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By FATIMA HUSSEIN, Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Social Security Administration’s annual cost-of-living adjustment will go up by 2.8% in 2026, translating to an average increase of more than $56 for retirees every month, agency officials said Friday.

The benefits increase for nearly 71 million Social Security recipients will go into effect beginning in January. And increased payments to nearly 7.5 million people receiving Supplemental Security Income will begin on Dec. 31.

Friday’s announcement was meant to be made last week but was delayed because of the federal government shutdown.

The cost-of-living adjustment, or COLA, for retirees and disabled beneficiaries is financed by payroll taxes collected from workers and their employers, up to a certain annual salary, which is slated to increase to $184,500 in 2026, from $176,100 in 2025.

Recipients received a 2.5% cost-of-living boost in 2025 and a 3.2% increase in their benefits in 2024, after a historically large 8.7% benefit increase in 2023, brought on by record 40-year-high inflation. read more

SEATTLE (AP) — Alaska Airlines said its operations have resumed Friday after it had to ground its planes for hours because of an information technology outage.

The airline said in a statement that 229 flights were canceled because of the outage and that more flight disruptions were expected as it worked to “reposition aircraft and crews.”

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Alaska Airlines said it is working on getting travelers affected by the disruption to their destinations.

It asked that passengers check their flight status before heading to the airport.

The grounding Thursday affected Alaska Air and Horizon Air flights. read more

By LISA LEFF

Target said Thursday that it is eliminating about 1,800 corporate positions in an effort to streamline decision-making and accelerate initiatives to rebuild the flagging discount retailer’s customer base.

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About 1,000 employees are expected to receive layoff notices next week, and the company also plans to eliminate about 800 vacant jobs, a company spokesperson said. The cuts represent about 8% of Target’s corporate workforce globally, although the majority of the affected employees work at the company’s Minneapolis headquarters, the spokesperson said. read more

By BERNARD CONDON

NEW YORK (AP) — Intel has posted a profit in its first quarterly report since the U.S. government became a major shareholder in the struggling chipmaker.

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The one-time American tech icon reported a net income of $4.1 billion, or 90 cents per share, in the three months ending in September, up from a loss of $17 billion, or $3.88 per share, a year earlier. Revenue climbed 3% from last year to $13.7 billion.

Stock in the company rose nearly 8% in after-hours trading to $41.10, adding to strong gains since the United States invested in the summer. read more

By Tom Schoenberg, Bloomberg News

WASHINGTON — It’s one thing to be cleared by the president. It’s another to be cleared by the bank.

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Republican fundraiser Elliott Broidy was pardoned at the end of President Donald Trump’s first term after a conviction for violating a U.S. lobbying law. Yet when he applied for an American Express Co. credit card this year, the lender denied him, citing his criminal history.

Mahmoud Reza Banki, the former chief financial officer of social media company X, says he ran into a similar problem. He claims JPMorgan Chase & Co. sought to close his accounts, citing a 15-year-old conviction for making false statements. He, too, had been pardoned at the end of Trump’s first term. read more