Business category, Page 243
Fed slashes rate to near zero, eases lending rules
WASHINGTON — The Federal Reserve took emergency action Sunday and slashed its benchmark interest rate by a full percentage point to nearly zero and announced it would purchase more Treasury securities to encourage lending to try to offset the impact of the coronavirus outbreak. The central bank said the effects...
Walmart changes hours amid coronavirus outbreak
Walmart stores will cease 24-hour operations amid the outbreak of the coronavirus, the company announced Saturday. Beginning at 11 p.m. Sunday, all stores will close until 6 a.m. Monday. After that, the temporary operating hours will be from 6 a.m. to 11 p.m. daily, until further notice. Stores currently operating...
As virus roils markets, Trump again threatens Fed chairmanVideo
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump said Saturday he had the power to fire or demote Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell, adding new fuel to his long-running animus toward the central bank’s leader at a moment when the economy was at risk of edging into recession. Trump told reporters that he...
U.S. internet well-equipped to handle work from home surgeVideo
BOSTON — The U.S. internet won’t get overloaded by spikes in traffic from the millions of Americans now working from home to discourage the spread of the new coronavirus, experts say. But connections could stumble for many if too many family members try to videoconference at the same time. Some...
Amid coronavirus, Comcast makes Wi-Fi network free, expands unlimited data to all
With businesses and schools closed and thousands of residents now working and studying from home during the coronavirus outbreak, Comcast announced Saturday it will make its Xfinity Wi-Fi services free for everyone for the next 60 days. “During this extraordinary time, it is vital that as many Americans as possible...
Giant Eagle changes shopping hours over coronavirus pandemic
Giant Eagle temporarily is changing its store hours because of the coronavirus pandemic. Beginning Sunday, all Giant Eagle and Market District supermarkets will open at 7 a.m. and close at 10 p.m., seven days a week, the company announced Saturday. GetGo stores adjacent to supermarkets will operate on the same...
Coronavirus-related shutdowns bringing U.S. economy to grinding halt
AUSTIN, Texas — It took 15 minutes for the coronavirus to wreck Shelley Hutchings’ carefully calculated financial plans. Hutchings, a bartender and performer, had lined up gigs in advance of the South by Southwest film, music and technology festival, which draws hundreds of thousands of visitors to Austin each year....
Census faces challenges as it aims to hire up to 500,000
ORLANDO, Fla. — The U.S. Census Bureau said it has reached its goal of recruiting more than 2.6 million applicants for the once-a-decade head count that launched for most of America this week — but it has been a bumpy road getting there. The nation’s abundance of jobs has complicated...
Pentagon reconsiders Microsoft contract after Amazon protest
WASHINGTON — The Pentagon is reconsidering its awarding of a major cloud computing contract to Microsoft after rival tech giant Amazon protested what it called a flawed bidding process. U.S. government lawyers said in a court filing this week that the Defense Department “wishes to reconsider its award decision” and...
No fans, no work: Arena workers caught in sports shutdown
MIAMI — David Edelman can usually be found at a Denver Nuggets basketball game or a Colorado Rapids soccer game. As an usher, he interacts with fans in a role he calls a staple of his life. But there are no Nuggets games for at least a month. No Rapids...
Stocks surge on new coronavirus measures; Dow up 1,985 points
NEW YORK — Wall Street roared back from its worst day in 30 years Friday with a broad rally that sent the Dow Jones Industrial Average nearly 2,000 points higher — its biggest point gain ever — after President Donald Trump declared the coronavirus pandemic a national emergency. The Dow’s...
Businesses cut customer perks, loosen sick time rules to cope with coronavirus
Some businesses are taking extra precautions amid concerns about coronavirus. There’s the obvious — encouraging employees to stay home if they’re sick and increasing the cleaning of surfaces. But some are going steps beyond in an effort to curb the spread of the virus, which has been classified as a...
Starbucks stores may go drive-thru only or limit seating because of coronavirus
Some Starbucks stores in the U.S. and Canada may become drive-thru only while others could limit the number of people allowed inside, the company said, one day after the World Health Organization declared the outbreak of coronavirus a pandemic. “As a last resort, we will close a store if we...
Stock market endures biggest drop since crash of 1987
NEW YORK — The stock market had its biggest drop since the Black Monday crash of 1987 Thursday as fears of economic fallout from the coronavirus crisis deepened. The sell-off, which sent the Dow industrials down 10%, came despite supportive steps from the Federal Reserve and the European Central Bank....
Millennial Money: How to handle, and head off, a tax bill
Tax season can be a windfall or a wipeout for your budget. Which camp you fall into likely depends on whether you get a refund — or a tax bill — from the IRS. If you find that you owe taxes, you’re not alone. Over 23 million Americans owed the...
Panda and poke: Restaurant trademarks can stir legal fights
GILBERT, Ariz. — When picking a name for their Asian-Mexican fusion restaurant in suburban Phoenix, Paul and Nicole Fan settled on “Panda Libre,” hoping the mix of China’s iconic bear and the Spanish word for “free” would signal to customers the type of cuisine it offered. That decision could cost...
Agency says working conditions improve in Thai seafood sector
BANGKOK — A report issued Tuesday by the U.N.’s International Labor Organization credits Thailand with improving working conditions in the fishing and seafood processing industry, but says that serious abuses including forced labor remain. The report is a follow-up to one published in 2018, and compares the workers situations from...
Dow tumbles into bear market as coronavirus fears intensify
NEW YORK — Stocks careened lower Wednesday, with the Dow Jones industrials sinking more than 1,400 points, as investors became more fearful that the Trump administration and other global governments won’t be able to prevent the coronavirus outbreak from doing significant damage to the worldwide economy. The Dow’s loss dragged...
U.S. consumer prices grew 0.1% in February as food costs rose
WASHINGTON — U.S. consumer prices increased slightly last month, driven higher by more expensive food. The Labor Department said Wednesday that the consumer price index ticked up 0.1% last month, matching its January increase. Prices rose 2.3% compared with a year earlier. Excluding the volatile food and energy categories, prices...
Dow surges 4.9% in another wild day on hopes for coronavirus aidVideo
NEW YORK — Stocks on Tuesday recouped most of their historic losses from the prior day as hopes rose, faded and then bloomed again on Wall Street that the U.S. government will try to cushion the economic pain from the coronavirus. The S&P 500 surged as much as 3.7% in...
Airlines slash flights, freeze hiring as virus cuts travel
Airlines are slashing flights and freezing hiring as they experience a sharp drop in bookings and a rise in cancellations in the face of the spreading coronavirus. Delta Air Lines said Tuesday that travel demand has fallen so badly in the past week that it expects one-third of seats to...
Saudi Arabia increase oil output to record highVideo
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Saudi Arabia’s state-run oil giant Saudi Aramco said Tuesday it would increase its crude oil production to 12.3 million barrels a day in April, a record amount. The move seems to make good on the country’s promise over the weekend to increase output after Russia...
Twitter in deal with Silver Lake, Elliott; Jack Dorsey still CEO
Twitter says it’s reached an investment deal with Silver Lake and Elliott Management that will keep Jack Dorsey as the social media company’s CEO. Twitter Inc. said Monday that Silver Lake will make a $1 billion investment in the company. That money, along with cash on hand, is expected to...
2 CEOs make million-dollar buys
Two CEOs have made million-dollar buys of their company’s stock in February and March. At Continental Resources Inc. (CLR), CEO William Berry spent $1.6 million to increase his holding by 90,000 shares. He now owns 931,301 shares, worth about $13.8 million at Friday’s prices. Berry has been Continental’s CEO only...
Boston braces for large crowds as 1st pot shop opens
BOSTON — The first recreational marijuana shop in Boston opened Monday, where owners are bracing for large crowds. Pure Oasis owners Kobie Evans and Kevin Hart say they’re preparing for up to 1,000 customers a day to visit the store, which is also the first pot shop owned and operated...
