate HQ collapse, some leftist politics was involved. But the bigger message may be rising scrutiny of whether tax breaks for employers make sense.
- Green New Deal: Saving America or turning it socialist?What鈥檚 the best path to move the United States toward an emissions-free future? For most voters, the answer has as much to do with their economic worldview as their ideas about the environment.
- First LookNew York's opposition to Amazon might scare off other tech companiesAmazon has scrapped plans to build a headquarters in Queens amid fierce opposition from politicians, but experts warn that the pushback against the tech company could be seen as a warning to other companies considering a relocation to New York.
- For many Americans, the Trump tax cut doesn鈥檛 feel like a boostPresident Barack Obama鈥檚 signature domestic initiative, on health care, was marred by a glitch-prone rollout. Is President Trump鈥檚 tax-cut law hitting comparable bumps now, in its first tax-filing season?
- Outdoor gear with a side of politics: More retailers embrace activismCan an industry that has traditionally been focused on profit lead value-driven change? A cohort of outdoor brands are stepping into that realm, even going as far as endorsing political candidates.
- First LookT-Mobile, Sprint defend merger to lawmakersThe companies' executives argue that the merger will force the industry to up its game, improving quality of services and lowering prices. But the deal聽must win approval from federal regulators.
- First LookUS, China envoys seek compromise ahead of Trump tariff decisionTrade talks continue this week between the United States and China, the outcome of which will help decide whether President Trump will raise tariffs on Chinese imports to slow the spread of their technologies 鈥 the latest move in an ongoing struggle for power in the global market.
- Climate鈥檚 pressure on energy firms isn鈥檛 just political, it鈥檚 financialPG&E鈥檚 bankruptcy filing has wider implications. Will CEOs鈥 and shareholders鈥 closer attention to the business risks of warming accelerate the move to low-carbon power?
- US considers a tax on wealth, even as other nations back awayElizabeth Warren is considered a candidate of the left, yet even half of Republicans share her view that the wealthy should be taxed more. A key question: Is a tax on wealth rather than income the way to do it?