Business

/

ArcaMax

Xavier Mascarenas/The Sacramento Bee/TNS

Is Gavin Newsom changing his tune with the oil industry?

Business / Business News /

Gov. Gavin Newsom seems to be taking a friendlier tone regarding the petroleum industry, as two refineries recently announced they would close down operations in California.

Earlier this week, Newsom sent a letter to California Energy Commission vice chair Siva Gunda, directing Gunda to “redouble the State’s efforts to work closely with ...Read more

An Irish hotelier, Qatari royals and a federal lawsuit involving a Beverly Hills hotel

Business / Business News /

As Irish hotelier Patrick McKillen tells it, he met the former emir of Qatar on a yacht in Doha to discuss a business opportunity in California, more than 8,000 miles away.

McKillen and Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani were discussing the purchase of a Beverly Hills hotel, which McKillen said he committed to managing and redeveloping.

Now ...Read more

David Guralnick/The Detroit News/TNS

Perfect storm: Tesla sales buckle under competition, model changeover, politics

Business / Business News /

Hit by a perfect storm of politics, model-year changeovers and competition, Tesla sales have declined dramatically to open 2025.

The electric vehicle maker’s sales dropped by 13% in the first quarter according to Cox Automotive, even as the overall electric vehicle segment grew by 11%. The sales swoon — coupled with a 34% drop in Tesla’s ...Read more

NASA/TNS

Boeing, NASA pause experimental, sustainable plane project

Business / Business News /

Boeing and NASA will pause work on a new, experimental aircraft design meant to deliver more sustainable options for the future of aviation.

The aircraft project — called the X-66A Sustainable Flight Demonstrator — featured long, thin wings that would increase fuel efficiency and, consequently, lower carbon emissions.

Boeing will continue ...Read more

Mazda Toyota Manufacturing/Mazda Toyota Manufacturing/TNS

Econometer: Could the US become a manufacturing hub again?

Business / Business News /

President Donald Trump recently implemented the biggest tariff increase from the U.S. since the 1930s. He said one of his goals is to grow manufacturing stateside.

In his announcement, the president said the U.S. could be a manufacturing hub again. “Empty, dead sites, factories that are falling down … will be knocked down, and they’re ...Read more

Timothy A. Clary/AFP/GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA/TNS

S&P 500 notches longest winning run since January: Markets wrap

Business / Business News /

A solid Wall Street week ended with gains for stocks as a rally in the market’s most-influential group offset conflicting signals about progress in President Donald Trump’s trade negotiations.

The surge in megacaps sent the S&P 500 above 5,500, with the gauge notching its longest advance since January. Tesla Inc. jumped 9.8% while Alphabet ...Read more

Allen J. Schaben/Los Angeles Times/TNS

LA's office market takes a hit amid trade wars, fires and economic uncertainty

Business / Business News /

Tenants hunting for office space in the Los Angeles area are in the driver's seat as vacancies plague many landlords trying to fill their buildings with people.

The greater Los Angeles office rental market started the year with a turbulent first quarter and historically high vacancies as tenant demand was persistently soft in spite of more ...Read more

Breana Noble/The Detroit News/TNS

Michigan economist says path to US economic growth in 2025 remains amid recession fears

Business / Business News /

ANN ARBOR, Michigan — An economist with the University of Michigan says he believes there's still a path to U.S. economic growth in 2025, even as risks of recession rise from tariffs.

The new import taxes imposed by President Donald Trump have contributed to declines in consumer sentiment indexes and fears that the United States' economy ...Read more

Entertainment Union Coalition/Entertainment Union Coalition/TNS

A desperate Hollywood looks to Sacramento for help in stopping runaway production

Business / Business News /

LOS ANGELES — It's showtime for Hollywood at the California Capitol.

The state's entertainment industry has spent months begging for help from Sacramento to stem the decline of film and TV production and save thousands of jobs.

This week, after months of speeches and promises from public officials, two bills meant to boost the beleaguered ...Read more

Nelvin C. Cepeda/The San Diego Union-Tribune/TNS

US consumer sentiment slides while inflation expectations jump

Business / Business News /

U.S. consumer sentiment fell to one of the lowest readings on record and long-term inflation expectations climbed to the highest since 1991 on fears of the economic fallout from tariffs.

The final April sentiment index fell to 52.2 from 57 a month earlier, according to the University of Michigan. While a slight improvement from the preliminary ...Read more

Timothy A. Clary/AFP/GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA/TNS

Stock rally hits a wall as economic angst brews: Markets wrap

Business / Business News /

A solid week on Wall Street is ending on a softer note, with stocks churning after one of the worst-ever consumer sentiment readings added to anxiety about the repercussions of President Donald Trump’s trade war.

Following a three-day rally, the S&P 500 wavered as data also showed long-term inflation expectations climbed to the highest since ...Read more

Subaru/TNS

Auto review: 2025 Subaru Forester Hybrid offers rationality in an irrational world

Business / Business News /

Ever try to be something you’re not? There are SUVs like that. They sport some rugged outdoor name, and are festooned with durable-looking plastic body cladding. They play to the aspirations that someday you’ll conquer some rugged mountain pass. In reality, you might just be slogging through the rain on the way to the Piggly Wiggly, as said ...Read more

Henry Payne, The Detroit News/The Detroit News/TNS

Auto review: Flying first class in the Lincoln Navigator

Business / Business News /

CARLSBAD, California — On April 14, San Diego County experienced an earthquake that made national news. It registered 5.2 on the Richter scale. Residents recounted hearing a rumble as loud as a freight train. Floors rattled. Vases fell off tables.

Riding on top of the smooth, adaptive suspension inside the whisper-quiet, three-row Lincoln ...Read more

Marc Grasso/Boston Herald/TNS

Auto review: 2025 Nissan Kicks delivers for commuters

Business / Business News /

Nissan enters Grasso’s Garage for the first time in 2025 with its entry-level, top of the line commuter SUV. Wrapped in two-tone Arctic Ice Blue, the redesigned 2025 Nissan Kicks SR is here with futuristic styling and design that proves Nissan is in it to win it.

With a $26,000 base price, the Kicks SR offers a 2.0-liter DOHC four-cylinder ...Read more

FREDERIC J. BROWN/AFP/Getty Images North America/TNS

California economy is now the world's 4th-largest. But other measures are grim

Business / Business News /

By one measure, California’s economy is thriving. By other metrics? Not so much.

The Golden State’s economy reached another milestone last year by jumping ahead of Japan to become the world’s fourth-biggest economy, according to new data from the International Monetary Fund.

But deep inequality is widening, including in Silicon Valley, ...Read more

Robyn Beck/AFP/Getty Images North America/TNS

Alphabet sales beat estimates on Google search advertising

Business / Business News /

Google parent Alphabet Inc. reported first-quarter revenue and profit that exceeded analysts’ expectations, buoyed by continued strength in its search advertising business.

First-quarter sales, excluding partner payouts, were $76.5 billion, the company said Thursday in a statement. Analysts had expected $75.4 billion on average, according to ...Read more

Robert Gauthier/Los Angeles Times/TNS

Traffic at the Port of Los Angeles set to plunge amid tariffs

Business / Business News /

Imports at the Port of Los Angeles are expected to plunge in the next two weeks, even as negotiations over the final tariffs that China and other countries must pay are still being negotiated by President Trump.

That was the sobering message that port Executive Director Gene Seroka had Thursday for the Los Angeles Board of Harbor Commissioners ...Read more

Robert Gauthier/Los Angeles Times/TNS

San Diego-based fast food chain Jack in the Box to close more than 150 locations

Business / Business News /

San Diego-based fast food chain Jack in the Box announced plans this week to close up to 200 locations as part of a broader strategy to improve long-term finances.

The chain offering burgers, chicken sandwiches and curly fries is the latest to shrink its footprint amid inflationary pressures and high labor costs.

Popular destinations including...Read more

Bigtunaonline/Dreamstime/TNS

Yahoo is ready to buy Chrome browser if Google is forced to sell

Business / Business News /

Internet company Yahoo Inc. — backed by owner Apollo Global Management Inc. — would bid for the Chrome web browser if a federal court orders Google to divest it as a remedy for maintaining an illegal monopoly, a senior executive said.

Brian Provost, the general manager for Yahoo Search, testified Thursday during Google’s trial in ...Read more

Amy Sussman/Getty Images North America/TNS

California overtakes Japan to become world's fourth-largest economy. But tariffs pose threat

Business / Business News /

If California were its own country, its economy would now rank as the fourth-largest of any nation across the globe, Gov. Gavin Newsom said, a new milestone that comes at a time of major economic turbulence.

California has long been a global powerhouse, fueled by a variety of sectors including technology, agriculture, tourism and entertainment....Read more