Business

Panelists break down Alphabet’s stock surge driven by A.I. momentum and weigh Google’s Waymo against Tesla in the race for autonomous driving on ‘Barron’s Roundtable.’ Federal auto regulators are warning used car buyers and owners to watch out for "substandard and dangerous" Chinese replacement airbag inflators that are likely illegally imported after two more drivers were killed in crashes last month.  The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) said it opened an investigation into inflators made in China by Jilin Province Detiannuo Automobile Safety System Co. Ltd., which have "malfunctioned in crashes, sending large metal fragments into drivers’ chests, necks, eyes and faces." Regulators said the products have already been involved in 10 crashes resulting in eight...

Nationwide is slashing its fixed mortgage rates to as low as 3.50% as competition in the market continues to heat up. The UK's biggest building society will offer a two-year fixed rate mortgage at 3.50% to existing and new customers looking to move home from Thursday (January 15).Homeowners will need to have a 40% deposit to get the deal, which also has a £1,499 fee. The 3.50% rate being offered has been reduced by 0.08 percentage points, with Nationwide cutting rates by up to 0.20 percentage points across two, three and five-year fixed-rate products for new and existing customers - and by up to 0.17 percentage points for first-time buyers.Mortgage deals set to be offered under the revamp also include a two-year fixed-rate mortgage at 3.75% for first-time buyers. That rate has been redu...

U.S. Interior Secretary Doug Burgum joins ‘Mornings with Maria’ to discuss President Donald Trump’s energy dominance agenda, surging drilling permits, falling inflation and rising national security stakes at home and abroad. New Interior Department data shows a roughly 55 % increase in oil and gas drilling permits approved on public lands since President Donald Trump’s return to the White House last January, a rise that Interior Secretary Doug Burgum says is contributing to lower domestic energy costs and U.S. energy competitiveness abroad. "President Trump promised to ‘drill, baby, drill,’ and his policy of increasing an abundant supply of energy, creating energy dominance for America, is bringing home the goals of dropping inflation and bringing prosperity to Americans and bringi...

Martin Lewis has warned people to be wary of council's tax discount pages (Image: PA)Martin Lewis has warned unpaid carers not to rely on council websites when checking whether they qualify for a council tax discount, after an investigation found widespread errors that could be costing families hundreds of pounds a year.An investigation by MoneySavingExpert.com (MSE) found that at least 69 councils in England and Wales are displaying incorrect or incomplete information about the live-in Carer Council Tax discount. A further 80 councils were found to have no easily accessible information online explaining which benefits qualify someone for the reduction. READ MORE: Martin Lewis' 40 per cent alert over the 'worst debt' Brits could have READ MORE: Martin Lewis warning to anyone living t...

You may not realise this National Insurance rule applies to you even if you keep working (Image: Getty)Brits reaching State Pension age could be eligible for a boost from the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), even if they choose to continue working. Once you reach 66, there's no longer a requirement to pay National Insurance Contributions, even if you're still employed.Around 13 million people in the UK, who have reached State Pension age, receive weekly payments of up to £230.25 from the DWP.Upon hitting the official retirement age - currently 66 but set to gradually rise to 67 between 2026 and 2028 - one has the option to retire and claim their State Pension, defer it, or continue working while also claiming it.If you're considering claiming your pension whilst still in employme...

Continental Resources chairman Harold Hamm discusses the U.S. interest in Venezuelas vast oil reserves and more on Kudlow. President Donald Trump’s Venezuela policy showed signs of taking effect this week as the country reopened oil wells closed under a U.S. embargo and restarted crude exports, according to Reuters. Two supertankers departed Venezuelan waters late Monday carrying about 1.8 million barrels of crude each, moves that may mark the first shipments under a proposed 50-million-barrel supply deal between Caracas and Washington, according to the report.The vessels were heading north toward the Caribbean on Tuesday, LSEG ship-tracking data showed, per the outlet, where oil traders, producers and refiners lease storage tanks before onward shipment. EXPERT WARNS OF 'EXTREME VI...

A new report suggests that lower-income households could be left behind in the shift towards electric vehicles (EVs). A survey commissioned by online vehicle marketplace Autotrader revealed that less than half (48%) of households earning under £40,000 per annum would consider an EV for their next car purchase.This is in stark contrast to the 84% of those earning above this threshold who would consider an EV. The survey also found that 70% of lower-income households have a driveway, often considered a crucial factor in deciding to buy an EV due to the convenience of home charging.However, Autotrader stated that home charging is "not the clear-cut indicator of electric consideration – or likelihood to buy – as previously thought". Nearly two-fifths of lower-income households typically pur...

PMG Affordable principal Dan Coakley speaks to Fox News Digital about what it may take to making housing affordable again across the country. For years, home buyers have been told the housing market would eventually "normalize" — meaning if mortgage rates came down or inventory improved, affordability would return to something resembling pre-pandemic levels such as 2019. But new data from Realtor.com suggests that version of the market may never come back, and returning to pre-pandemic affordability would require outcomes economists say are extremely unlikely.The numbers underscore a tougher reality for buyers, one expert points out: America’s housing affordability problem isn’t merely cyclical but largely structural. "It's not a realistic benchmark. I think that the problem in the...

HMRC has issued a message to state pensioners about their  Winter Fuel Payments relating to the upcoming self-assessment tax deadline at the end of January. This winter is the first time the new system has been put into practice since the announcement of the U-turn over the previous, unpopular changes to the payments for older people.Instead of being tied to Pension Credit, Winter Fuel Payments are again universal and issued to all state pensioners. But the catch is that those who earn £35,000 or more in a single tax year have to give the £200 or £300 payment back to HMRC in tax.This January, the self-assessment tax deadline is rapidly approaching, with anyone who owes tax having to file an assessment and pay it by midnight on January 31.Now, HMRC has issued a message to state pensioner...

Evercore ISI senior managing director breaks down his price targets for Amazon and Expedia on 'Varney & Co.' Saks’ parent company, Saks Global Enterprises, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection Tuesday in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas after missing a $100 million interest payment in December, adding to mounting debt obligations. Following the filing, Saks Global announced Wednesday that it has secured a financing commitment of approximately $1.75 billion, backed by senior secured bondholders and asset-based lenders, to support operations during the restructuring.The company also named Geoffroy van Raemdonck as chief executive officer, effective immediately. It said stores and ecommerce operations across Saks Fifth Avenue, Neiman Marcus, Bergd...