Business category, Page 216
Pfizer says early data signals its covid-19 vaccine 90% effective
Pfizer says an early peek at its vaccine data suggests the shots may be 90% effective at preventing covid-19, indicating the company is on track later this month to file an emergency use application with U.S. regulators. Monday’s announcement doesn’t mean a vaccine is imminent: This interim analysis, from an...
U.S. consumer borrowing up $16.2 billion in September
WASHINGTON — U.S. consumers increased their borrowing in September, helped by the first gain in the category that covers credit cards in seven months. The Federal Reserve reported that total borrowing rose by $16.2 billion in September, rebounding after a drop of $6.9 billion in August. The increase included a...
Stocks take a breather, while yields rally on jobs report
NEW YORK — Wall Street’s best week since April is taking its first breather, and stocks are mixed on Friday following their big rally on enthusiasm about the upside of potential gridlock in Washington. Optimism was still pumping through other areas of the market, though, and Treasury yields climbed after...
Unemployment drops to 6.9% and U.S. adds a solid 638,000 jobs
WASHINGTON — U.S. employers added 638,000 jobs in October, a solid pace though far fewer than needed to regain most of the jobs lost to the pandemic recession just as new viral cases are setting record highs. The gain suggested that a tentative economic recovery may remain intact even in...
Stocks slip ahead of U.S. jobs report, trimming earlier gains
BEIJING — Global stock markets turned lower on Friday ahead of a U.S. jobs report and amid protracted vote-counting following this week’s American elections. Dow and S&P 500 futures were down 0.8% and 0.9%, while European indexes traded lower. Asian markets mostly close higher. Markets have risen this week as...
Dept. of Justice sues to block Visa’s $5.3B purchase of Plaid
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — The Department of Justice sued payment processing giant Visa on Thursday to block the company’s purchase of financial technology startup Plaid, calling it a monopolistic takeover of a potential competitor to Visa’s ubiquitous payments network. The lawsuit, filed in the Northern District of California, seeks to stop...
How 2 blind brothers became Two Blind Brothers for a cause
Would you buy something you can’t see? That’s the question posed by two New York brothers who’ve lost much of their vision to a rare degenerative eye disorder and have dedicated their lives — and livelihoods — to raising money for a cure. Bradford Manning, 35, and his 30-year-old brother,...
Wall Street rallies again as stocks ride post-election wave
Stocks are still riding Wall Street’s post-election wave Thursday, as markets bet on the continuation of several business-friendly policies, and the S&P 500 is rallying 2.3% toward its biggest weekly jump since April. Markets are banking on Tuesday’s election leading to split control of Congress, which could mean low tax...
751,000 seek U.S. jobless benefits as virus hobbles economy
WASHINGTON — The number of Americans seeking unemployment benefits fell slightly last week to 751,000, a still-historically high level that shows that many employers keep cutting jobs in the face of the accelerating pandemic. A surge in viral cases and Congress’ failure so far to provide more aid for struggling...
GM puts up a booming third quarter
DETROIT — General Motors is posting huge third quarter numbers, pulling in $4 billion in profit over three months after losing money because of the virus outbreak. GM’s adjusted earnings were $2.83 per share, easily outpacing Wall Street’s per-share projections of $1.72, according to a survey by FactSet. Revenue of...
Federal Reserve confronts shaky economy that likely needs more help
WASHINGTON — Federal Reserve officials are meeting this week with the economy facing growing threats from a resurgence of the coronavirus and from Congress’ failure to provide any further aid for struggling individuals and businesses. Yet the Fed will likely end its latest policy meeting Thursday by deciding to wait...
Pet Valu plans to close all U.S. stores due to ‘severe impact from covid-19’
Pet Valu Inc., a pet food retailer with several stores in the Pittsburgh region, on Wednesday announced plans to wind down its U.S. operations “due to severe impact from covid-19.” Pet Valu said it expects its 358 U.S. stores and warehouses, scattered throughout the Northeast and Midwest, and its U.S....
Trade deficit falls to $63.9 billion in September
SILVER SPRING, Md. — The U.S. trade deficit fell in September after hitting a 14-year high in August as exports outpaced imports. The Commerce Department reported Wednesday that the gap between what the U.S. sells and what it buys abroad fell to $63.9 billion in September, a decline of 4.7%...
Stocks shake off election night wobbles to rally; tech leads
Technology and health care companies drove stocks sharply higher Wednesday as Wall Street embraced the upside of more gridlock in Washington. The S&P 500 was up 2.4% and on pace for its best day in more than five months, as of 3:26 p.m. Eastern time. The Dow Jones Industrial Average...
Xi promises Chinese development plans won’t hurt trade
BEIJING — President Xi Jinping tried to allay fears the ruling Communist Party’s latest development strategy might hamper trade, promising Wednesday that China will open wider and become “the world’s market.” Plans that call for Chinese industry to pursue self-reliance in technology and focus on domestic markets and suppliers will...
Debut of Chinese e-finance giant derailed by fear of risks
BEIJING — The world’s biggest online finance company was racing toward a stock market debut when it was derailed by Beijing’s anxiety about risks in the fledgling industry, jarring global investors and deepening uncertainty about China’s financial markets. Regulators suspended Ant Group’s record-setting $34.5 billion stock offering two days before...
Cruise industry throws in the towel on 2020, looks to 2021
The cruise industry has jettisoned hopes of restarting operations this year. Days after both Carnival and Norwegian extended a halt on cruises through the end of the year, the group that represents cruise lines with 95% of global ocean-going capacity said Tuesday that its members have agreed to extend the...
Kennametal posts $20.8M quarterly loss as sales dropped
Kennametal Corp. lost $20.8 million as sales fell about about 23% in the quarter ending Sept. 30, compared to a year ago, the company said Tuesday. There is much uncertainty in the market and it is difficult to predict when there will be a full recovery, CEO Christopher Rossi said...
AMC Theatres lost $900 million in 3rd quarter even as cinemas reopened
AMC Entertainment, owner of the world’s largest movie theater circuit, lost more than $900 million in the third quarter, even with the vast majority of its locations open for business. Since the covid-19 pandemic shuttered the film business in March, AMC has reopened 539 locations, or 90% of its 600...
Stocks rally again worldwide as Election Day finally arrives
Stocks are rallying Tuesday as Election Day finally arrives following a punishing campaign that created enough uncertainty to help send markets spinning. The S&P 500 was 2.2% higher in midday trading and on pace for its best day in nearly five months. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 647...
John Dorfman: Zoom, Peloton lead 2020 stock market parade
Among all large-cap U.S. stocks, here are the five that are up the most this year through Oct. 30. Zoom (ZM) The pandemic has made “Zoom” a household word. With millions of people working from home, its group-conferencing software has made meetings possible — if sometimes interminable. No question that...
FirstEnergy to spinoff West Penn Power transmission business; allows for faster rate hikes
FirstEnergy Corp. spun off its West Penn Power Co. transmission business to a new shell company, a move the state’s top consumer advocate says will allow the Ohio-based utility a faster path to recover costs by raising rates on 720,000 West Penn customers. Keystone Appalachian Transmission Co. was formed to...
Western Pa. anglers aim to make it easier for outdoor enthusiasts to collect trashVideo
Hunter Klobucar and Tyler Waltenbaugh spent the summer of 2018 crossing the deep woods and backwaters of northern Pennsylvania, along the Route 6 corridor, and while their purpose was to study the natural habitat of brook trout, one particularly unnatural feature kept showing up: trash. “We’re in all these remote...
Owner of Westmoreland, Monroeville malls files for bankruptcy
After months filled with lost revenues and tenants permanently shutting their doors, the company that owns both the Westmoreland and Monroeville malls has filed for bankruptcy protection. Chattanooga, Tenn.-based CBL Properties made the announcement Monday, months after the company announced a restructuring plan to help alleviate debt. The move came...
Another restaurant chain, Friendly’s, hits wall in pandemic
WILBRAHAM, Mass. — Friendly’s Restaurants, the 85-year-old East Coast dining chain known for its Fribble milkshakes and ice cream sundaes, is filing for bankruptcy protection. It joins a growing list of well-established restaurant chains that are failing due to an unchecked pandemic in the United States. George Michel, CEO of...
