Bidding for Bezos: Raleigh, NC Mayor Weighs in on Amazon HQ2
Amazon plans to invest over $5 billion and create 50,000 jobs for its new headquarters. Amazon HQ2 could ultimately change the economic trajectory of the winning city for years to come. Nancy McFarlane, Mayor of Raleigh, North Carolina, was with us to discuss the city's chances.
Amazon culled its list down from 238 to 20, Raleigh among them. Mayor McFarlane shared what she believes landed her city on the short list. The Mayor stressed that Raleigh is a great environment for a tech company to grow. Tech jobs in Raleigh have grown 38.5% from 2010-2015, second only to San Francisco and ahead of Austin, Boston, and other innovation hubs.
Amazon's presence transformed the real estate market in Seattle. In July, home prices in the city increased 13.5% compared to last year, according to reports. Mayor McFarlane said it would be part of the discussion if Amazon were to move in because maintaining affordable housing is a priority, but careful planning would help avoid the displacement of residents.
The state of Arkansas sued TikTok and Facebook parent Meta on Tuesday, claiming the social media companies were misleading consumers about the safety of children on their platforms and protections of users' private data.
Stocks are rising again as a bit more fear evaporates from Wall Street. The S&P 500 was up 0.7% early Thursday. The benchmark index is on pace for its fifth gain in the last six days.
The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. is set to pay almost $23 billion to stabilize the banking sector. That money comes from an insurance fund that is refilled through fees paid by banks. Now the agency is considering a special assessment on the entire industry to help make up the costs, according to a Bloomberg report.
About 61% of Americans say the economy is impacting their mental health, according to a PayPal survey. Shanthi Sarkar, vice president of financial services at PayPal, joined Cheddar News to break down some key takeaways from the survey and offer tips on saving and managing money.
Monthly VC funding fell below $20 billion in February, marking a two-year low. Jager McConnell, CEO of Crunchbase, joined Cheddar News to discuss the current funding climate and what lies ahead.
