BM pulls ads from Elon Musk’s X after report says they appeared next to antisemitic posts
IBM has stopped advertising on social media platform X after a report said its ads were appearing alongside material praising Adolf Hitler and Nazis. It’s a fresh setback as the site formerly known as Twitter tries to win back big brands and their ad dollars. The U.S. tech company made the decision after a report Thursday by the liberal advocacy group Media Matters said ads from IBM, Apple, Oracle, NBCUniversal’s Bravo network and Comcast were placed next to antisemitic material on X. Billionaire owner Elon Musk sparked outcry this week with his own tweets responding to a user who accused Jews of hating white people and professing indifference to antisemitism.
Corporate, global leaders peer into a future expected to be reshaped by AI, for better or worse
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — President Joe Biden and other global leaders have spent the past few days melding minds with Silicon Valley titans in San Francisco. Their discussions have frequently focused on artificial intelligence, a technology expected to reshape the world, for better or worse. But for all the collective brainpower on hand for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation conference, there were no concrete answers to a pivotal question: Will AI turn be the springboard that catapults humanity to new heights or the dystopian nightmare that culminates in its demise? Biden told a CEO summit held in conjunction with APEC Thursday that he expects the decisions governing AI to steer the world’s direction for decades to come.
Thousands of Starbucks workers go on a one-day strike on one of the chain’s busiest days of year
NEW YORK (AP) — Workers at more than 200 U.S. Starbucks stores walked off the job Thursday. Organizers say it’s the largest strike yet in the 2-year-old effort to unionize the company’s stores. The Workers United union chose Starbucks’ annual Red Cup Day to stage the walkout since it’s usually one of the busiest days of the year. Starbucks expects to give away thousands of reusable cups Thursday to customers who order holiday drinks. The union says it’s expecting more than 5,000 workers to take part in its “Red Cup Rebellion.” Around 30 stores also staged walkouts on Wednesday.
Union workers at Stellantis and Ford close to ratifying deals that would end lengthy labor disputes
DETROIT (AP) — Members of the United Auto Workers union were close to approving contract agreements with Stellantis and Ford on Friday with voting at both companies overwhelmingly in favor. Only a few factories at each company have yet to cast ballots. At Stellantis, the deal was approved by large margins at two big Detroit factories in results posted Friday by the union. Overall, 68.4% of Stellantis workers favor ratificiaton with only three facilities yet to cast ballots. Workers at Ford voted 66.8% in favor with only one large factory uncounted. If the deals are approved, Ford and Stellantis would join General Motors in ratifying the record contracts, ending a contentious labor dispute that brought a punishing six-week series of strikes.
Stock market today: Wall Street drifts in quiet trading as it nears end of 3rd straight winning week
NEW YORK (AP) — Wall Street is drifting in quiet trading as its scorching November rolls toward the close of a third straight winning week. The S&P 500 was virtually unchanged Friday, near its highest level in three months. The Dow was down 30 points, and the Nasdaq composite was 0.1% lower. Several retailers reported better results for the latest quarter, joining a long list of companies in what’s been a better earnings reporting season than hoped. But the main reason for this week’s leap for stocks was rising hope that the Federal Reserve is done hiking interest rates and may turn to cutting them.
Tesla didn’t squelch United Auto Workers message when it cracked down on T-shirts, court says
NEW ORLEANS (AP) — A federal appeals court in New Orleans says automaker Tesla did not infringe on its workers’ rights to unionize when it ordered employees at a California assembly plant to stop wearing T-shirts emblazoned with the United Auto Workers logo. The ruling this week from the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals noted that Tesla allowed workers to affix pro-union stickers on to company-issued clothing. The court threw out a 3-2 decision issued last year by the National Labor Relations Board, which had said Tesla couldn’t prohibit union attire. The case involves clothing the company issued to workers to prevent damage to recently painted cars.
US and Philippines sign a nuclear cooperation pact allowing US investment and technologies
MANILA, Philippines (AP) — The United States and the Philippines have signed a nuclear cooperation pact under which U.S. investment and technologies are to help the Southeast Asian nation transition to cleaner energy and bolster its power supply. Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. witnessed the signing of the deal by his energy secretary and U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Thursday on the sidelines of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in San Francisco. Marcos says nuclear energy is expected to become a part of the Philippines’ energy mix by 2032. He says the pact will open doors for U.S. companies to invest and participate in nuclear power projects in the Philippines.
Walmart attracts more shoppers seeking to cut spending in Q3, but muted expectations spook investors
NEW YORK (AP) — Walmart extended its streak of strong quarterly gains heading into the holiday season as its low-prices continue to attract shoppers looking for deals in a tough economic environment. Walmart reported that it swung to a profit of $453 million in the three-month period ended Oct. 31. Adjusted earnings totaled $1.53 per share. Revenue rose 5.2% to $160.84 billion. Analysts were expecting $1.52 per share on sales of $159.65 billion, according to FactSet estimates. Walmart, the nation’s largest retailer, is among the first batch of major U.S. retailers to report quarterly results. Industry analysts are dissecting the data, seeking to shed more light on how consumers are feeling as the holiday approaches.
