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News reports from around the world.
Washington, DC, sues StubHub over deceptive fees
( ) -q-29- UNDATED (Correspondent Jeremy House) “dollars in fees.”
The attorney general for Washington, D.C., has sued StubHub.
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TAG: Correspondent Jeremy House reporting. The suit seeks damages and a halt to the pricing structure.
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VERBATIM: Attorney General Brian Schwalb is accusing the ticket resale platform of advertising deceptively low prices and then ramping up prices with extra fees. Schwalb says the practice, known as “drip pricing,” violates consumer protection laws in the nation’s capital. The lawsuit says StubHub has sold nearly 5 million tickets in Washington since implementing the practice in 2015 and reaped about $118 million in fees.
UK’s new Treasury chief axes projects to save costs
Britain’s new Labor government has axed several construction projects and withdrawn a winter fuel payment for millions of retirees. The moves are meant to cover what the government calls a newly found 28 billion dollar shortfall in the public finances. It blames the former Conservative administration. The Treasury chief has accused the Conservative government of covering up the dire state of the public purse following a review of departmental spending that she commissioned after Labor’s electoral victory.
Listen DownloadAir New Zealand scraps its 2030 carbon emissions target
Air New Zealand has scrapped its 2030 carbon emissions reduction targets.
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TAG: Correspondent Jeremy House reporting. Air New Zealand CEO Greg Foran said in a written statement the carrier would establish new “near-term” emissions reduction targets that would “better reflect the challenges relating to aircraft and alternative jet fuel availability.”
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VERBATIM: In its decision, the airliner cited lags in producing new planes, a lack of alternative fuel and “challenging” regulatory and policy settings. The move by Air New Zealand highlighted the hurdles vexing carriers and policymakers in confronting aviation emissions. The airline said it was still committed to a target of net zero carbon emissions by 2050, in line with the Paris Agreement.
Can tech help solve the Los Angeles homeless crisis?
Can tech help solve Southern California’s homeless crisis? Correspondent Jeremy House reporting. A Los Angeles nonprofit is developing software intended to revolutionize shelter and services in the nation’s epicenter of homelessness. Despite billions in spending, efforts to get people off the streets are being slowed by inefficient, outdated computer systems that often don’t work together and can contain error-ridden data. Better Angels United, founded by tech entrepreneur and philanthropist Adam Miller, has a team of tech experts building a mobile-friendly prototype for outreach workers. It is to be followed by systems for shelter operators and a comprehensive shelter bed database the region now lacks…JH reporting.
Listen DownloadMcDonald’s posts weakest sales since the pandemic
McDonald’s posted weak sales in the second quarter as increasingly value-conscious consumers paid fewer visits to restaurants.
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TAG: Correspondent Jeremy House reporting. McDonald’s introduced a $5 meal deal at U.S. restaurants on June 25, but that was too late to affect second quarter results. McDonald’s said its second quarter revenue was flat at $6.5 billion.
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VERBATIM: The Chicago burger giant says its same-store sales, or sales at locations open at least a year, fell 1% worldwide in the April-to-June period. It was the company’s first same-store sales decline since the fourth quarter of 2020. McDonald’s warned in April that inflation-weary consumers were seeking better value and affordability.
Vandals target France’s telecommunications lines during Olympics
The French government says multiple telecommunications lines have been hit by acts of vandalism. The disruptions have affected fiber lines as well as fixed and mobile phone lines. The scale of the impact is unclear, as to whether it has affected any Olympic activities. The vandalism came after arson attacks hit train networks around France on Friday, hours before the Olympics opening ceremony.
Listen DownloadThree members of The Nelons Gospel quartet killed in plane crash
Gospel Music is mourning the tragic deaths of three members from a famed quartet. Three members of the Hall of Fame quartet The Nelons were among seven people killed in a plane crash in Wyoming on Friday. The Nelons co-founder, Kelly Nelon Clark, her husband Jason, and their daughter, Amber, died in the crash. The fourth member of the quartet, daughter Autumn, was not on the plane. The singers were traveling to Seattle to join the Gaither Homecoming Cruise to Alaska. The Nelons were inducted into the Gospel Music Association Hall of Fame in 2016.
Listen DownloadSome US states are purging Chinese companies from their investments
( ) -q-18- UNDATED (Correspondent Jeremy House) “because of apartheid.”
Some U.S. states are scrapping investments in Chinese companies amid tensions between countries with the world’s largest economies.
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TAG: Correspondent Jeremy House reporting. Some states have divested from tobacco companies and from Russia because of its war against Ukraine. The National Association of State Retirement Administrators opposes state-mandated divestments, saying such policies should be left to the federal government.
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VERBATIM: Indiana, Florida and Missouri all have taken actions requiring their public retirement systems to divest from certain Chinese companies. A similar measure was vetoed this year in Arizona. This isn’t the first time states have taken such actions. Many states previously divested from South Africa because of apartheid.
G20 finance ministers discuss a global tax on the super-rich
( ) -q-23- UNDATED (Correspondent Jeremy House) “for the proposal.”
Finance ministers from leading rich and developing nations are meeting in Rio de Janeiro to discuss a global tax on the super-rich.
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TAG: Correspondent Jeremy House reporting. U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen says the U.S. doesn’t support the proposal and that tax policy is hard to coordinate globally.
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The proposal is a top priority for Brazil, which holds the Group of 20 presidency. The proposal before the G20 participants would require individuals with over $1 billion in total assets to pay the equivalent of 2% of their wealth in income tax. A Brazilian ministry official has said France, Spain, and South Africa have expressed support for the proposal.
Automakers hit ‘significant storm,’ as buyers reject lofty prices
Investors are punishing automakers’ stocks this week after second-quarter earnings reports exposed industrywide issues of slowing sales and high prices.
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TAG: Correspondent Jeremy House reporting. Others such as General Motors, Tesla, Stellantis and Nissan, all saw shares drop at least 6%. Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares said the industry is in a significant storm and facing turmoil.
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VERBATIM: It’s come just as the companies are having to spend huge sums to make new electric and gas vehicles. Many automakers have growing stockpiles on dealer lots, requiring increased discounts to sell them to buyers with stressed-out household budgets. Ford reported a drop in second-quarter earnings due electric vehicle losses and persistently high warranty costs. It led the declines with shares falling 20% this week.
Economic growth increased last quarter to a healthy 2.8% annual rate
( ) -q-23- UNDATED (Correspondent Jeremy House) “pace of growth.”
The nation’s economy accelerated last quarter at a 2.8% annual pace.
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TAG: Correspondent Jeremy House reporting. Despite last quarter’s uptick, the U.S. economy, the world’s largest, has cooled in the face of the highest borrowing rates in decades, engineered by the Federal Reserve to fight high inflation.
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VERBATIM: Consumers and businesses helped drive growth despite the pressure of continually high interest rates. The gross domestic product picked up in the April-to-June quarter after growing at a 1.4% pace in the January-to-March period. Growth last quarter also picked up because businesses increased their inventories. Economists had expected a weaker 1.9% annual pace of growth.
Nissan lowers its profit forecast amid incentive, inventory woes
( ) -q-25- UNDATED (Correspondent Jeremy House) “187-million dollars.”
Nissan has lowered its full fiscal year outlook.
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TAG: Correspondent Jeremy House reporting. Nissan shares fell 7% in Tokyo on Thursday. Such challenges came despite global vehicle sales holding steady at 787,000, according to Nissan. Quarterly sales edged up 3%. The need to optimize inventory also chipped away at profitability.
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VERBATIM: The action comes after the Japanese automaker reported a 73% decline in profit in the April-to-June quarter compared to the previous year. Chief Executive Makoto Uchida called the results “very challenging,” blaming sales incentives and marketing expenses amid intense competition, especially in the U.S. market. Nissan’s fiscal first quarter profit declined to $187 million.
US files details of Boeing’s plea deal related to plane crashes
( ) -v-34- UNDATED (Correspondent Jeremy House) “std.”
The Justice Department has filed an agreement with Boeing. Correspondent Jeremy House has more on the story.
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VERBATIM: Under the agreement, Boeing will plead guilty to a fraud charge for misleading regulators who approved the 737 Max jetliner before two of the planes crashed, killing 346 people. The American aerospace company and the Justice Department reached a deal on the guilty plea and the agreement’s broad terms earlier this month. U.S. District Judge Reed O’Connor can accept the agreement and the sentence worked out between Boeing and prosecutors, or he could reject it. Some of the passengers’ relatives plan to ask the judge to deny the plea deal…JH reporting.
Ford’s stock plunges after Q2 profits take a hit
( ) -q-16- UNDATED (Correspondent Jeremy House) “stock sell off.”
Ford Motor’s second-quarter net income fell 4.7% from a year ago as the company’s combustion engine unit saw pretax profits decline due to stubbornly high warranty costs.
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TAG: Correspondent Jeremy House reporting. Ford reported $47.8 billion in revenue for the quarter, a 6.3% increase over the $44.95 billion in the second quarter of 2023.
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VERBATIM: The Dearborn, Michigan, automaker says it made $1.83 billion from April through June. Excluding one-time items, Ford made 47 cents per share, far below analysts’ estimates of 68 cents. The profit drop caused a stock sell off.
