Bulletin Business Briefing
Published 6:50 pm Thursday, November 2, 2023
Ride-hailing companies Uber and Lyft will pay a combined $328 million to settle wage theft claims in New York, Attorney General Letitia James announced Thursday.
James said the settlements resolve investigations into the companies improperly charging drivers sales taxes and other fees when the costs should have been paid by customers.
Uber will pay $290 million and Lyft will pay $38 million. The money will be distributed to current and former drivers, she said. The companies have also agreed to provide drivers outside of New York City with paid sick leave and a minimum wage of $26 per hour.
“For years, Uber and Lyft systemically cheated their drivers out of hundreds of millions of dollars in pay and benefits while they worked long hours in challenging conditions,” James said in a statement.
Customers fell for Starbucks’ fall menu in the fiscal fourth quarter, with Pumpkin Spice Lattes and apple croissants helping the company achieve record revenue.
But the company said Thursday that growth could moderate in the coming year as it faces economic uncertainty around the world.
Revenue for the July-September period rose 11% to $9.4 billion. That surpassed Wall Street’s expectation of $9.3 billion, according to analysts polled by FactSet.
For the full fiscal year, Starbucks’ revenue rose 11.6% to $35.9 billion. The company said it expects revenue growth at the low end of a 10% to 12% range for the upcoming fiscal year.
Starbucks CEO Laxman Narasimhan said the company saw record-breaking weekly sales after the launch of the Pumpkin Spice Latte in late August.
Cedar Fair and Six Flags are merging, creating an expansive amusement park operator with operations spread across 17 U.S. states and three countries.
The combined company will include 27 amusement parks, 15 water parks and nine resort properties in the U.S., Canada and Mexico.
The company’s new board will include six directors from Cedar Fair and six directors from Six Flags. The business will be headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, and will keep significant finance and administrative operations in Sandusky, Ohio, where Cedar Fair is based.
The combined company, worth more than $3.5 billion, will boast 27 amusement parks, 15 water parks and nine resort properties in the U.S., Canada, and Mexico. It will also have entertainment partnerships and a portfolio of intellectual property including Looney Tunes, DC Comics and Peanuts.
Amusement parks have seen an uptick in revenue but have struggled to raise attendance since the pandemic, even as other entertainment sectors have bounced back. A tie-up between two huge players is expected to at least lower costs.