Author: NY TIMES

Federal Reserve officials were wary about the recent lack of progress on inflation and remained willing to lift interest rates if conditions made it necessary as of their two-day meeting that ended on May 1.Minutes from the gathering, released Wednesday, showed that “many” officials expressed uncertainty about how much today’s interest-rate setting — 5.3 percent, up sharply from near zero in early 2022 — was weighing on the economy.Officials have been clear that they expect to leave interest rates unchanged for now, hoping that they are tapping the brakes on economic growth enough to quash inflation over time. And central…

Sam Bankman-Fried, the founder of the FTX cryptocurrency exchange who was convicted of fraud and conspiracy, was transferred out of a Brooklyn detention center on Wednesday morning, his spokesman said.Mr. Bankman-Fried’s final destination wasn’t clear, said his spokesman, Mark Botnick. Before the transfer, Mr. Bankman-Fried, 32, told people close to him that he expected to be moved to a federal correctional facility in Mendota, Calif., a person with knowledge of the matter said.A representative for the Bureau of Prisons declined to comment on Mr. Bankman-Fried, citing “privacy, safety and security reasons.” A spokesman for the prosecutors who oversaw Mr. Bankman-Fried’s…

Graceland will not be sold at auction, at least for now.On Wednesday, a Tennessee judge deferred ruling on an apparent attempt to sell Graceland, Elvis Presley’s former home in Memphis, but kept a temporary injunction in place that would prevent the property from going to auction imminently.The bizarre case came into wide public view this week when a lawsuit surfaced that had been filed by Mr. Presley’s granddaughter, the actress Riley Keough. In it, Ms. Keough sued to prevent what her lawyers described as a fraudulent effort to auction the home by a company claiming that Lisa Marie Presley —…

In Europe, long a vital source of support for Israel, the political center of gravity is moving away from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government.Spain, Ireland and Norway on Wednesday recognized Palestinian statehood, despite vehement Israeli and American opposition. And most European governments offered unequivocal support to the International Criminal Court this week, after it requested arrest warrants for Israel’s prime minister and defense minister, along with leaders of Hamas.Israel still has staunch allies within the European Union, especially Hungary and the Czech Republic, and key players like Germany, despite growing discomfort with Israel’s conduct, have not shown any inclination to…

The decision of Karim Khan, the International Criminal Court’s chief prosecutor, to publicly seek arrest warrants for the leaders of Hamas and Israel this week will be one of the most significant and contentious of his career.Khan accused three Hamas leaders of war crimes and crimes against humanity relating to the Oct. 7 attack on Israel and hostage taking. He also accused Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, and its defense minister, Yoav Gallant, of war crimes and crimes against humanity during Israel’s military operation in Gaza, including the starvation of civilians. Now a three-judge panel will consider whether to issue…

“Nice” tends to be dirty word in business. The cliché holding that nice guys finish last has seldom seemed more true than in the landscape of contemporary retailing, where business is dominated by corporate consolidation, monopolistic practices and shareholder returns as the ultimate value.Yet nice, as it turns out, may not be altogether pejorative — at least judging by the career of Bruce Nordstrom, who died May 18 at age 90. It may even be a key to success.For decades, Mr. Nordstrom helped lead the Nordstrom retail empire, which was founded in Seattle in 1901 by his grandfather, an immigrant…

Frank Shrontz, a widely admired executive who led Boeing in the 1980s and ’90s, a decade of spectacular growth in both its bottom line and its prestige as one of the world’s premier aerospace companies — a period very different from its current crisis of public confidence — died on May 3 at an assisted living home in Seattle. He was 92.His son Craig confirmed the death.Although he spent the bulk of his career at Boeing, Mr. Shrontz, who had a law degree and an M.B.A., was an unlikely choice to lead a company that prided itself on letting engineers…

Just four months ago, Noland Arbaugh had a circle of bone removed from his skull and hair-thin sensor tentacles slipped into his brain. A computer about the size of a small stack of quarters was placed on top and the hole was sealed.Paralyzed below the neck, Mr. Arbaugh is the first patient to take part in the clinical trial of humans testing Elon Musk’s Neuralink device, and his early progress was greeted with excitement.Working with engineers, Mr. Arbaugh, 30, trained computer programs to translate the firing of neurons in his brain into the act of moving a cursor up, down…

Rachel Zegler has already played a Juliet-inspired figure, starring as Maria in the 2021 film adaptation of “West Side Story.” And Kit Connor has played a Romeo of sorts, starring as a yearning adolescent in the boy-meets-boy television series “Heartstopper.”Now the two actors are bringing a new production of “Romeo and Juliet” to Broadway. Their version, which seems to be leaning into the alienation of youth in a world of violent adults, is to begin performances Sept. 26 and to open Oct. 24 at Circle in the Square Theater.The production, which announced its timing and location on Wednesday, has said…

The decision by three European countries — Ireland, Norway and Spain — to recognize a Palestinian state fits into a long-term goal of Palestinian leaders to secure diplomatic acceptance, but it appears that the immediate practical impact will be limited.Broadly speaking, recognizing a state means declaring that it meets the conditions of statehood under international law. It typically opens a path to setting up diplomatic relations and an embassy there. But the European countries appeared to be mostly concerned with expressing support for Palestinians and sending a message to Israel at a time of deepening international concern about its conduct…