Business

Many workers would take a pay cut to work from home — some would forgo at least 20% of their salary

Feb. 08, 2025

Many workers value remote work to such a degree that they’d take a pay cut to be able to work from home, even on a part-time basis, studies show. The prevalence of remote work ballooned during the Covid-19 pandemic. Many experienced telework perhaps for the first time in their careers; employees cite work-life balance as by far the biggest perceived benefit, according to Pew Research Center. Some researchers have quantified the financial value workers assign to telework. For example, about 40% of workers say they’d accept a pay cut of at least 5% to keep their remote job, according to a recent study by researchers at Harvard University, Johns Hopkins University and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

Business

Consumer inflation fears spike in February as tariff worries hit sentiment

Feb. 08, 2025

Consumers grew dramatically more worried about near-term inflation as President Donald Trump pushed aggressive tariffs against major U.S. trading partners, a closely watched survey showed Friday. The University of Michigan consumer survey for February showed that respondents expect the inflation rate a year from now to be 4.3%, a 1 percentage point jump from January and the highest level since November 2023. Though Trump postponed tariffs against Canada and Mexico, the looming threat of price pass-throughs to consumers shook sentiment. China has levied retaliatory tariffs following Trump’s move. The survey window ran from Jan. 21, the day after Trump took office, to Feb. 3.

Business

Trump taps Vance to negotiate sale of TikTok ahead of April deadline

Feb. 08, 2025

President Donald Trump has tapped Vice President J.D. Vance to broker a potential sale of TikTok to a U.S.-based entity before the most recent ban extension elapses in April, according to two people familiar with the arrangement. In the latest chapter of the TikTok saga — which began in 2020 with Trump and culminated in the app going dark for a few hours last month — the president selected Vance, along with National Security Adviser Michael Waltz, to oversee a congressionally mandated potential deal between Chinese-based owner ByteDance and an American entity. The White House negotiators will have their work cut out for themselves. It remains to be seen what type of arrangement, if any, ByteDance and China will agree to. Trump recently floated the idea of 50/50 American and Chinese joint ownership, but the situation remains fluid. It’s also uncertain whether such a split would satisfy the ongoing U.S. national security concerns that spurred the ban in the first place.

Business

Chappell Roan was one of the 25 million uninsured Americans — here's why health coverage is still out of reach for some artists

Feb. 08, 2025

With a Grammy win for best new artist, Chappell Roan is at a career high. A few years ago, she was one of the millions of Americans without a job or health insurance. “I told myself that if I ever won a Grammy and got to stand up here in front of the most powerful people in music, I would demand that labels, and the industry profiting millions of dollars off of artists, would offer a livable wage and health care, especially to developing artists,” she said at the Grammy awards show in Los Angeles on Feb. 2. “When I got dropped, I had zero job experience under my belt. And like most people, I had a difficult time finding a job in the pandemic and could not afford health insurance,” she said in her acceptance speech.

Travel

Most flights don’t want you joining the Mile-High Club. This company encourages it

Feb. 08, 2025

A California-based hot-air balloon company is offering mile-high flights – with amorous Mile-High Club privileges – over the Temecula countryside. Guests can enjoy the views with a whole basket to themselves – and a privacy screen separating the pilot compartment from the passenger cabin. The pilot, who Magical Adventure Balloon Rides promises will be wearing protective hearing gear and focused solely on flying, ascends the balloon to 5,280 feet (about 1,610 meters), which is about 2,000 feet higher than a typical recreational flight.

Business

Nonalcoholic booze scores big ahead of the Super Bowl

Feb. 08, 2025

Beer has long been king on Super Bowl Sunday, but this year more Americans may be reaching for alcohol-free brews. U.S. sales of nonalcoholic beer, wine and spirits surged 26% over the past year to top $800 million, according to the market research firm NIQ. Traditional alcohol sales, on the other hand, fell for the first time in three years, though by a modest dip of less than 1%. Consumers report drinking less than they did during the pandemic, with 58% telling Gallup pollsters in mid-2024 that they consumed alcohol, down from 67% in mid-2022.

Business

Super Bowl 2025 commercials: Budweiser, Google and more ads released so far

Feb. 08, 2025

A barrage of new, glitzy, celebrity-filled ads debuted during Super Bowl 59 on Sunday. Fox, which aired the game, said in November that it had sold out of ad spots — with more than 10 of those commercials costing advertisers $8 million apiece, according to CNBC. This year’s lineup of commercials touched on everything from smart glasses to pizza rolls. There were also a handful of artificial intelligence-related spots. “AI is coming. If it’s not already here in almost every business, it will be coming like a freight train,” Mark Evans, executive vice president of sales for Fox Sports, told The Hollywood Reporter. “So you will see some more AI focused creative, which I think intuitively would be expected.”

Sports

Why some are lashing out at the Super Bowl’s pregame ceremony

Feb. 08, 2025

More than a century after the NAACP adopted “Lift Every Voice and Sing” as the “Black national anthem,” the song has sparked social media-fueled backlash in the lead-up to Sunday’s Super Bowl in New Orleans. Rep. Lauren Boebert said on X that there’s “ONE NATIONAL ANTHEM.” Another critic called the song, which speaks to resiliency and the prospect of better days for an oppressed people, a “Black supremacy” song. Still another called it “racist and divisive.” Some Black conservatives have also said the song should not be performed at the game, calling it “a desperate Hail Mary to exploitation” and that it “foments racial divides and animosity.”

Sports

Super Bowl: If the Chiefs beat the Eagles, is this the greatest dynasty in NFL history?

Feb. 08, 2025

It's finally here: Super Bowl LIX. The Kansas City Chiefs will attempt to become the first team ever to win three straight Super Bowls when they face the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday at the Caesars Superdome in New Orleans. The Eagles will ride MVP finalist Saquon Barkley and a top-ranked defense into the Big Game against one of the greatest quarterbacks of all time in Patrick Mahomes.

Sports

Super Bowl LIX betting guide: Best picks for Chiefs-Eagles from NBC Sports experts

Feb. 08, 2025

The Super Bowl is the biggest sports betting event of the year, with more than $1.3 billion expected to be legally wagered in the 38 states that offer it and Washington, D.C. While betting on the spread between the Kansas City Chiefs and the Philadelphia Eagles is enticing enough, there are dozens of other options for those wagering on the big game. NBC Sports is happy to help make sense of the madness.