The UAW's campaign to organize non-unionized automakers in the U.S. is taking the union deeper into the South, Nathan writes.
Why it matters: The union is aiming to continue its momentum after winning record contracts from GM, Ford and Stellantis — but the South has historically been less receptive to its ambitions.
Driving the news: More than 30% of the workers at Hyundai's plant in Montgomery, Alabama, have signed union authorization cards, the UAW announced today.
Amazon is adding a new AI-powered shopping assistant named Rufus to its mobile app, the company announced Thursday.
The big picture: Rufus launched in beta to a small subset of customers and will continue to roll out to the rest of Amazon's U.S. customers in the coming weeks, the company said.
Chinese automaker Geely is poised to rescue struggling Swedish auto brand Polestar in a move illustrating the Chinese automotive industry's growing power in the global EV landscape.
Why it matters: Polestar has won critical acclaim for its vehicles, but the Volvo spinoff has stumbled financially since it went public in a SPAC merger less than two years ago.
Shares in Meta skyrocketed more than 12% in extended trading Thursday after the tech giant said it declared its first-ever quarterly dividend of $0.50 per share. It also authorized a $50 billion stock buyback to increase the value of its shares.
Why it matters: The moves are a sign of maturity for Meta, which has grown to become one of the most powerful companies in the world since it went public in 2012.
Shares of New York Community Bancorp have plunged 45% over a two-day span since the regional bank reported a sharp drop in earnings and slashed its dividend.
Why it matters: The bank, which took over Signature Bank last March after that lender failed, has sent shock waves of concern across the regional bank sector and added fuel to the worries about commercial property loans.
Details: The Hicksville, N.Y. lender swung to a fourth-quarter loss and said it had to cut its dividend to build up capital due to its more than $100 billion in assets.
Eclipsing that threshold opens it up to stricter regulatory requirements, the bank said in its earnings release.
CEO Thomas Cangemi said the dividend cut decision was "not made lightly" and that the move "will allow us to accelerate the building of capital to support our balance sheet as a Category IV bank."
NYCB purchased Flagstar Bank in 2022 and shortly after that, swooped in on Signature Bank — two purchases that pushed its asset base above $100 billion.
Zoom in: NYCB is mostly a real estate lender, an area where concern has grown over the past year, especially in the commercial and office space.
The company cited two loans in its earnings release that contributed to a huge spike in charge-offs during the quarter. One of these was an office loan that "went non-accrual during the third quarter, based on an updated valuation."
"Given the impact of recent credit deterioration within the office portfolio, we determined it prudent to increase the ACL (allowance for credit losses) coverage ratio," NYCB said.
By the numbers: The company's stock plunged on Wednesday and continued to fall on Thursday. Before its earnings release, shares traded at $10.46 per share. The stock closed at $5.75 on Thursday.
What they're saying: "We believe as the market continues to appreciate the value enhancing actions NYCB has taken the share price will recover," the company said in a statement.
The single most annoying and opaque aspect of buying and selling items at auction is about to get a lot more pleasant and transparent — at least at Sotheby's, which unveiled a major transformation of its commission structure on Thursday.
Why it matters: Buyers and sellers alike have been frustrated for decades at the way in which the amount they end up paying (or receiving) can differ significantly from the hammer price in the auction room.
Disney filed an appeal Thursday contesting a judge's dismissal of its lawsuit against Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, which alleged his administration executed a "targeted campaign" against the company.
Why it matters: Judge Allen Winsor's rulingposed a major setback in Disney's yearslong feud with the Florida Republican.
Elon Musk said Thursday that Tesla would "move immediately to hold a shareholder vote" to transfer the electric vehicle maker's state of incorporation from Delaware to Texas.
Why it matters: Musk's eye on re-incorporating theautomotivecompany comes as the Lone Star State works on setting up its own business court network — which could challenge Delaware's preeminence.
Productivity growth was a keyfactorin why inflation has receded so dramatically with very little economic pain — a combination few envisioned.
Why it matters: The problem is that the productivity bump might be fleeting. That explains, at least in part, why Fed chair Jerome Powell shot down the possibility of an interest rate cut in March.
As vice president of global communications at Uber, Matt Kallman is responsible for shaping how the world perceives the ride-sharing and delivery platform, which has over 6.5 million drivers and couriers transporting people and goods across 75 countries.
🗣What he's saying: "Communications has always been really important to Uber. It's a verb company, as they say, so it's always been of interest to the world."
That sound you hear is the whimper of lowered expectations among dealmakers.
Driving the news: The Federal Reserve yesterday poured cold water on the prospect of March rate cuts, saying it needs "greater confidence" in inflation declines.
Chief executivesthinkglobal economic chaos is the new normal, Cisco chair and CEO Chuck Robbins, the new chair of the Business Roundtable, told Axios in an interview.
Why it matters: Robbins, 58, is corporate America's new ambassador in Washington. He's already gaming out the agenda for either another term of President Biden or a return of former President Trump.
Walmart will open over 150 stores in the U.S. over the next five years while remodeling 650 existing ones across 47 states and Puerto Rico — "creating tens of thousands of jobs," the retailer announced Wednesday.
The big picture: The first two stores will open in Santa Rosa Beach, Florida, and Atlanta, Georgia, this spring and the remodeling projects will occur over the next 12 months, Walmart U.S. CEO John Furner wrote in a blog post Wednesday.
