CATEGORIES

REVIEW: MACKIE LEADS A LITTLE-KNOWN STORY IN ‘THE BANKER'

“The Banker ” is an odd title for this film. It has the effect of underselling a fascinating story about a black business savant that was inspired by real events. In the 1950s and early 1960s, Bernard Garrett (Anthony Mackie) became a real estate mogul in Los Angeles and (eventually) the owner of a bank in his Texas hometown at a time when all the cards were stacked against him.

VIRUS-SHOCKED HOLLYWOOD GETS BREAK WITH STREAMING SERVICES

Sports are on hold, theaters are closed and so are amusement parks, a disaster-movie scenario that has stunned Hollywood.

ROBOPONY: CHINESE ROBOT MAKER SEES DEMAND SURGE AMID VIRUS

While other industries struggle, Liu Zhiyong says China’s virus outbreak is boosting demand for his knee-high, bright yellow robots to deliver groceries and patrol malls looking for shoppers who fail to wear masks.

NETFLIX ESTABLISHES $100 MILLION VIRUS RELIEF FUND

Netflix said it is establishing a $100 million relief fund for workers in the worldwide creative community affected by the coronavirus-caused halt of most film and television production.

MANY AIRLINE FLIGHTS NEARLY EMPTY AS VIRUS UNDERCUTS TRAVEL

Airline service in the United States is teetering on the brink of collapse, with near-empty planes and coronavirus outbreaks that have left some air traffic control towers empty.

FITNESS ENTHUSIASTS THINK OUTSIDE THE GYM DURING CORONAVIRUS

Steve LaTart in Minnesota is thinking of installing a space heater in his basement to recreate the atmosphere of his hot yoga classes now that his gym has closed due to coronavirus fears.

'Sustainable gardening' includes many eco-friendly practices

Sustainable is one of gardening’s trendiest buzzwords, yet it carries a range of definitions. Just what does it mean in practical terms, and how important is it to the average gardener?

GOVTS PLEDGE AID AS GLOBAL COMMERCE SEIZES IN FACE OF VIRUS

Governments and central banks are scrambling to find ways to keep businesses from going bankrupt as the virus outbreak grinds the world economy to a halt.

SPACEX PUTS 60 SATELLITES INTO ORBIT DESPITE ENGINE FAILURE

SpaceX launched 60 more of its internet satellites into orbit Wednesday despite an engine failure shortly after liftoff on a recycled rocket flying a record five times.

U.S. INTERNET WELL-EQUIPPED TO HANDLE WORK FROM HOME SURGE

The U.S. internet won’t get overloaded by spikes in traffic from the millions of Americans now working from home to discourage the spread of the new coronavirus, experts say. But connections could stumble for many if too many family members try to videoconference at the same time.

PENTAGON RECONSIDERS MICROSOFT CONTRACT AFTER AMAZON PROTEST

The Pentagon is reconsidering its awarding of a major cloud computing contract to Microsoft after rival tech giant Amazon protested what it called a flawed bidding process.

COMPUTER-GRAPHICS PIONEERS WIN TECH'S TURING PRIZE

The technology that animated movies like “Toy Story” and enabled a variety of special effects is the focus of this year’s Turing Award, the technology industry’s version of the Nobel Prize.

JOBLESS CLAIMS JUMP BY 70,000 AS VIRUS STARTS TO TAKE HOLD

The number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment benefits surged last week by 70,000 to the highest level in more than two years, indicating that the effect of the coronavirus was starting to be felt in rising layoffs in the job market.

CHINESE FACTORIES FACE NEW THREAT: US ANTI-VIRUS CONTROLS

Factories in China, struggling to reopen after the coronavirus shut down the economy, face a new threat from U.S. anti-disease controls that might disrupt the flow of microchips and other components they need.

FRANCE FINES APPLE $1.2 BILLION FOR ANTI-COMPETITIVE ACTS

French regulators fined Apple 1.1 billion euros ($1.2 billion) on Monday for striking deals to keep prices high, in the biggest-ever such sanction by France’s Competition Authority.

BUILDING A SAVINGS CUSHION IN A TIME OF EMERGENCY

If you are going to stockpile anything these days, consider liquid savings.

Utah School Software Will Send Alerts About Student Accounts

A Utah school district adopted computer software that alerts administrators and parents to activity in student Google accounts that may raise concerns.

US Wholesale Prices Fall 0.6%, Biggest Decline In 5 Years

U.S. wholesale prices fell 0.6% in February, the biggest decline in five years, led by a sharp drop in energy costs.

United Is First To Cut US Flying Due To Virus Outbreak

United Airlines will reduce flights, freeze hiring and ask employees to volunteer for unpaid leave as the airline struggles with weak demand for travel because of the new virus outbreak.

Industry Group: Virus Outbreak Could Cost Airlines $113B

The International Air Transport Association says the virus outbreak that began in China could cost airlines as much as $113 billion in lost revenue due to the collapse of air travel.

Universities Cancel Study-Abroad Programs Amid Virus Fears

As concerns about China’s virus outbreak spread, universities all over the world are scrambling to assess the risks to their programs, and some are canceling study-abroad opportunities and prohibiting travel affecting hundreds of thousands of students.

Boeing Shares Suffer Worst One-Day Drop Since 1974

Boeing’s stock tumbled 18% on Wednesday, its biggest one-day percentage drop since 1974, and company leaders painted a sobering picture for the business in 2020.

Las Vegas Movie Exhibition CinemaCon Canceled Due to Virus

The annual movie exhibition and trade show CinemaCon has been canceled in Las Vegas due to coronavirus, scuttling one of Hollywood’s premier hype machines.

China Auto Sales Plunge In February Amid Virus Shutdown

China’s auto sales plunged 81.7% in February from a year ago after much of the economy was shut down to fight a virus outbreak, an industry group reported Thursday, adding to problems for automakers already struggling with shrinking demand.

Cluster Of Coronavirus Cases Is Tied To US Biotech Meeting

A biotech meeting at a hotel in downtown Boston appears to be the source of a cluster of the coronavirus in the U.S. — and a warning for employers who are still holding big gatherings as the outbreak spreads.

UK LAWMAKERS CHALLENGE GOVERNMENT OVER ‘HIGH RISK' HUAWEI

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s Conservative government narrowly defeated an attempt led by some of its own lawmakers to ban China’s Huawei from building part of the U.K.’s high-speed telecommunications network.

SAUDI ARAMCO TO BOOST CAPACITY; ABU DHABI TO INCREASE SUPPLY

Saudi Arabia steamed ahead with its new energy play by directing the kingdom’s oil company Aramco on Wednesday to increase its maximum production capacity, while Abu Dhabi’s oil and gas company ADNOC followed suit by saying it was boosting output by 25% to 4 million barrels per day.

Ex-Google Self-Driving Car Project Picks Up New Investors

Google’s former autonomous vehicle project is becoming a more autonomous business by bringing it in its first investors besides its corporate parent.

China's Factories Try To Shield Workers As Output Revives

To keep his 40 employees indoors and away from China’s virus outbreak, the manager of an electronics factory in Dongguan, near Hong Kong, says he hired a cook and arranged dormitories for them.

High-Profile Companies Pull Out Of SXSW Amid Virus Outbreak

A rising number of high-profile companies and speakers have withdrawn from the upcoming South by Southwest music and arts festival amid mounting concerns about the spread of the new coronavirus.