Business category, Page 173
John Dorfman: CEOs buy their own shares at loanDepot, Uber
It pays to keep an eye open when corporate chieftains buy or sell their company’s stock. Here are four dispatches from the (legal) insider trading front. loanDepot Based in Foothill Ranch, Calif., loanDepot Inc. (LDI), is a nonbank consumer lender. Much of its business consists of home equity loans and...
U.S. jobless rate sinks to 4.2% as many more people find jobs
WASHINGTON — America’s employers slowed the pace of their hiring in November, adding 210,000 jobs, the lowest monthly gain in nearly a year. But Friday’s report from the Labor Department also showed that the nation’s unemployment rate tumbled from 4.6% to 4.2%, evidence that many more people reported that they...
U.S. jobless claims rise by 28,000, but still low at 222,000
The number of Americans applying for unemployment benefits rose last week even though the U.S. job market has been rebounding from last year’s coronavirus recession. Jobless claims climbed by 28,000 to 222,000 from the previous week’s 52-year low 194,000, the Labor Department reported Thursday. The four-week average of claims, which...
Broad rally lifts stocks after run of volatile trading
A broad rally on Wall Street pushed stocks higher Thursday, giving the S&P 500 its best day in seven weeks as the market recouped some of its losses after several days of volatile trading. The benchmark index rose 1.4%, its biggest gain since mid-October. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose...
Facebook: Fake scientist used to spread anti-U.S. propaganda
A disinformation network with ties to China used hundreds of fake social media accounts — including one belonging to a fictitious Swiss biologist — to spread an unfounded claim that the U.S. pressured scientists to blame China for the coronavirus, Facebook said Wednesday. The company based in Menlo Park, Calif.,...
Markets turn cautious, reversing an early gain to end lowerVideo
Another roller-coaster ride on Wall Street whipsawed investors Wednesday as an early market rally reversed course by midafternoon, piling up more losses for stocks. The S&P 500 had been up 1.9% in the early going following some better-than-expected readings on the U.S. economy, but the gains gradually gave way to...
Fed survey finds supply-chain shortages boosting inflation
WASHINGTON — Many parts of the country were hit by supply chain disruptions and labor shortages in November, the Federal Reserve reported Wednesday. In a survey of business conditions around the country, the Fed’s 12 regional banks found that the economy continued to grow at a modest-to-moderate pace, and the...
Omicron unravels travel industry’s plans for a comeback
Tourism businesses that were just finding their footing after nearly two years of devastation wrought by the covid-19 pandemic are being rattled again as countries throw up new barriers to travel in an effort to contain the omicron variant. From shopping districts in Japan and tour guides in the Holy...
November delivers another hit to sinking consumer confidence
WASHINGTON — U.S. consumer confidence fell to a nine-month low in November, clipped by rising prices and concern about the coronavirus. The Conference Board reported Tuesday that its consumer confidence index dropped to a reading of 109.5, down from 111.6 in October. It was the lowest reading since the index...
Stocks sink as omicron, rate worries rattle Wall Street
NEW YORK — Already unnerved by the newest coronavirus variant, Wall Street’s losses deepened on Tuesday after the head of the Federal Reserve said it will consider shutting off its support for financial markets sooner than expected. The S&P 500 fell 1.9%, erasing its gains from a day earlier. The...
Ohio court to hear NASCAR challenge of tax on broadcasts
COLUMBUS, Ohio — The Ohio Supreme Court has scheduled oral arguments in a case involving the state’s attempt to tax NASCAR for broadcasting its races in Ohio. At issue before the court is whether the state tax commissioner properly subjected those broadcasts to Ohio’s commercial activities tax during an audit...
John Dorfman: So far, Joe Biden leads all presidents in market performance
So far, Joe Biden leads all U.S. presidents in stock-market performance. We’re in the early days, of course. Biden hasn’t served a full year yet. And the market slide on Nov. 26, if sustained, could change the numbers rapidly. But through Nov. 26, the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index has...
Wall Street steadies following omicron slide; stocks rise
NEW YORK — Wall Street steadied itself Monday after last week’s stock market slide caused by the newest coronavirus variant, with investors now waiting for more clues about just how much damage it may do to the economy. The S&P 500 rose 1.3% to recover more than half of its...
New Mexico oil regulators aim to limit seismic activity
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — New Mexico oil and gas regulators are watching closely as increased seismic activity is being reported in the Permian Basin along the Texas state line. Under a plan recently rolled out by the New Mexico Oil Conservation Division, pending permits for wastewater injection in certain areas will...
Cyber Monday sales should be robust but business cooling
NEW YORK — Consumers are expected to spend between $10.2 billion and $11.3 billion on Monday, making it once again the biggest online shopping day of the year, according to Adobe Digital Economy Index. Still, spending on what’s known as Cyber Monday could drop from last year’s level of $10.8...
Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey stepping down as CEO
NEW YORK — Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey has stepped down as CEO of the social media platform. He has been succeeded by Twitter’s current chief technology officer, Parag Agrawal. Dorsey will remain on the board until his term expires in 2022. Agrawal joined Twitter in 2011 and has been CTO...
Derry native’s gamer coaching platform Metafy acquires U.K. platform GamersRdy
This time last year, Josh Fabian — the CEO and founder of gamer-coaching platform Metafy — had attracted more than $3 million in investment capital and was bringing in roughly $5,000 each month by providing one-on-one access to champion-level gaming coaches. Fabian, 32, of Blairsville says Metafy is acquiring U.K.-based...
Shippers prepare for another pandemic crush of holiday gifts
PORTLAND, Maine — The last holiday season was far from the most wonderful time of the year for the U.S. Postal Service: Sick and quarantined workers, a flood of packages from shoppers loath to set foot in stores and a last-minute dump of packages from overwhelmed private shippers. Postal workers...
Activists block Amazon warehouses in Europe on Black Friday
Climate activists blockaded Amazon warehouses in three European countries on Friday, part of a global effort to pressure the ecommerce giant on one of its busiest days of the year to improve working conditions and end business practices that hurt the environment. Members of Extinction Rebellion targeted 13 Amazon fulfilment...
Biden sets out oil, gas leasing reform, stops short of ban
The Biden administration on Friday recommended an overhaul of the nation’s oil and gas leasing program to focus on areas that are most suitable for energy development and raise costs for energy companies to drill on public lands and water. The long-awaited report by the Interior Department stops short of...
Westmoreland County shop owners have high hopes for Small Business Saturday
Tracy Alaia has seen firsthand the kindness expressed to small businesses during the covid-19 pandemic. As owner of Feathers Artist Market and Gifts in Irwin, Alaia predicts that kindness to continue during this weekend’s Small Business Saturday, when crowds are expected at locally owned shops to kick off holiday shopping....
Stores kick off Black Friday but pandemic woes linger
Retailers are expected to usher in the unofficial start to the holiday shopping season Friday with bigger crowds than last year in a closer step toward normalcy. But the fallout from the pandemic continues to weigh on businesses and shoppers’ minds. Buoyed by solid hiring, healthy pay gains and substantial...
Stocks sink on new covid variant; Dow loses 905 points
Stocks sank Friday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average briefly falling more than 1,000 points, as a new coronavirus variant first detected in South Africa appeared to be spreading across the globe. Investors were uncertain whether the variant could potentially reverse months of progress at getting the covid-19 pandemic under...
Dollar Tree makes it official: Items will now cost $1.25
NEW YORK — Faced with the rising cost of goods and freight, discount retail chain Dollar Tree said Tuesday it will be raising its prices to $1.25 for the majority of its products. Dollar Tree said the reason for raising its prices to $1.25 was not due to “short-term or...
Consumer spending rebounds in October, inflation elevated
WASHINGTON — U.S. consumer spending rebounded in October, rising by a a solid 1.3%, but inflation remains elevated, rising over the past year at the fastest pace in more than three decades. The jump in consumer spending last month was double the 0.6% gain in September, the Commerce Department reported...
