MoneyWatch

The 7-Eleven convenience store chain offered a $100,000 reward Wednesday for information leading to the arrest and conviction of a masked gunman suspected of robbing six Southern California stores, killing two people and wounding three others. A clerk, Matthew Hirsch, 40, was shot and killed at a Brea store and …

Smithfield Foods will pay restaurants and caterers $42 million to settle a lawsuit that accused the giant meat producer of conspiring to inflate pork prices, which will likely only add to concerns about how the lack of competition in the industry affects meat prices. Lawyers began notifying companies affected by …

Millions of U.S. seniors and others who receive Social Security benefits are on track for a big cost-of-living adjustment, or COLA, in early 2023 to catch up to the fiercest inflation in four decades. One group now estimates that the boost could be as high as 10.8%.  By comparison, a …

U.S. stocks fell sharply on Thursday, pushing the Dow Jones Industrial Average below 30,000 for the first time since January of 2021. The drop comes after the Federal Reserve’s biggest rate hike in decades and as other central banks also try to subdue rising inflation. Following the Fed’s 0.75 percentage point …

Gas prices have soared in the past week, jumping 28 cents in just seven days and lifting the national average on Wednesday to a record $4.96 per gallon, according to AAA. In 16 states, the typical gas price has already topped $5 per gallon, and experts say the rest of …

Airlines and tourist destinations are expecting monster crowds this summer as travel restrictions ease and pandemic fatigue overcomes lingering fear of contracting COVID-19 during travel. Many forecasters believe the number of travelers will match or even exceed levels in the pre-pandemic days. However, airlines have thousands fewer employees than they …

Fashion retailer H&M will pay $36 million to settle claims it illegally pocketed millions of dollars in unused gift card balances, New York Attorney General Letitia James said Thursday. Since at least 2008, the Swedish company has unlawfully held more than $18 million in unused gift card balances in H&M’s …

Bank of America will pay a $10 million penalty and refund nearly $600,000 in fees to thousands of customers whose accounts were illegally garnished, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau announced on Wednesday. The CFPB said its enforcement action stems from the nation’s second-biggest bank processing illegal, out-of-state garnishment orders against …

The owner of a New York-based hedge fund that collapsed when it defaulted on margin calls was arrested Wednesday on charges alleging he defrauded leading global investment banks and brokerages of billions of dollars by telling them lies so his private investment firm could grow its portfolio from $10 billion …

Inflation hit a fresh 40-year record in March as U.S. consumer prices rose 8.5% from a year ago, the Labor Department said on Tuesday. The Consumer Price Index, which tracks a basket of goods and services, jumped 1.2% in March after increasing 0.8% in February, showing that inflation gained speed …