Business category, Page 248
U.S. workers’ compensation growth slowed a bit in 2019
WASHINGTON — Americans’ pay and benefits rose at a solid pace last year, but at a slower rate than in 2018, the Labor Department said Friday. Total salaries and benefits such as health insurance rose 2.7% in 2019, according to the government’s employment cost index, down from 2.9% in the...
Amazon is big … really, really big; workforce hits 500K
NEW YORK — Need more proof that Amazon is big? It came this week. Amazon’s U.S. workforce topped 500,000 for the first time, up 43% from the year before and more than triple what it was five years ago, the company said Friday. It gained 150,000 workers last year, more...
Delta, American and United suspend flights between U.S., China
NEW YORK — Delta Air Lines and American Airlines said Friday they will suspend all flights between the U.S. and China, making them the first U.S.-based airlines to do so and joining several international carriers that have stopped flying to China as the coronavirus outbreak continues to spread. United Airlines...
Stocks sink on fears virus outbreak will dent the economy
Stocks fell sharply on Wall Street Friday as fears spread through the markets that a virus outbreak emanating from China will dent global growth. The Dow Jones Industrial Average skidded more than 600 points and the S&P 500 index erased its gains for January. Technology companies, which do a lot...
Commerce secretary: China virus could bring jobs back to the United StatesVideo
WASHINGTON — Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross suggested Thursday that the viral outbreak in China might offer an unexpected benefit for the U.S. economy: It could encourage American manufacturers in China to return to the United States. “I think it will help to accelerate the return of jobs to North America....
Dating apps face U.S. inquiry over underage use, sex offenders
SAN FRANCISCO — A House subcommittee is investigating popular dating services such as Tinder and Bumble for allegedly allowing minors and sex offenders to use their services. Bumble, Grindr, The Meet Group and the Match Group, which owns such popular services as Tinder, Match.com and OkCupid, are the current targets...
Chick-Fil-A’s war with Popeyes drains supply of little chickens
CHICAGO — Fast-food titans, embroiled in a chicken-sandwich battle, are trying to beat each other with small weapons. Little chickens, whose quarter-pound breasts fit perfectly inside a bun, are proving essential to the war effort. In the process, they’re getting harder to come by. A shortage of the smaller birds...
NASA chooses company for first habitable commercial space on space station
The International Space Station may soon become a duplex. NASA announced Houston-based Axiom Space has won the contract to begin to build what could become a commercial space station that connects to to the ISS. The first step is letting Axiom Space hook up to the ISS with an initial...
UPS to expand operations in Pennsylvania, hire 1,700 workers
HARRISBURG — Package delivery company United Parcel Service has committed to spending $1.4 billion to expand its operations in Pennsylvania and hire more than 1,700 new full-time employees, Gov. Tom Wolf’s administration said Wednesday. Wolf’s administration said it offered UPS $2.7 million in tax credits and more than $6 million...
Fed leaves key rate alone but sees virus among global risks
WASHINGTON — The Federal Reserve kept its key interest rate unchanged at a low level Wednesday amid an economy that looks solid but faces potential global threats, including from China’s viral outbreak. The Fed sketched a mostly bright picture of the U.S. economy in a statement it released after its...
United Way offers free tax prep program to low-income families
United Way of Southwestern Pennsylvania is working with local agencies to provide free, in-person tax preparation for low-to-moderate-income individuals and families in the region. The program ensures that low-income residents can maximize their refund, United Way said in a statement. Hundreds of people have volunteered to help prepare taxes this...
In snub to U.S., Britain will allow Huawei in 5G networksVideo
LONDON — Britain decided Tuesday to allow Chinese tech giant Huawei to supply new high-speed network equipment, ignoring the U.S. government’s warnings that it would sever intelligence cooperation if the company was not banned. Britain’s decision is the first by a major U.S. ally in Europe, and follows intense lobbying...
Chipotle fined $1.3M over thousands of child labor abuses
BOSTON — Chipotle was hit with a $1.3 million fine over more than 13,000 child labor violations at its Massachusetts restaurants, the state’s attorney general announced Monday. Attorney General Maura Healey ordered the largest child labor penalty ever issued by the state against the Mexican restaurant chain after finding an...
John Dorfman: Screwy January isn’t going by the book
When I was a boy, my father took me to the race track. I was entranced by the Daily Racing Form, which contained a wealth of information about every horse’s past performance. “There’s one problem,” my father said. “The horses don’t read the form.” As I look at the stock-market...
GM to invest $2.2B in Detroit to build electric vehiclesVideo
DETROIT — General Motors is spending $2.2 billion to refurbish an underused Detroit factory so it can build a series of electric and self-driving vehicles, eventually employing 2,000 people. GM said in a statement Monday that the factory will start building the company’s first electric pickup late in 2021, followed...
The big lesson from the Bezos hack: Anyone can be a target
PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) — You may not think you’re in the same league as Jeff Bezos when it comes to being a hacking target. Probably not, but you — and just about anyone else, potentially including senior U.S. government figures — could still be vulnerable to an attack similar to...
Delta Air Lines fined $50,000 by government for alleged discrimination
ATLANTA — The U.S. Department of Transportation is fining Delta Air Lines $50,000 for alleged discrimination against Muslim passengers in two separate incidents in 2016. Atlanta-based Delta disagrees with the DOT’s contention that it engaged in discriminatory conduct, according to a DOT consent order issued Friday. The consent order comes...
Samsung’s version of Apple’s AirDrop launching next monthVideo
Samsung Galaxy owners may soon be able to directly transfer files between devices. Apple users have long been able to send photos and other files among Macs and iOS devices using the company’s AirDrop service. The function does not use email or texting, but sends files to any Apple device...
Trump administration changes gears on fuel economy requirements
WASHINGTON — The Trump administration is making a concession on its proposed minimum fuel economy requirement for new vehicles, but environmental groups and a key Democratic senator complain it does not go far enough, and still falls well below the requirements set under the Obama administration. Fuel economy standards would...
Former Wells Fargo CEO fined $17.5M for sales scandal
NEW YORK — Federal regulators have slapped former Wells Fargo Chief Executive John Stumpf with a $17.5 million fine for his role in the bank’s sales practices scandal. The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency also announced Thursday it was suing five other former Wells Fargo executives for a...
U.K. lays out tough child data privacy rules
LONDON — Social media sites, games and other online services won’t be allowed to “nudge” British kids into revealing personal details or lowering their privacy settings, under tough new rules drawn up by the country’s privacy regulator. The set of standards aimed at protecting children’s online privacy were released Wednesday...
Air bag woes force Honda, Toyota to recall 6 million vehicles
Two different air bag glitches have forced Toyota and Honda to recall over 6 million vehicles worldwide, and both problems present different dangers to motorists. The Toyota recall affects about 3.4 million vehicles globally and is being done because the air bags may not inflate in a crash. The cars...
Robert Morris offers tuition breaks to 105,000 FedEx Ground workers
Robert Morris University is staking another claim in the increasingly competitive world of higher education, where government officials are encouraging colleges to tailor offerings to workforce needs. Officials at the private university located in Moon inked an agreement to provide tuition discounts to some 105,000 eligible FedEx Ground employees in...
Southern burger chain Krystal files for bankruptcyVideo
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — Krystal Co., the Georgia-based restaurant chain known for tiny hamburgers and late-night service across the Southeast, has filed for bankruptcy, but said Tuesday that all of its locations would remain open. Federal court documents showed Krystal sought Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection Sunday in Atlanta. The company said...
Cleaveland/Price Inc. in North Huntingdon names Heller new president
Cleaveland/Price Inc., an international supplier and manufacturer of high-voltage electrical products based in North Huntingdon, named Carl Heller as its new company president. The transition took place Jan. 1, the company said. Heller has been with Cleaveland/Price for 14 years serving a variety of functions, including production planning and operations...
