MoneyWatch

Johnson & Johnson will stop selling its talcum-based baby powder worldwide and replace the product with its existing cornstarch version starting next year, the consumer products giant said late on Thursday. The move comes after thousands of lawsuits from women in recent years who claimed using the powder gave them either ovarian …

Equifax has been slapped with a lawsuit over incorrect credit scores it sent out this spring for millions of customers. In a lawsuit filed Wednesday in the Northern District of Georgia seeking class-action status, lawyers for Nydia Jenkins allege that Equifax’s error landed her with a substantially pricier car loan. Equifax’s error, …

Investors are jittery. Home sales are plummeting. Squeezed by food and gas prices, Americans are driving less and spending more to put food on the table, constraining their budgets. Yet despite this unsightly economic picture, the U.S. likely isn’t in a recession — yet. On Thursday, the government is expected to report that …

Apple plans to slow hiring and spending in some of its divisions next year as the iPhone maker faces a possible economic slowdown, according to a report in Bloomberg. The news makes Apple the latest technology company to slow hiring plans as tech stocks take a dive. Shares of Apple fell …

Workers in more than 20 states, cities and counties will get a wage boost on July 1 when higher minimum wages kick in — part of a nationwide push to ensure the nation’s lowest-paid workers are keeping up with the rising cost of living. Among the states are Connecticut, Nevada …

Earlier this year, the Federal Reserve turned to its most potent weapon — raising interest rates — to combat soaring inflation. But with consumer prices having only accelerated since then, the central bank boosted rates by 0.75 percentage point on Wednesday — its largest hike since 1994 — to try to …

The Washington Post has fired Felicia Sonmez, who triggered a vigorous online debate this week over social media policy and public treatment of colleagues after she criticized a fellow reporter for retweeting an offensive joke. The Post said Friday it would not comment on personnel issues. But a copy of …

Ford Motor Co. will add 6,200 unionized factory jobs in Michigan, Missouri and Ohio as it prepares to build more electric vehicles and roll out two redesigned combustion-engine models. The company said Thursday it would invest $3.7 billion in hiring new workers in the three states between now and 2026. …

Some 3 million Americans will enroll in graduate programs this year — only to work toward degrees that often aren’t worth the time or money, according to an education policy analyst.  Many undergraduates earn their bachelor’s degrees and go straight to graduate school in hopes of gaining a new degree …

Apartment rents in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, and Austin, Texas, over the last year have soared more than 100%, reflecting a broader surge in the cost of housing. Yet in a handful of U.S. cities that are bucking the trend, rental costs are actually falling.  As of April, rents had dropped …