BUSINESS HEADLINES

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Money-losing companies with colorful histories have pivoted to crypto

So far this year, billions of dollars have flowed into companies that have reinvented themselves by making the buying and holding of cryptocurrency their main focus. More than 200 public companies have announced plans to hold crypto on their balance sheets as so-called digital asset treasury companies, or DATs, including one with ties to the Trump family. The rebranding as crypto companies came after years of losses in a variety of niche enterprises that include making lavender-flavored vodka, manufacturing materials for indoor marijuana growers, and selling ozone-infused water as part of a “nanobubble” cleaning technology.

Tesla’s profit fell in third quarter even as sales rose. Musk sees robotaxi expansion by year end

NEW YORK (AP) — Tesla, the car company run by Elon Musk, reported Wednesday that it sold more vehicles in the past three months after boycotts hit hard earlier this year, but profits still fell sharply. Third-quarter earnings fell to $1.4 billion, from $2.2 billion a year earlier. Excluding charges, per share profit of 50 cents came in below analysts’ estimate. Tesla shares fell 3.5% in after-hours trading. Musk said the company’s robotaxi service, which is available in Austin, Texas, and San Francisco, will roll out to as many as 10 other metro areas by the end of the year.

Meta cutting 600 AI jobs even as it continues to hire more for its superintelligence lab

MENLO PARK, Calif. (AP) — Meta Platforms is cutting roughly 600 artificial intelligence jobs even as it continues to hire more workers for its superintelligence lab, the company confirmed on Wednesday. Axios first reported the cuts, which will affect Meta’s Fundamental AI Research, or FAIR unit, as well as product-related AI and AI infrastructure units. Its newer TBD Lab unit won’t be affected. Citing a memo sent to workers by chief AI officer Alexandr Wang, Axios said the company is encouraging employees affected to apply for other jobs at Meta, with most expected to find other roles.

Reddit sues AI company Perplexity and others for ‘industrial-scale’ scraping of user comments

Reddit has sued Perplexity AI and three other entities for allegedly scraping user comments for commercial gain. The lawsuit, filed in New York federal court, targets San Francisco-based Perplexity, Lithuanian company Oxylabs, AWMProxy, and Texas startup SerpApi. This is Reddit’s second lawsuit of this kind, following a similar case against Anthropic in June. Reddit claims these companies bypass anti-scraping measures and illegally access content. Perplexity denies wrongdoing, emphasizing user rights to access public knowledge. Reddit has licensing agreements with companies like Google and OpenAI to train AI on its content.

US stocks and gold sink, while meme stocks swerve, as momentum reverses on Wall Street

NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stocks and the price of gold fell, as momentum on Wall Street reverses. The S&P 500 sank 0.5% Wednesday, though it’s still not far below the all-time high it set earlier this month. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 0.7%, from its record set the day before, while the Nasdaq composite fell 0.9%. Netflix helped drag the market lower after reporting a profit that fell short of forecasts. Beyond Meat added more wild swings to its meme-stock run, and the price of gold sank for a second straight day from its record. Stock indexes were mixed across Europe and Asia.

US hits $38 trillion in debt, after the fastest accumulation of $1 trillion outside of the pandemic

WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. government’s gross national debt has surpassed $38 trillion during the federal shutdown, marking a record high. This rapid debt accumulation is the fastest outside of the COVID-19 pandemic, with the debt having reached $37 trillion in August. The Treasury Department’s latest report, issued Wednesday, highlights these figures. Experts warn that rising debt can lead to higher inflation, eroding purchasing power and increasing borrowing costs.

USDA is reopening some 2,100 offices to help farmers access $3B in aid despite the ongoing shutdown

The Agriculture Department will reopen about 2,100 county offices all across the country Thursday despite the ongoing government shutdown to help farmers and ranchers get access to $3 billion of aid from existing programs. The USDA said each Farm Service Agency office will have two workers who will be paid even though the government remains shutdown. These offices help farmers apply for farm loans, crop insurance, disaster aid and other programs. A USDA spokesperson said this move reflects President Trump’s commitment to helping farmers and ranchers. Recently, some of them have been unhappy with Trump’s latest moves during the trade war although his support remains strong across rural America.