Business category, Page 131
Westmoreland plastics firm to expand to build parts for Amtrak Airo trains
Amtrak’s upgraded passenger trains, expected to be put into service later this decade, will have a Westmoreland County connection. Roechling Industrial Mt. Pleasant, a machine plastics company that has operated in the county since 1981, has been tapped to produce interior ceilings, door motor cases and other projects for the...
PennDOT gets $171M in grants to expand electric vehicle network
PennDOT is receiving $171.5 million in grants to expand its electric vehicle infrastructure. As part of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, PennDOT will receive the federal funds for electric vehicle charging infrastructure over the next five years. For the first round of funding, PennDOT has advanced appropriations of $25.4 million for...
In-N-Out Burger expanding east of Texas, 1st stop Tennessee
FRANKLIN, Tenn. — In-N-Out Burger announced Tuesday that it plans to open a corporate office in Tennessee and restaurants in and around Nashville by 2026, marking the company’s first expansion east of Texas. Gov. Bill Lee joined In-N-Out Burger owner and president Lynsi Snyder along with other government and company...
Millennial Money: 5 tactics to pay buy now, pay later debt
Chances are that your “buy now, pay later” bill from the holiday season will arrive soon or has already made its debut. If you’re not financially prepared to pay up, late fees or other charges can bury you deeper in debt. Circumstances can change over a matter of weeks through...
Powell: Fed has only narrow role to play on climate change
WASHINGTON — The Federal Reserve has only a limited role to play in combating climate change, Chair Jerome Powell said Tuesday, a stance that puts him at odds with environmental activists who have pushed central banks worldwide to take steps to restrict lending to energy companies. “Without explicit congressional legislation,...
Bill Gates considers West Virginia to expand nuclear energy efforts
GLASGOW, W.Va. — Bill Gates is looking to West Virginia as he plans for the next phase of his effort to reboot U.S. nuclear energy technology: powering the east coast. Microsoft co-founder Gates, who visited a closed down coal-fired plant Monday in Glasgow, W.Va., said he needs to see how...
Top leader departs Rite Aid; company names interim CEO
Rite Aid announced a change at the top on Monday. The company’s president and CEO, Heyward Donigan has departed Rite Aid, the company announced. “It has been a privilege to lead Rite Aid and its exceptional team,”Donigan said in a news release. “I am proud of all that we have...
Heinz Endowments names new president after national search
The Heinz Endowments named Chris DeCardy as its president following a national search after Grant Oliphant stepped down in February 2022. DeCardy, 56, is currently a consultant serving foundations and nonprofit organizations. He will move to Pittsburgh from Menlo Park, Calif., where he lives with his family. The Heinz family...
Companies tout environmental tech innovations at CES 2023
LAS VEGAS — The mottled bright green leaves of a pothos plant stood out against the flashy expanse of electric vehicles and smart products at the CES tech show in Las Vegas this year. This particular version of the familiar houseplant was bioengineered to remove 30 times the amount of...
Workers at refugee organization Hello Neighbor in Pittsburgh seek to unionize
Workers at the Larimer-based nonprofit Hello Neighbor are seeking voluntary union recognition from the organization. The workers presented their CEO with the request on Jan. 3. Hello Neighbor provides social services for refugees and immigrants around Pittsburgh. The bargaining unit consists of 21 workers in development and marketing, education and...
CES showcases electric hydrofoil boats
Flying cars and self-driving vehicles always get attention at the CES gadget show in Las Vegas, but this year electric recreational boats are making bigger waves. Swedish company Candela on Thursday unveiled a 28-foot (8.5-meter) electric-powered hydrofoil speedboat that can cruise for over two hours at 20 knots, or about...
Global food prices in 2022 hit record high amid drought, war
ROME — Global prices for food commodities like grain and vegetable oils were the highest on record last year even after falling for nine months in a row, the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization said, as Russia’s war in Ukraine, drought and other factors drove up inflation and worsened hunger...
U.S. hiring stays brisk as employers add 223,000 jobs
WASHINGTON — America’s employers added a solid 223,000 jobs in December, evidence that the economy remains healthy even as the Federal Reserve is rapidly raising interest rates to try to slow economic growth and the pace of hiring. With companies continuing to add jobs across the economy, the unemployment rate...
Southwest starts on reputation repair after cancellations
DALLAS — With its flights running on a roughly normal schedule, Southwest Airlines is now turning its attention to repairing its damaged reputation after it canceled 15,000 flights around Christmas and left holiday travelers stranded. CEO Robert Jordan said Thursday that Southwest has processed about 75% of the refund requests...
Highmark Health Plan names president
Tom Doran has been named Highmark Health Plan president, taking the reins of the country’s fourth-largest Blue Cross Blue Shield affiliate with about 6.8 million members. Doran is not new to the Pittsburgh-headquartered health insurer. Most recently, he served as the health plan’s chief operating officer when former health plan...
Southwest starts on reputation repair after cancellations
DALLAS — With its flights running on a roughly normal schedule, Southwest Airlines is now turning its attention to repairing its damaged reputation after it canceled 15,000 flights around Christmas and left holiday travelers stranded. The disruptions started with a winter storm and snowballed when Southwest’s ancient crew-scheduling technology failed....
Pa. gas drilling report criticizes industry for failing to report abandoned gas wells
The Department of Environmental Protection rebuked the conventional oil and gas drilling industry for not complying with state regulations, saying that operators with 11 or more wells failing to report key data “seems to be an industry-wide rule rather than the exception.” “Over the past five years, DEP’s OOGM (Office...
See wireless TV, delivery robots and in-car VR at CES show
LAS VEGAS — Tech companies of all sizes are showing off their latest products at CES, formerly known as the Consumer Electronics show. The show is getting back to normal after going completely virtual in 2021 and seeing a significant drop in 2022 attendance because of the pandemic. On Wednesday,...
Bed Bath & Beyond warns it may go out of business
NEW YORK — Struggling Bed Bath & Beyond warned on Thursday that there’s substantial doubt about the company’s ability to continue as a “going concern” even as the home goods retailer continues to study options like refinancing its debt or restructuring its business in bankruptcy court. The outlook came after...
Amazon layoffs to hit 18,000 people
The wave of layoffs at Amazon will hit thousands more people than originally expected. Amazon CEO Andy Jassy said Wednesday evening the company planned to eliminate “just over” 18,000 roles. In November, when news of layoffs first broke, Amazon said the number of impacted roles remained fluid as leaders evaluated...
Post-Gazette owner to buy City Paper from Butler Eagle
A subsidiary of Block Communications, Inc., which owns the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, is buying the Pittsburgh City Paper from the publisher of the Butler Eagle. The Butler Eagle’s publisher, Eagle Media, acquired the alternative weekly paper in March 2016 from Steel City Media. All employees of the City Paper will be...
Salesforce to lay off 8,000 workers in latest tech purge
Business software maker Salesforce is laying off about 8,000 employees, or 10% of its workforce, as major technology companies continue to prune payrolls that rapidly expanded during the pandemic lockdown. The cuts announced Wednesday are by far the largest in the 23-year history of a San Francisco company founded by...
Electric skates, pet tech and AI for birds at CES 2023
LAS VEGAS — Tech companies of all sizes are showing off their latest products at CES, formerly known as the Consumer Electronics show. The show is getting back to normal after going completely virtual in 2021 and seeing a significant drop in 2022 attendance because of the pandemic. Exhibitors range...
Futures inch higher ahead of the release of Fed notes
Wall Street pointed modestly higher Wednesday ahead of the release of notes from the most recent Federal Reserve meeting, which investors hope might hint at a less aggressive stance on interest rates, a tool that the Fed has used to tame inflation. Futures for the benchmark S&P 500 index and...
John Dorfman: Robot Portfolio chugs on, up 915% in 24 years
Give that Robot some new polish! The Robot Portfolio is a hypothetical collection of 10 stocks I have compiled each year beginning in 1999. In 24 years, it has achieved a cumulative 915% return, compared with 373% for the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index. The 10 stocks are picked by...
