Business category, Page 157

WASHINGTON — A ransomware attack paralyzed the networks of at least 200 U.S. companies on Friday, according to a cybersecurity researcher whose company was responding to the incident. The REvil gang, a major Russian-speaking ransomware syndicate, appears to be behind the attack, said John Hammond of the security firm Huntress...

Richard Branson plans to fly to space on July 11, days before a similar journey by fellow billionaire Jeff Bezos. The shares of Branson’s Virgin Galactic Holdings Inc. surged. The VSS Unity spacecraft will also carry three Virgin Galactic employees and two pilots from the launch site in New Mexico,...

NEW YORK — Stock indexes are ticking higher on Wall Street Friday after a report showed the nation’s job market was even stronger last month than expected. The S&P 500 was up 0.3% in morning trading and on pace for its seventh straight gain, though slightly more stocks were falling...

Stocks finished broadly higher Thursday on Wall Street, adding to the gains that helped the market close out its best first half of a year since the dotcom bubble. The S&P 500 rose 0.5%, marking its sixth straight gain and fourth consecutive record high. The price of U.S. crude oil...

The Congressional Budget Office says that the federal budget deficit will again hit $3 trillion this year, $745 billion more than its estimate five months ago, as it takes into account the cost of President Joe Biden’s $1.9 trillion coronavirus rescue plan. In an updated forecast Thursday, the CBO said...

WASHINGTON — Construction spending fell 0.3% in May. Growth in housing, the economy’s standout performer, slowed while activity in areas most directly impacted by the pandemic showed further weakness. The Commerce Department reported Thursday that the May decline followed a slight 0.1% rise in April and left overall construction spending...

WASHINGTON — The number of Americans applying for unemployment aid fell again last week to the lowest level since the pandemic struck last year, further evidence that the job market and the broader economy are rebounding rapidly from the coronavirus recession. The Labor Department reported Thursday that jobless claims dropped...

The shutdown caused by the coronavirus pandemic proved the importance of the Pittsburgh Downtown Partnership to the city’s business district, its members and administrators told city council members Tuesday. “Everything came crashing down,” said Casey Henderlong, describing how it hurt businesses like the Richard Deshantz Restaurant Group, where Henderlong is...

DETROIT — The U.S. government’s highway safety agency has ordered automakers to report any crashes involving fully autonomous vehicles or partially automated driver assist systems. The move Tuesday by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration indicates the agency is taking a tougher stance on automated vehicle safety than in the...

United Airlines is making one of the largest orders ever for commercial airplanes in an aggressive bet that air travel will rebound strongly from the pandemic. United said Tuesday that it will buy 200 Boeing Max jets and 70 planes from Europe’s Airbus so that it can replace many of...

DETROIT — General Motors is recalling more than 380,000 older SUVs in the U.S., many for a second time, to fix a suspension problem that can cause them to sway at highway speeds. GM decided on the recall after the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration opened an investigation last...

People who are fretting about the Federal Reserve’s latest comments probably never heard of Edson Gould. Gould, a famed stock analyst from the 1940s into the 1970s, tried to devise an answer to investors’ perennial question: When should you take defensive measures if the Fed is tightening credit conditions? He...

WASHINGTON — A federal judge on Monday dismissed antitrust lawsuits brought against Facebook by the Federal Trade Commission and a coalition of state attorneys general, dealing a significant blow to attempts by regulators to rein in tech giants. U.S. District Judge James Boasberg ruled Monday that the lawsuits were “legally...

NEW YORK — Strength for tech stocks nudged U.S. indexes a bit further into record heights Monday, more than making up for losses across much of the rest of Wall Street. The S&P 500 rose 9.91 points, or 0.2%, to 4,290.61 after drifting between small gains and losses for much...

Real estate appraiser Michelle Czekalski Bradley went above and beyond during the pandemic in her quest to follow covid-related safety protocols. Bradley, 54, created her own custom covid prevention outfit to wear while appraising properties. “I scoured the internet every night for gloves, booties, rain ponchos and anything that would...

Restaurants were hit hard by the pandemic and restrictions meant to curb the spread of covid-19 — and, for many restaurateurs, the struggles aren’t over yet. Navigating a pandemic — and the related rules and restrictions — has been a challenge April Platt never imagined she’d have to overcome. Platt...

Alle-Kiski Valley businesses are beginning to emerge from the incredible challenges caused by last year’s covid-19 pandemic. Many small-business owners said they’ve experienced a significant loss of income, stress and hardship during the shutdown and subsequent covid restrictions placed on their businesses. A 2020 U.S. Census Bureau Small Business Survey...

Despite inventive ways to lure new job candidates, owners and managers in many industries have been striking out for months on filling open spots. There was 20 openings in late May at Charley Family Shop ‘n Save stores in Murrysville, Hempfield and Greensburg. Co-owner Tom Charley said the grocer started...

Some relied on government funding to get through. In other cases, employees pitched in, volunteering their time instead of taking a paycheck. Others switched gears entirely, revamping their business plan. Whatever the means, local businesses found a way to survive months fraught with government-mandated shutdowns, capacity restrictions and headaches brought...

SANT ESTEVE SESROVIRES, Spain — The widow of John McAfee, the British-American tycoon who died in a Spanish prison this week while awaiting extradition to the United States, said Friday that her husband was not suicidal when she last spoke to him hours before he was found dead. Authorities in...

NEW TOWN, N.D. — On oil well pads carved from the wheat fields around Lake Sakakawea, hundreds of pump jacks slowly bob to extract 100 million barrels of crude annually from a reservation shared by three Native American tribes. About half their 16,000 members live on the Fort Berthold Indian...

Microsoft has unveiled the next generation of its Windows software, called Windows 11, that has a new Start Menu and other features. The newest version of Microsoft’s flagship operating system announced Thursday will be a successor to today’s Windows 10, which the company introduced in 2015. In a challenge to...