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Prosecutor opens trial for FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried saying he stole at least $10 billion
NEW YORK (AP) — A prosecutor accused FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried of stealing at least $10 billion from his customers as opening statements began in a federal court trial in New York City. Prosecutor Nathan Rehn said the 31-year-old California man defrauded thousands of investors and customers in his businesses by siphoning off their money for his own uses. Defense lawyer Mark Cohen insisted Bankman-Fried didn’t steal from anyone. He was brought to the United States from the Bahamas after his arrest last December. Originally under house arrest, he was jailed in August after a judge concluded he’d tried to influence trial witnesses. He has pleaded not guilty.
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Striking auto workers and Detroit companies appear to make progress in contract talks
DETROIT (AP) — Meaningful progress has been made in the negotiations between the striking United Auto Workers union and Detroit’s three auto companies. That’s according to a person with direct knowledge of the talks, who said some offers had been exchanged. Another said there was more movement in talks with Jeep maker Stellantis, with less at Ford and General Motors. Neither person wanted to be identified because they aren’t authorized to speak publicly about the bargaining. Union President Shawn Fain will update members Friday on talks toward bringing to an end the nearly 3-week-old strikes against the companies.
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Got returns? Call Uber. The ride-hailing service is now offering to return parcels for a fee
Uber is adding a new task to its list of services: mailing consumers’ return packages. The ride-hailing and delivery company said Wednesday that its drivers will collect up to five prepaid and sealed packages and drop them off at a local post office or at UPS or FedEx stores. Uber will charge a flat fee of $5 for the service or $3 for its Uber One members. The San Francisco-based company said the service will be available in nearly 5,000 U.S. cities to start. Customers can choose package drop off locations within Uber’s app and drivers will provide visual confirmation once a package has been dropped off.
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TikTok ends retail business in Indonesia after ban on social media shopping
JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) — Chinese-owned video platform TikTok says it will halt its online retail operation in Indonesia to comply with the country’s decision to ban e-commerce transactions on social media platforms. The decision comes as a big blow for TikTok’s fastest-growing market. The company statement said it will stop facilitating e-commerce transactions in TikTok Shop Indonesia by 5 p.m. Wednesday. Last week, the Indonesian government announced the new regulation prohibiting social media companies from facilitating sales of products on their platforms in a bid to protect small businesses from e-commerce competition, accusing them of predatory pricing.
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Saudi Arabia says it will maintain production cuts that have helped drive oil prices up
RIYADH, Saudi Arabia (AP) — Saudi Arabia says it will maintain a production cut of 1 million barrels of oil a day through the end of the year. Wednesday’s announcement could further prop up oil prices, which are hovering around $90 a barrel. Production cuts first announced by Saudi Arabia and Russia in July have driven up prices at the pump, enriched Moscow’s war chest and complicated global efforts to bring down inflation. The Saudi Energy Ministry says the kingdom will continue to produce 9 million barrels per day in November and December, and will review the production cut again in November.
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Google packs more artificial intelligence into new Pixel phones, raises prices for devices by $100
Google has unveiled a next-generation Pixel smartphones lineup that will be infused with more artificial intelligence tools capable of writing captions about photos that also can be altered by the technology. The injection of more artificial intelligence, or AI, into Google’s products marks another step in the company’s attempt to bring more of the technology into the mainstream. The next moves will include allowing its 7-year-old Google Assistant to tap into into company’s artificially intelligent chatbot, Bard, to perform tasks, such as scanning a photo taken on phone powered by Google’s Android software and producing a pithy caption suitable for posting on social media.
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A test case of another kind for the Supreme Court: Who can sue hotels over disability access
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court wrestled with a case that could make it harder to sue hotels when their websites aren’t clear enough about their accommodations for people with disabilities. The justices were asked in arguments Wednesday to limit the ability of so-called testers to file lawsuits against hotels in Maine and elsewhere that fail to disclose accessibility information on their websites and through other reservation services. For people with disabilities, accurate information is critical to their travel plans. Joseph Stramondo is a San Diego resident under 4 feet tall but was given a room accessible for people with hearing loss. The room didn’t have bars in the bathroom or a door wide enough for his wheelchair.
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The S&P 500 rose 34.30 points, or 0.8%, to 4,263.75. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 127.17 points, or 0.4%, to 33,129.55. The Nasdaq composite rose 176.54 points, or 1.4%, to 13,236.01 The Russell 2000 index of smaller companies rose 1.86 points, or 0.1% to 1,729.01.
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