LAYOFFS
Coinbase lays off 14 percent of employees as AI changes work
Coinbase, the largest US crypto exchange, said Tuesday that it planned to lay off about 14 percent of its workers amid volatility in the cryptocurrency market and as artificial intelligence changes how people work. The cuts affect about 700 of the company’s nearly 5,000 employees, Coinbase said in a corporate filing, and the restructuring will cost about $50 million to $60 million in severance payments, termination benefits, and other expenses. “A.I. is bringing a profound shift in how companies operate, and we’re reshaping Coinbase to lead in this new era,” Brian Armstrong, Coinbase’s CEO, wrote in a social media post about the layoffs. “This is a new way of working, and we need to leverage A.I. across every facet of our jobs.” Armstrong said Coinbase planned to have smaller teams, with people who manage AI agents — digital bots that can handle coding tasks — as well as human managers who would need to get “their hands dirty alongside their teams.” — NEW YORK TIMES
MEDIA
James Murdoch’s company said to be in talks to acquire most of Vox Media
Lupa Systems, the company controlled by media scion James Murdoch, is in talks to acquire major parts of Vox Media, the parent company of New York magazine and a podcast network with prominent hosts like Kara Swisher and Scott Galloway, according to two people with knowledge of the discussions. Vox Media has been weighing its future for months, including a sale of all or parts of its business. The sale process has drawn multiple potential suitors, including media company Versant, and it is still possible Vox Media will sell to another acquirer, take on investment, or decide not to sell. Vox Media consist of a podcast network, New York magazine, and a cluster of websites that gained popularity in the 2010s, including The Verge and Eater. After months of assessing potential options, the deal talks recently intensified. Vox Media’s board met to discuss potential deals with both Versant and Lupa Systems in recent days, ultimately deciding to pursue an acquisition with Murdoch because his offer included more cash, according to one of the people with knowledge of the discussions. A deal for the company would elevate Murdoch’s Lupa Systems as a player in US media. The company has a majority stake in Tribeca Enterprises, the parent company of the Tribeca Film Festival, and it has financially backed Bodhi Tree Systems, one of India’s biggest media investors. Quadrivium, the foundation that Murdoch founded with his wife, Kathryn, has backed The 19th, a nonprofit newsroom focused on gender and politics, and The Bulwark, a so-called “Never Trump” digital media company. But in the United States, Murdoch has not been an owner in the news industry, the business that helped make his father, Rupert Murdoch, a billionaire mogul with global influence. — NEW YORK TIMES
HOUSING
US new-home sales increased in March to fastest pace of year
US new-home sales rose in March by more than forecast as the median selling price slid to a more than four-year low and builders offered incentives. New single-family home sales increased 7.4 percent from February to an annualized 682,000 pace, the fastest this year, according to government figures out Tuesday. The median estimate in a Bloomberg survey of economists was for a 652,000 pace. The report also included a first read on February sales after figures were delayed by the federal government shutdown late last year. The pickup in sales suggests a gradual improvement in affordability since the middle of last year is slowly generating more demand. Homebuilders, who have been using a combination of incentives and price cuts, saw a pickup in prospective-buyer traffic in March after severe winter weather limited buyer demand early this year. At the same time, mortgage rates have climbed from a recent low at the end of February, which could hamper homebuying activity in the coming months. The government’s report showed the median sales price of a new home decreased 6.2 percent in March from a year earlier to $387,400 — the lowest since July 2021. That decline likely reflected a pickup in contract signings for cheaper properties. Some 22,000 homes priced from $300,000 up to $400,000 were sold, the most in that category in nearly five years. A larger number of houses priced less than that were also purchased. By region, sales in the South, the nation’s biggest home-selling region, increased 11.1 percent, while purchases in the Northeast rebounded sharply. March contract signings fell in the Midwest and West. — BLOOMBERG NEWS
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE
Five publishers and Scott Turow sue Meta and Mark Zuckerberg
Five publishing houses and author Scott Turow sued Meta and CEO Mark Zuckerberg on Tuesday, alleging the company illegally used millions of copyrighted works to train its AI language system Llama. The class action lawsuit, filed in federal court in Manhattan, accuses the tech giant of copyright infringement and opens up a new front in the ongoing battle between the book community and developers of AI. The plaintiffs allege that Zuckerberg and Meta “followed their well-known motto ‘move fast and break things’” by illegally drawing upon a massive trove of books and journal articles for Llama. “Defendants reproduced and distributed millions of copyrighted works without permission, without providing any compensation to authors or publishers, and with full knowledge that their conduct violated copyright law,” the complaint reads in part. “Zuckerberg himself personally authorized and actively encouraged the infringement.” Authors published by the five companies suing — Elsevier, Cengage, Hachette Book Group, Macmillan, and McGraw Hill — include Turow, James Patterson, Donna Tartt, former President Joe Biden, and at least two of the Pulitzer Prize winners announced Monday, Yiyun Li and Amanda Vaill. In a statement Monday, Meta vowed to “fight this lawsuit aggressively.” “AI is powering transformative innovations, productivity and creativity for individuals and companies, and courts have rightly found that training AI on copyrighted material can qualify as fair use,” the statement reads in part. — ASSOCIATED PRESS
TRADE
US trade deficit grew in March
The US trade deficit in goods and services rose to $60.3 billion in March, increasing 4.4 percent from the previous month, after the Supreme Court struck down President Trump’s global tariffs, according to data from the Commerce Department released Tuesday. Exports grew 2 percent in the month, to a record $320.9 billion, as the United States exported more oil, soybeans, and industrial supplies. The US trade surplus in petroleum hit a record in March, as war with Iran pushed up the price of oil and US energy exports. Imports also gained 2.3 percent in March, to $381.2 billion. The combination increased the monthly trade deficit, the gap between what the United States imports and what it exports. Tariffs resulted in up-and-down swings in the trade deficit last year. The monthly trade deficit is now somewhat lower than it was in 2024. But overall, the figure hit a record last year, as the United States continued to import high-priced computer chips and weight-loss drugs, and importers stockpiled foreign goods before tariffs took effect. — NEW YORK TIMES
JOBS
US job openings were unchanged at 6.9 million in March but hiring improved
US job openings were essentially unchanged in March but hiring improved before the full impact of the Iran war hit the economy. Employers posted 6.87 million jobs in March, compared to 6.92 million in February, the Labor Department reported Tuesday. The job market has been up and down so far this year after a dismal 2025. And the Iran war, which began Feb. 28, has clouded the outlook for the economy and hiring. The Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey showed that layoffs rose in March. But hiring improved: Employers added 5.55 million gross jobs, most since February 2024. More Americans also quit their jobs — a sign of confidence in their prospects. Job openings have come down more or less steadily since peaking at a record 12.3 million in March 2022 as the US economy bounded back from COVID-19 lockdowns. High interest rates, a response to an outburst of inflation in 2021-2022; uncertainty over President Trump’s policies; and, potentially, the disruptive impact of artificial intelligence have discouraged robust hiring. Last year, employers added fewer than 10,000 jobs a month, weakest hiring outside a recession since 2002. So far in 2026, job creation has bounced around — strong in January (160,000 new jobs) and March (178,000) but weak in February when employers slashed 133,000 jobs. — ASSOCIATED PRESS