Business category, Page 279
Ligonier chamber plans annual dinner, awards
“Renaissance Year in the Valley” will be the program topic for the Ligonier Valley Chamber of Commerce’s 69th annual dinner, set for March 28 at The Cedars at Antiochian Village, along Route 711 six miles north of Ligonier. This celebration of chamber members, neighbors and the local business community will...
Hollywood employs more workers than mining and farming, MPAA says
The U.S. television and film industry has become a bigger employer than commodities and energy, according to an analysis by the Motion Picture Association of America. The production and distribution of TV shows and movies directly employ more people in 34 states than the combined total from the mining, oil...
Apple refreshes iPad lineup, with larger entry-level model
NEW YORK — Apple has unveiled a new iPad that’s thinner and slightly larger than its current entry-level tablet. The new iPad Air will cost $499 and sport a screen that measures 10.5 inches diagonally. That compares with the standard, 9.7-inch iPad at $329. Apple has a higher-end Pro model...
Facebook says service hindered by lack of local news
NEW YORK — Facebook’s effort to establish a service that provides its users with local news and information is being hindered by the lack of outlets where the company’s technicians can find original reporting. The service, launched last year, is currently available in some 400 cities in the United States....
Be Kind, Please Rewind: Oregon Blockbuster is last on Earth
BEND, Ore. — There are challenges that come with running the last Blockbuster Video on the planet. The computer system must be rebooted using floppy disks that only the general manager — a solid member of Gen X — knows how to use. The dot-matrix printer broke, so employees write...
Pittsburgh region unemployment rate the lowest in 40 years
Unemployment in the Pittsburgh region is at its lowest rate in more than four decades, according to the Pennsylvania Bureau of Labor and Industry. “The best we can say is, it’s the lowest on our records, which start in 1976,” said Lauren Riegel, an industry and business analyst for the...
American Airlines suspends flights to Venezuela
FORT WORTH, Texas — American Airlines is stopping flights to Venezuela because of safety concerns after the pilots’ union told its members to refuse to work the flights. American was the last major U.S. carrier to fly to the troubled country. It flew daily to Caracas and Maracaibo from Miami....
Feds: Penn State should not be permitted to trademark ‘Happy Valley’
Penn State officials are decidedly unhappy after the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office declined a request to trademark the “Happy Valley” nickname for university merchandise. “Happy Valley” is a longtime nickname for the State College area. However, it was that precise geographical association that factored into the office’s decision to...
U.S. industrial production report a sign of slowdown in manufacturing
WASHINGTON — U.S. industrial production rose a slight 0.1 percent in February, as an increase in utilities and mining offset the second straight monthly drop in manufacturing. The Federal Reserve said Friday that the manufacturing component of the index fell 0.4 percent last month, after having fallen 0.5 percent in...
SEC charges Volkswagen, former CEO with defrauding investors
WASHINGTON — U.S. regulators charged Volkswagen and former CEO Martin Winterkorn with defrauding investors during its massive diesel emissions scandal. The charges from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission come two years after the German automaker settled with the United States over criminal and civil charges, as the company tries...
Mortgage rates sink to lowest levels in more than a year
Mortgage rates were driven down this week by weak economic data and concerns about global growth. According to the latest data released Thursday by Freddie Mac, the 30-year fixed-rate average tumbled to 4.31 percent with an average 0.4 point. (Points are fees paid to a lender equal to 1 percent...
NYSE move that never happened leaves New York City still paying debt
It was 1998. The internet bubble was building, day-trading was in full swing and the New York Stock Exchange was given the biggest subsidy in the city’s history to stop it from leaving Wall Street for New Jersey — keeping the Y in the NYSE. The plans for a new...
Toyota investing $750M at 5 U.S. plants, creating 600 jobs
BUFFALO, W.Va. — Toyota Motor Corp. on Thursday announced it is investing an additional $750 million at five U.S. plants that will bring nearly 600 new jobs, including the production of two hybrid vehicles for the first time at its Kentucky facility. It marks yet another expansion of the Japanese...
With Tesla Model Y party, Elon Musk back in the spotlight
Elon Musk needs a win, so he’s taking a page out of a tried-and-true playbook: throwing a party for a product that won’t be available for months before an audience of adoring fans. The Thursday evening unveiling of the Model Y crossover follows a major flop. Tesla Inc.’s attempt to...
Boeing’s 737 Max problems jeopardize $600 billion in orders
Boeing’s $600 billion-plus order book for its 737 Max began shaking after several big customers threatened to reconsider their purchases in the wake of the Ethiopian Airlines crash, the second deadly accident involving the plane since October. VietJet Aviation JSC, which doubled its order to about $25 billion only last...
What a spike in toilet paper sales says about Brexit
While British lawmakers fumble through Brexit negotiations, sales of two items might hint at how the public is bracing for impact: toilet paper and painkillers. On a recent earnings call, David Potts, chief executive of British supermarket Morrisons, said the chain had seen a “small amount” of stockpiling, and that...
Why Wikipedia will go offline for 24 hours in Germany
BERLIN — Online encyclopedia Wikipedia’s German edition will go offline for 24 hours next Thursday as its authors try to rally Europeans against a proposed European Union law that would tighten online copyright regulations. Critics fear that the directive could pose risks to freedom of speech in Europe. If E.U....
OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma considers bankruptcy as lawsuits loom
The company that has made billions selling the prescription painkiller OxyContin said Wednesday that it is considering legal options including bankruptcy, a move that could upend hundreds of lawsuits claiming it had a major role in causing the U.S. opioid drug crisis. “As the company has stated, it is exploring...
Health, tech companies lead U.S. stocks to 3rd straight gain
Health care and technology companies powered stocks broadly higher on Wall Street on Wednesday, giving the market its third straight gain. Boeing briefly dipped, but finished slightly higher, after the United States said it was joining other countries in grounding the company’s 737 Max 8 airplane following a fatal crash...
Spotify files antitrust complaint to EU against Apple
LONDON — Swedish music site Spotify has complained to European Union regulators about Apple for allegedly abusing its dominant position in music streaming and stifling competition. Spotify founder Daniel Ek said Wednesday that the company has filed a formal antitrust complaint with the executive European Commission against Apple — a...
Facebook says it is working to resolve outage on its platforms
Facebook says it is aware of outages on its platforms including Facebook, Messenger and Instagram and is working to resolve the issue. The social media company posted to Twitter Wednesday afternoon, “We’re aware that some people are currently having trouble accessing the Facebook family of apps. We’re working to resolve...
NASA’s new rocket won’t be ready for moon shot next year
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — NASA’s top official says the space agency’s new rocket won’t be ready for a moon shot next year. Administrator Jim Bridenstine told a Senate committee Wednesday he’s considering switching to commercial rockets to preserve the June 2020 launch date. Bridenstine says two commercial rockets would be...
Verizon says 5G network will cost extra $10 a month
A handful of Verizon customers will soon have faster wireless service — but they’ll have to pay $10 a month more. Verizon says it’ll flip the switch next month on a much-hyped, next-generation 5G phone network. Service will start in parts of Chicago and Minneapolis. The offer is available only...
U.S. health officials move to tighten sales of e-cigarettes
WASHINGTON — U.S. health regulators are moving ahead with a plan designed to keep e-cigarettes out of the hands of teenagers by restricting sales of most flavored products in convenience stores and online. The new guidelines, first proposed in November, are the latest government effort to reverse what health officials...
U.S. construction spending up strong 1.3 percent in January
WASHINGTON — Spending on U.S. construction projects in January posted the biggest gain in nine months, as strength in nonresidential construction and government projects offset continued weakness in home construction. The Commerce Department says that construction spending rose 1.3 percent in January following two months of declines. It was the...
