Business category, Page 135
Pittsburgh unemployment near record lows, but region is slow to regain workers
Pittsburgh’s unemployment rate is one of the lowest the region has seen in the past 50 years, but that isn’t necessarily a sign that the city’s economy is humming, according to a University of Pittsburgh economist. The unemployment rate for October was 4.1%, the Pennsylvania Center for Workforce Information and...
Pittsburgh unemployment near record lows, but region is slow to regain workers
Pittsburgh’s unemployment rate is one of the lowest the region has seen in the past 50 years, but that isn’t necessarily a sign that Pittsburgh’s economy is humming, according to a University of Pittsburgh economist. The unemployment rate for October was 4.1%, the Pennsylvania Center for Workforce Information and Analysis...
Lensa’s magic-avatar portraits are all over social media
With people sharing AI-generated portraits on social media, attention is being drawn to the Lensa AI photo app. The app, from Prisma AI, has been around since 2018, but the new “magic avatar” feature debuted last month. The feature creates highly-stylized portraits that users share on Twitter, Instagram and TikTok....
Holmes’ former partner faces sentencing in Theranos case
A former Theranos executive learns Wednesday whether he will be punished as severely as his former lover and business partner for peddling the company’s bogus blood-testing technology that duped investors and endangered patients. The sentencing for Ramesh “Sunny” Balwani, who was convicted in July of fraud and conspiracy, comes less...
Millennial Money: How credit can beat buy now, pay later
At first glance, a “buy now, pay later” plan’s promise of no interest or upfront fees can seem more appealing than a credit card’s terms. Dividing a transaction into, say, a pay-in-four installment plan sounds straightforward and manageable. Unlike credit cards, though, these plans lack certain consumer protections and are...
Meta oversight board urges changes to VIP moderation system
LONDON — Facebook parent Meta’s quasi-independent oversight board said Tuesday that an internal system that exempted high-profile users, including former U.S. President Donald Trump, from some or all of its content moderation rules needs a major overhaul. The report by the Oversight Board, which was more than a year in...
John Dorfman: Executives buy at Align Technology, Black Stone Minerals
Company executives usually talk an optimistic game. When they put their money where their mouth is, that’s when I pay attention. Align Technology Joseph Hogan, president and chief executive officer of Align Technology Inc. (ALGN), spent about $2 million to buy his own company’s stock in November. Hogan had sold...
Russian oil price cap, EU ban aim to limit Kremlin war chest
FRANKFURT, Germany — Major Western measures to limit Russia’s oil profits over the war in Ukraine took effect Monday, bringing with them uncertainty about how much crude could be lost to the world and whether they will unleash the hoped-for hit to a Russian economy that has held up better...
U.S. futures inch down, oil higher after Russia price cap pact
U.S. futures dipped and oil prices rose Monday after the European Union and the Group of Seven democracies agreed on a boycott of most Russian oil and committed to a price cap of $60 per barrel on Russian exports. Futures for the Dow Jones Industrials and the S&P 500 were...
As Musk is learning, content moderation is a messy job
Now that he’s back on Twitter, neo-Nazi Andrew Anglin wants somebody to explain the rules. Anglin, the founder of an infamous neo-Nazi website, was reinstated Thursday, one of many previously banned users to benefit from an amnesty granted by Twitter’s new owner Elon Musk. The next day, Musk banished Ye,...
Trail towns poised to capitalize on increasing access, popularity of rails-to-trails
Lauren Edinger and her husband, Edd Velez, whitewashed an antique tin ceiling in their future ice cream and sandwich shop in the former J.H. Shoop & Sons building in Freeport. The repurposing of the century-plus-old retail building — home to one of the oldest family-owned men’s clothing stores in the...
Rail strike averted: Biden signs bill enforcing agreement
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden signed a bill Friday to avert a freight rail strike that he said could have plunged the U.S. into a catastrophic recession. At the White House, Biden signed a measure passed Thursday by the Senate and Wednesday by the House. It binds rail companies and...
Stocks set to drop after jobs data fans inflation worries
Wall Street is set to fall when trading opens Friday on renewed worries about inflation after a report showed wages for U.S. workers are accelerating faster than expected. Futures for U.S. stock indexes fell sharply immediately after the government released the stronger-than-expected data on both wages and hiring. The report...
U.S. hiring stayed strong in November as employers add 263,000 jobs
WASHINGTON — The nation’s employers kept hiring briskly in November despite high inflation and a slow-growing economy — a sign of resilience in the face of the Federal Reserve’s aggressive interest rate hikes. The economy added 263,000 jobs, while the unemployment rate stayed 3.7%, still near a 53-year low, the...
Senate moves to avert rail strike amid dire warnings
WASHINGTON — The Senate moved quickly Thursday to avert a rail strike that the Biden administration and business leaders warned would have had devastating consequences for the nation’s economy. The Senate passed a bill to bind rail companies and workers to a proposed settlement that was reached between the rail...
An inflation gauge tracked by the Fed slows to still-high 6%
WASHINGTON — A measure of inflation that is closely monitored by the Federal Reserve eased but remained at an elevated level in October, likely reinforcing the Fed’s intent to keep raising interest rates to cool the economy and slow the acceleration of prices. Thursday’s report from the Commerce Department showed...
Applications for jobless benefits decline last week
WASHINGTON — The number of Americans applying for unemployment benefits came back down last week, hovering near levels suggesting the U.S. labor market has been largely unaffected by the Federal Reserve’s aggressive interest rate hikes. Applications for jobless aid fell to 225,000 for the week ending Nov. 26, a decline...
Is now the right time for your business to buy real estate?
For small businesses hoping to establish or expand their brick-and-mortar presence, it may seem like a bad time to sink cash into a commercial property purchase. Amid predictions of an upcoming recession, the Federal Reserve increased the federal funds rate for the sixth time in 2022, citing inflation risks and...
Mark Cuban’s prescription drug company in talks with hospitals to fill drug shortages
Mark Cuban’s prescription drug company, known for “cutting out the middle man,” is in conversations with hospitals around the nation to identify the most common drug shortages. The goal is to fill the gap by targeting production at its new manufacturing facility in Dallas toward cranking out the most needed...
GivingTuesday raises $3.1B for charities in tough economy
NEW YORK — GivingTuesday raised a record $3.1 billion in 24 hours for charitable causes in the U.S. earlier this week, as the event that started as a hashtag in 2012 celebrated its 10th anniversary and its status as a staple of fundraising for nonprofits, the group’s leader said Wednesday....
Media layoffs mount as CNN announces it will make cuts this week
CNN employees are in for a rough week as the news network’s chief, Chris Licht, told staff to prepare for a round of layoffs. The cuts have been anticipated as CNN parent Warner Bros. Discovery is looking for cost reductions across the company as it tries to bring down debt....
Stocks rally after Fed chair signals slowdown in rate hikesVideo
Wall Street closed out a solid November with a broad market rally Wednesday after the head of the Federal Reserve said the central bank could soon begin easing up on its aggressive interest rate increases aimed at taming inflation. Fed Chair Jerome Powell, speaking at the Brookings Institution, reaffirmed that...
Lordstown Motors shipping out first batch of electric trucks
LORDSTOWN, Ohio — Commercial electric vehicle startup Lordstown Motors has received approval to ship the first batch of its first model, the Endurance pickup. The company announced Tuesday that the first units of the initial batch of 500 trucks were leaving the plant after they passed safety tests and hit...
Mall at Robinson sold to New York firm in $46M deal
The Mall at Robinson has been sold to New York-based Kohan Retail Investment Group for $46 million. Chicago-based Jones Lang LaSalle, the real estate company that brokered the deal, announced the sale Tuesday. The two-level, 874,533-square-foot mall sees more than 4.8 million visitors per year, placing it among the top...
House votes to avert rail strike, impose deal on unionsVideo
WASHINGTON — The U.S. House moved urgently to head off the looming nationwide rail strike on Wednesday, passing a bill that would bind companies and workers to a proposed settlement that was reached in September but rejected by some of the 12 unions involved. The measure passed by a vote...
