Companies

JPMorgan Chase announced today a $200 billion commitment to financing clean energy. On top of that, divisions across the firm, from retail to real estate, are working to switch all Chase properties around the world to 100 percent renewable power by the year 2020. That’s more than 5,000 properties in some 60 countries. Here’s why […]

Britain’s main financial regulator said today that a key benchmark interest rate will be phased out by the end of 2021. LIBOR, the London Interbank Offered Rate, was badly damaged a few years ago in a multibillion dollar rate-rigging scandal. The Brits hope a new benchmark, called SONIA — the Sterling Over Night Index Average — will take […]

The High Times Corp. — owner of the 43-year-old High Times magazine, sponsor of the annual Cannabis Cup — is going public. The company announced today it expects to list on the NASDAQ by October. Pot is a $6.7 billion annual business in North America, according to the cannabis research firm Arcview Group. And as […]

Anthony Scaramucci, the new White House communications director, still has pending business with China. His hedge fund firm, SkyBridge Capital, will be sold to a Chinese company, the HNA Group, once regulators sign off. The Wall Street Journal reports the deal could be worth $250 million and that Scaramucci himself stands to earn between $62 […]

Google wants to make virtual reality films easier to create. It’s investing in a technology called VR180 — virtual reality in 180 degrees, rather than 360. The company is launching a new VR180 file format on its YouTube platform and partnering with Lenovo and LG to make affordable 180 degree cameras. Could Google jump-start virtual reality […]

Amazon said today it’s planning to hire 50,000 workers to pack and ship orders at its fulfillment centers around the country. It’s holding job fairs nationwide on August 2, which it’s calling “Amazon Jobs Day.” The company plans to make thousands of on the spot job offers next week at the locations holding events, which […]

After decades of losing ground to overseas manufacturers using cheap labor, the U.S. textile industry is showing signs of revival. The resurgence is fueled in part by increased R&D into advanced fabrics — like fire-retardant material and smart garments filled with high-tech sensors. It’s meant a growing number of textile industry jobs — but jobs […]

Ford shares have been on a steady slide for the past three years now. That’s quite a remarkable place for Ford to be, especially given the company continues to put out the F-150 pickup, the hottest selling truck in the world. Shareholders don’t seem very impressed by Ford’s plans to transition into a future powered […]