*By Michael Teich*
Amazon inked a new partnership with American Express, but don't expect the financial industry to be the next area the tech giant jumps into.
"The thing that people misunderstand is that tech companies don't want to manufacture financial products," said Lex Sokolin, Global Director of Fintech Strategy at Autonomous Research. "It's about making the ecosystem and the platform more powerful, and finance is just a feature inside of that."
American Express announced Tuesday it will launch a co-branded Amazon credit card for small businesses. The move accelerates Amazon's foray into financial products and strengthens its position as a lender. The goal, Sokolin said, is to enable small businesses to finance their activities, getting more products on Amazon's platform, and ultimately driving more commerce.
Plus, the opportunity costs of devoting itself to the financial industry are too high.
"Amazon has tremendous high-growth, super interesting, blue oceans to explore,” he said. "They could be investing in building a mortgage business, or they can build artificial intelligence business."
For the full segment, [click here.](https://cheddar.com/videos/amazon-bolsters-financial-prowess-with-new-credit-card)
3M said it will pay $6 billion to settle lawsuits claiming that it sold defective earplugs to the U.S. military.
Meta said it disrupted a campaign of disinformation linked to Chinese law enforcement.
Buying your first home can be challenging with rising interest rates and other costs. Cheddar News spoke with Amira Elgoneimy, a premiere agent with Redfin who caters to the New Brunswick, NJ area, and Daryl Fairweather, chief economist with Redfin, about the process involved in purchasing a residence in a competitive market.
Experts from Redfin real estate brokerage explain the challenges buyers are experiencing as they try to buy their first homes.
The Biden administration is targeting the blood thinner Eliquis, diabetes treatment Jardiance and eight other medications for Medicare's first-ever drug price negotiations as it seeks to lower medical costs for Americans.
Disney's visual effects workers filed to unionize, according to Variety.
Bath & Body Works is looking to hire thousands of workers for the holiday season.
Elon Musk shared a video of himself testing Tesla's full self-driving software.
Chipotle will pay over $322,000 to Washington, DC after an investigation revealed over 800 alleged child labor violations over the past three years.
Amazon is raising the minimum amount non-Prime members need to spend to qualify for free shipping.
