Microsoft shutting down Skype in May
By MATT O’BRIEN, AP Technology Writer
Microsoft is closing down Skype, the video-calling service it bought for $8.5 billion in 2011, which had helped spark a transformation in how people communicate online.
Trump makes US copper mining a focus of his domestic minerals policy
By MEAD GRUVER
CHEYENNE, Wyo. (AP) — President Donald Trump is taking a step toward granting the U.S. mining industry’s biggest wishes by singling out one metal as a focus of his domestic minerals policy: copper.
Stock market today: Wall Street rallies, and Dow jumps 600 to make a dreary February not so bad
By STAN CHOE, Associated Press Business Writer
NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stocks rallied on Friday to close out their dreary February on a brighter note.
The S&P 500 jumped 1.6% to trim its loss for the month, enough to make it the worst only since December instead of since April. It had dropped in five of the prior six days after weaker-than-expected reports on the economy and worries about President Donald Trump’s tariffs knocked the index off its all-time high set last week.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 601 points, or 1.4%, and the Nasdaq composite climbed 1.6%.
Much of the recent damage had focused on the market’s biggest winners of recent years, whose momentum had seemed nearly impossible to stop at times. Stocks that flew in the frenzy around artificial-intelligence technology slumped sharply, for example. Bitcoin, meanwhile, dropped more than 20% from its record.
Many of those beaten-down areas of the market jumped Friday to recover some of their losses. Nvidia, which has become one of the market’s most influential stocks, rose 4% following its 8.5% tumble Thursday and was the strongest force lifting the S&P 500. Bitcoin bounced back above $84,000 after falling below $79,000 during the morning.
Are egg producers inflating prices during the bird flu outbreak to boost profits?
By JOSH FUNK, Associated Press Business Writer
OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Egg producers blame the bird flu outbreak for driving prices to record highs, but critics believe giant companies are taking advantage of their market dominance to profit handsomely at the expense of budget-conscious egg buyers.
Advocacy groups, Democratic lawmakers and a Federal Trade Commission member are calling for a government investigation after egg prices spiked to a record average of $4.95 per dozen this month. The Trump administration did unveil a plan this week to combat bird flu, but how much that might ease egg prices — a key driver of inflation — remains to be seen.
“Donald Trump promised to lower food prices on ‘Day One’, but with egg prices skyrocketing out of control, he fired the workers charged with containing bird flu. Working families need relief now,” Sen. Elizabeth Warren said in a statement.
What’s behind the record egg prices?
The industry, and most experts, squarely blame bird flu. More than 166 million birds have been slaughtered to contain the virus. Some 30 million egg layers have been wiped out just since January, significantly disrupting egg supplies. The Department of Agriculture’s longstanding policy has been to kill entire flocks anytime the virus is found on a farm.
Disney Springs: New Level99 venue uses teamwork to tick
LEVEL99, the new interactive gaming venue moving into Disney Springs, is built around mental and physical challenges, unique games, group efforts and artwork, the company’s CEO says.
“We’re not an escape room. We’re not DisneyQuest,” says Matthew DuPlessie, founder and chief executive officer of LEVEL99, which eventually will be in the two-story, 45,000-square-foot area once occupied by the NBA Experience attraction at Walt Disney World.
The format involves groups of two to six people taking on about 60 rooms containing challenges.
“It might be very physical, almost obstacle-course style, work with your friends in a very visceral, hands-on way,” DuPlessie says. “Or it might be a mental game,” such as solving a logic puzzle.
The challenges take between one and four minutes. The rooms may be repeated multiple times or the group can move on to another one.
“It’s a wild variety of challenge where you don’t know what to expect in the next one,” DuPlessie says.
“You might be in a ninja training dojo in one room and then move into a hall of mirrors art installation in a different room and then you’re up in outer space in the next room,” he says.