Business category, Page 12
Analysis: How the United States is eating Trump’s tariffs
U.S. companies and consumers are bearing the brunt of the country’s new import tariffs, early indications show, contradicting assertions by President Donald Trump and complicating the Federal Reserve’s fight against inflation. Trump famously predicted that foreign countries would pay the price of his protectionist policies, wagering that exporters would absorb...
Treasury chief says government shutdown is hitting economy
The U.S. federal government shutdown is starting to impact the nation’s economy, U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on Monday as the closure entered its 13th day. “This is getting serious. It’s starting to affect the real economy,” he told Fox Business Network’s “Mornings with Maria” program, without offering more...
Sewickley-based Inca Brands creates fashionable, functional looks made of alpaca
When Kim Brooks opened an email in 2006 asking for sock donations for troops in Iraq, she didn’t hesitate. The request came from The Sock Brigade, a project launched by an Oregon alpaca farmer after her Army sergeant son told her his unit needed warm alpaca socks for the bitter...
Beijing blames U.S. for raising trade tensions, defends rare earth curbs
BEIJING/HONG KONG — China called President Donald Trump’s latest tariffs on Chinese goods hypocritical on Sunday and defended its curbs on exports of rare earth elements and equipment, but stopped short of imposing new levies on U.S. products. Trump on Friday responded to Beijing’s most recent export controls by imposing...
Partisan shutdown standoff ignores key risk to U.S. stability: rising national debt
WASHINGTON — The ongoing shutdown debate between Democrats and President Donald Trump’s Republicans is largely avoiding the difficult fiscal issues clouding the country’s future — the rising national debt and the long-term financial health of Social Security and Medicare. The fifteenth partial federal government shutdown since 1981 has been sparked...
Plans to raze Monroeville Mall surprise industry leaders
Monroeville Mall has inspired a book and is featured in movies, including George Romero’s “Dawn of the Dead.” That prominence may not spare it from demolition. A state funding request made public last week indicates its owner, Walmart, plans to tear down and rebuild on the property it bought in...
Pottery shop in Pleasant Unity noted as among nation’s best in House Beautiful
A Pleasant Unity pottery studio opened in answer to a retired physician’s passion for pottery has been named to House Beautiful magazine’s list of the best home stores in America. The store, fdp Studio Shop on Main Street, features pottery created by Francis DeFabo complemented by home decor curated by...
Major U.S. online retailers remove listings for millions of prohibited Chinese electronics
The chair of the Federal Communications Commission said Friday major U.S. online retail websites have removed several million listings for prohibited Chinese electronics as part of a crackdown by the agency. FCC Chair Brendan Carr said in an interview the items removed are either on a U.S. list of barred...
Giant Eagle wades into pharmacy benefit management, promising transparency
As Giant Eagle expands its pharmacy business by absorbing customers from the failed Rite-Aid chain, it quietly has been making a bigger push into a more obscure sector of the industry: pharmacy benefit management. After dabbling for at least a decade in pharmacy benefit management, serving as the go-between among...
Wall Street selloff raises worries about market downturn
NEW YORK — Investor worries Wall Street’s record stock rally would soon fizzle loomed large after tariffs re-emerged as a market risk. U.S. equity markets, fresh off midweek record highs, performed an about-face Friday after President Donald Trump revived threats to hike tariffs against China, triggering worries that a possible...
Redesign in the works for office, retail space along Route 28 in Harrison
A mixed-use development that could bring offices, restaurants and retail along Route 28 in Harrison is back on the drawing board. The project, known as Harrison Point, is moving forward despite sitting dormant for 11 years, according to Richard Gasperini Jr. of Genfor Real Estate. His group is soliciting development...
THC drinks, gummies, other hemp products face ban in Ohio. Businesses not happy
Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine has banned the sale of intoxicating hemp products — such as THC-infused gummies and beverages sold in gas stations, taprooms and retail shops — for 90 days. His executive order, signed on Wednesday, requires retailers to remove products and cease sales by 12:01 a.m. Tuesday. Intoxicating...
U.S. buys Argentine pesos, finalizes $20 billion currency swap
The U.S. government purchased Argentine pesos and finalized a $20 billion currency swap framework with Argentina’s central bank, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on Thursday, sending the peso and Argentine dollar bonds sharply higher. “The U.S. Treasury is prepared, immediately, to take whatever exceptional measures are warranted to provide stability...
U.S. probes driver assistance software in 2.9 million Tesla vehicles over traffic violations
WASHINGTON — The U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said on Thursday that it is opening an investigation into 2.88 million Tesla vehicles equipped with its Full Self-Driving system over more than 50 reports of traffic-safety violations and a series of crashes. The auto safety agency said FSD — an...
U.S. consumer goods prices rise in September, data shows
WASHINGTON — Prices for long-lasting U.S. consumer and personal goods increased in September, data from OpenBrand showed on Thursday, though the boost from import tariffs appeared to be fading. A partial U.S. government shutdown, now in its second week, has caused the suspension of official economic data collection and publication,...
Greensburg official: Focus is on increasing residential housing options
Boosting Greensburg’s residential population within the city’s 4-square-mile boundary likely will have to come from building conversions in the downtown business district, a city official said this week. “Housing is our main focus right now. The only residential growth will be by developing residences” in the downtown area, said Alex...
Soaring gold prices spell payday for some, but economic uncertainty for all
Now might be a golden opportunity to empty out the jewelry box. A palmful of gold necklaces, rings or other jewelry could fetch about $10,000 at precious metals dealers as gold’s price-per-ounce continues its record-breaking rise. “People cry, like shaking — they can’t believe the amount they’re getting,” said Jenn...
FAA delays flights for 3rd day as government shutdown continues
WASHINGTON — The Federal Aviation Administration delayed flights for a third straight day on Wednesday at airports including Reagan Washington National and Newark Liberty International Airport as the agency continued to face higher-than-normal staffing shortages. There were nearly 3,000 flight delays by 5:30 p.m. after 10,000 delays in total on...
U.S. postpones Wyoming coal lease sale after disappointing Montana auction
The Trump administration has postponed a scheduled sale of coal leases on federal lands in Wyoming two days after a disappointing auction in Montana, an Interior Department spokesperson said Wednesday. The Bureau of Land Management, a division of Interior that manages 245 million acres of federal lands, had been expected...
Dayton Freight shipping company to build depot off I-70 near Smithton
An Ohio-based freight company is moving into Westmoreland County and bringing at least 50 jobs with it. Dayton Freight finalized the purchase of 31.5 acres at the Interstate 70 Industrial Park in South Huntingdon, according to Westmoreland County Industrial Development Corp. officials. The company, through Stream’s Edge Properties, paid $1.7...
Erie Coke fined $700,000 in sentence that ends environmental case, divides courtroom
The environmental fraud prosecution of the Erie Coke Corp. ended with the neighbors upset and even the judge and the prosecutor saying they wish they could have done more. U.S. District Judge Susan Paradise Baxter adhered to Erie Coke’s plea agreement and fined the Buffalo-area corporation $700,000 on Oct. 7...
Air traffic control staffing hit for 2nd day, delaying flights
WASHINGTON — Air traffic control staffing issues are delaying flights for a second straight day at numerous U.S. airports as the government shutdown reaches its seventh day, the Federal Aviation Administration said in a notice on Tuesday. The FAA said many flights were being delayed at Nashville and Newark airports,...
Tenant future clouded as Walmart plans demolition of Monroeville Mall site
Rick Murray would like to help Walmart pitch its vision of a mixed-use development on the site of the Monroeville Mall, because he thinks it could someday be a real asset to the community. The problem is, despite being a mall tenant, he has no idea what the future of...
Tesla expected to unveil lower-cost Model Y in push to reignite sales
Tesla is expected to unveil on Tuesday a more affordable version of its best-selling Model Y SUV, as the electric vehicle maker seeks to reverse falling sales and waning market share amid rising global competition. Chief Executive Elon Musk for years has promised mass market vehicles, though last year he...
Pentagon’s Hegseth OKs U.S. Navy next-generation fighter, sources say
WASHINGTON — After months of delay, the Pentagon will select as soon as this week the defense company to design and build the Navy’s next stealth fighter, a U.S. official and two people familiar with the decision said, it will be a multibillion-dollar effort for a jet seen as central...
