Business category, Page 147
Best Buy trims jobs after it cuts sales and profit outlook
NEW YORK — Best Buy, the nation’s largest consumer electronics chain, is trimming jobs in an effort to adjust to new changes in consumer behavior as the virus wanes. Best Buy declined to say how many jobs it was cutting, but The Wall Street Journal, which was first to report...
Wall Street builds on gains, heads for 4-week winning streak
Stocks rose broadly in morning trading on Wall Street Friday and added to weekly gains for the major indexes. The S&P 500 rose 0.7% as of 10:19 a.m. Eastern and roughly 85% of stocks in the benchmark index gained ground. It is on track for its first four-week winning streak...
J&J to halt talc baby powder implicated in cancer litigation
Johnson & Johnson announced today that it will transition to an all cornstarch-based baby powder portfolio, and will globally discontinue talc-based powder in 2023. “We continuously evaluate and optimize our portfolio to best position the business for long-term growth,” the company said in a statement. “This transition will help simplify...
Pirates owner Bob Nutting to buy Wigle Whiskey, Threadbare Cider & Mead
Pittsburgh-based craft distillery Wigle Whiskey announced Thursday that it will be selling its operation to Pittsburgh Pirates owner and multi-millionaire Bob Nutting. Wigle operates a distillery in the Strip District that produces whiskey, gin and other spirits. The company also runs a facility in Spring Garden that produces hard cider...
EU says U.S. electric vehicle tax credit could break World Trade rules
BRUSSELS — The European Union expressed concern Thursday that a new U.S. tax credit plan aimed at encouraging Americans to buy electric vehicles would discriminate against European producers and break World Trade Organization rules. Under the Inflation Reduction Act nearing final approval in the U.S. Congress, a tax credit of...
PNC Bank says it will eliminate insufficient funds fees
PNC Bank personal checking account customers will no longer have to pay non-sufficient fund fees. The bank said today that “it will no longer charge any consumer deposit account customers non-sufficient fund (NSF) fees. This marks the company’s latest effort to enhance the financial well-being of its customers and extends...
U.S. unemployment claims rise to highest level since November
WASHINGTON — The number of Americans who signed up for unemployment benefits rose last week to the highest level since November, though the U.S. job market continues to show signs of strength. Applications for jobless aid climbed by 14,000 to 262,000 and now have risen five out of the past...
Disney+ subscribers are going to have to pay more to avoid commercials
Disney+ subscribers will start seeing ads on the popular streaming service in December. That is, unless they opt to pay more. Walt Disney Co. on Wednesday said it would launch tiered versions of the service on Dec. 8. Current subscribers who continue to pay $8 a month for the “basic”...
Elon Musk sells $7B in Tesla shares ahead of Twitter fight
Elon Musk has sold nearly $7 billion worth of shares in Tesla as the billionaire gets his finances in order ahead of his court battle with Twitter. Musk disclosed in series of regulatory filings that he unloaded about 8 million shares of his company Tesla Inc. in recent days. “In...
Lower prices offer Americans slight reprieve from inflationVideo
WASHINGTON — Falling prices for gas, airline tickets and clothes gave Americans a little bit of relief last month, though overall inflation is still running at close to its highest level in four decades. Consumer prices jumped 8.5% in July compared with a year earlier, the government said Wednesday, down...
Wall Street hits 3-month high as inflation cools
NEW YORK — Stocks rallied to three-month highs Wednesday on Wall Street as investors welcomed a government report showing that inflation cooled more than expected last month. The encouraging inflation update sparked speculation that the Federal Reserve may not have to remain as aggressive about hiking interest rates as feared....
Former Twitter worker convicted of spying for Saudi Arabia
SAN FRANCISCO — A former Twitter employee has been convicted of failing to register as an agent for Saudi Arabia and other charges after accessing private data on users critical of the kingdom’s government in a spy case that spanned from Silicon Valley to the Middle East. Ahmad Abouammo, a...
New York Fed: Student-loan freeze led to big credit-score gains
The pandemic-era freeze on student debt payments has “dramatically” improved credit scores for Americans who borrowed money to pay for college, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York said. About 30 million people saw improvements in their risk profile, with the biggest gains going to borrowers who were delinquent before...
U.S. inflation will likely stay high even as gas prices fall
WASHINGTON — Americans may finally be catching a break from relentlessly surging prices — if just a slight one — even as inflation is expected to remain painfully high for months. Thanks largely to falling gas prices, the government’s inflation report for July, to be released Wednesday morning, is expected...
Billions pour into bioplastics as markets begin ramping up
CLEVELAND — In a world increasingly troubled by the persistent harm that plastic — manufactured in petrochemical plants — has had on the environment, companies are investing billions of dollars to ramp up production of plastics made from natural, renewable materials that can be safely composted or can biodegrade under...
Most electric vehicles won’t qualify for federal tax credit
DETROIT — A tax credit of up to $7,500 could be used to defray the cost of an electric vehicle under the Inflation Reduction Act now moving toward final approval in Congress. But the auto industry is warning that the vast majority of EV purchases won’t qualify for a tax...
John Dorfman: Stock market sayings often have kernel of truth
Stock market sayings often have a core of wisdom — and sometimes a grain of falsehood. Here are some market quotations you’re likely to hear. Buy on the cannons, sell on the trumpets. This saying often is attributed to Nathan Rothschild, a London financier in Napoleon’s time (around 1810). Scholars...
Demand for grocery delivery cools as food costs rise
Karen Raschke, a retired attorney in New York, started getting her groceries delivered early in the pandemic. Each delivery cost $30 in fees and tips, but it was worth it to avoid the store. Then earlier this spring, Raschke learned her rent was increasing by $617 per month. Delivery was...
Musk says Twitter deal could move ahead with ‘bot’ info
Elon Musk said Saturday his planned $44 billion takeover of Twitter should move forward if the company can confirm some details about how it measures whether user accounts are ‘spam bots’ or real people. The billionaire and Tesla CEO has been trying to back out of his April agreement to...
Here’s what used to occupy some large Pittsburgh construction sites
It’s tradition for Pittsburghers to give directions to landmarks that no longer exist. “Turn right where Schenley High School used to be.” It is a quirk that showcases the region’s love for nostalgia and respect for its history. Dozens of construction projects are happening in the city. Buildings that housed...
Pittsburgh development is (mostly) booming. What to know now and what to expect next
Pittsburgh is experiencing a building boom worth billions. About 80 large construction projects are in the works or have been proposed in the city, according to Tribune-Review research and data from construction analyst firm Tall Timber Group. About half are under construction. The projects range from office space and multi-use...
Amazon to buy vacuum maker iRobot for roughly $1.7B
NEW YORK — Amazon on Friday announced it has agreed to acquire the vacuum cleaner maker iRobot for about $1.7 billion, scooping up another company to add to its collection of smart home appliances amid broader concerns about the company’s market power. iRobot sells its products worldwide and is most...
U.S. employers added 528,000 jobs; unemployment falls to 3.5%
WASHINGTON — America’s hiring boom continued last month as employers added a surprising 528,000 jobs despite raging inflation and rising anxiety about a recession. July’s hiring was up from 398,000 in June. The unemployment rate slipped to 3.5%. The U.S. economy shrank in the first two quarters of 2022 —...
How Pennsylvania’s new minimum wage regulations will impact workers
For the first time in 45 years, Pennsylvania workers woke up to updated Minimum Wage Act regulations Friday morning. The new state regulations revise how employers pay tipped employees and process noncash tips, among other changes. They also align Pennsylvania regulations with federal ones. These regulations were proposed by Gov....
Twitter responds to Elon Musk’s claims, calls them ‘excuses’
SAN FRANCISCO — Twitter denied in a court filing that it had deprived its would-be acquirer, billionaire and Tesla CEO Elon Musk, of necessary information or misrepresented details about its business. Musk originally made those charges to justify his attempt to back out of a $44 billion deal to buy...
