Business category, Page 108
Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen visits China as part of efforts to soothe strained relations
BEIJING — Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen plans to tell Chinese officials that Washington wants healthy economic competition but will defend trade curbs imposed by the U.S. on security grounds and express concern about Beijing’s export controls on metals used in semiconductors and solar panels, a senior Treasury official said Thursday....
Meta’s new Twitter rival app Threads gets tens of millions of sign-ups in its first dayVideo
Tens of millions of people have quickly signed up to Meta’s new app, Threads, as it aims to compete with Twitter — a sign that users are looking for an alternative to the social media platform that has undergone a series of unpopular changes since Elon Musk bought it. Meta...
Strong demand drives U.S. new vehicle sales higher in 1st half of year
Demand for new SUVs, trucks and cars in the U.S. picked up steam in the second quarter, but the stronger sales kept prices high for consumers. Auto sales rose a healthy 16.8% from April through June to just over 4.1 million, fueled by pent-up demand from nearly two years of...
Judge fines Century III Mall owners more than $240K over conditions at West Mifflin site
A judge hit the owners of the shuttered Century III Mall with a hefty fine Wednesday in response to the dilapidated condition of West Mifflin’s once-mighty shopping center. During a brief hearing Wednesday, District Judge Richard D. Olasz Jr. fined Century III Mall Pa. LLC and Moonbeam Capital Investments just...
Stalemate: UPS, Teamsters contract talks break down with each side blaming the other
Contract negotiations between UPS and the union representing 340,000 of the company’s workers broke down early Wednesday with each side blaming the other for walking away from talks. The Teamsters have imposed several deadlines for United Parcel Service negotiators to make their “last, best and final” offer to its unionized...
Meta takes aim at Twitter with the launch of rival app Threads
LONDON — Meta unveiled an app to rival Twitter on Thursday, appearing to target users looking for an alternative to the social media platform owned — and frequently changed — by Elon Musk. Called Threads, the new offering is billed as a text-based version of Meta’s photo-sharing app Instagram that...
Retailers, beware: Resumption of student loan payments could lead some buyers to pull back
WASHINGTON — The reprieve is over. Just as the American economy is struggling with high inflation and interest rates, the coming resumption of student loan payments poses yet another potential challenge. The suspension of federal student loan payments, which took effect at the height of the pandemic in 2020, expires...
Price of a stamp rises to 66 cents, the second hike this year and the 5th increase since 2019
NEW YORK — Stamps prices are on the rise, again — one of several changes the U.S. Postal Service is rolling out this month. Starting Sunday, the cost of the first-class “forever” stamps will jump from 63 to 66 cents. The latest price comes just months after forever stamps climbed...
North American trade pact on 3rd anniversary: Optimism rising for U.S., Mexican workers
WASHINGTON — To President Donald Trump, America’s trade relationship with Mexico was intolerable. He seethed over the U.S. trade deficit and the shuttered factories in America’s heartland. “No longer,” he vowed six years ago, “are we going to allow other countries to break the rules, to steal our jobs and...
Saudi Arabia, Russia cut oil supply again in bid to boost prices
LONDON — Saudi Arabia and Russia are extending cuts to the amount of oil they pump to the world in a bid to prop up prices, showing how two of the world’s largest oil producers are scrambling to boost income from the fossil fuel even as demand has weakened with...
John Dorfman: Civitas, Mueller can boast high profit, low debt
Two of the badges of corporate success are high profits and low debt. Today, I draw your attention to five stocks that excel in both regards. Each has a return on stockholders’ equity of 20% or better. On this measure of profitability, I consider 10% decent and 15% good. Each...
Elon Musk imposes daily limits on reading posts on Twitter
SAN FRANCISCO — Twitter owner Elon Musk has limited the number of tweets that users can view each day — restrictions he described as an attempt to prevent unauthorized scraping of potentially valuable data from the social media platform. The site is now requiring people to log on to view...
Saying strike is ‘imminent,’ UPS gets a deadline from union to come up with a better contract
Frustrated by an “appalling counterproposal” earlier this week, the head of the union representing 340,000 UPS workers said a strike is imminent and gave the shipping giant a deadline on Friday to improve its offer. The International Brotherhood of Teamsters walked away from negotiations Wednesday, demanding that UPS give its...
Report: Shell’s ethane plant in Beaver County has not spurred growth
Shell’s massive petrochemical plant in Beaver County has yet to spur major economic growth in the region, according to a recent study by nonprofit research group. “Since 2012, when the project was first announced, the most recent economic data available show Beaver County has lagged both the state and the...
Sheetz expanding into Michigan, with planned store in Detroit area
Sheetz is heading West. The Altoona-based convenience store and gas station chain is slated to open its first store in Michigan — Romulus to be exact — in late 2024. “While it is too early in the development process to provide a timeline or location for any additional stores, our...
What is Bidenomics? President embraces moniker as campaign theme
Forty years ago, we had Reaganomics. Today, we’re hearing more and more about Bidenomics, a moniker that brands President Joe Biden’s efforts to grow the economy and jobs and fight inflation. Biden is leaning into the name as an early campaign theme of his reelection bid. But what exactly is...
AHN, Cigna ink 1-year contract, working on longer deal
Allegheny Health Network and Cigna Healthcare reached a deal on a one-year contract while the two organizations work over the next two weeks on a longer, multi-year agreement. The deal is meant to ensure that Cigna Healthcare customers will continue to have in-network access to the Pittsburgh-based health care system’s...
Applications for U.S. jobless benefits retreat after 3 weeks of elevated claims
Applications for unemployment benefits fell significantly last week after claims appeared to stabilize at modestly elevated levels in recent weeks. U.S. applications for jobless claims fell by 26,000 to 239,000 for the week ending June 24, the Labor Department reported Thursday. Economists were expecting the elevated claims numbers to continue...
National Geographic lays off all of its staff writers
National Geographic has laid off all its staff writers, leaving the venerable, award-winning magazine to be pieced together by editors and freelancers. In all, 19 editorial staffers were cut, including the small audio department at the magazine. They had been notified in April that the ax would fall, The Washington...
Fitzgerald takes county minimum wage increase to court
Allegheny County Executive Rich Fitzgerald is asking a court to weigh in on whether the executive’s office or council can determine wages for public employees. The move follows a vote by county council last week that overrode Fitzgerald’s veto of an ordinance that would raise the minimum wage for county...
234-apartment development proposed for Strip District
Pittsburgh’s Planning Commission is considering a proposal to bring more than 200 new apartments to the city’s Strip District. The proposed development would include two new six-story apartment buildings, each with vehicle and bicycle parking and amenities. One building would be on Smallman Street and the other would be on...
Your DoorDash driver? He’s the company’s co-founder
SAN FRANCISCO — On a recent afternoon in San Francisco, a DoorDash driver was circling the neighborhood — first in his car, then on foot — trying to find the restaurant where he needed to pick up two orders. Finally, he Googled the location and realized DoorDash’s app sent him...
UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh looks to expand in Lawrenceville
UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh is looking to build an addition at its Lawrenceville campus to house its growing Heart Institute. Hospital leaders presented plans Tuesday to the city’s Planning Commission that showed a 50,000-square-foot addition atop an existing parking structure. Diane Hupp, the hospital’s president, said the new addition...
Home prices recover further as buyers battle for tight supply of listings
Home prices in the U.S. rose for a third straight month, pushed up by growing buyer demand for a tight supply of listings. A national gauge of prices increased 0.5% in April from March, according to seasonally adjusted data from S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller. The U.S. is in what’s traditionally its...
Truck startup Lordstown files for bankruptcy after Foxconn deal falls through
Lordstown Motors Corp. shares plummeted after the electric-vehicle maker once hailed by former President Donald Trump for saving automaking jobs filed for bankruptcy. The move to seek Chapter 11 protection from creditors follows a protracted dispute with iPhone maker Foxconn Technology Group over a deal to make pickup trucks for...
