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By KELVIN CHAN and MATT O’BRIEN, AP Technology Writers

Nvidia, the world’s leading chipmaker, announced on Thursday that it’s investing $5 billion in Intel and will collaborate with the struggling semiconductor company.

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Nvidia said it will spend $5 billion to buy Intel common stock at $23.28 a share. The investment, which is subject to regulatory approvals, comes a month after the U.S. government took a 10% stake in Intel.

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang called it “a fusion of two world-class platforms” that combines Intel’s strength in making conventional computer chips, known as CPUs, that power most laptops, with Nvidia’s focus on the specialized graphics chips that are critical for artificial intelligence. read more

By Margarette Burnette, Spencer Tierney, NerdWallet

The Federal Reserve just delivered the rate cut that Wall Street predicted, trimming the federal funds rate by 0.25 percentage points. The new target range is now 4.00% to 4.25%. While the move is likely to make loans cheaper, it will affect more than just debt. People with money parked in high-yield savings accounts will probably see their rates fade as well.

When the Fed lowers rates, banks often follow by lowering savings yields. It may not be a huge drop right away, but annual percentage yields (APYs) for today’s top savings accounts and certificates of deposit — which are north of 4% — will probably decline. If you’re not already earning a high rate on your money, you may want to act soon.

High rates will dip but not disappear

The economy has been showing signs of slowing productivity and rising unemployment, and the Fed typically responds to these conditions by easing its rate policy. In August 2025, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell signaled rate cuts in a speech at the Fed’s annual symposium in Jackson Hole, Wyo. Powell noted that “the baseline outlook and the shifting balance of risks” could justify a change. Today’s announcement made the change a reality. Depending on market conditions, there could be even more cuts in the future. read more

By ANNE D’INNOCENZIO, AP Retail Writer

NEW YORK (AP) — Amazon says it’s making a $1 billion investment to raise wages and lower the cost of health care plans for its U.S. fulfillment and transportation workers.

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The Seattle-based company said Wednesday the average pay is increasing to more than $23 per hour and said that some of its most tenured employees will see an increase between $1.10 and $1.90 per hour. Full-time employees, on average, will see their pay increase by $1,600 per year.

Amazon also said it was lowering the cost of its entry health care plan to $5 per week and $5 for co-pays, starting next year. Amazon said that will reduce weekly contributions by 34% and co-pays by 87% for primary care, mental health and most non-specialist visits for employees using the basic plan. read more

By CORA LEWIS, Associated Press

NEW YORK (AP) — The Federal Reserve cut its benchmark interest rate Wednesday for the first time in nine months. Since the last cut, progress on inflation has slowed while the labor market has cooled. That means Americans are dealing with both high prices and a challenging job market.

The federal funds rate, set by the Federal Reserve, is the rate at which banks borrow and lend to one another. While the rates that consumers pay to borrow money aren’t directly linked to this rate, shifts in Fed policy affect what people pay for credit cards, auto loans, mortgages, and other financial products.

Wednesday’s quarter-point cut is the first since December and lowers the Fed’s short-term rate to about 4.1%, down from 4.3%. The Fed projected it will cut rates two more times before the end of the year.

The Fed has two goals when it sets the rate: one, to manage prices for goods and services, and two, to encourage full employment. This is known as the “dual mandate.” Typically, the Fed might increase the rate to try to bring down inflation and decrease it to encourage faster economic growth and more hiring. The challenge now is that inflation is higher than the Fed’s 2% target but the job market is weak, putting the Fed in a difficult position. read more

If you’ve been to the store lately, the price of some goods may look a little different. From bananas and oranges to chicken, a handful of everyday grocery items are at or less than a cent away from record prices.

The most noticeable of these? Ground beef. Now more than $6.60 a pound, the cost of ground beef is soaring to all-time highs, jumping another 30 cents month-over-month, according to the latest data from the consumer price index.

But before you start budgeting, most consumer prices showed very minimal changes. The cost of eggs and bread are down, and nationally, gas is only a cent more than it was the previous month.

Across the board, inflation accelerated in August, rising 0.4%. Compared with a year ago, consumer prices are about 2.9% higher, an increase economists largely attribute to sweeping tariffs levied by President Donald Trump.

The Tribune is tracking 11 everyday costs for Americans — eggs, milk, bread, bananas, oranges, tomatoes, chicken, ground beef, gasoline, electricity and natural gas — and how they are changing, or not, under the second Trump administration. This tracker is updated monthly using CPI data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. read more