OpenAI has fired Ryan Beiermeister, its Vice President of Product Policy, following sexual discrimination allegations from a male colleague. The termination came shortly after Beiermeister raised concerns about the company’s planned “adult mode” feature for ChatGPT, according to reports. According to a Wall Street Journal report on Wednesday, Beiermeister denied the allegations, telling reporters the claims were “absolutely false.” An OpenAI spokesperson said her departure was unrelated to any issues sh ...

Americans are receiving larger tax refunds on average in the 2026 filing season than last year, though taxpayers are filing at a slower pace in the first few weeks than they were a year ago. The latest IRS tax filing data was released by the agency on Friday and showed that as of Feb. 6, the average tax refund amount paid to taxpayers was $2,290. That represents an increase of 10.9% when compared with the average size of refunds paid at the same stage of the 2025 tax filing season, when the average refu ...

Amazon Prime delivery box on a front porch, highlighting Amazon’s e-commerce business amid a stock selloff narrative. Key Points Amazon shares are down more than 12% this year and over 20% from November’s all-time high, drifting back toward levels last seen nearly a year ago. The stock’s RSI has sunk into the low 20s, marking one of its most oversold readings in almost four years. Analyst support remains overwhelmingly bullish, with price targets implying close to 60% upside from current levels. Inter ...

The mortgage relief, however, does little to address the bigger problem for wildfire survivors: Most can't afford to rebuild, and even those who can are often stuck in a permitting mess.Aurora Barboza Flores, an Altadena resident who learned she would receive nine additional mortgage payments under the expanded program, called it "a huge relief" in a statement provided by the governor's office. "The cost is really our biggest stressor. It's what we carry on our shoulders, what we go to sleep with, what we w ...

On credit, Le Caillec described the balance sheet of American Express customers as “incredibly strong,” with “very low write-off rate” and “very low delinquency rates” that have remained stable.In U.S. consumer, he said the company ended the year in a “very strong position,” citing holiday shopping season spend that was up 9%. He added that Platinum Card members’ holiday shopping spend was up 12%.Le Caillec said global spend was up “between 7% and 8%” during the year and noted a modest uptick in the second ...

The crypto market crash has spared no virtual asset and XRP is no exception. The cryptocurrency has declined more than 30% over the last three months and now, a 172-year-old banking institution has lowered its year-end price target by 65%. Related: Gold, XRP extend losses on Presidents’ Day XRP scores regulatory win yet struggles With a market capitalization of $90 billion, XRP is the fourth-largest cryptocurrency after Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), and Tether's USDT. Launched in 2012, XRP is the nati ...

Doing your taxes is stressful enough without wondering whether the numbers you are looking at are even correct. With income limits, contribution rules and shifting IRS guidelines, small mistakes can have real consequences, which is why getting three different answers to the same tax question can feel alarming. That’s what happened to the person who tried getting tax advice from ChatGPT. In a recent Reddit post in r/tax, they warned others: “Do NOT rely on ChatGPT for tax advice.” The post drew responses ...

Visa and Mastercard handle about 95pc of all card transactions in the UK. - Toby Melville/Reuters Britain is accelerating plans to launch an alternative to Mastercard and Visa amid growing fears Donald Trump could pull the plug on the global payments system. The UK’s largest banks are plotting a new British platform to handle the 50 billion payments made every year after concerns were raised about Mr Trump’s ability to switch off the current system. Lenders including Barclays, Natwest, Lloyds, Santande ...

BlackRock is not acting like it is scared. While headlines warn that Ethereum price could slide toward $1,400, the asset management giant quietly boosted its stake in Bitmine Immersion Technologies by 166% in Q4. That is not cautious behavior. The position is now worth around $246 million. That is a serious bet on crypto infrastructure, especially tied to the Ethereum ecosystem. The timing stands out. Prices are shaky, and sentiment is nervous. Yet BlackRock is increasing exposure while others debate wh ...

Salesforce cloud logo over a data-center backdrop, highlighting enterprise software and cloud-computing growth. Key Points Salesforce’s pullback has analysts debating risk versus opportunity, but most price targets still imply notable upside. The company’s AI strategy centers on unifying data and execution through Data Cloud and Agentforce, plus broad model partnerships. Valuation, upcoming earnings, and guidance are positioned as the key swing factors for the stock. Interested in Salesforce Inc.? Her ...