Articles by Nivedita Balu

Ride-Hailing Firm Lyft Hikes Service Fee for Rides as Insurance Costs Rise

Lyft Inc. is increasing the service fee its U.S. riders pay directly to the company to cover higher insurance costs, the ride-hailing firm said. The increase averages less than 50 cents per trip nationally, a Lyft spokesperson said. The company …

Uber Says Lapsus$-Linked Hacker Responsible for Breach

Uber Technologies Inc said on Monday a hacker affiliated with the Lapsus$ hacking group was responsible for a cyber attack that forced the ride-hailing company to shut several internal communications temporarily last week. Uber said the attacker had not accessed …

Musk Says He May Drop Twitter Deal if Fake-Account Data Not Provided

Elon Musk warned Twitter Inc. on Monday that he might walk away from his $44 billion deal to acquire the social media company if it fails to provide the data on spam and fake accounts that he seeks. This was …

Tesla’s Musk Sees Safe Self-Driving Vehicle This Year and Humanoid Robot Next Year

Tesla’s most important products this year and next will not be cars, Chief Executive Elon Musk said on Wednesday, but software that drives them autonomously and a humanoid robot. The audacious promises by the best-known billionaire in the electric car …

AIG Plans Sale of Life Business to Blackstone and in IPO

American International Group Inc. plans to use an IPO to sell part of its life and retirement business, while Blackstone Group Inc. agreed to buy a sizeable stake, according to a person familiar with the matter. AIG and Blackstone said …

Royal Caribbean Delays Cruise Launch After 8 Crew Test Positive for COVID-19

Royal Caribbean Group said on Wednesday it would delay the inaugural sailing of its Odyssey of the Seas cruise liner by nearly a month after eight crew members tested positive for COVID-19. The news comes a week after two people …

Election Security: Retailers Board Up Stores Amid Fears Over More Civil Unrest

This time last year, shoppers on Chicago’s Magnificent Mile were waiting for Louis Vuitton to debut its whimsical holiday window decorations. Now those same windows are hidden behind a wall of wood panels painted bright orange. While still open for …

As Coronavirus Threatens Gig Workers, Uber Presses for New Worker Classification

As independent contractors, U.S. ride-hail drivers for Uber and Lyft benefited from soaring trip demand and flexible work hours. But as the coronavirus brings large parts of the country to a halt, drivers and companies are facing the downside of …

After Solar System Fires, Walmart Sues Tesla for ‘Widespread Negligence’

Walmart Inc. on Tuesday sued Tesla Inc., accusing it of “widespread negligence” that led to repeated fires of its solar systems and asking a court to force Tesla to remove solar panels from more than 240 of its U.S. stores. …

Court Says PG&E Has Sole Right to Submit Bankruptcy Plan

A federal judge has allowed PG&E Corp. to retain the sole rights to propose a plan to exit bankruptcy, as he rejected efforts by investors to put forward competing plans, according to court documents. Judge Dennis Montali of the U.S. …