BUSINESS
New York’s Robotaxi plan pulled in blow to Waymo expansion
New York Governor Kathy Hochul has pulled a proposal that would have allowed for commercial robotaxi services outside New York City, a blow to Alphabet Inc.’s Waymo as it seeks to aggressively expand its driverless fleet this year. The proposal, which Hochul had included in her budget proposal last month, would have allowed autonomous-vehicle companies such as Waymo to apply for permission to pilot their services without human operators in the vehicle. The decision to withdraw the plan was confirmed Thursday by the governor’s office to Bloomberg News. “Based on conversations with stakeholders, including in the legislature, it was clear that the support was not there to advance this proposal,” said Sean Butler, a Hochul spokesperson. Waymo said in a statement to Bloomberg that it was “disappointed” by the governor’s decision. “We’re committed to bringing our service to New York and will work with the state legislature to advance this issue.” The move is a setback for Waymo, which is planning to hit more than 1 million paid weekly robotaxi rides in the US by the end of this year. The company has said it plans to expand across 20 cities in 2026 in the US and abroad, including in Dallas, San Antonio, Orlando, Nashville and London. Although Hochul’s initial proposal excluded New York City, expanding in the rest of the state would have gotten Waymo a step closer to serving one of the biggest ride-hailing markets in the world. Alphabet’s stock briefly fell as much as 1% after the news, but has since rebounded. Shares of Tesla Inc., which has begun offering robotaxi services at a small scale in the US, at one point fell as much as 1.8%. The New York Taxi Workers Alliance, which represents more than 20,000 rideshare and taxi drivers, celebrated the decision after earlier opposing the robotoxi plan on the grounds that it could replace some human workers. “If job loss matters in New York City, it also matters for other drivers in the state,” said Bhairavi Desai, executive director of the NYTWA. “If drivers lose jobs upstate, we would expect them to come to the city for work. There may be regulatory boundaries, but there is no practical boundary in this industry. It would be naive for Waymo to be satisfied with a couple of cars in Rochester when a majority of jobs come from the city.” Waymo Co-Chief Executive Tekedra Mawakana told Bloomberg Television last week that the state had shown interest in launching robotaxis. Even if it was outside New York City, “that gives us an opportunity to grow more fans,” she said, adding that some consumers of the service have been calling for robotaxis in the city. “We hear from thousands of New Yorkers who have experienced Waymo in other cities and want access to it at home,” the spokesperson added. “They want the safety, privacy and comfort that riders in other major cities already enjoy.”
BUSINESS
Warner Bros. trading suggests market expects sweetened offer
Paramount has been trying to buy Warner Bros. since September of last year, an effort that resulted in Warner Bros. formally putting itself up for sale
BUSINESS
Gold wavers near $5,000 as traders assess geopolitics, Fed rate
Renewed geopolitical risks boosted haven demand for bullion, which advanced as much as 0.9% before paring some of the gains
BUSINESS
US jobless claims drop by the most since November to 206,000
Initial claims decreased by 23,000 to 206,000 in the week ended Feb. 14, according to Labor Department data released Thursday.
BUSINESS
US trade deficit widens, capping one of biggest since 1960
The December deficit reflected a 3.6% increase in the value of imports. Exports of goods and services declined 1.7%.
BUSINESS
Cristiano Ronaldo puts $7.5 million into Herbalife health platform
Ronaldo — who became the first footballer to join the Bloomberg Billionaire’s Index in 2025, with an estimated net worth of $1.4 billion — has been a paid endorser of Herbalife since 2013.
SPORTS
Manchester United’s Avram Glazer enters race to buy Royal Challengers Bengaluru: Report
Blackstone Inc., Carlyle Group Inc. and Indian tycoons are among other potential buyers of the Royal Challengers Bengaluru franchise
MARKETS
Bandhan Small Cap Fund that outperformed 93% of peers turns to internet value stocks
The $2.1 billion fund has added holdings like Paytm, Info Edge India Ltd. and IndiaMart InterMesh Ltd. in recent months
MARKETS
Asian stocks rise after tech boosts US equities
The MSCI Asia Pacific Index gained for a second day, as shares rallied in Australia and Japan, and South Korea’s benchmark rose to a record.
BUSINESS
Laser-etched glass can store data for millennia, Microsoft says
Since 2019, Microsoft's Silica project has been trying to encode data on glass plates, in a throwback to the early days of photography, when negatives were also stored on glass
BUSINESS
Bayer’s $7 billion effort to end Roundup curse draws skepticism
The list of hurdles to the plan is long. For one, it remains contingent on court approval in Missouri
BUSINESS
How Europe will choose Christine Lagarde’s successor as European Central Bank president
Speculation about a departure has swirled around Lagarde for some time, but increased after Bank of France chief Francois Villeroy de Galhau, who also sits on the ECB’s Governing Council, recently announced his early exit
BUSINESS
AI rout has Europe looking to old economy IPOs for revival
Norwegian software group Visma AS could push its planned London IPO into the second half of the year as publicly traded peers come under pressure, Bloomberg News reported last month
WORLD
Visited Jeffery Epstein’s private island but was not aware of his sex trafficking ops: Billionaire Leslie Wexner tells US House Panel
The House Oversight Committee has been investigating what role Epstein’s broad network of connections may have played in facilitating his enterprise or delaying criminal prosecution
BUSINESS
AI pioneer Fei-Fei Li’s startup World Labs raises $1 billion
Autodesk Inc. invested $200 million in World Labs as part of the round
BUSINESS
Tech leads stocks higher as AI jitters switch back to enthusiasm
The S&P 500 Index advanced 0.8% as of 11:22 a.m. in New York, while the technology-heavy Nasdaq 100 Index rallied 1.3%.
BUSINESS
Google plans new fiber-optic routes between the US and India
The America-India Connect initiative, will deliver new fiber-optic lines to improve the speed and reliability of connectivity between India and other countries.
BUSINESS
Tesla fosters toxic work environment at German plant, says union
Tesla’s management is attacking unions in Germany 'with unprecedented aggression', said Jan Otto, a regional IG Metall leader. 'The company must not be allowed to get away with this.'
BUSINESS
Gold and silver regain ground ahead of Fed minutes release
A powerful rally carried gold to an all-time high above $5,595 an ounce in late January, but the market overheated after a surge in speculative buying and snapped back almost to $4,400 in just two sessions.
BUSINESS
Wall Street hunts for bottom as S&P retests 'rock solid' support
For the third day this month, the benchmark gauge traded below its 100-day moving average, a key support line that has held since May, as investors rotate out of richly valued tech stocks into more defensive corners of the market.
BUSINESS
SBI MF likely to file papers for $1.5-bn IPO in March: Report
The nation’s biggest asset manager plans to submit its draft red herring prospectus for the IPO that could raise as much as $1.5 billion in the first half of March
INDIA
Upstart Sarvam unveils AI model customized for India market
Sarvam’s models are built to be used through voice commands and are accessible through 22 Indian languages
COMPANIES
CVC taps finance veteran Sanjay Nayar to expand its India operations
Nayar will focus on strengthening relationships and refining strategy as the firm looks to scale up activity in the country
WORLD
Stephen Colbert says CBS blocked appearance by Democratic candidate
CBS’s parent, Paramount Skydance Corp., has come under criticism from the media and free speech advocates since technology heir David Ellison took control of the company last year
