Business category, Page 261
White Claw is so popular, it’s becoming hard to find
Party people, there’s a problem. White Claw, the hard seltzer that’s getting sipped on it seems by everyone, is running out of its drink. “We are working around the clock to increase supply given the rapid growth in consumer demand,” Sanjiv Gajiwala, White Claw’s senior vice president of marketing, told...
S&T Bank approved for merger with DNB First
Indiana-based S&T Bancorp Inc., the holding company for S&T Bank, has received the necessary regulatory approval for its pending acquisition of DNB Financial Corp., the holding company for DNB First, the companies said. The Pennsylvania Department of Banking & Securities approved the definitive merger agreement this week. The closing of...
Fed Chairman Powell says he doesn’t expect recession
WASHINGTON — Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said Friday that the Fed is not expecting a U.S. or global recession. But it is monitoring a number of uncertainties, including trade conflicts, and will “act as appropriate to sustain the expansion.” Powell gave an upbeat view of the U.S. economy during...
CVS, Walgreens urge against openly carrying guns in stores
NEW YORK — Drug chains CVS and Walgreens as well as grocery chain Wegmans Food Market have joined the chorus of retailers requesting that customers refrain from openly carrying firearms in their stores even where state laws allow it. The announcements on Thursday follow similar moves by Walmart, the nation’s...
Trump administration pushes plan to privatize Fannie, Freddie
WASHINGTON — The Trump administration has proposed its plan for ending government control of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the two giant mortgage finance companies that nearly collapsed in the financial crisis 11 years ago and were bailed out at a total cost to taxpayers of $187 billion. The administration’s...
MGM Resorts, Buffalo Wild Wings launch mobile football game
LAS VEGAS — A casino company and a nationwide sports bar are launching a mobile football game designed to let customers pick favorite NFL teams, choose weekly fantasy performers and make proposition picks. MGM Resorts International and Buffalo Wild Wings said their partnership, called Roar Digital, will offer a sports...
Unity firm gets state-backed loan for plant expansion
Product Evaluation Systems Inc. tests aerospace materials for strength and durability — two qualities that also are good for business. The state hopes that a new low-interest loan will improve the Unity company’s strength and durability. The $1.05 million loan from the Pennsylvania Industrial Development Authority, announced by Gov. Tom...
YouTube to pay $170M fine after violating kids’ privacy lawVideo
WASHINGTON — Google will pay $170 million to settle allegations its YouTube video service collected personal data on children without their parents’ consent. The company agreed to work with video creators to label material aimed at kids and said it will limit data collection when users view such videos, regardless...
Judge orders Anheuser-Busch to halt ‘corn syrup’ labels
MILWAUKEE — A federal judge has ordered Anheuser-Busch to stop using packaging that implies MillerCoors’ light beers contain corn syrup. U.S. District Judge William Conley granted a preliminary injunction sought by MillerCoors. Bud Light’s packaging says “No Corn Syrup” in bold letters. Conley says Anheuser-Busch can use the packaging it...
Starbucks shares fall as company cuts profit growth forecast
NEW YORK — Starbucks shares tumbled Wednesday after the company lowered its 2020 earnings forecast. In a presentation to Goldman Sachs’ Global Retaining Conference, the Seattle-based coffee giant said it expects adjusted earnings to grow less than 10% in its 2020 fiscal year, which begins Oct. 1. Its prior outlook...
U.S. trade gap fell 2.7% in July including the gap with China
WASHINGTON — The U.S. trade deficit declined in July, including the gap with China that has been the focus of President Donald Trump’s tariffs. The Commerce Department said Wednesday that the gap between the goods and services the United States buys and what it sells abroad fell 2.7% to $54...
John Dorfman: Pfizer and Norfolk Southern flaunt fat profit margins
A fat profit margin can signify one of several things. A company may have a big margin for two reasons. It may have first-mover advantage in a new field. Or it may provide something that people strongly want, whether that be a smartphone or a tasty chicken sandwich. Either way,...
In escalating trade war, U.S. consumers may see higher prices
WASHINGTON — The United States and China on Sunday put in place their latest tariff increases on each other’s goods, potentially raising prices Americans pay for some clothes, shoes, sporting goods and other consumer items before the holiday shopping season. President Donald Trump said U.S.-China trade talks were still on...
Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey hacked; account sent racist tweets
SAN FRANCISCO — Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey has found his official account hacked and sending racist and vulgar tweets to his 4.2 million followers. The person tweeting from Dorsey’s account on Friday sent tweets such as “Hitler is innocent” and, using a vulgarity, asked “bald skeleton head,” referring to Dorsey,...
TVs to shoes: This time consumers face pain of Trump tariffs
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump’s trade war with China, until now mainly an abstraction for American consumers, is about to hit home. Beginning Sunday, the U.S. government will begin collecting 15% tariffs on $112 billion in Chinese imports — items ranging from smartwatches and TVs to shoes, diapers, sporting goods...
Apple sanctions phone-repair shops for iPhone fixes
NEW YORK — There may soon be more places to get an Apple-sanctioned fix for a cracked iPhone screen. Apple said Thursday that it will sell tools and parts to independent phone-repair shops in the United States and later in other countries. The repair shops need to have an Apple-certified...
No. 1 reason patients don’t fill their prescriptions: sticker shock
WASHINGTON — It’s the No. 1 reason patients don’t fill their prescriptions: sticker shock. While the price of almost any good or service can be found online, most Americans don’t know what they’ll owe for a prescription medication until they get it. Unexpected costs contribute to the estimated 20 to...
Facebook tightens political ad rules, but leaves loopholes
SAN FRANCISCO — Facebook is tightening its rules around political advertising ahead of the 2020 presidential election, acknowledging previous misuse. But it’s not clear if it will be enough to stop bad actors from abusing its system. The changes include a tightened verification process that will require anyone wanting to...
Union, AT&T say 20,000 striking workers coming back to work
NEW YORK — AT&T and the Communications Workers of America said that the 20,000 AT&T workers in the Southeast who went on strike over the weekend were coming back to work Wednesday. The union said Wednesday that it had a “handshake deal” on a new agreement with AT&T and that...
Ex-Google engineer Anthony Levandowski charged in Uber self-driving theft case
SAN JOSE, Calif. — A former Google engineer was charged Tuesday with stealing self-driving car technology from the company shortly before he joined Uber’s efforts to catch up in the high-stakes race to build robotic vehicles. The indictment filed by the U.S. attorney’s office in San Jose, Calif., is an...
U.S. consumer confidence dips slightly in August
WASHINGTON — Consumer confidence dipped slightly in August after a big rebound in July. The Conference Board, a business research group, said Tuesday that its consumer confidence index edged down to 135.1 in August, slightly below a July reading of 135.8, which had been the highest since November. Economists had...
U.S. home prices rise a modest 2.1% in June
WASHINGTON — U.S. home prices rose more slowly in June as some of the country’s most expensive housing markets saw stagnant or even falling prices. The S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller 20-city home price index rose 2.1% in June from a year earlier, down from a 2.4% gain in May. Prices fell...
John Dorfman: Micron, Allstate have value plus momentum
Newton’s first law says that a body in motion will maintain a constant speed and direction, unless acted on by an outside force. Momentum investors think a similar law applies in the stock market. If a stock has advanced strongly in the past month, or the past 52 weeks, they...
KFC partners with Beyond Meat for first plant-based ‘chicken’
LOUISVILLE, Ky. — It’s finger lickin’ fake chicken. Kentucky Fried Chicken plans to test plant-based chicken nuggets and boneless wings Tuesday at one of its restaurants in Atlanta. Depending on customer feedback, the chain could expand the test to other markets. California-based startup Beyond Meat said it developed the new...
Kraft Heinz brings back former CFO amid struggles
CHICAGO — Kraft Heinz Co. is bringing back its former chief financial officer amid accounting problems and falling sales. Paulo Basilio, 44, joined H.J. Heinz as CFO in 2013 and remained in the job after the company’s 2015 merger with Kraft. He most recently served as Kraft Heinz’s chief business...
