Economy

More than 1,100 workers at DHL Express’s global air cargo hub at Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport went on strike on Thursday after months of failed negotiations with the parcel carrier.A group of DHL workers at the hub who load and unload planes voted in April to unionize with the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, which has been in contract negotiations with the company since July. The union has filed more than 20 unfair labor practice complaints with the National Labor Relations Board since then, accusing the company of retaliation against organized workers. Teamsters Local 100, which represents the unionized workers, voted…

European Union policymakers agreed on Friday to a sweeping new law to regulate artificial intelligence, one of the world’s first comprehensive attempts to limit the use of a rapidly evolving technology that has wide-ranging societal and economic implications.The law, called the A.I. Act, sets a new global benchmark for countries seeking to harness the potential benefits of the technology, while trying to protect against its possible risks, like automating jobs, spreading misinformation online and endangering national security. The law still needs to go through a few final steps for approval, but the political agreement means its key outlines have been…

The United States has embarked on the biggest industrial policy push in generations, dangling tax breaks, grants and other financial incentives to attract new factories making solar panels, semiconductors and electric vehicles.That spending is aimed at jump-starting the domestic market for crucial products, but it has implications far outside the United States. It is pushing governments from Europe to East Asia to try to keep up by proposing their own investment plans, setting off what some are calling a global subsidy race.Officials, particularly in Europe, have accused the United States of protectionism and have spent months complaining to the Biden…

In January, more than 100 financial sleuths were dispatched to the Guangzhou headquarters of China Evergrande Group, a real estate giant that had defaulted a year earlier under $300 billion of debt. Its longtime auditor had just resigned, and a nation of home buyers had directed its ire at Evergrande.Police on watch for protesters stood guard outside the building, and the new team of auditors were issued permits to get in. After six months of work, the auditors reported that Evergrande had lost $81 billion over the prior two years, vastly more than expected.But they still had questions. Some records…

A tax fight with big stakes Oral arguments are to begin on Tuesday at the Supreme Court in a tax case with a lot at stake.Moore v. United States may appear to center on a request for a $14,729 tax refund, tied to a law that affected relatively few Americans. But it could redefine what is considered income in America, change how Congress taxes it, and preemptively block future efforts by Democrats to impose levies on billionaires’ wealth.The back story: In 2018, the Trump administration and Congress changed how foreign profits of American companies were taxed, via a one-time levy…

In another blow to China’s economy, the credit ratings agency Moody’s said Tuesday that it had issued a negative outlook for the Chinese government’s financial health.Moody’s expressed concern at the potential cost to the national government of bailing out debt-burdened regional and local governments and state-owned businesses. Moody’s, which previously viewed China’s finances as stable, warned that the country’s economy is settling into slower growth while its enormous property sector has begun to shrink.China’s Ministry of Finance immediately pushed back, saying that the Chinese economy is resilient and that local government budgets could withstand their loss of revenue from the…

You can’t get to sleep. You’re tossing and turning. You want someone to read you a nice, wholesome bedtime story. And you want that someone to be the actor Jimmy Stewart.The sleep and meditation app Calm has released a new story for premium users told by Mr. Stewart, the beloved actor who starred in “It’s a Wonderful Life.” But the voice in their ear lulling them to sleep is not from Mr. Stewart, who died in 1997. It is a version of his signature drawl generated by artificial intelligence.“Well, hello. I’m James Stewart, but, well, you can call me Jimmy.…

Bitcoin bulls have brushed off a sweeping legal crackdown against some of the biggest players in the cryptocurrency industry, high interest rates and global recession concerns to push the digital currency’s value close to a 20-month high this week.The digital coin traded at around $41,700 on Tuesday morning, after pushing past $42,000 the day before. It has gained roughly 150 percent this year, far outperforming the Nasdaq composite index, as investors bet that regulators will soon approve the first spot exchange-traded fund that is designed to track the price of Bitcoin.Investment management specialists are swarming. Thirteen firms, including BlackRock, Fidelity…