Business category, Page 217
Wall Street rallies ahead of a potentially turbulent weekVideo
NEW YORK — Stocks notched broad gains on Wall Street Monday as investors looked ahead to Election Day and the potential for a turbulent stretch for markets. The S&P 500 climbed 1.2%, recouping some of its losses from a sharp sell-off last week, as more companies reported stronger profits for...
U.S. construction spending up again, rises 0.3% in September
U.S. construction spending rose 0.3% in September, the fourth straight monthly gain after a coronavirus-caused spring swoon. The Commerce Department reported Monday that the September gain followed followed a revised gain of 1.3% in August. Spending on residential construction was strong yet again, with single-family home projects jumping 5.7%. Demand...
Tech losses drive Wall Street down again, ending grim week
Street closed out another punishing week Friday with the S&P 500 posting its first back-to-back monthly loss since the pandemic first gripped the economy in March. The S&P 500 dropped 1.2% and ended the week with a 5.6% loss, its worst in seven months. Sharp drops in big technology stocks...
2 more ex-eBay employees admit to roles in harassment scheme
BOSTON — Two more former eBay Inc. employees have admitted to their roles in a campaign to terrorize a Massachusetts couple with threatening social media messages and disturbing deliveries of things like live spiders sent to their home. Brian Gilbert, 52, who was senior manager of special operations for eBay’s...
Coronavirus surge threatens to reverse global economic rebounds
WASHINGTON — The resurgence of coronavirus cases engulfing the United States and Europe is imperiling economic recoveries on both sides of the Atlantic as millions of individuals and businesses face the prospect of having to hunker down once again. Growing fear of an economic reversal coincided with a report Thursday...
Walmart removes guns, ammunition on display at U.S. stores
NEW YORK — Walmart says it has removed ammunition and firearms from displays at its U.S. stores, citing “civil unrest” in some areas. The nation’s largest retailer, based in Bentonville, Ark., sells firearms in about half of its 4,700 stores. “We have seen some isolated civil unrest and as we...
Netflix raises prices on U.S. subscriptions as content spending grows
Netflix on Thursday said it is raising the price of its U.S. standard and premium subscription plans, as the streamer continues to invest in content to differentiate itself from rivals. The cost of its standard plan that allows for streaming on two screens will go up $1 to $13.99 a...
Exxon, Chevron to cut U.S. jobs as oil industry struggles
NEW YORK — Exxon Mobil is slashing 1,900 jobs from its U.S. workforce, and Chevron plans to cut a quarter of the employees at its recently-acquired Noble Energy as the pandemic saps demand for fuel. Exxon said Thursday the reductions will be both voluntary and involuntary and will largely come...
UPS hiring 840 seasonal workers in New Stanton, Pittsburgh
United Parcel Service Inc. plans to hold a job fair Friday — in-person and virtual — as it looks to hire about 840 seasonal workers at its processing and shipping facilities in New Stanton and on Pittsburgh’s North Shore, the company said. The package shipping company is looking to hire...
Wall Street ends higher after shaking off a wobbly startVideo
Stocks shook off an early slide and closed broadly higher Thursday as the market steadied after its worst drop in more than four months. The S&P 500 rose 1.2%, bouncing back from a drop of 0.3% in the early going. Traders welcomed encouraging data on the pace of layoffs and...
FanDuel to open sports book in Bally’s Atlantic City
ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. — The online sports betting company FanDuel will open an in-person sports book at Bally’s casino in Atlantic City once the casino’s sale to a Rhode Island company is finalized. When that happens, all nine Atlantic City casinos will have on-location sports books as New Jersey vies...
S&P 500 sinks 3.5% as surging coronavirus cases threaten shutdownsVideo
The Dow Jones Industrial Average sank 943 points Wednesday as surging coronavirus cases forced more shutdown measures in Europe and raised fears of more restrictions in the United States. The S&P 500 slid 3.5%, its third straight loss and its biggest drop since June. The benchmark index is already down...
John Dorfman: The Billion Dollar Portfolio rides again
Many investors put most of their money in the largest companies. I’m fond of companies that straddle the borderline between small and mid-sized. I define large-capitalization stocks as those with a market value over $10 billion, mid-cap stocks as $1 billion to $10 billion and small-cap stocks as those under...
Stocks end another wobbly day lower as coronavirus cases riseVideo
Wall Street’s losses mounted for the second straight day Tuesday as momentum slows on worries about rising virus counts and Washington’s inability to deliver more aid to the economy. The S&P 500 fell 0.3% after spending much of the day swinging between small gains and losses. Most of the stocks...
Video app TikTok leans into e-commerce with Shopify deal
The popular short-form video app TikTok, still under U.S. government scrutiny for its Chinese ownership, is moving closer to becoming a marketplace for buying stuff. Canadian e-commerce platform Shopify said Tuesday it’s made a deal with TikTok enabling merchants to create “shoppable” video ads that drive customers to online stores....
Consumer confidence dips to 100.9 as virus spreads in US
U.S. consumer confidence dipped slightly in October as a new wave of coronavirus cases appeared across the country. The Conference Board reported Tuesday that its consumer confidence index fell to a reading of 100.9, from 101.8 in September, but still remains well below pre-pandemic levels. This month’s moderate decline follows...
Stocks have their worst day in a month as coronavirus cases surge
NEW YORK — Stocks fell sharply Monday, deepening last week’s losses, as a troubling increase in coronavirus counts put investors in a selling mood. The skid came as doubts mount on Wall Street that Washington will come through with more stimulus for the economy before Election Day. The S&P 500...
U.S. stocks shake off a wobbly start and end mostly higher
Stocks shrugged off a sluggish start and ended mostly higher on Wall Street on Friday. The S&P 500 managed a gain of 0.3%, but still posted its first weekly loss in four weeks. Facebook led gains in communications stocks. Intel fell sharply after reporting weakness in its data center business....
Gap to move away from the mall
Gap is moving away from the nation’s malls. The retailer, which was for decades a fixture at shopping malls around the country, said that it will be closing 220 stores — or one-third of its store base — by early 2024. That will result in 80% of its remaining Gap...
U.S. jobless claims drop to 787,000, but layoffs remain high
WASHINGTON — The number of Americans seeking unemployment benefits fell last week to 787,000, a sign that job losses may have eased slightly but are still running at historically high levels. With confirmed infections having neared 60,000 in the past week, the highest level since July, many consumers have been...
Coca-Cola recovery continues a it grows leaner in pandemic
Coca-Cola measured gradual improvement in the third quarter as it focused on emerging leaner from the global pandemic. Revenue fell 9% to $8.7 billion, edging out Wall Street expectations of $8.4 billion, according to analysts polled by FactSet. It was far better than the 28% drop in revenue in the...
Here’s how hydrogen fuel could revolutionize airlines
Environmentally conscious travelers are in a quandary. Global airline travel has grown over the decades, and so have the industry’s carbon emissions. Not everyone has the time to use more eco-friendly travel methods, such as Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg’s famous two-week voyage last year across the Atlantic Ocean on...
Google antitrust lawsuit: 5 key takeaways
WASHINGTON — The lawsuit filed by the Justice Department against Google on Tuesday marks the first major antitrust enforcement case against a technology company since a case against Microsoft began in 1998 and ended in a settlement with the government in 2002. The Justice Department is accusing Google of using...
After explosive growth at Square, Chase launches own version
NEW YORK — After watching the explosive growth at electronic payment start-ups like Jack Dorsey’s Square, JPMorgan Chase has launched its own version to lure small business owners increasingly relying on technology during the pandemic. Chase Business Complete Banking with QuickAccept will allow businesses to process card payments almost instantly...
Stocks slip on Wall Street as virus aid deal remains elusive
Stocks are closing lower on Wall Street as negotiations continue to drag on in Washington over delivering more aid for the economy. The S&P 500 lost 0.2% Wednesday after spending much of the day wobbling between gains and losses. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said she’s made progress with the White...
