Business and Economy

KTVU's Alex Savidge and Heather Holmes highlight some of San Francisco's local favorites with Rolando Tirado, Small Business Manager with the San Francisco Chamber of Commerce.

According to a new survey, nearly 4 in 10 Bay Area households spend more than 30% of their income on housing. This Affordable Housing Month, United Way Bay Area is raising awareness about the services available to local rent-burdened families. KTVU's Alex Savidge discusses the affordable housing crisis with Kelly Batson, Interim CEO of United Way Bay Area.

Congress has long had national security concerns about the Chinese-owned social media app TikTok, but has not succeeded in banning the platform from American app stores. A new law requires TikTok's Beijing-based parent company ByteDance to sell its stake within 9 months or face a nationwide ban. Now, TikTok's CEO is pushing back and promising a legal challenge. KTVU's Heather Holmes and Alex Savidge discuss the implications of the bill with Nadine Farid Johnson, Policy Director at the Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University.

California's largest home insurer, State Farm, plans to drop tens of thousands of policyholders later this year because of significant wildfire risk. Those customers will not have their policies renewed once their current contract is up. Many of them live in Contra Costa, Sonoma, Santa Clara and Santa Cruz Counties. KTVU's Alex Savidge and Jana Katsuyama discuss the changes with Karl Susman, insurance expert and broker with Susman Insurance Agency.

KTVU's Alex Savidge discusses President Biden's latest plan to cancel student loan debt for more than 30 million borrowers with nationally-recognized financial aid and student loan expert Mark Kantrowitz.

KTVU's Frank Mallicoat is joined live in studio by Certified Financial Planner James McBride for insight into the latest jobs report.

California currently ranks as the 5th largest economy in the world in terms of gross domestic product, generating more than $3.8 trillion in 2023. However, according to a new report from The Center for Jobs and the Economy, California is in jeopardy of losing that ranking to India, which is only 3.5% smaller and could outrank California by the end of 2024. KTVU's Frank Mallicoat breaks down the numbers with Brooke Armour, President of the California Center for Jobs.

Meta says it has started the process of limiting the political content users see on their newsfeeds. The rollout happened quietly, as users noticed their default settings had been changed to limit content that mentions government, elections or certain social topics. Users now have to go into their settings to opt out of these changes if they'd like to keep their feeds as is. Earlier this year, Meta said Instagram would stop recommending political content from accounts that users don't already follow. KTVU's Alex Savidge and Heather Holmes discuss the changes and what comes next with Subramaniam Vincent, Director of Journalism and Media Ethics at Santa Clara University.

A newly formed partnership with the Gov-AI Coalition held its first public forum in San Jose, designed to help people learn about the group's mission. The partnership is intended to ensure local government has a voice in the future of AI and how it is used to help the public. KTVU's Alex Savidge and Heather Holmes discuss the group's goals with Khaled Tawfik, San Jose Chief Information Officer and Director of Information Technology.

A group of engineering students at a Morgan Hill private school have achieved something remarkable. A small satellite built by students at Oakwood School has been selected by NASA to launch to the International Space Station. Oakwood was the only K-12 school chosen for the agency's Cube-Sat Launch Initiative, selected alongside other universities and a NASA flight center. The nanosatellite created by the team at Oakwood is called "Nyan Sat", a nod to the popular meme. KTVU's Alex Savidge is joined live in studio by two of the Oakwood students who helped build the satellite, junior Lauren Sorci and senior Ruchir Kavulli for more on the project.

New research by Mount Saint Mary's University reveals the average monetary cost of being a woman in California and highlights the work that still needs to be done to address inequities, including but not limited to the wage gap. In its latest report on The Status of Women and Girls in California, data shows the wage gap has narrowed over the past decade but COVID slowed the progress down significantly, especially for women of color. KTVU's Alex Savidge and Heather Holmes are joined by Dr. Nicole Haggard, Director of the Center for the Advancement of Women at Mount Saint Mary's University for more on the report.

A number of the world's greatest scientists and engineers are gathering in San Jose for the Nvidia GTC Conference and AI is at the center of nearly every economic conversation. KTVU's Alex Savidge and Heather Holmes discuss the overall economic impact of AI and Nvidia's success in the field with Anastassia Fedyk, Assistant Professor of Finance at the UC Berkeley Haas School of Business.