Business category, Page 224

WASHINGTON — U.S. employers added a solid 128,000 jobs in October, a figure that was held down by a now-settled strike against General Motors that caused tens of thousands of workers to be temporarily counted as unemployed. The unemployment rate ticked up from 3.5% to 3.6%, still near a five-decade...

WASHINGTON — U.S. construction spending rose 0.5% in September, boosted by government and private residential projects. The Commerce Department said Friday that government construction rose 1.5% last month, powered by state and local building. The September increase comes as the previous August gain of 0.1% was revised down to -0.3%....

IRVING, Texas — Exxon Mobil’s profit tumbled with crude prices down about 15% from where they were last year, though a $300 million boost from a tax-related item helped. Exxon Mobil Corp. on Friday reported net income of $3.17 billion, or 75 cents per share. Those per-share earnings were 68...

United States Steel Corp. on Thursday reported a third-quarter loss of $84 million, after reporting a profit in the same period a year earlier. On a per-share basis, the Pittsburgh-based company said it had a loss of 49 cents. Losses, adjusted for restructuring costs and non-recurring costs, were 21 cents...

Stocks closed broadly lower on Wall Street Thursday after investors got spooked by a published report that cast doubt on the prospects of a long-term U.S-China trade deal. Bond prices surged, sending yields sharply lower, as traders turned cautious. The sell-off was a marked shift from a day earlier, when...

LOS ANGELES — As the streaming wars near a fever pitch and viewers are targeted from every vantage point — Disney Plus has the Marvel and Star Wars brands! HBO Max counters with “Game of Thrones” and DC superheroes! — Apple TV Plus could be cast as the highly pedigreed...

SAN FRANCISCO — Twitter announced an end Wednesday to political campaign and issue ads on its service, calling it an important step in reducing the flow of election-related misinformation. But some of its users might face an unintended consequence or two. Among those potentially affected could be public-interest nonprofits eager...

Stocks closed broadly higher on Wall Street Wednesday, sending the S&P 500 to a record high for the second time this week, as investors welcomed the Federal Reserve’s decision to lower interest rates for the third time this year. The central bank also indicated that it won’t cut rates again...

OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma paid its CEO $9 million and its board chairman nearly $4 million in the 12 months before the company’s bankruptcy filing last month, according to recently filed financial documents. Five other board members overseeing the private company were paid a combined $3.7 million over that span....

WASHINGTON — The Federal Reserve cut its benchmark interest rate Wednesday for the third time this year to try to sustain the economic expansion in the face of global threats. But it hinted that it won’t likely cut again this year. The Fed’s move reduces the short-term rate it controls...

TOLEDO, Ohio — President Donald Trump once promised that coal and steel would be the beating heart of a revived U.S. economy — a nostalgic vision that helped carry him to victory three years ago in the industrial Midwest. But a year away from Election Day, that promised renaissance is...

Every year, an estimated 100 billion plastic bottles are produced in the U.S., the bulk of which come from three of America’s biggest beverage companies: Coca-Cola, Pepsi and Keurig Dr Pepper. The problem? Only one-third of those bottles get recycled; the rest end up in the trash. That bleak trend...

Technology companies led stocks lower on Wall Street on Tuesday as a wobbly day of trading ended with modest losses for the market. Health care stocks jumped on stronger-than-expected reports from drugmakers, but losses by internet and media companies held the market in check following a mixed report from Google’s...

Sony is shutting down its pioneering online-cable alternative, PlayStation Vue, citing the high cost of content and the difficulty of reaching deals with networks. It launched Vue in early 2015 as a skinnier, cheaper version of cable or satellite TV delivered via the internet. It was a test case for...

WASHINGTON — General Motors, Fiat Chrysler, Toyota and 10 smaller automakers are siding with the Trump administration in a lawsuit over whether California has the right to set its own greenhouse gas emissions and fuel economy standards. The companies said Monday they will intervene in a lawsuit filed by the...

Americans collectively owe nearly $1.5 trillion in student loans — more than twice the total a decade ago. It’s a burden that weighs on millions of adults, shaping their life choices and often stunting their financial growth. Now a small but growing number of employers are stepping in to help....

CNX Resources continues to adjust to the low-price natural gas market but is generally optimistic about 2020, according to its third quarter earnings call. The Canonsburg-based natural gas exploration and production company said it expects to realize $25 million in savings from streamlining activities in the third quarter, including “reconfiguring”...

NEW YORK — Shares in Grubhub plunged 43% on Tuesday after it sharply cut its revenue expectations for the year and warned of intense competition. The steep decline in share price wiped away more than $2.25 billion of the company’s valuation in the public market in midday trading. It is...

CHARLESTON, W.Va. — A major U.S. coal mining company is seeking bankruptcy protection, joining a growing list of struggling coal operations as communities switch away from fossil fuel to less-polluting renewable energy or natural gas. Ohio-based Murray Energy filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization Tuesday. Several other major coal producers...

WASHINGTON — U.S. consumer confidence fell for a third consecutive month in October as optimism about job prospects and business conditions down the road grew weaker. The Conference Board said its consumer confidence index edged down to 125.9 in October, compared with 126.3 in September. Feelings about the present situation...

HELSINKI — In a glimpse of the future, an entire sports event has been run on horse manure. The world’s governing equestrian body on Monday praised a climate-friendly scheme by a Finnish equestrian event to generate all its electricity needs from horse manure, saying the initiative paves way in cutting...

Is there a perfect size for a stock? Perhaps not. Size doesn’t matter — at least, not as much as profitability, growth and valuation. And yet, there is a size to which I am particularly partial. It’s right around $1 billion. To me, that is the dividing line between small-capitalization...

NEW YORK — AT&T said it will look for more parts of its business to sell off and add two new board members after pressure from an activist investor. The moves are part of a plan to boost results that also includes paying down debt from its $81 billion Time...