Category Archives: Business

Lithium Scarcity Pushes Carmakers Into the Mining Business

Eager to avoid falling further behind Tesla and Chinese car companies, many Western auto executives are bypassing traditional suppliers and committing billions of dollars on deals with lithium mining companies. They are showing up in hard hats and steel-toed boots to scope out mines in places like Chile, Argentina, Quebec and Nevada to secure supplies […]

At the Front Lines of the Inflation Fight, Uncertainty Reigns

When prices started to take off in multiple countries around the world about two years ago, the word most often associated with inflation was “transitory.” Today, the word is “persistence.” That was uttered repeatedly at the 10th annual conference of the European Central Bank this week in Sintra, Portugal. “It’s been surprising that inflation has […]

Fireworks Have a New Competitor: Drones

Like many in the fireworks industry, Stephen Vitale is in the family business. He runs a fifth-generation company, Pyrotecnico, in New Castle, Pa. In October, he struck a surprising alliance with Nova Sky Stories, the drone company that Kimbal Musk acquired from Intel. Increasingly, drones are lighting up skybound entertainment shows. Flocks of flying robots […]

Affirmative Action Ruling May Upend Diversity Hiring Policies, Too

As a legal matter, the Supreme Court’s rejection of race-conscious admissions in higher education does not in itself impede employers from pursuing diversity in the workplace. That, at least, is the conclusion of lawyers, diversity experts and political activists across the spectrum — from conservatives who say robust affirmative action programs are already illegal to […]