Business category, Page 184
Despite covid pandemic, Pittsburgh’s Allentown remains open for business
Rebecca Romagnoli is passionate about pasta. Romagnoli’s business, Forma Pasta, began as a subscription service in August 2019 but in November 2020 — in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic — opened a retail location in the Pittsburgh neighborhood of Allentown. “I chose Allentown because it is still up and...
Extra federal unemployment aid will soon end for 500,000 Pennsylvanians
More than a half-million jobless Pennsylvanians receiving temporary aid from three federal unemployment programs will see those checks end as of Sept. 4, the state said. The state Department of Labor and Industry said it is working with organizations and agencies to identify programs and support services for those who...
Giant Eagle, GetGo now accepting PayPal, Venmo for payment
People shopping at Giant Eagle or GetGo can now pay using the digital wallets they have on their smartphones. The O’Hara-based chain now allows customers to pay using PayPal or Venmo mobile applications on their smartphones. Giant Eagle worked with Blackhawk Network, a Pleasonton, Calif.-based company to offer the option,...
OxyContin-maker Purdue goes to judge to confirm settlement
NEW YORK — Purdue Pharma’s quest to settle thousands of lawsuits over the toll of OxyContin and its other prescription opioid painkillers entered its final phase Thursday with the grudging support of many of those who have claims against the company. Nearly two years after seeking bankruptcy protection, the company...
Court rules UPMC can proceed with controversial South Hills hospital
A new UPMC hospital planned about a mile from an Allegheny Health Network hospital in Jefferson Hills can be built, a state appeals court has ruled. The 63-bed hospital, called UPMC South, has been in the works since 2018, and is planned off Route 51 along Elliott Road. But more...
U.S. jobless claims near pandemic low
WASHINGTON — The number of Americans seeking unemployment benefits fell for a third straight time last week, the latest sign that employers are laying off fewer people as they struggle to fill a record number of open jobs and meet a surge in consumer demand. Thursday’s report from the Labor...
U.S. Amateur Championship brings welcome business to area establishments
Like many area businesses, restaurants and hotels in Oakmont and Harmar have suffered during the pandemic. It’s going to take time to make up the losses they’ve incurred, but weeks such as this one definitely are helping their economic recovery. The 121st U.S. Amateur golf championship is being held this...
S&P 500, Dow industrials mark records but Nasdaq lags behind
Banks and industrial companies helped lift stocks on Wall Street mostly higher Wednesday, pushing the S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average past the record highs they set a day earlier. The S&P 500 rose 0.2% after another wobbly day of trading. Nearly three-fourths of the companies in the benchmark...
Plan to replace aging postal truck fleet delayed by lawsuit
PORTLAND, Maine — Postal workers thrilled at the prospect of making deliveries in modern, comfortable and environmentally friendly vehicles are soldiering on in their aging, spartan trucks. The primary fleet of vehicles — dating to 1987 — was due to be replaced under a new contract but the winning bid...
U.S. consumer prices keep rising, up 5.4% from a year ago
WASHINGTON — Prices for U.S. consumers rose last month but at the slowest pace since February, a sign that Americans may gain some relief after four months of sharp increases that have imposed a financial burden on the nation’s households. Wednesday’s report from the Labor Department showed that consumer prices...
As delta spreads, Southwest no longer sees profit for quarter
The highly contagious delta variant has darkened the outlook for Southwest Airlines, one of the largest carriers in the U.S., which said that it no longer expects to turn a profit in the third quarter as covid-19 infections spread. The revelation, contained in a Wednesday filing with the U.S. Securities...
Facebook bans firm behind Pfizer, AstraZeneca smear campaign
PROVIDENCE, R.I. — Facebook said Tuesday that it has removed hundreds of accounts linked to a mysterious advertising agency operating out of Russia that sought to pay social media influencers to smear covid-19 vaccines made by Pfizer and AstraZeneca. A network of 65 Facebook accounts and 243 Instagram accounts was...
Stocks edge higher as banks, industrials offset tech slide
Stocks capped another wobbly day of trading on Wall Street with modest gains Tuesday, as financial and industrial companies helped lift the market, outweighing a pullback in technology stocks. The S&P 500 recovered from an early slip and eked out a 0.1% gain, enough to eclipse the record high it...
Betting website DraftKings buys Golden Nugget Online
LAS VEGAS — Sports betting website DraftKings Inc. is buying the online gambling subsidiary of Golden Nugget Inc. in a stock deal valued at $1.56 billion, the two companies said Monday. The acquisition of Golden Nugget Online Gaming gives Boston-based DraftKings a well-known brand in the casino and gambling world,...
John Dorfman: Sane Portfolio advanced 47% last year
Most of my clients want medium-risk portfolios. A few tilt more to the conservative side. To find stocks for the more conservative ones, a tool I use is the Sane Portfolio. This is a hypothetical collection of a dozen stocks that seem solid to me from several vantage points. To...
Stocks end a wobbly day lower, edging below recent records
Technology and energy companies led stocks lower Monday on Wall Street, easing the market back from its recent all-time highs. The S&P 500 slipped 0.1%, erasing an early gain. Technology companies accounted for a big share of the decline. Industrial and consumer-centric stocks also fell. Those losses outweighed gains in...
U.S. job openings hit a record 10.1 million in June
WASHINGTON — U.S. employers posted a record 10.1 million job openings in June, another sign that the job market and economy are bouncing back briskly from last year’s coronavirus shutdowns. Job openings rose from 9.5 million in May, the Labor Department reported Monday. Employers hired 6.7 million workers in June....
With chicken prices soaring, Sanderson Farms sold for $4.5B
Sanderson Farms, one of nation’s third largest poultry producer, is being acquired for $4.53 billion as the price of chicken soars. Cargill and privately held Continental Grain formed a joint venture to acquire Sanderson and will pay $203 per share in cash for a company that last year processed more...
Norwegian Cruise Line can require proof of vaccinations, federal judge rules
Norwegian Cruise Lines Holdings can require proof of vaccines for all passengers and crews, a federal judge ruled Sunday night. U.S. District Judge Kathleen Williams said in her ruling that Norwegian Cruise Line, Oceania Cruises and Regent Seven Seas Cruises can require documentation of vaccines before they leave Florida ports....
Weary U.S. businesses confront new round of mask mandates
Businesses large and small, from McDonald’s and Home Depot to local yoga studios, are reinstituting mask mandates as U.S. coronavirus cases rise. Bars, gyms and restaurants across the country are requiring vaccines to get inside. After a largely mask-free summer, it’s a reversal no one wanted to see, brought on...
ATI moving Pittsburgh headquarters from Downtown to new Strip District building
Allegheny Technologies Inc. will move its Pittsburgh headquarters from Downtown to the Strip District next summer, the company and Burns Scalo Real Estate announced. Burns Scalo said the specialty materials manufacturer is the first tenant to sign a lease for “The Vision on 15th,” an eight-story, mixed-use building under construction...
U.S. probes whether Ford was slow to recall backup cameras
DETROIT — U.S. highway safety regulators are investigating whether Ford acted quickly enough when it recalled more than 620,000 vehicles last year to fix faulty rear-view cameras. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration also says it will look into whether the automaker should have recalled more vehicles. Documents posted Friday...
U.S. added 943,000 jobs in July; unemployment rate at 5.4%
WASHINGTON — Hiring surged in July as American employers added 943,000 jobs. The unemployment rate dropped to 5.4% another sign that the U.S. economy continues to bounce back with surprising vigor from last year’s coronavirus shutdown. The July numbers exceeded economists’ forecast for more than 860,000 new jobs. Hotels and...
Huawei revenue sinks as smartphones hurt by U.S. sanctions
BEIJING — Chinese tech giant Huawei’s revenue fell 29.4% from a year earlier in the first half of 2021 as smartphones sales tumbled under U.S. sanctions imposed in a fight with Beijing over technology and security. Revenue declined to $49.6 billion, according to figures released Friday, from $70.2 billion reported...
Add United Airlines to list of companies requiring U.S. employees to be vaccinated
United Airlines will require employees in the U.S. to be vaccinated against covid-19 by late October, perhaps sooner, joining a growing number of big corporations that are responding to a surge in virus cases. Company leaders called it a matter of safety and cited “incredibly compelling” evidence of the effectiveness...
