Business and Economic News

Redesigning the office to maximize health
Architects are already looking beyond COVID-19 to imagine the office of 2025 and beyond — an office that will keep us safe on the job, whatever pandemic virus strikes next.
Why home improvement has surged and how it's changing America
The pandemic has sparked a sustained, unprecedented tidal wave of home and backyard projects. The demand outstrips the supply of materials and labor to do the work, leaving homeowners to get creative.
AstraZeneca resumes its COVID-19 vaccine trials in the U.K.
Drugmaker AstraZeneca announced Saturday that its COVID-19 vaccine studies have resumed in the United Kingdom, though not yet in the United States. The vaccine trials had been placed on hold after a U.K. participant in one of the studies developed a neurological illness.
More groceries, less gas: The pandemic is shaking up the cost of living
Consumer prices rose 0.4 percent in August and 1.3 percent over the last 12 months. Some economists say that official measure understates inflation, because the pandemic has changed both what and how we buy.
In 'On All Fronts,' CNN's Clarissa Ward showcases gravity, costs of a reporting life
Ward says she didn't know as a journalist she would "have my heart broken in a hundred different ways, that I would lose friends and watch children die and grow to feel like an alien in my own skin."
How Big Oil misled the public into believing plastic would be recycled
An NPR and PBS “Frontline” investigation reveals how the oil and gas industry used the promise of recycling to sell more plastic, even when they knew it would never work on a large scale.
Hangover from alcohol boom could last long after pandemic ends
Americans are drinking far more during the COVID-19 pandemic. A beer in the evening can feel like a taste of normal life, but health experts worry about alcohol's deadly side effects.
Carmakers revving up electric truck and SUV production
Nearly half of all vehicles sold in the United States are sport utility vehicles, and the International Energy Agency reports they’re second-largest contributor to the increase in greenhouse gas emissions in the last decade. But a new wave of electric SUVs and pickup trucks is on the horizon.
St. Paul brewery, U of M team up on Organic Brewers Alliance
The project will help breweries connect with organic farms for hops, barley and other ingredients such as honey. The goal is to support sustainable agriculture practices.