Asian markets were mostly muted Friday morning on the eve of Lunar New Year celebrations, signaling a cautious approach after a broad sell-off the previous day over growing coronavirus fears. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index, which will close early for the holiday, fell 0.1% Friday. Japan’s Nikkei 225 was flat. Chinese markets were closed, and…… MORE
Renault, Honda and Peugeot owner PSA Group are among the global companies that have large manufacturing plants in Wuhan, China, the center of a coronavirus outbreak that has claimed dozens of lives. The three automakers have operations in China’s “motor city” through joint ventures with Dongfeng Motor Corporation, one of the country’s largest auto groups.…… MORE
California is doubling down on plans to use QR Codes in its fight against illicit cannabis sales. The California Bureau of Cannabis Control on Thursday proposed emergency regulations that would require state-licensed cannabis businesses to display their unique Quick Response Code certificates in their store windows and ensure they have the digital barcodes handy when…… MORE
A Canadian federal judge declined to make an immediate ruling on whether Huawei CFO Meng Wanzhou’s extradition process should move forward, after a four-day hearing on the case in a Vancouver court wrapped up Thursday. The United States has requested Meng’s extradition from Canada so she can stand trial on charges of bank fraud and…… MORE
Sonos, a company known for its wireless speakers, announced earlier this week that certain older products would lose software support come this May. On Thursday, amid backlash, the CEO walked back those statements. “All Sonos products will continue to work past May,” wrote CEO Patrick Spence on Twitter, attaching a letter posted to the Sonos…… MORE
More than two months after announcing a review of his work, The Hill newspaper has yet to complete its promised evaluation of columns written by John Solomon, a former executive at the outlet who during his time at the publication pushed conspiracy theories about Ukraine into the public conversation. It’s unusual for a newsroom to…… MORE
Executives at Fox News shielded the channel’s audience on Wednesday night from the impeachment trial proceedings playing out in the United States Senate, instead choosing to air its regular bloc of opinion programming which is strongly supportive of President Donald Trump. The editorial choice was remarkable, given it is only the third time a sitting…… MORE
Former Wells Fargo CEO John Stumpf on Thursday agreed to a lifetime ban from the banking industry and a $17.5 million fine for his role in leading the bank through its massive fake accounts scandal and other sales practice misconduct. In addition to Stumpf, the US Office of the Comptroller of the Currency fined seven…… MORE
Universal took a pretty big hit last quarter largely because of the box office disaster that was “Cats.” The film adaptation of the hit Broadway musical made just $60 million worldwide since its opening in late December. The film, which has a 20% score on review site Rotten Tomatoes, was not cheap to make. It…… MORE
Jim Lehrer, the legendary debate moderator and former anchor of the “NewsHour” television program, died Thursday. He was 85. Lehrer’s death was announced by his longtime network home, PBS, where he co-founded the “NewsHour” in 1975. PBS said Lehrer died “peacefully in his sleep at home” and did not share further information about the cause…… MORE
