Online audio platform SoundCloud, a favorite of indie musicians, has been struggling to stay afloat financially. Last month, it laid off 40 percent of its staff, and the company has been urgently seeking a reported $170 million cash injection to keep going. Today it got that emergency investment approved by shareholders. As part of that […]

Shouldn’t the person telling you what to do with your retirement accounts be legally required to act in your best interest? Sounds simple enough, but regulation to that affect has long been resisted by the financial industry. The Obama administration pushed for the so-called Fiduciary Duty Rule, but this week the Labor Department sought to […]

We often talk about cyber security as a way to prevent other people from accessing your personal information, but what can you do if the worst actually happens? That’s what David Lazarus had to find out after someone used his social security number. Lazarus, who writes the Consumer Confidential column for the LA Times (and […]

Last month President Trump announced a deal with Taiwanese electronics manufacturer Foxconn to bring as many as 13,000 jobs to southeastern Wisconsin in exchange for $3 billion in tax breaks. Now legislative analysts are projecting the state won’t break even on that investment for more than 25 years. These sorts of mega-incentives to lure employers […]

One hears a lot that in its politics, Hollywood tends toward the liberal. The Kansas-based Koch brothers (whose company is an on-again, off-again underwriter of this program) tend toward conservative politics. And one would imagine that the twain would never meet. But movies are expensive to make, so producers need money. And movies can be profitable, and […]

Uber, amidst its many troubles, will be winding down one chunk of its business. The Wall Street Journal reports that Uber will end it’s car leasing program by the end of the year. You may remember from 2015 that Uber started an auto leasing division as a way to attract new drivers. The idea being, […]

Two of the country’s largest institutional landlords are joining forces. Starwood Waypoint Homes and Blackstone’s Invitation Homes are merging, becoming a mega landlord with 82,000 homes in metropolitan areas across the country. The merger tells us a lot about the housing and single-family home rental markets. Click the audio player above to hear the full […]