Roundup of top economy stories
DETROIT — A U.S. investigation into Teslas operating on partially automated driving systems that have crashed into parked emergency vehicles has moved a step closer to a recall. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said Thursday that it is upgrading the probe to an engineering analysis, another sign of increased scrutiny of the electric vehicle maker and automated systems that perform at least some driving tasks. An engineering analysis is the final stage of an investigation, and in most cases NHTSA decides within a year if there should be a recall or the probe should be closed. The agency said it has reports of 14 crashes into emergency vehicles with 15 injuries and one death. Tesla reported two more crashes to the agency, in California and South Carolina. The probe now covers 830,000 vehicles, almost everything that Austin, Texas-based Tesla has sold in the U.S. since the start of the 2014 model year. The agency began its inquiry in August of last year after a string of crashes since 2018 in which Teslas using the company’s Autopilot or Traffic Aware Cruise Control systems hit vehicles at scenes where first responders used flashing lights, flares, an illuminated arrow board, or cones warning of hazards.
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Microsoft is partnering with Samsung Electronics to allow gaming fans to play Xbox games directly on smart TVS without a console. Starting June 30, hundreds of cloud-enabled games attached to the Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscription, which costs $14.99 a month without promotional pricing, will be available through Samsung’s Gaming Hub, similar to using any other streaming app on a TV. Later this year, Game Pass Ultimate subscribers will be able to play some of the games they already own using the cloud and without a download, even if the games aren’t currently in the Game Pass library. That expands the cloud-gaming features, which let users play on various devices and are presently only available for Game Pass titles. The agreement, announced Thursday, is part of an effort by Microsoft’s Xbox business to keep expanding beyond the console and to get more gamers to pony up for Game Pass, a monthly service that helps smooth revenue fluctuations in an industry driven by bighit titles.
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WASHINGTON — Average long-term U.S. mortgage rates jumped back up ahead of next week’s Federal Reserve meeting where it’s expected to announce another increase to its main borrowing rate. Mortgage buyer Freddie Mac reported Thursday that the 30-year rate jumped to 5.23% this week from 5.09% last week. A year ago at this time, the average rate was 2.96%. Until April, the average rate hadn’t exceeded 5% in more than a decade. The brisk jump in rates, along with a sharp increase in home prices, has been pushing potential homebuyers out of the market. In April, sales of both existing homes and new homes showed signs of faltering, worsened by sharply higher home prices and a shrunken supply of available properties. The average rate on 15-year, fixed-rate mortgages, popular among those refinancing their homes, rose to 4.38% from 4.32% last week.