NEW YORK >> The price of bitcoin is swinging wildly Thursday, rising to more than $19,000 only to fall sharply minutes afterward. The frenzy comes just before futures for bitcoin will start trading on the Chicago Board Options Exchange on Sunday evening and on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange a week later. A group of banks have complained that federal regulators approved the futures too quickly and without properly considering the risks inherent in bitcoin.
Stocks, home prices buoy U.S. wealth
WASHINGTON >> Surging stock prices and steady increases in home values powered American household wealth to $96.9 trillion this fall, though the gains likely aren’t widely shared. The Federal Reserve says that U.S. net worth rose $1.7 trillion in the July-September quarter, extending a steady upward march in American wealth after the Great Recession eliminated about one-sixth of it in 2008 and 2009.
Consumer borrowing grew in October
WASHINGTON >> American consumers increased their borrowing by $20.5 billion in October. It was the biggest gain in 11 months and reflected strong increases in the use of credit cards and in auto and student loans.
GE to cut 12K jobs in power division
NEWARK, N.J. >> General Electric Co. will cut 12,000 jobs in its power division as alternative energy supplants demand for coal and other fossil fuels, and energy demand declines overall. The company said Thursday that the cuts to both office and production jobs, will help “right-size” GE Power in a traditional power market that is being upended globally.
Ford to build electric SUV in Mexico
DETROIT >> Ford Motor Co. is shifting production of an electric SUV from the U.S. to Mexico to make more self-driving vehicles in Michigan. Ford announced last January that it would invest $700 million and hire 700 workers to make electric and autonomous vehicles at its Flat Rock plant near Detroit.
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ON THE MOVE
Ferraro Choi and Associates Ltd., an architecture firm, has hired the following employees:
>> Tarek Farid is the firm’s new project manager. Farid previously served as the senior project manager at Dattner Architects in NYC as well as the project manager at JDavis Architects in Philadelphia.
>> Daron Yim is FCA’s new project architect. Yim previously served as the project manager at Callison as well as project architect at CTA Architects and designer for Fung Associates.
>> Lights on Digital, a Honolulu-based digital marketing and revenue optimization firm, has announced that Ephraim David Botulan is the firm’s new project manager. Botulan has 12 years of project and digital media management experience, including having served as the digital media manager for Hawaii Business and Hawaii Home + Remodeling magazines.
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