Business category, Page 168
U.S. warns that chip shortage could shut down factories
The U.S. supply of computer chips has fallen to alarmingly low levels, raising the prospect of factory shutdowns, the Commerce Department reported Tuesday. Companies that use semiconductors are down to less than five days of inventory — a sharp drop from 40 days in 2019, according to a department survey...
Walmart invests in indoor vertical farming startup Plenty
Walmart said Tuesday it has taken a stake in agriculture startup Plenty, becoming the first large U.S. retailer to significantly invest in indoor vertical farming as a way to deliver fresher produce to its stores. Vertical farmers tout their high-quality produce that brings higher yields while using less water and...
Michigan OKs $824M in incentives for GM’s EV, battery plants
LANSING, Mich. — Michigan’s economic development board on Tuesday approved $824 million in incentives and assistance for General Motors Co. to put electric vehicle and battery plants in its home state, adding as many as 4,000 jobs. The Detroit-based automaker plans to spend up to $4 billion converting and expanding...
Stocks climb back after steep slide on Fed, Ukraine jitters
NEW YORK — A volatile day on Wall Street ended Monday with stocks notching modest gains after climbing back from a steep slide that had knocked more than 1,200 points off the Dow Jones Industrial Average. The late-afternoon comeback pulled the S&P 500 out of so-called correction territory — a...
Taxpayers face overloaded IRS as filing season opens Monday
WASHINGTON — Count 30-year-old Ethan Miller among that subset of Americans who are actually eager to file their taxes once income tax filing season opens on Monday. The financial planner who lives in Silver Spring, Maryland, is looking forward to claiming the new deductions that will come from buying a...
Bitcoin, other cryptocurrencies growing in popularity as ATMs sprout up across Pittsburgh region
A different kind of ATM is popping up in stores, supermarkets and malls across Southwestern Pennsylvania. These, however, are not intended to spit out dollars. They offer cryptocurrency — a decentralized, digital currency that has no government backing or regulation. Its value is volatile, fluctuating like a stock. It relies...
Weber Grills apologizes for ill-timed meat loaf recipe email
Weber picked the wrong day to suggest grilling meat loaf. The outdoor grill maker apologized on Friday for sending a recipe-of-the-week email earlier that day featuring instructions on how to prepare “BBQ Meat Loaf.” The email coincided with news of the death of Marvin Lee Aday, best known as rock...
AHN patients possible victims of data breach
The data of Allegheny Health Network Home Infusion (AHNHI) patients may have been improperly accessed after the data breach of a vendor, officials said Friday. Vantage Healthcare Network, Inc., a vendor of Pittsburgh-based AHNHI, was the victim of a ransomware cyber-attack in October. AHNHI is now in the process of...
Allegheny County Airport Authority CEO gets raise, $184K bonus
The Allegheny County Airport Authority board on Friday granted a major pay raise and bonus for CEO Christina Cassotis. The board unanimously voted to give Cassotis a 23% salary increase over what she was expected to earn in 2022, bringing her annual salary this year to $534,000. She also was...
Stocks extend losses for 3rd week; Netflix plunges
Stocks capped another day of losses on Wall Street Friday with the worst weekly drop for the S&P 500 since the start of the pandemic. Stocks have been falling amid concerns about rising inflation and the Federal Reserve’s plan to raise interest rates from historic lows to try and curtail...
Mars gives M&M’s a makeover to promote inclusivity
Candy maker Mars is giving a makeover to its six M&M’s characters as a way to promote inclusivity. The company said that it will provide a modern take on the appearances of the characters — which Mars calls “lentils” — and give them more nuanced personalities. The lentils, which are...
Intel building $20B Ohio chip facility amid global shortage
COLUMBUS, Ohio — Intel will invest $20 billion in a new computer chip facility in Ohio amid a global shortage of microprocessors used in everything from phones and cars to video games. After years of heavy reliance on Asia for the production of computer chips, vulnerability to shortages of crucial...
McDonald’s expanding test of McPlant in U.S. stores
McDonald’s is expanding sales of its meatless McPlant burger to hundreds of locations. The company said the McPlant —— which it co-developed with plant-based protein company Beyond Meat —— will be sold at 600 stores in the San Francisco and Dallas areas starting Feb. 14. It’s a major expansion for...
American Airlines reports $2 billion in losses for 2021 as omicron weighs on near future
American Airlines lost $931 million in the fourth quarter to finish a 2021 year that was as much about surviving the covid-19 and its variants as it was about recovering from the devastating pandemic, the company reported Thursday morning. American’s losses totaled $2 billion for the full 2021, a vast...
Mark Cuban’s online pharmacy touting low-cost prescription drugs now open
Mark Cuban’s online pharmacy promising affordable prices on prescription medications is up and running. The Mark Cuban Cost Plus Drug Company cuts out middlemen and negotiates directly with drug manufacturers and pharmacies for rebates and discounts on behalf of employers, health insurers and government health programs. It says it’s offering...
Amazon heads to the mall with prototype clothing store
NEW YORK — First, Amazon competed with malls. Now, it’s moving inside one. The online retailing giant said Thursday that it plans to open a clothing store in a Southern California mall later this year. It’s the latest foray into brick-and-mortar for Amazon, which already sells more than 10% of...
Rapid rise in mortgage rates startles homebuyers; blame inflation fears
All the big unknowns surrounding the rapid jump in inflation — including how high consumer prices will go and how quickly the Fed will raise interest rates — have put the mortgage market on high alert in early 2022. “Rates have gone up rather quickly and there’s still a little...
U.S. jobless claims rise to 286,000, highest since October
WASHINGTON — The number of Americans applying for unemployment benefits rose to the highest level in three months as the fast-spreading omicron variant disrupted the job market. Jobless claims rose for the third straight week — by 55,000 to 286,000, highest since mid-October, the Labor Department reported Thursday. The four-week...
Starbucks nixes vaccine mandate after Supreme Court ruling
Starbucks is no longer requiring its U.S. workers to be vaccinated against covid-19, reversing a plan it announced earlier this month. In a memo sent Tuesday to employees, the Seattle coffee giant said it was responding to last week’s ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court. In a 6-3 vote, the...
Construction to begin soon on new U.S. offshore wind farm
Construction will soon begin on the second commercial-scale, offshore wind energy project to gain approval in the United States, the developers said. The U.S. Department of the Interior approved it in November, and the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management issued its approval letter for the constructions and operations plan Tuesday,...
Explainer: Microsoft’s Activision buy could shake up gaming
Microsoft stunned the gaming industry when it announced this week it would buy game publisher Activision Blizzard for $68.7 billion, a deal that would immediately make it a larger video-game company than Nintendo. Microsoft, maker of the Xbox gaming system, said the deal would be good for gamers and advance...
Is the allure of cryptocurrency fading?
Bitcoin dropped to a three-month low recently and its movement has closely mirrored financial markets in its decline. Bitcoin bulls often describe it as an asset that is uncorrelated to traditional financial markets, CNBC reported, however experts have noticed growing parallels in the price movements of bitcoin and stocks. It...
Ford recalls 200K cars because brake lights can stay on
DETROIT — Ford is recalling about 200,000 cars in the U.S. to fix a problem that can stop the brake lights from turning off. The recall covers certain 2014 and 2015 Ford Fusion and Lincoln MKZ midsize cars as well as some 2015 Mustangs. All were sold or registered in...
U.S. home construction rises 3rd straight month in December
SILVER SPRING, Md. — Construction of new homes in the U.S. rose again in December as builders ramp up projects amid a persistent shortage of homes. The December increase puts home construction at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.70 million units, the Commerce Department reported Wednesday, the third consecutive...
Major airlines cancel, change flights to U.S. over 5G dispute
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Major international airlines canceled flights heading to the U.S. or changed the planes they’re using Wednesday, the latest complication in a dispute over concerns that 5G mobile phone service could interfere with aircraft technology. Some airlines said they were warned that the Boeing 777, a...
