MoneyWatch

In the latest sign that the U.S. housing shortage is reaching crisis levels, a Bay Area startup is offering bunk-bed style pods at $800 a month for up to 14 people to live in a single home. Brownstone Shared Housing, an eight-month-old startup, bills itself as a short-term solution for …

Rising prices at the gas pump are leading more consumers to consider electric vehicles in hopes of saving on monthly bills.  Today, a gallon of gas across the U.S. costs $4.14, up $1.25 compared to one year ago, leading to higher monthly expenses for families who rely on their cars …

Public health officials are warning restaurants and retailers not to serve or sell potentially contaminated raw oysters linked to a norovirus outbreak that’s now sickened more than 100 people in more than a dozen U.S. states and 279 more in Canada.   Possibly tainted raw oysters harvested in British Columbia, …

With some workers across the U.S. threatening a walkout Tuesday, The Walt Disney Co. finds itself in a balancing act between the expectations of a diverse workforce and demands from an increasingly polarized, politicized marketplace. On one side are LGBTQ advocates and Disney employees calling for a walkout in protest …

The all-American hamburger often is not. U.S. cattle ranchers may not have had a hand in producing the cattle for burgers billed as American, and Willie Nelson’s Farm Aid wants to change that.  “Have you ever noticed ‘Product of the USA’ on the label of beef in the grocery store? …

Americans are likely to find themselves paying more for loans and credit this year, with the Federal Reserve signaling on Wednesday that it plans to start boosting its short-term interest rate in March from its current level of close to zero.  That shift is a response to the highest inflation …

Microsoft said Tuesday it is buying video game company Activision Blizzard for $68.7 billion in a transaction that will bring titles such as “World of Warcraft” and “Call of Duty” to the software giant. The purchase comes after Activision was sued over its “frat boy” culture and amid allegations of …

AT&T and Verizon agreed Monday night to postpone their deployment of new 5G wireless service over concerns that it may interfere with flight safety equipment, the companies said. AT&T confirmed the decision in a statement, noting that at the request of Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, “we have voluntarily agreed to …

Walmart illegally dumps more than 1 million batteries, aerosol cans of insect killer and other products, toxic cleaning supplies, electronic waste, latex paints and other hazardous waste into California landfills each year, state prosecutors alleged Monday in a lawsuit that the company labeled “unjustified.” “As we shop the brightly packed …

As experts debate whether inflation gripping everything from winter heat to holiday gifts to American Thanksgiving tables is temporary or likely to endure, Americans are facing another relentlessly rising cost: health insurance premiums. Getting health insurance through work now costs more than $22,000 a year for families, who pick up roughly $6,000 …