Author: News Room

Surprisingly, Mr. Ewing, who joined The Times in 2010 as a European economics reporter based in Frankfurt, doesn’t consider himself much of a car enthusiast.“I’m interested in the engineering,” he said. “I like to visit factories. But I’m not someone who gets all excited about horse power, or some new kind of car.”In a recent conversation, Mr. Ewing, who is now based in New York, discussed the challenges of reporting on a company as secretive as Tesla. These are edited excerpts.How has your beat changed, given Elon Musk’s role in the federal government?There has always been a strong policy aspect…

Ahead of President Trump’s next big trade move, his administration invited companies to weigh in on the economic barriers they faced abroad.The list of complaints was both sprawling and specific. In hundreds of letters submitted to the administration in recent weeks, producers of uranium, shrimp, T-shirts and steel highlighted the unfair trade treatment they faced, in hopes of bending the president’s trade agenda in their favor. The complaints varied from Brazil’s high tariffs on ethanol and pet food, to India’s high levies on almonds and pecans, to Japan’s longstanding barriers to American potatoes.Mr. Trump has promised to overhaul the global…

Before the election, Toyota Motor and other Japanese automakers thought a second Trump administration could be good for them.President Trump had campaigned on dismantling policies aimed at swiftly accelerating the U.S. auto industry’s shift away from fossil fuels and to electric vehicles — directives that Toyota and other leading manufacturers of gasoline and hybrid gasoline-electric cars had also long opposed.Toyota donated $1 million to Mr. Trump’s inauguration in January, and attendees at the company’s dealership meeting in Dallas that month said it was brimming with Trump cheer.But as Mr. Trump’s agenda has taken shape, much of that optimism has turned…

Within the Trump administration’s Defense Department, Elon Musk’s SpaceX rocketry is being trumpeted as the nifty new way the Pentagon could move military cargo rapidly around the globe.In the Commerce Department, SpaceX’s Starlink satellite internet service will now be fully eligible for the federal government’s $42 billion rural broadband push, after being largely shut out during the Biden era.At NASA, after repeated nudges by Mr. Musk, the agency is being squeezed to turn its focus to Mars, allowing SpaceX to pursue federal contracts to deliver the first humans to the distant planet.And at the Federal Aviation Administration and the White…

Relaxing in a United Airlines Club lounge is now going to cost airline regulars much more.United is overhauling its lounge membership program, reducing amenities and increasing the cost to enter the dozens of United Clubs worldwide, including locations in Tokyo, Chicago and Los Angeles.At a time when lounges are more in demand than ever, United travelers who purchase annual memberships can now expect to pay more for less.A United Club membership previously included unlimited visits to United Clubs worldwide, entry for two guests — either two adults or one adult and dependent children under 21 — and access to participating…

The Netflix co-founder Reed Hastings wants more researchers and students to ask deep questions about artificial intelligence and its potential to upend human norms.To that end, Mr. Hastings has donated $50 million to Bowdoin College, his alma mater, to create a research initiative on “A.I. and Humanity” — the largest gift to the liberal arts college in Maine since its founding in 1794, the school announced on Monday.The aim of the program, Mr. Hastings and school officials said, is to make Bowdoin a mecca for studying the risks and consequences of A.I. The initiative also aims to help prepare students…

The genetic testing company 23andMe filed for bankruptcy protection on Sunday after months of uncertainty over its business model and mounting concerns about the security of the troves of customer data it holds.In a statement, 23andMe said it had filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy to “facilitate a sale process to maximize the value of its business” and make further cost reductions. Anne Wojcicki, chief executive of 23andMe, announced that she had resigned in order to bid on the company.23andMe intends to continue operating during the sale process, with no changes to the way it stores, manages or protects customer data,…

The United States could run out of cash to continue paying its bills by mid-July if Congress does not take action to raise or suspend the nation’s debt limit, according to an analysis on Monday by the Bipartisan Policy Center.That deadline, known as the “X-date” — the moment when the United States is unable to meet its financial obligations and might default on its debt — is a fiscal milestone that’s among the most closely watched in Washington and on Wall Street.The date is subject to considerable uncertainty. It relies on estimates of how much wiggle room the Treasury has…

DoorDash customers can now take out a loan for a $40 order of burritos or a $50 pizza delivery.The financial tech company Klarna and the delivery company DoorDash said that they had partnered to provide a “buy now, pay later” loan option for orders.The arrangement, announced on Thursday, lets customers defer the cost of DoorDash orders placed online or through its app by paying it in four interest-free payments, or at a later date, according to Klarna.Chuck Bell, advocacy program director at Consumer Reports, said “buy now, pay later” loans can be manageable for many people. He advised that these…

In most states, playing slot machines online for real money is illegal. But a group of companies known as sweepstakes casinos has found a way around the law to let users play classic casino games online.Their revenues have grown 10-fold in the last five years, and they’re now large enough to feature ads with Ryan Seacrest, Drake and Michael Phelps. Only recently have states like New York and Maryland contemplated restricting them, with billions of tax dollars at stake. But the loophole used by sweepstakes casinos complicates the states’ ability — and desire — to take action.That loophole? The “no…