by Abhirup Roy and Chris Kirkham SAN FRANCISCO – Tesla’s reveal of a robotaxi designed as a low-slung, two-seater, sporty coupe – quite the opposite of a typical taxi with room for several passengers and luggage – flummoxed investors and analysts. CEO Elon Musk served up the cool design for the prototype of the Tesla robotaxi, dubbed Cybercab, at a much-hyped event near Los Angeles late on Thursday. These will go into production some time in 2026 and cost less than $30,000 a pop, he said. But in true Musk style, he skipped over expectations of how a two-seater robotaxi…

The WNBA Finals will expand to a best-of-seven series for the first time in 2025, the league announced Thursday ahead of Game 1 of the 2024 championship series between the New York Liberty and the Minnesota Lynx. The league has never seen a best-of-seven playoff series, but the 2025 Finals will mark the first and utilize a 2-2-1-1-1 format — meaning the higher seed will host Games 1, 2, 5 and 7 and the lower seed will host Games 3, 4 and 6. Among other changes on the way for the burgeoning league, the regular season will grow from 40…

by Lewis Krauskopf and Suzanne McGee NEW YORK – The health of the U.S. consumer moves into the spotlight next week, with investors watching corporate earnings reports and retail sales data for further confirmation of the economic resilience that has boosted equity markets this month. As earnings season kicks off, stocks are on a roll. The benchmark S&P 500 is set to post its fifth straight weekly gain and is hovering near a fresh record high after rising over 21% this year. Driving the gains is a string of encouraging economic data that have all but dispelled the slowdown fears…

LONDON – The U.S. presidential election, the most consequential vote for financial markets in an election-packed year, is weeks away. With Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris and Republican Donald Trump locked in a close race to win the Nov. 5 election, we look at what matters most for world markets. EUROPE IN THE BALANCE For European equity markets, a Trump victory could spell trouble for export-heavy sectors, particularly German automakers such as BMW but also LVMH and other luxury goods makers as concerns of renewed trade tensions loom. Barclays has warned of possible “high single-digit” percentage drops in European earnings…

By Chris Taylor NEW YORK – It may not quite be the famous question of Shakespeare’s Hamlet, but it is something very much on the minds of U.S. homeowners these days: To refi or not to refi? Judging from the latest numbers, there is a lot of pent-up demand for Americans looking to refinance their home mortgages. In fact, refi applications recently jumped 20% in a week, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association, and accounted for 56% of all mortgage applications. Average rates on 30-year mortgages approached 8% last November. They stood at 6.4% on Tuesday, according to Bankrate. Federal…

by Chris Taylor NEW YORK – If you followed the financial markets at all in the last 15 years, you likely know “Downtown” Josh Brown. The author of The Reformed Broker, one of the most-read financial blogs in the world, gained millions of followers for his bracing style that pulled the curtains back on Wall Street. Now his new book, “You Weren’t Supposed To See That: Secrets Every Investor Should Know,” rounds up insights from those years and provides fresh commentary through a 2024 lens. “What I wanted to do was to put a capper on the whole ‘Reformed Broker’…

By Jarrett Renshaw and Nandita Bose WASHINGTON -Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris will next week highlight her economic policies that benefit Black men, hoping to energize a voting bloc that some advisers fear has embraced Republican rival Donald Trump in large numbers, three sources familiar with the plans said. The policy focus will coincide with an event in Detroit on Tuesday where Harris will be interviewed by popular Black radio personality Charlamagne tha God, who has been critical of the Biden administration, the sources said. Harris will discuss access to capital for Black entrepreneurs, ways to grow small businesses and…

By Jeff Mason PITTSBURGH -Former President Barack Obama made a passionate case against Donald Trump on Thursday during a campaign rally in Pennsylvania in which he appealed directly to men to reject Trump’s bravado and back Vice President Kamala Harris. Obama has been a vocal supporter of Harris since she ascended to the top of the Democratic ticket after President Joe Biden stepped aside in July following a poor debate performance against Trump, the Republican former president. Obama, whose White House term ended in 2017, is still popular with his party’s base. The rally he headlined at the University of…

by Jasper Ward WASHINGTON -The U.S. Department of Justice said on Friday it sued the state of Virginia for violating the federal prohibition on systematic efforts to remove voters within 90 days of an election. On Aug. 7, the state’s governor, Glenn Youngkin, signed an executive order requiring the commissioner of Department of Elections to certify that the department was conducting “daily updates to the voter list” to remove, among other groups, people who are unable to verify that they are citizens to the Department of Motor Vehicles. U.S. citizens who were identified and notified, and did not affirm their…

ABUJA – Nigerian police said on Friday they had rescued a media crew that was kidnapped in the southeast while travelling to cover an Africa Cup of Nations match between Nigeria and Libya in Akwa Ibom state. Nigeria’s southeast is embroiled in violence, which the government blames on a separatist group which campaigns for the secession of a part of southeastern Nigeria where the majority belong to the Igbo ethnic group. Tochukwu Ikenga, police spokesperson for Anambra state said that the crew, which works for South African broadcaster Supersport, was abducted by armed men on Wednesday when they were travelling…