Business Highlights: Carmakers failing privacy test; UAW says it may strike any Detroit automaker
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Carmakers are failing the privacy test. Owners have little or no control over data collected
BOSTON (AP) — Most major car brands admit they may be selling your personal data — though they are vague on the buyers, and half say they would share it with the government or law enforcement without a court order. What’s more, nearly all the 25 brands whose privacy notices were scoured by the nonprofit Mozilla Foundation give drivers little or no control over the data they collect. Released Wednesday, the study found cars scored worst for privacy among more than a dozen product categories, including fitness trackers and smart speakers, that Mozilla has assessed since 2017.
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UAW chief: Union to strike any Detroit automaker that hasn’t reached deal as contracts end next week
DETROIT (AP) — The head of the United Auto Workers warned that the union plans to go on strike against any Detroit automaker that hasn’t reached a new agreement by the time contracts expire next week. A strike against all three major automakers — General Motors, Stellantis and Ford — could cause damage not only to the industry as a whole but also to the Midwest economy, and could lead eventually to higher vehicle prices. In an interview with The Associated Press, President Shawn Fain left open the possibility of avoiding a strike. He acknowledged that the union will have to give up some of its demands to reach agreements.
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EU targets Apple, Amazon, Meta and other Big Tech in next phase of digital crackdown
LONDON (AP) — The European Union is targeting six Big Tech companies including Amazon, Apple and Microsoft under new digital rules aimed at reining in the market power of online companies. Google parent Alphabet, Facebook owner Meta and TikTok parent ByteDance also were classified as online “gatekeepers” subject to the strictest requirements of the 27-nation EU’s Digital Markets Act. The act amounts to a list of do’s and don’ts that seeks to prevent tech giants from cornering new digital markets. The EU’s executive commission says digital platforms can be listed as gatekeepers if they act as key gateways between businesses and consumers by providing “core platform services.”
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Stock market today: Wall Street loses ground as weak stretch continues
NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks fell on Wall Street, continuing a weak stretch on this holiday-shortened week. The S&P 500 fell 0.7% Wednesday. The Dow fell 198 points, or 0.6%, and the Nasdaq composite gave back 1.1%. Declines in several big technology stocks, including Apple, weighed on the market. Treasury yields rose following data showing the U.S. services sector remains strong. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note rose to 4.30%. Roku rose after saying it would cut 10% of its staff. The company also raised its forecast for quarterly revenue. GameStop and Dave & Buster’s will release their latest results after the bell.
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Interior Department cancels remaining leases in Alaska’s Arctic National Wildlife Refuge
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — The U.S. Interior Department has canceled seven oil and gas leases in Alaska’s Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. The leases canceled Wednesday were part of a sale held in the waning days of the Trump administration. Interior officials under President Joe Biden argued the sale was legally flawed. Alaska political leaders have long pushed to allow oil and gas drilling on the refuge’s coastal plain, an area seen as sacred to the Indigenous Gwich’in. The state’s congressional delegation in 2017 succeeded in getting language added to a federal tax law that called for the U.S. government to hold two lease sales in the region by late 2024.
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Google reaches tentative settlement with 36 states and DC over alleged app store monopoly
NEW YORK (AP) — Thirty-six states and the District of Columbia have reached an agreement in principle with Google to settle a lawsuit filed in 2021 over the tech giant’s alleged monopolistic control of the distribution of apps for the software that runs most of the world’s cellphones. The agreement was cited in a court filing late Tuesday by both sides. Terms were not disclosed. Google still faces several major antitrust lawsuits filed by the Department of Justice and other agencies across the U.S. focused on alleged search-related and advertising market monopolistic behavior. In November, it settled with 40 states over the tracking of user location, paying $391 million.
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War sanctions against Russia highlight growing divisions among the Group of 20 countries
WASHINGTON (AP) — Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen is facing growing skepticism from some leading rich and developing nations as the residual impact of sanctions against Russia is deepening divisions among the Group of 20 countries. With world leaders and finance ministers meeting this week in India for the G20 summit, fractures have came into the open. And alliances are tightening among some nations that have long been resistant to the U.S.-led efforts to exact economic punishment on Moscow for its war in Ukraine. The U.S. and its allies say the sanctions and a price cap on Russian oil have successfully restricted Russian revenue.
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WeWork, shortly after warning about its future, seeks to renegotiate nearly all of its leases
NEW YORK (AP) — WeWork says it will renegotiate nearly all of its leases, an announcement coming just weeks after the workspace-sharing provider sounded the alarm on its future ability to stay in business. WeWork Interim CEO David Tolley on Wednesday pointed the New York-based company’s need to operating costs — notably WeWork’s current lease liabilities. As of June 30, WeWork had 777 locations across 39 countries. Tolley said the company expects to exit underperforming locations as part of the new negotiations. Last month, WeWork warned there was “substantial doubt” about the New York-based company’s “ability to continue as a going concern” — meaning it might not have the resources needed to operate and stay in business.
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Tom Brady will toss passes for Delta Air Lines. The retired quarterback will be a strategic adviser
ATLANTA (AP) — Tom Brady is putting on a Delta Air Lines uniform, at least figuratively. Delta said Wednesday that it has agreed to bring the former star quarterback on board as a long-term strategic adviser. Financial terms of the partnership aren’t being disclosed. Delta says Brady will help with marketing and also work on developing training and teamwork tools for airline employees. He will also appear on a series of video interviews that are conducted by Delta CEO Ed Bastian. Brady says he and his teammates flew on Delta many times and he has “loved and respected” the airline.
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The S&P 500 fell 31.35 points, or 0.7%, to 4,465.48. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 198.78 points, or 0.6%, to 34,443.19. The Nasdaq composite dropped 148.48 points, or 1.1%, to 13,872.47. The Russell 2000 index of smaller companies shed 6.17 points, or 0.3%, to 1,874.28.