Business

For Palantir’s Democrat-supporting CEO, the fact that cofounder and Chairman Peter Thiel enthusiastically backed Donald Trump made things harder for the company. CEO Alex Karp cofounded Palantir Technologies, the data analytics firm known for its defense contracts and ties to the CIA, with Thiel and three others in 2003, and since then has helped grow it into a $72 billion…

Harley-Davidson Inc. dropped several diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives after weeks of sustained pressure from an anti-DEI crusader.  The Milwaukee-based company on Monday said that it no longer has minority-owned supplier spending goals, will drop socially-motivated training for employees and make other changes to back away from diversity programs. The motorcycle maker also hasn’t operated a corporate DEI function since April, it said in…

Around the time Tesla CEO Elon Musk was asking investors to reapprove his $56 billion pay package, the company also announced that it would launch its long-awaited autonomous vehicle rideshare service Robotaxi on August 8. That launch never happened.  Instead, Tesla ended up postponing its planned Robotaxi unveiling until October to build more prototypes. The vision for Robotaxis is current…

Bleeding and in pain, Kyleigh Thurman didn’t know her doomed pregnancy could kill her. Emergency room doctors at Ascension Seton Williamson in Texas handed her a pamphlet on miscarriage and told her to “let nature take its course” before discharging her without treatment for her ectopic pregnancy. When the 25-year-old returned three days later, still bleeding, doctors finally agreed to…

Electrify America, one of the leading charging companies in the U.S., is trying to encourage drivers to get what they need and get out, or else pay a fee. The idea is to increase turnover at busy stations, improving availability and reducing the odds that drivers will have to wait for someone else spending extra time to “top off” their…

Friday’s jobs report set the weekend off on the wrong foot, and now most of the global markets look like they’re shaking off an epic hangover this Monday.  Add global socio-political conflict in the Middle East and poor earnings among tech and consumer-facing companies to the mix and you have a fully boiling pot, as Paul Christopher, head of global…

And now, climate change is coming for American pantries. Indeed, one in three American households are cutting back on groceries to help pay for their utility bills as 75% of them expect their expenses to increase during the summer and “cause them financial strain.” The figures are according to survey results of 2,000 U.S. adults by PowerSetter, an energy comparison…

Over the past month, a conservative online commentator has effectively pushed Deere & Co. and Tractor Supply to walk back certain DEI initiatives. Now, the music video director turned right-wing political influencer Robby Starbuck is taking aim at another rugged American brand.  In a nine-minute video on X, Starbuck went after Wisconsin-based Harley Davidson for being “out of alignment with…

Geopolitical flare ups are helping to temper venture capital’s decades-long love affair with software and spark a greater interest in defense technology, according to several startup investors. The wars in Ukraine and Israel have spurred venture capitalists to open their pocketbooks for  so-called defense tech, the equipment and systems used to defend national interests, according to a report from AIN…

Last month, Donald Trump and the Republican National Committee seemed to have gained a firm financial advantage over Democrats after trailing earlier this year. Following Trump’s felony conviction on May 30 and President Joe Biden’s rocky debate performance on June 27, money came pouring into his and the R.N.C.’s war chests while Democrats burned through cash. As of the end…