Business category, Page 164
Come join my Derby of Economic Forecasting Talent
They never see it coming. By “they,” I mean almost everyone. By “it,” I mean a surprise in the economy. As evidence, consider my annual Derby of Economic Forecasting Talent (DEFT), which has just concluded its 19th year. Inflation in 2021 heated up to 7%. Not a single one of...
Swings return to Wall Street, oil up after Russia sanctions
NEW YORK — Markets quivered Monday amid worries about how high oil prices will go and how badly the global economy will get hit after the United States and allies upped the financial pressure on Russia for its invasion of Ukraine. Stocks swung up and down several times, leaving the...
Target seeks to entice workers with pay of up to $24 an hour
NEW YORK — Workers at Target stores and distribution centers in places like New York, where competition for finding and hiring staff is the fiercest, could see starting wages as high as $24 an hour this year. The Minneapolis-based discount retailer said Monday that it will adopt minimum wages that...
Toyota’s Japan production halted over suspected cyberattack
TOKYO — Toyota is suspending production at all 28 lines of its 14 plants in Japan starting Tuesday, because of a “system malfunction” that a domestic supplier suspects is a cyberattack. Kojima Industries Corp., based in Toyota city in central Japan, said Monday the problem could be a cyberattack as...
Ruble plummets as sanctions bite, sending Russians to banks
MOSCOW — Ordinary Russians faced the prospect of higher prices and crimped foreign travel as Western sanctions over the invasion of Ukraine sent the ruble plummeting, leading uneasy people to line up at banks and ATMs on Monday in a country that has seen more than one currency disaster in...
John Dorfman: Why I think George Soros is wrong about Rivian
George Soros recently bought shares of Rivian Automotive Inc. (RIVN). I think he’s wrong. Shares in Rivian, an electric-truck startup backed by Amazon.com Inc. and Ford Motor Co., trade for 6,637 times the company’s revenue for the past four quarters. That’s the kind of multiple you see when investors mentally...
BP exiting stake in Russian oil and gas company Rosneft
BP said Sunday it is exiting its share in Rosneft, a state-controlled Russian oil and gas company, in reaction to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. BP has held a 19.75% stake in Rosneft since 2013. That stake is currently valued at $14 billion. London-based BP also said its CEO, Bernard Looney,...
Potent protest: Bars drop Russian vodka, promote Ukraine’s
Some bars and liquor stores think they’ve found a potent way to punish Russia for invading Ukraine: They’re pulling Russian vodka off their shelves and promoting Ukrainian brands instead. “I woke up yesterday morning, and I saw that Russia had invaded Ukraine. You wonder what you can do,” said Bob...
China is Russia’s best hope to blunt sanctions, but wary
BEIJING — China is the only friend that might help Russia blunt the impact of economic sanctions over its invasion of Ukraine, but President Xi Jinping’s government is giving no sign it might be willing to risk its own access to U.S. and European markets by doing too much. Even...
Stocks up, fear down on Wall Street despite Ukraine invasion
NEW YORK — Some relief flowed through Wall Street on Friday, even as deadly attacks continued to rage in Ukraine. Stocks rose, oil fell and investors turned away from gold and other traditional havens they favor when fear is high. The S&P 500 was 1.3% higher in midday trading, following...
Key inflation gauge hit 6.1% in January, highest since 1982
WASHINGTON — An inflation gauge that is closely monitored by the Federal Reserve jumped 6.1% in January compared with a year ago, the latest evidence that Americans are enduring sharp price increases that will likely worsen after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The figure reported Friday by the Commerce Department was...
How joining the Great Resignation could hamper homebuying plans
If you joined the Great Resignation in the last year, you may have found it even harder to compete in the already wild pandemic housing market. A record number of Americans quit their jobs in 2021, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, and while it was a liberating experience...
How much will the Fed raise interest rates in 2022? Here’s what experts are saying
Consumers may soon see the most aggressive Federal Reserve in decades. Expectations are growing that the U.S. central bank will hike interest rates this year by the most since 2005. How much depends on who you ask: Goldman Sachs is penciling in seven increases, while traders are betting on at...
Wall Street reels, then recovers after invasion of Ukraine
NEW YORK — Markets swung wildly Thursday as the world reacted to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Stocks in Europe fell sharply, while stocks in the U.S. recovered from early losses after President Joe Biden stopped short of implementing the steepest possible sanctions against Russia. The S&P 500 rallied 1.5% after...
U.S. slightly revises up its GDP estimate for Q4 to 7%
WASHINGTON — The U.S. economy ended 2021 by expanding at a brisk 7% annual pace from October through December, the government reported Thursday in a slight upgrade from its earlier estimate. For all of 2021, the nation’s gross domestic product — its total output of goods and services — jumped...
Ford recalls heavy-duty pickups; drive shafts can fracture
DETROIT — Ford is recalling nearly a quarter-million heavy duty pickup trucks in the U.S. because the drive shafts can fracture and cause a loss of power. The recall covers certain F-250 and F-350 Super Duty pickups from the 2017 through 2022 model years. The trucks have gasoline engines and...
Covid vaccine sales push Moderna to $12B profit in 2021
Moderna’s covid-19 vaccine brought in nearly $7 billion in the final quarter of 2021, and the drugmaker says it has signed purchase agreements for another $19 billion in sales this year. The vaccine maker’s covid-19 shots, which are now available in more than 70 countries, totaled $17.7 billion in sales...
Over 1.7M Hondas probed for unexpected automatic braking
DETROIT — U.S. auto safety regulators are investigating complaints that the automatic emergency braking systems on more than 1.7 million newer Hondas can stop the vehicles for no reason. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration says it has 278 complaints that the problem can happen in 2017 through 2019 CR-V...
Wall Street losses mount amid simmering Ukraine crisis
NEW YORK — Wall Street’s losses mounted Wednesday as world leaders waited to see if Russian President Vladimir Putin orders troops deeper into Ukraine. The S&P 500 fell 1.8% to an 8-month low, deepening the benchmark index’s “correction,” or a loss of 10% from its recent peak. More than 85%...
Subaru buyers caught in right-to-repair fight over its cars
Driving a rugged Subaru through snowy weather is a rite of passage for some New Englanders, whose region is a top market for the Japanese automaker. So it was a surprise to Subaru fans when Massachusetts dealerships started selling its line of 2022 vehicles without a key ingredient: the in-car...
Former PPG Industries top executive Vincent Sarni dies at 93
Vincent “Vin” Sarni, retired PPG Industries chairman and chief executive officer, died on Feb. 21 at age 93. Sarni served as chairman and CEO of the company from 1984 until his retirement in 1993, concluding a 25-year career with PPG. “Vin was a strong and highly respected leader. He was...
If your life changed in 2021, watch for income tax surprises
The events of 2021 didn’t always play out as expected. A lingering pandemic, a shifting government response and a wave of career moves meant many people ended the year in a far different place from where they began. Now, as the income tax filing deadline approaches, those life changes may...
Stocks slide further amid Ukraine crisis; S&P in correctionVideo
NEW YORK — Stocks closed broadly lower Tuesday after Russia sent forces into Ukraine’s eastern region and the U.S., European Union and U.K. responded with economic sanctions. The rising geopolitical tensions kept financial markets on edge, pulling the S&P 500 into a correction — Wall Street speak for a drop...
International forces costing American drivers $375M more every day on gas, analyst says
Americans are spending about $375 million more on gasoline every day compared to a year ago, as prices continue to rise in the Pittsburgh area and across the nation, said Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis for GasBuddy. While there are concerns about how Russia’s actions in Ukraine could...
U.S. consumer confidence dips slightly but remains high
SILVER SPRING, Md. — U.S. consumer confidence declined modestly this month but remains high, even as prices for just about everything continue to rise. The Conference Board, a business research group, said Tuesday that its consumer confidence index — which takes into account consumers’ assessment of current conditions and their...
