DETROIT — Electric vehicle startup Rivian says it has raised another $2.5 billion in funding from accounts advised by investment firm T. Rowe Price. The company has a contract with Amazon to build 100,000 electric delivery vans starting next year at its factory, a former Mitsubishi plant in Normal, Illinois....
Budget Deficit to Break $1 Trillion Despite Strong Economy
WASHINGTON — An annual congressional report says the U.S. budget deficit is likely to burst through the symbolic $1 trillion barrier this year despite a healthy economy. Tuesday's Congressional Budget Office report follows a burst of new spending last year and the repeal in December of several taxes used to...
Australia to Pay 'Whatever It Takes' to Fight Wildfires
SYDNEY — Australia's government said Monday it was willing to pay “whatever it takes” to help communities recover from deadly wildfires that have ravaged the country. Prime Minister Scott Morrison said the government was committing an extra 2 billion Australian dollars ($1.4 billion) toward the recovery effort in addition to...
Walters: California's Housing Crisis vs. Reality
As he was running for governor, Gavin Newsom repeatedly and emphatically promised to attack California’s housing shortage head-on, pledging in an online article to “lead the effort to develop the 3.5 million new housing units we need by 2025 because our solutions must be as bold as the problem is big.” During his...
US Durable Goods Orders Fall 1.1% in September
WASHINGTON — Orders to U.S. factories for big-ticket manufactured goods tumbled in September by the largest amount in four months while a closely watched category that tracks business investment fell for a second month. The declines underscored the troubles manufacturing is having in the face of a global slowdown and...
Walters: Housing Action Just Half-a-Loaf
Gavin Newsom’s first legislative session as governor began with promises to vigorously confront California’s huge and ever-growing housing shortage. “If we want a California for All, we have to build housing for all,” Newsom told legislators in his State of the State address in January, pledging to crack down on cities that...
Yes, Stocks Are Up Again. No, Recession Worries Aren’t Gone
NEW YORK — The U.S. economy is sending some worrying signals about a possible recession, yet the stock market has gone on a what-me-worry ride toward record heights. What gives? Put simply, while the stock market watches the economy, the two don't always move in lockstep. If investors see that...
US Retail Sales Rise Moderately as Auto-Buying Jumps
WASHINGTON — U.S. retail sales rose moderately in August, driven higher by a jump in auto buying and healthy online sales, evidence that consumers are still spending enough to support growth. The Commerce Department said Friday that retail sales increased 0.4% last month, down from a strong 0.8% in July....
Thanks to Consumers, US Economy Is Rising Steadily if Slowly
WASHINGTON — The U.S. economic landscape would look even bleaker if not for America's consumers. The economy slowed in the spring, and many analysts think the weakness will continue in the months ahead. Yet consumer spending, which drives about 70% of growth, accelerated in the April-June quarter at the fastest...
Opinion: Gig Economy Workers Deserve Basic Protections That Come With Employee Status
Like so many California families, Karim Bayumi of Anaheim, his wife and two young children are doing everything they can to scrape by. Bayumi drives for a large rideshare company as his primary source of income. On March 11, Bayumi’s rate was cut from 80 cents a mile to 60...