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The ongoing government shutdown is delaying the announcement of the annual Social Security cost-of-living adjustment for tens of millions of beneficiaries. Originally scheduled for Wednesday, the 2024 Social Security COLA announcement will now be Oct. 24. It is timed to the September Consumer Price Index, which also has not yet been released. The agency adjusts its benefits every year based on inflation. The postponement of the announcement is the most recent example of how the government shutdown, entering its third week and with little progress made toward a resolution, has made it more difficult for people to plan out their finances. Projections by Senior Citizens L…

U.S. quantum computing firm D-Wave Quantum has struck a deal with a company called Swiss Quantum Technology (SQT) to bring D-Wave’s Advantage2 quantum computer to Europe. The deal, which amounts to €10 million ($11.63 million), will see D-Wave’s quantum computer deployed in Italy, where it will play a role in supporting the Italians’ efforts toward large-scale digital transformation, D-Wave announced on Wednesday. It will be part of a joint effort—collectively called the “Q-Alliance”—between D-Wave and IonQ, another American quantum computing company. In its announcement Wednesday, D-Wave said little about what SQT does, and scant information about the compan…

For a generation of young Americans, choosing where to go to college — or whether to go at all — has become a complex calculation of costs and benefits that often revolves around a single question: Is the degree worth its price? Public confidence in higher education has plummeted in recent years amid high tuition prices, skyrocketing student loans and a dismal job market — plus ideological concerns from conservatives. Now, colleges are scrambling to prove their value to students. Borrowed from the business world, the term “return on investment” has been plastered on college advertisements across the U.S. A battery of new rankings grade campuses on the financial benefits…

Taiwan’s leading computer chip maker, TSMC, said Thursday that its net profit surged nearly 40% in the last quarter, boosted by the surge in use of artificial intelligence. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Corp. is the world’s biggest semiconductor manufacturer. It reported a net profit of a record 452.3 billion new Taiwan dollars ($15 billion) in the July-September quarter, higher than analysts’ forecasts. The company earlier said its revenue jumped 30% year-on-year in the last quarter. TSMC has been building chip fabrication plants in the United States and Japan to help hedge against risks from China-U.S. trade tensions. The chipmaker is a major supplier to compani…

Want more housing market stories from Lance Lambert’s ResiClub in your inbox? Subscribe to the ResiClub newsletter. Speaking Tuesday at the National Association for Business Economics meeting in Philadelphia, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell offered his clearest reflection yet on the Fed’s pandemic-era mortgage bond buying. He acknowledged that the central bank may have kept purchasing mortgage-backed securities (MBS) for too long—but he also suggested that those purchases may have had a smaller effect on the housing market’s trajectory than some assume. “Regarding the composition of our purchases, some have questioned the inclusion of agency MBS purchases …

The fortunes of major quantum computing firms turned negative this week as share prices sank—in some cases by double digits. The so-called Quantum Four publicly traded companies—Rigetti Computing, IonQ, Quantum Computing Inc, and D-Wave Quantum—saw their stock prices tumble on Thursday. And as of this writing, all four companies are down even lower in premarket trading on Friday. Berkeley, California-based Rigetti (NASDAQ: RGTI) has seen the biggest drop, with its stock price falling almost 15% on Thursday, October 16. As of this writing, the stock was down another 7.65% during the premarket session. Shares of IonQ (NYSE: IONQ) were down by a similar amount on…

Last night, New Yorkers and viewers across the country tuned in to watch the first general election debate for mayor of New York City. And as far as debates go, this one was charged, full of spats, and came with a direct and thoroughline of questioning that didn’t leave anything off the table. Within minutes, Democrats Andrew Cuomo (who is running as an independent) and Zohran Mamdani, and Republican nominee Curtis Sliwa, made clear that they came not just prepared to share their positions, but also to follow up, push back on criticisms or mistruths, and repeatedly fire well-rehearsed jabs at one another. The trio let viewers know just how different they are—not…

One of the stocks with the highest surges in premarket trading this morning is Beyond Meat, Inc. (Nasdaq: BYND). As of the time of this writing, shares in BYND are up a staggering 67% before the opening bell. But what’s driving this surge? Here’s what you need to know. Beyond Meat’s recent struggles Today’s premarket stock price jump follows a significant rally on Friday for Beyond Meat, the California-based producer of plant-based meat alternatives, whose shares closed up more than 24% to end the trading week at 64 cents per share, according to data from Yahoo Finance. The stock price surge, which is now in its second trading day, may come as a surprise t…

China likes to condemn the United States for extending its arm too far outside of its borders to make demands on non-American companies. But when it sought to hit back at the U.S. interests this month, Beijing did exactly the same. In expanding export rules on rare earths, Beijing for the first time announced it will require foreign firms to obtain approval from the Chinese government to export magnets containing even tiny amounts of China-originated rare earth materials or produced with Chinese technology. That means a South Korean smartphone maker must ask for Beijing’s permission to sell the devices to Australia if the phones contain China-originated rare earth mater…

Shares in GSI Technology, Inc. (Nasdaq: GSIT) are soaring for the second day in a row. The company, which specializes in semiconductor memory solutions, saw its stock price skyrocket 155% yesterday. Today, GSIT shares are up another 39% in premarket trading as of the time of this writing. But why? Here’s what you need to know. What is GSI? GSI Technology is a provider of semiconductor memory solutions. That means it specializes in developing memory chips and products that help process data. Though the company isn’t as well-known as the bigger semiconductor memory solutions giants like Micron or Intel, it has been a staple of the semiconductor industr…

Iceland has long been known as the only habitable place in the world free from mosquitoes. (Antarctica is also mosquito-free, but is not habitable to humans). The Nordic country has been spared from the insects in part because of its intense winters and oceanic climate—until now. Mosquitoes have been found in Iceland for the first time this month, a sign of how our warming world is enabling the pesky and downright deadly insects to expand their range. An insect enthusiast in Kjós named Björn Hjaltason posted about his discovery in a Facebook group that translates to “Insects in Iceland,” multiple Icelandic news outlets have reported. “Ladies and gentlemen—may I i…

Tesla is recalling more than 63,000 Cybertrucks in the U.S. because the front lights are too bright, which may cause a distraction to other drivers and increase the risk of a collision. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said that the recall includes certain Cybertrucks with a model year between 2024 and 2026. The vehicles were made between Nov. 13, 2023, and Oct. 11, 2025, with operating software versions prior to 2025.38.3. The agency said that Tesla is not aware of any collisions, injuries, or fatalities related to the condition. Tesla, which is run by billionaire Elon Musk, is issuing a free software update to correct the issue. Earlier…

Multiple Twin Sisters Creamery cheese products have been recalled following an E. coli outbreak in Washington and Oregon. To date, two adults and one child have reported illnesses linked to the outbreak. On October 25, 2025, Twin Sisters Creamery recalled Whatcom Blue, Farmhouse, Peppercorn, and Mustard Seed varieties of its 2.5-pound round cheese wheels. The cheese wheels were sent to distributors in Washington and Oregon. Some products were further distributed to retail stores for repacking or sold as pre-cut, half-moon-shaped pieces. The products are made with raw, unpasteurized milk and may be contaminated with Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC) an…

Apple suppliers Skyworks Solutions and Qorvo will merge in a cash-and-stock deal to create a radio chip company with an enterprise value of $22 billion. Qorvo shareholders will receive $32.50 in cash and 0.96 of a Skyworks common share for each Qorvo share held at the close of the transaction, which is expected in early 2027, pending shareholder and regulatory approvals. Activist investor Starboard Value, which owns about 8% of Qorvo, has already signed off on the deal. On a conference call with investors Tuesday, Skyworks said its biggest customers also expressed approval of the merger. After closing, Skyworks shareholders will own roughly 63% of the combined…