McDonald’s on Monday reported its first sales drop since the early days of the coronavirus pandemic as the burger giant struggled to draw in cash-strapped customers because of inflated menu prices.The Chicago-based fast food chain — which rolled out a $5 value meal last month to lure customers — said that its same-store sales in the US fell by 0.7% in the second quarter while revenues were flat, missing analyst estimates of an 0.8% increase.Last year, US-based same-store sales rose 10.3%. Sales in internati ...

Apple’s upcoming artificial intelligence features will arrive later than anticipated and will miss the initial launch of upcoming iPhone and iPad software overhauls, Bloomberg News reported on Sunday.The iPhone maker is planning to begin rolling out Apple Intelligence to customers as part of software updates coming by October, the report added, citing people familiar with the matter. AI features will arrive a few weeks after the initial iOS 18 and iPadOS 18 releases planned for September, Bloomberg said.App ...

Costco is looking toward technology to improve the customer experience at its brick-and-mortar and online stores without significantly changing the retail giant’s proven business strategy, the company’s chief financial officer said.Costco CFO Gary Millerchip was taking questions from analysts during Costco’s third quarter earnings call earlier this year when he was asked what the company thought about being “more aggressive” with the evolution of its retail business model by deploying more technology in its ...

A jury on Friday found that Abbott Laboratories’ specialized formula for premature infants caused an Illinois girl to develop a dangerous bowel disease, ordering the healthcare company to pay $495 million in damages.The verdict in St. Louis, Missouri state court comes in the first trial against the company out of hundreds of similar claims over the formula pending in courts around the country, which Reuters viewed via Courtroom View Network.Illinois resident Margo Gill, who brought the case against Abbott, ...

Apple on Friday said it will voluntarily adopt safeguards for artificial intelligence — joining other tech giants including OpenAI, Amazon, Google parent Alphabet and Meta in complying with Biden administration guidelines aimed at minimizing national security risk.In July 2023, the Biden administration announced that it had secured voluntary commitments from seven leading AI companies who pledged “to help move toward safe, secure, and transparent” development of the technology.Amazon, Anthropic, Google, Inf ...

Ford plunged nearly 20% on Thursday after the company missed Wall Street’s profit estimates — leading to the worst single-day stock decline for the automotive giant in nearly two decades. The Detroit-based car manufactured revealed late Wednesday a second-quarter operating profit of $2.8 billion, down 26% from $3.8 billion in the second quarter of 2023, as it struggles with quality-related costs and stiff competition in its EV business.Operating profit fell far below analysts’ expectations of $3.7 billion, ...

Investment Activity - Citadel has increased its stake in Sphere Entertainment from 1.6% to 5.3%, acquiring approximately 900,000 additional shares since April 1, bringing its total to around 1.5 million shares [7][14] - Steve Cohen's Point72 Asset Management disclosed a 5.5% stake in Sphere Entertainment earlier this month [8][12] Company Overview - Sphere Entertainment owns and operates the Sphere, a $2.3 billion concert venue in Las Vegas, which opened a year ago and has gained attention for its immersive shows and concerts [10][4] - The Dolan family retains voting control of Sphere Entertainment, holding 8.5 million shares [5][14] Financial Performance - Sphere generated $100.5 million in total revenue during its most recent quarter [11] - Sphere's shares were trading at $43.45, with a slight decrease of less than 1% on Thursday, but the stock has increased by approximately 30% since January 1 [2][17] Recent Developments - Negotiations for a residency agreement between Sphere and Beyoncé reportedly broke down due to her demand for a two-week rehearsal period [9][15] - The venue has hosted notable performances, including 40 shows by U2, and has upcoming bookings with Dead & Company and the Eagles [16]

The Justice Department said Boeing had agreed to plead guilty to a criminal fraud conspiracy charge and pay a fine of $243.6 million after the planemaker breached a 2021 deferred prosecution agreement, according to a court filing on Wednesday.Boeing on July 7 agreed in principle to plead guilty to conspiring to defraud the Federal Aviation Administration after the government said the planemaker knowingly made false representations about key software for the 737 MAX.Families of the 346 people killed in two B ...

US Fortune 500 companies excluding Microsoft face $5.4 billion in losses thanks to the CrowdStrike outage last week — and Microsoft’s losses will add hundreds of millions of dollars more to the total, cloud insurer Parametrix said Wednesday.The global tech outage – caused by a faulty update to CrowdStrike’s security software – crashed computers powered by Microsoft Windows on Friday, causing airlines to delay flights and doctors to postpone surgeries. Cyber insurance policies will likely cover no more than ...

General Motors is forgoing plans to produce its autonomous cab Cruise Origin indefinitely as it refocuses efforts on the troubled unit. GM CEO Mary Barra told shareholders on Tuesday that the automaker will “simplify their path to scale by focusing their next autonomous vehicle on the next-generation Chevrolet Bolt, instead of the Origin,” which had been facing regulatory uncertainty because of its unique design. Barra also noted that per-unit costs will also be much lower for the Chevrolet Bolt, helping th ...