NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — When Ademola Adesina founded a startup to provide solar and battery-based power subscription packages to individuals and businesses in Nigeria in 2015, it was a lot harder to raise money than it is today. Climate tech was new in Africa, the continent was a fledgling destination for venture capital money, there
SEATTLE (AP) — Binance founder Changpeng Zhao was sentenced Tuesday to four months in prison for allowing rampant money laundering on the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange. A judge credited Zhao for taking responsibility for his wrongdoing but said he was troubled by the now-former CEO’s decision to ignore U.S. banking requirements that would have slowed
Boeing said Wednesday that it lost $355 million on falling revenue in the first quarter, another sign of the crisis gripping the aircraft manufacturer as it faces increasing scrutiny over the safety of its planes and accusations of shoddy work from a growing number of whistleblowers. CEO David Calhoun said the company is in “a
One of the first sovereign-wealth funds, and the largest at the state level in the U.S., just made a big bet on groceries as inflation continues to pressure American consumers. Alaska Permanent Fund tripled its investments in shares of Walmart and Kroger —the respective No. 1 and No. 2 players in terms of their share
NEW YORK (AP) — Crypto entrepreneur Sam Bankman-Fried was sentenced Thursday to 25 years in prison for a massive fraud on hundreds of thousands of customers that unraveled with the collapse of FTX, once one of the world’s most popular platforms for exchanging digital currency. Though he described Bankman-Fried as “extremely smart,” U.S. District Judge
RENO, Nev. (AP) — President Joe Biden’s administration has conditionally agreed to loan more than $2 billion to the company building a controversial lithium mine in Nevada with the largest known U.S. deposit of the metal critical to making batteries for electric vehicles key to his renewable energy agenda. The U.S Energy Department agreed on
WASHINGTON (AP) — Lori Shelton can’t fathom ever having the money to buy a home — and that’s a major reason why so many voters feel down on the economy ahead of this year’s presidential election. Shelton, 67, drives an Uber to help pay rent in Aurora, Colorado. An advance on her pay covered her
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — On the first business day of the new year, Missouri Treasurer Vivek Malek began accepting applications for about $120 million of state-subsidized, low-interest loans to small businesses, farmers and affordable housing developers. Within six hours, Malek had so many requests for the money that he had to cut off applications.
NEW YORK (AP) — The S&P 500 closed out 2023 with a gain of more than 24% and the Dow finished near a record high, as easing inflation, a resilient economy and the prospect of lower interest rates buoyed investors, particularly in the last two months of the year. Stocks closed Friday with modest losses.
The Fed’s High Interest Rates Are Helping Pension Funds Close the Gap
This is commentary by Allan Sloan, an independent business journalist and seven-time winner of the Loeb Award, business journalism’s highest honor. We hear lots of talk about the problems that high interest rates have been causing since the Federal Reserve began jacking up rates two years ago. We also hear endless talk from people waiting