Business category, Page 198

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — California regulators approved new rules on Thursday that would force automakers to sell more electric work trucks and delivery vans, a first-of-its-kind rule aimed at helping the nation’s most populous state clean up its worst-in-the-nation air quality. The rules require a certain percentage of work truck sales...

Financial companies led stocks broadly higher on Wall Street Thursday as traders welcomed news that the Federal Reserve and other regulators are removing some limits on the ability of banks to make investments. The S&P 500 climbed 1.1% following a jumpy day of trading. At one point, the index was...

NEW YORK — Chuck E Cheese, the restaurant chain that became a Mecca for children and a crucible for many of their parents, is filing for bankruptcy protection. CEC Entertainment Inc. has reopened 266 of its 612 company-operated Chuck E Cheese and Peter Piper Pizza restaurants, but did not elaborate...

NEW YORK — Macy’s said Thursday it’s laying off 3,900 people corporate staffers, roughly 3% of its overall workforce, as the pandemic takes a financial toll on the iconic department store chain’s sales and profits. The company said in a release that the headcount reduction will save the company $630...

WASHINGTON — The U.S. economy shrank at a 5.0% rate in the first quarter with a much worse decline expected in the current three-month economic period, which will show what happened when the pandemic began spread across the U.S. The Commerce Department reported Thursday that the decline in the gross...

BERLIN — Bayer will pay up to $10.9 billion to settle litigation over the subsidiary Monsanto’s weedkiller Roundup, which has faced thousands of lawsuits over claims it causes cancer, the German-based company said Wednesday. Bayer said it was also paying up $1.22 billion to settle two additional areas of intense...

Stocks fell sharply on Wall Street Wednesday as new coronavirus cases in the U.S. climbed to the highest level in two months, dimming investors’ hopes for a relatively quick economic turnaround. The S&P 500 was down 2.6% in late-afternoon trading, giving back all of its gains for the month. The...

Pittsburgh-based health and wellness retailer GNC Corp. filed for bankruptcy and plans to close 800 to 1,200 stores, including several in Western Pennsylvania, unless it finds a buyer willing to pay at least $760 million under an agreement with lenders. Saying the covid-19 pandemic “had a dramatic negative impact on...

Stocks closed higher on Wall Street on Tuesday, extending the market’s recent winning streak after another strong showing by technology companies. The S&P 500 rose 0.4% and is on pace for its third straight monthly gain. The Nasdaq composite, which is heavily weighted with technology stocks, climbed to an all-time...

On Wall Street, FOMO means fear of missing out. I think what many investors are feeling now is not FOMO but FOHAMO — fear of having already missed out. The stock market’s waterfall decline in February and March created some bargains, but with a virus-led recession starting, many investors were...

LOS ANGELES — The nation’s largest movie theater chain changed its position on mask-wearing less than a day after the company became a target on social media for saying it would defer to local governments on the issue. AMC Theaters CEO Adam Aron said Friday that its theaters will require...

SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. — A federal judge on Friday said he was approving a $58 billion plan by the nation’s largest utility to end a contentious bankruptcy saga that began after Pacific Gas & Electric’s outdated equipment ignited wildfires in California that killed more than 100 people, wiped out entire...

Apple’s Friday decision to close stores in four states with surging coronavirus cases highlights a question that other businesses may soon face: Stay open or prepare for more shutdowns? Apple, like many other major U.S. retailers, shut down all of its U.S. locations in March. On Friday, it said it...

NEW YORK — Wall Street careened through all the forces that have pushed and pulled it through the week, at first rising on Friday amid hope for the economy and then falling on worries about worsening coronavirus levels in some states, all before ending with modest losses. The S&P 500...

PARIS — France’s highest administrative court has upheld a fine of $56 million Google was ordered to pay for not being “sufficiently clear and transparent” with Android users about their data protection options. Google was first slapped with the fine in January 2019, the first penalty for a U.S. tech...

FRANKFURT, Germany — Automaker BMW says it will drop 6,000 jobs through early retirements and turnover, as the auto industry adjusts to a sharp drop in demand due to the coronavirus outbreak. The Munich-based maker of the X5 SUV and 3-Series sedan said Friday that it had agreed on the...

DALLAS — American Airlines has banned a man who was kicked off a plane for refusing to wear a face covering, among the first such incidents since airlines promised this week to step up enforcement of their mask rules. A spokesman for American said Thursday that the airline decided to...

WASHINGTON — About 1.5 million laid-off workers applied for U.S. unemployment benefits last week, a historically high number, even as the economy increasingly reopens and employers bring some people back to work. The latest figure from the Labor Department marked the 11th straight weekly decline in applications since they peaked...

NEW YORK — Mark Cuban is ready to talk business — or whatever else his radio listeners want to discuss. The outspoken Dallas Mavericks owner will host specials on SiriusXM’s Business Radio on the next two Thursdays, speaking about business issues and answering questions from callers. “Ask Me Anything with...

SAN FRANCISCO — A former CEO of Bumble Bee Foods has been sentenced to more than three years in jail for his role in a canned tuna price-fixing conspiracy involving three major companies, the U.S. Justice Department said. Christopher Lischewski was also ordered Tuesday to pay a $100,000 fine in...

Liquidation sales at 136 J.C. Penney stores slated to close, including several in Western Pennsylvania, began Wednesday. Stores at the Pittsburgh Mills in Frazer, Monroeville Mall, the Clearview Mall near Butler and the Beaver Valley Mall in Center Township are among the stores to close and are holding going-out-of-business sales....

Quaker Oats announced Wednesday it’s changing the name of Aunt Jemima syrup and pancake mix. “We recognize Aunt Jemima’s origins are based on a racial stereotype,” Quaker vice president and chief marketing officer Kristin Kroepfl said in a statement. “As we work to make progress toward racial equality through several...

The newest addition to the Ford line of trucks and SUVs is actually a familiar one, the Bronco. The Bronco is making a comeback after being off the market since the mid ‘90s. In a ironic turn, Ford announced that it will debut the Bronco on July 9 — the...

CHARLESTON, W.Va. — A union representing coal miners asked a court Tuesday to force the federal government to take unspecified measures to protect them from the coronavirus. The petition asked the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia for an expedited order against the U.S. Mine Safety...