business 
Just a few minutes’ walk from a metro station in the northeast corner of Vienna, you might think that you were in Texas: A drilling rig more than 130 feet high looms over open land. Instead of oil, though, the wells will pump close to 1.7 million gallons a day of hot water from deep … Read more
Warren E. Buffett, the famed investor known for his enthusiasm for undervalued stocks and businesses, is feeling bullish these days about a traditionally staid investment: Treasury bills. The cash stockpile held by Berkshire Hathaway, his sprawling multinational conglomerate, rose past $334 billion at the end of last year, including $286 billion in short-term Treasuries. The … Read more
We’re taking a look at President Trump’s plans to consolidate control over many of the agencies that oversee business, including the S.E.C., the Federal Trade Commission, the Federal Communications Commission and the National Labor Relations Board. For years, industry has complained about the alphabet soup of agencies, which often compete with one another. Some officials … Read more
And while the two were both politically conservative, Welch was more of a country-club Republican, partial to golf and no fan — at least earlier on — of Donald Trump. While a savvy political operator, Welch was unlikely to have decamped to Mar-a-Lago to personally and intensely cozy up to the president-elect, as Musk did. … Read more
Airbus, the world’s largest commercial airplane maker, said on Thursday that it was preparing for the possibility of new U.S. tariffs and would be able to “adapt accordingly,” including passing on higher costs to its American airline customers. In a wide-ranging media conference at Airbus’s headquarters in Toulouse, France, the company’s chief executive, Guillaume Faury, … Read more
The Federal Reserve’s independence from the White House has long been enshrined in the law. But an executive order that President Trump signed this week seeking to extend his administration’s reach over independent agencies is prompting concerns about how much further he will go to challenge that separation. Mr. Trump’s directive took aim at regulatory … Read more
Almost every day, Grant Lee, a Silicon Valley entrepreneur, hears from investors who try to persuade him to take their money. Some have even sent him and his co-founders personalized gift baskets. Mr. Lee, 41, would normally be flattered. In the past, a fast-growing start-up like Gamma, the artificial intelligence start-up he helped establish in … Read more
Nikola, an electric vehicle start-up that had once hoped to become the Tesla of heavy trucks, filed for bankruptcy protection on Wednesday. Founded in 2015, Nikola promised to develop long-haul semi trucks powered by hydrogen and electricity, and listed itself on the stock exchange in 2020 before it had sold a single vehicle. Its share … Read more
Elon Musk’s growing power in government appears to be making some of his businesses more of a magnet for investors. Case in point: Banks have managed to sell off most of the $12.5 billion worth of debt owed by X, his social network, to eager buyers. Investors are essentially betting that the company’s future is … Read more
The PGA Tour and Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund are racing to reshape their plans to combine their rival golf circuits, emboldened by President Donald J. Trump’s eagerness to play peacemaker for a fractured sport, according to four people familiar with the matter. Since the start of secret talks in April 2023, PGA Tour executives … Read more