Video game workers go on strike

Voice actors and performers who work in the video-game industry voted to authorize a strike ahead of contract negotiations this week.

The union, SAG-AFTRA, was scheduled to begin talks with video-game studios on Tuesday.

“We hope the added leverage of a successful strike authorization vote will compel the companies to make significant movement on critical issues where we are still far apart,” the guild said in a statement.

The union, which also represents TV and film actors, is on strike against Hollywood studios.

In both negotiations, talks involve how artificial intelligence can be used to re-create actors’ voices and images.

The video-game performers are bargaining with the units of top gaming companies including Activision Blizzard, Electronic Arts, Epic Games, Take-Two Interactive and Warner Bros. Discovery.

“We will continue to negotiate in good faith to reach an agreement that reflects the important contributions of SAG-AFTRA-represented performers in video games,” said Audrey Cooling, a spokesperson for video-game producers that are party to the Interactive Media Agreement.

“We have reached tentative agreements on over half of the proposals and are optimistic we can find a resolution at the bargaining table.”

Video-game voice actors are concerned that, without adequate contractual protections, AI may reproduce or remix their voices without consent or compensation.

Consumer confidence slumped U.S. consumer confidence slumped to a four-month low in September, dampened by a deteriorating outlook for the economy and labor market.

The Conference Board’s index declined to 103 this month from an upwardly revised 108.7 in August, data out Tuesday showed.

The figure fell short of the median estimate of 105.5 in a Bloomberg survey of economists.

The group’s gauge of current conditions rose slightly to 147.1.

A measure of expectations – which reflects consumers’ six-month outlook – fell to 73.7, the lowest since May. A reading below 80 historically signals a recession within the next year.

Despite greater confidence among economists that the U.S. can avert a recession, American workers are increasingly concerned about their finances and employment prospects.

“Write-in responses showed that consumers continued to be preoccupied with rising prices in general, and for groceries and gasoline in particular,” Dana Peterson, chief economist at the Conference Board, said in a statement.

“Consumers also expressed concerns about the political situation and higher interest rates.”

The labor market – and broader economy – have remained remarkably resilient in the face of a rapid increase in interest rates, supporting incomes and household balance sheets.

JPMorgan settles Epstein suit for $75MJPMorgan Chase will pay $75 million to resolve a lawsuit with the U.S. Virgin Islands alleging it facilitated disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein’s sex trafficking operation.

The banking giant admitted no wrongdoing under the terms of the settlement, a large portion of which will be distributed to charities.

It also sets aside $10 million to support mental health services for Epstein’s survivors.

“This settlement is a historic victory for survivors and for state enforcement, and it should sound the alarm on Wall Street about banks’ responsibilities under the law to detect and prevent human trafficking,” USVI attorney general Ariel Smith said in a statement.

Smith also said JPMorgan agreed to “implement and maintain meaningful anti-trafficking measures,” which includes a commitment to elevate and report suspicious activity in the future.

But JPMorgan spokeswoman Patricia Wexler insisted that the bank had already made those commitments.

“We have always worked closely with law enforcement to help combat human trafficking, and we will continue to look for ways to invest in advancing this important mission,” she said in a statement.

From wire reportsThe settlement comes just one month before the two sides were set to go to trial in Manhattan, and on the heels of a $290 million settlement in a parallel case brought by Epstein’s victims.