The daily business briefing: April 8, 2016

1. Uber settles California lawsuit over safety claims

Uber has agreed to pay up to $25 million to settle a lawsuit filed by California prosecutors who accused the ride-hailing company of misleading customers about its safety practices. The complaint accused Uber of overstating the measures it uses to screen drivers, and now the company must reword the claims it makes to customers. Uber must pay $10 million — to be split between the district attorneys of Los Angeles and San Francisco — and another $15 million if it fails to comply with the settlement's terms within two years.

The New York Times

2. Yellen defends Fed rate hike

Federal Reserve Chairwoman Janet Yellen on Thursday defended the central bank's December decision to raise interest rates for the first time since 2008, and said the Fed's plans remain on track. The Fed began rolling back its historic attempts to stimulate the economy despite calls from some economists to wait for further signs of economic recovery, and global economic trouble since January has forced the Fed to slow down its plans for further hikes. "I certainly don't regard it as a mistake," Yellen told a panel at the International House in New York. "We took one step."

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The Washington Post

3. U.K.'s David Cameron admits profiting from trust included in Panama Papers

British Prime Minister David Cameron admitted Thursday that he held a stake in his late father's Panamanian trust, Blairmore, but sold it in January 2010, before he became prime minister. Cameron said his shares had a value of around 30,000 British pounds, or about $42,000 at the current exchange rate. Cameron said he had nothing to hide and paid all appropriate taxes. His late father, Ian, was among tens of thousands of people named in the leaked Panama Papers from law firm Mossack Fonseca.

BBC News

4. Verizon bidding on Yahoo, as Google considers making an offer

Verizon is moving forward with an offer for Yahoo's core internet business and its Yahoo Japan stake. Google reportedly is considering making a bid for Yahoo's websites, too. Time Inc. also is mulling a bid, as are private equity funds Bain and TPG. Microsoft, which made a failed attempt at a hostile takeover of Yahoo in 2008, is staying out this time, sources told Bloomberg. AT&T Inc. and Comcast also have decided against bidding for the struggling internet pioneer. First-round bids for Yahoo's websites were to be due April 11, but Yahoo announced Friday it was extending the deadline by a week.

Bloomberg CNBC

5. Postal Service cuts stamp prices for first time in nearly a century

The U.S. Postal Service announced Thursday that it is lowering stamp prices for the first time in 97 years. Starting Sunday, customers will pay 47 cents to send a standard letter, down from the current 49 cents. Postcard stamps will drop by one cent to 34 cents. The change is the first bad news for people who have stocked up on Forever Stamps, fixed price stamps that until now have only gained in value. The price drop came after the USPS recouped the maximum of $4.6 billion under a program letting it raise stamp prices to make up for revenue lost in the Great Recession.

Time