By Nathalie Voit Mortgage rates fell for the second week in a row as geopolitical tensions caused by the Russia-Ukraine conflict prompted investors to turn to the safety of government bonds and away from real estate investments, U.S. mortgage giant Freddie Mac said in a statement. The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage was 3.76% for the week ending [...]
By Nathalie Voit The average price of a gallon of gas in the U.S. hit a 13-year high of $4 on March 6, the American Automobile Association (AAA) reported on Sunday. The national average for a gallon of regular unleaded gas topped $4.009 on Sunday, up from $3.610 one week ago and $2.768 one year ago, AAA [...]
By Nathalie Voit Uber recently announced the launch of Uber Explore, a new feature in the Uber app that will allow users to “browse and book experiences” ranging from dinner reservations, concert shows, live events, and other trending activities in cities across the U.S. Users will find the new feature in the “Explore” tab in the Uber [...]
By Nathalie Voit Target released its fourth-quarter and full-year 2021 earnings, prompting sales of its stock to jump over 16% to $229.19 on March 3. The stock's surge was brought on by the retailer's bright fiscal-year outlook and impressive fourth-quarter results for the period ending on Jan. 29, which easily beat analyst estimates. Excluding items, Target [...]
By Nathalie Voit Fortnite and Unreal Engine developer Epic Games is set to acquire music streaming service Bandcamp, according to an announcement released March 2. According to the companies, the acquisition is part of Epic's vision of building "the most artist-friendly" community on earth. Epic said that Bandcamp will play an integral role in fulfilling this creator-centered [...]
By Nathalie Voit Consumers continued to spend aggressively in January despite a key inflation measure that revealed the largest annual price gains for goods and services since 1983, the Department of Commerce said Feb. 25 in a news release. The core personal consumption expenditures price index, the Federal Reserve’s inflation indicator of choice, rose 5.2% in [...]
By Nathalie Voit British-based oil giant Shell announced it would quit its investments in Kremlin-owned natural gas entity Gazprom on Feb. 28, just one day after BP announced it would offload its nearly 20% stake in Russian-state controlled oil firm Rosneft. Shell said it would exit its joint ventures with Gazprom in light [...]
By Nathalie Voit Google parent company Alphabet unveiled multi-year initiative “Privacy Sandbox” on Android, a new mobile app solutions system to improve user privacy and limit advertiser sharing of user data across Android smartphones. Privacy Sandbox on Android will introduce a slew of private advertising solutions for Android users, including limits on covert tracking and [...]
By Nathalie Voit New York City is set to lift its vaccination requirements for indoor public spaces and mask mandates for public schools starting on Monday, March 7, mayor of New York Eric Adams said in an announcement on Feb.27. The city was the first major American metropolis to require proof of vaccination for indoor businesses, indoor [...]
By Nathalie Voit In its latest efforts to squash corporate consolidation, the Biden administration filed a lawsuit to block major health insurance company UnitedHealth Group from acquiring rival health technology company Change Healthcare. The lawsuit, filed by the Justice Department in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia on Feb. 24, “alleges that the proposed [...]
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