MoneyWatch

The CEO of Penguin Random House, the world’s largest trade publisher, is stepping down weeks after its attempt to buy rival Simon & Schuster was blocked by a federal court. Markus Dohle’s decision is effective at the end of the year. He will be replaced temporarily by Nihar Malaviya, 48, …

Victims of cybercrime shelled out a record $1.2 billion to have their data returned last year as ransomware attacks have grown in size and intensity, according to newly released federal data. The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, or FinCEN, reported that banks processed a billion-plus dollars last year in what were likely ransomware …

The Federal Reserve raised its key interest rate another three-quarters of a percentage point as it battles the hottest inflation in decades.  The move by the central bank’s rate-setting committee, announced Wednesday after a two-day meeting, marks the sixth rate hike this year and the fourth consecutive 0.75 percentage point …

Tech giant Meta says it’s resolved a WhatsApp outage that turned out to be brief. It had prevented many of the billions of users of the popular service from connecting or sending messages. Meta issued a statement to CBS News saying, “We know people had trouble sending messages on WhatsApp …

Federal safety regulators have recalled a slew of residential elevators over the years because of potentially deadly risks to children, and September is proving to be a case in point, with three such recalls issued this month alone.  All three recalls involve a problem that is relatively inexpensive to fix …

Amtrak said it’s canceling three long-distance trips starting on Tuesday amid a looming railway strike that could disrupt the U.S. economy, resulting in lost productivity of $2 billion a day.  The schedule changes come amid a potential railroad work stoppage due to a labor dispute between railroad companies and unionized workforces. …

California’s chance of power outages will grow in the coming days, as the state prepares to enter the most brutal stretch yet of an ongoing heat wave, officials said Sunday. Energy demand is expected to outpace supply starting Monday evening, and predictions for Tuesday show the state rivaling its all-time …

Although President Biden’s student loan relief program has plenty of upsides for borrowers, critics are raising concerns the landmark initiative could hurt the economy by fanning the hottest U.S. inflation in 40 years. Wall Street’s message to Main Street: Don’t worry, because the impact of the student-debt relief program on inflation …

Americans are free to enjoy their golden years in any state they please, but a new study found that the ideal places to live on a retirement budget are in the South or the Midwest.  Florida, Georgia, Michigan, Ohio and Missouri are the top five best states to retire when …

The U.S. Postal Service has an early holiday message for people planning to send gifts to friends and family later this year: Be prepared to pay more.  The USPS is adding a peak season rate hike this year, which it says will “keep USPS competitive while providing the agency with …