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The Trump administration is loosening rules to help U.S. automakers like Elon Musks Tesla develop self-driving cars so they can take on Chinese rivals. U.S. companies developing self-driving cars will be allowed exemptions from certain federal safety rules for testing purposes, the Transportation Department said Thursday. The department also said it will streamline crash reporting requirements involving self-driving software that Musk has criticized as onerous and will move toward a single set of national rules for the technology to replace a patchwork of state regulations. Were in a race with China to out-innovate, and the stakes couldnt be higher, said Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy in a statement. Our new framework will slash red tape and move us closer to a single national standard. The new exemption procedures will allow U.S. automakers to apply to skip certain safety rules for self-driving vehicles if they are used only for research, demonstrations and other noncommercial purposes. The exemptions were in place previously for foreign, imported vehicles whose home country rules may be different than those in the U.S. The decision comes a day after Musk confirmed on a conference call with Tesla investors that the electric vehicle maker will begin a rollout of self-driving Tesla taxis in Austin in June. Its not clear how the exemptions from National Traffic Safety Administration rules will affect Tesla specifically. The company has pinned its future on complete automation of its cars, but it is facing stiff competition now from rivals, especially China automaker BYD. The crash reporting rule being changed has drawn criticism from Musk as too burdensome and unfair. Tesla has reported many of the total crashes under the rule in part because it is the biggest seller of partial self-driving vehicles in the U.S. Traffic safety watchdogs had feared that the Trump administration would eliminate the reporting rule. The transportation statement Thursday said reporting will be loosened to remove unnecessary and duplicative requirements but that the obligation to report crashes will remain. Bernard Condon, AP business writer
Category:
E-Commerce
Wall Street’s big three-day rally is running out of steam, and U.S. stocks are drifting in mixed trading Friday as they near the end of another roller-coaster week. The S&P 500 was 0.1% lower in midday trading, as nearly three out of every four stocks fell within the index. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 237 points, or 0.6%, as of 11:30 a.m. Eastern time, while the Nasdaq composite was 0.3% higher thanks to gains for a handful of influential Big Tech stocks. Intel weighed on the market after the chip company said its seeing elevated uncertainty across the industry and gave a forecast for upcoming revenue and profit that fell short of analysts expectations. Its stock fell 6.8% even though its results for the beginning of the year topped expectations. Eastman Chemical fell 5.9% after it gave a forecast for profit this spring that fell short of analysts expectations. CEO Mark Costa said that the macroeconomic uncertainty that defined the last several years has only increased and that future demand for its products is unclear given the magnitude and scope of tariffs. Skechers U.S.A., the shoe and apparel company, pulled its financial forecasts for the year due to macroeconomic uncertainty stemming from global trade policies even though it just reported a record quarter of revenue at $2.41 billion. Its stock fell 4.3%. Theyre the latest companies to say the uncertainty created by President Donald Trumps trade war is making it difficult to give financial forecasts for the upcoming year. Stocks had rallied earlier in the week on signals that Trump may be softening his approach on tariffs and his criticism of the Federal Reserve, which had earlier shaken markets. The hope is that if Trump rolls back some of his stiff tariffs, he could avert a recession that many investors see as otherwise likely because of his trade war. But Trumps on-again-off-again tariffs may nevertheless be pushing households and businesses to alter their spending and freeze plans for long-term investment because of how quickly conditions can change, sometimes seemingly by the hour. Business owners scrambling to figure out their supply chains and exposure to tariffs is more than just a distraction, according to Brian Jacobsen, chief economist at Annex Wealth Management. It could be an existential threat, especially for smaller businesses that dont have the scale or resources to have the same supply chain flexibility as larger firms. Helping to keep Wall Streets losses in check was Alphabet, which rose 2.2%. Googles parent company reported late Thursday that its profit soared 50% in the first quarter, more than analysts expected. Alphabet is one of the biggest companies on Wall Street in terms of size, and that gives its stock’s movements extra influence on the S&P 500 and other indexes. Another market heavyweight, Nvidia, also helped push the S&P 500 index upward after the chip company rose 2.2% In stock markets abroad, indexes rose modestly across much of Europe following more mixed movements in Asia. Tokyos Nikkei 225 jumped 1.9%, but stocks in Shanghai slipped 0.1%. In the bond market, Treasury yields eased some more, and the yield on the 10-year Treasury fell to 4.28% from 4.32% late Thursday. Its been generally falling since approaching 4.50% earlier this month in a surprising rise that had suggested investors worldwide may be losing faith in the U.S. bond markets reputation as a safe place to park cash. Yields have dropped as several reports on the U.S. economy have come in weaker than expected, raising expectations that the Federal Reserve may cut interest rates later this year to support growth. A report on Friday morning said sentiment among U.S. consumers sank in April, though not by as much as economists expected. The survey from the University of Michigan said its measure of expectations for coming conditions has dropped 32% since January for the steepest three-month percentage decline seen since the 1990 recession. The value of the U.S. dollar meanwhile strengthened against the euro and other rival currencies. It’s been recovering some of its sharp, unexpected losses from earlier this month that rattled investors. Stan Choe, AP business writer AP Writers Jiang Junzhe and Matt Ott contributed.
Category:
E-Commerce
This year has so far been a pretty brutal one when it comes to store closures. Hundreds of retail stores have already shuttered due to everything from cost-cutting to bankruptcies. Major store closures so far in 2025 have included Rite Aid, Forever 21, Joann, Party City, Kohls, and Big Lots. But one major store chain seems to be bucking the trend by opening new locations. That store is the popular grocery chain Trader Joes. Despite some controversies and questionable alleged business practices as reported earlier this year by Fast Company, the chain is still beloved by many diehard adherents. And now it seems like Trader Joes is capitalizing on that popularity by opening at least 22 new stores in the near future. The chain currently has 581 stores spanning 42 states and Washington, D.C., according to USA Today. But soon 13 of those states and D.C. will be adding additional stores. (For context, Chain Store Age reported back in March 2024 that Trader Joe’s had “more than 500” locations.) Heres the full list of Trader Joes new stores that are opening, according to data from the companys opening soon tool on its store locator website. Fast Company reached out to Trader Joe’s to confirm the accuracy of the store locator figure and ask if any additional store openings are being planned. We will update this story if we hear back. Alabama Hoover, AL 35244 California Northridge, CA 91325 Sherman Oaks, CA 91423 (Sherman Oaks 2) Tarzana, CA 91356 Tracy, CA 95304 Yucaipa, CA 92399 Colorado Westminster, CO 80031 Louisiana New Orleans, LA 70119 (Mid-City) Massachusetts Boston, MA 02132 (West Roxbury) Maryland Rockville, MD 20850 (Town Square) New Jersey Iselin, NJ 08830 (Woodbridge) New York Glenmont, NY 12077 Staten Island, NY 10309 (Tottenville) Oklahoma Oklahoma City, OK 73132 (Northwest) Pennsylvania Berwyn, PA 19312 Exton, PA 73132 South Carolina Myrtle Beach, SC 29588 Texas McKinney, TX 75070 (West) San Antonio, TX 78230 (Northwest) Washington Bellingham, WA 98226 (Bellingham – North) Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C. 20015 (Friendship Heights) Washington, D.C. 20017 (Brookland) Retail store closures could hit 15,000 in 2025 Despite Trader Joes expansion, America is expected to lose thousands of retail stores in 2025. According to a January report from Coresight Research, the U.S. could see up to 15,000 retail stores close this year. The cost of inflation and the increasing preference of consumers to shop online are reported to be two of the biggest factors influencing retail store closures in 2025. Of course, keep in mind that Coresights report was conducted before President Donald Trump unleashed his tariffs on the world in April. It is likely that the increased cost of importing goods into the United States, which is borne by the retail chains that import the goods, could have a negative economic impact on some of those chains. If that happens, it’s possible that even more retailers might decide to close stores to cut costs. For now, only time will tell.
Category:
E-Commerce
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