Business Update – September 7, 2022

Welcome back to our Weekly Digest. Read on for the latest updates and some ideas to help us all move forward.

Union organizers beat Amazon

A federal labor board hearing officer has blocked Amazon’s attempt to scrap a historic union win at a warehouse on Staten Island, New York.

Eurozone inflation hits all-time high

Experts say the worst is yet to come in the eurozone, where inflation hit a fresh high of 9.1% last week. While there are signs that price increases in the US may have peaked in June, an ongoing energy crisis is making things worse in Europe.

New lockdowns in China cause oil prices to drop

Oil prices tumbled more than 3% last week, followed by news that new COVID-19 lockdown measures in China would cause a drop in demand. Rising interest rates and high inflation were already putting the pressure on oil prices.

Mortgage rates rise again

Things still aren’t looking good for those in the market to buy a home. Mortgage rates jumped again last week, up to 5.66%. Higher borrowing costs have thrown a wrench in the plans of many would-be homebuyers.

Bank of America offering zero down mortgages

In an attempt to erode inequality in the housing market, Bank of America is offering zero down payment mortgages with no closing costs for first-time homebuyers in certain Black and Hispanic neighborhoods in what they’re calling the Community Affordable Loan Solution.

Passage of the CHIPS and Science Act leads to new projects

Last Thursday, Micron announced that it’s investing $15 billion to build a new semiconductor plant in Idaho. This comes just weeks after Congress passed $52 billion in new money to boost domestic chip manufacturing.

Disney planning a service to compete with Amazon Prime

Talks are reportedly in the early stages, but would enable Disney to bundle products together from its enormous empire, driving up sales across all of them.

Users spent US $4.8bn on OnlyFans last year

Questionable side hustles are more in-demand than ever if you consider the latest figures from OnlyFans. The highly profitable company paid out more than $500m to reclusive owner Leonid Radvinsky in last two years

Omicron-specific booster recommended by CDC

Last week, the CDC recommended that everyone get an Omicron-specific COVID-19 booster shot as we head into fall. The FDA has approved both the Pfizer-BioNTech booster for everyone over 12, and the Moderna booster for everyone over 18.

You can soon edit your tweets, but only if you pay

Twitter teased the long-requested feature last week. Starting later this month, users who subscribe to the premium Twitter Blue service for $5/month will gain the ability to edit a tweet after it’s been posted.

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