Business

Microsoft Corp. unveiled a new $60 billion stock-buyback program, matching its largest-ever repurchase authorization, and raised its quarterly dividend 10%. The software company said shareholders as of Nov. 21 will receive a quarterly dividend of 83 cents a share, compared with the current 75 cents. The share repurchase agreement, which has no expiration date, replaces a $60 billion buyback program…

A patient with a degenerative disease was able to command Amazon’s Alexa digital assistant with his mind, the company behind the technological innovation announced Monday, letting him stream shows and control devices with only his thoughts. An implant in a blood vessel on the surface of the 64-year-old man’s brain let him mentally “tap” icons on an Amazon Fire tablet,…

Calling it “unserious and unacceptable,” House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries rejected on Monday a proposal from Speaker Mike Johnson that links continued government funding for six months with a measure to require proof of citizenship when registering to vote. The response frames the spending battle to come over the next weeks as lawmakers work to reach consensus on a short-term spending bill…

James Earl Jones, who overcame racial prejudice and a severe stutter to become a celebrated icon of stage and screen — eventually lending his deep, commanding voice to CNN, “The Lion King” and Darth Vader — has died. He was 93. His agent, Barry McPherson, confirmed Jones died Monday morning at home in New York’s Hudson Valley region. The cause was…

The U.S. dollar saw a modest decline but stayed close to its nearly two-week high, with investor attention turning to the forthcoming U.S. jobs report expected at the week’s end. At 18:40 EST (22:40 GMT), the was down 0.1% at 101.64. The was little changed at 1.1070. The report, set to be released on Friday, is anticipated to play a…

By Pavel Polityuk and Vladyslav Smilianets KYIV (Reuters) – Loud explosions rocked Ukraine’s capital Kyiv early on Monday as Russia launched a barrage of missiles, sparking fires and damaging homes and infrastructure, officials said. Residents across the city were awoken by a quick succession of bangs and the sound of air defence missiles blasting off skyward to intercept targets. The…

The social media platform X has made a change to its AI chatbot after five secretaries of state warned it was spreading election misinformation. Top election officials from Michigan, Minnesota, New Mexico, Pennsylvania and Washington sent a letter this month to Elon Musk complaining that the platform’s AI chatbot, Grok, produced false information about state ballot deadlines shortly after President Joe Biden dropped out of the…

Italian authorities are investigating the captain of the yacht Bayesian for his role in its sinking last week in Sicily, which led to the death of UK tech tycoon Mike Lynch and six others, according to one of the lawyers involved. James Cutfield, the New Zealand-citizen captain of the luxury vessel, is being investigated for manslaughter and for negligent shipwreck,…

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…