Business category, Page 155
Meta agrees to sell Giphy, ending battle with U.K. regulators
LONDON — Facebook parent Meta said Tuesday that it will sell off Giphy after running out of options to thwart a ruling by U.K. regulators, who again found that the deal to buy the GIF-sharing platform would limit competition and innovation. Britain’s competition watchdog had ordered Meta last year to...
At $85 million, MacKenzie Scott gives Girl Scouts its largest-ever individual donation
NEW YORK — Philanthropist MacKenzie Scott donated $84.5 million to Girl Scouts of the USA and 29 of its local branches, the 110-year-old organization said Tuesday, calling it a vote of confidence. “Her support of our organization means honestly just as much as the donation,” Sofia Chang, CEO of GSUSA,...
Comcast will boost internet speeds in Northeast states
For the second time this year, Comcast will boost internet speeds on its most popular Xfinity customer plans, the cable giant announced Monday. Comcast is facing continued competitive pressure from rivals, such as AT&T, Verizon, and Google Fiber, to increase speeds. This summer, Comcast announced that it had lost residential...
John Dorfman: Stealing from the best: Here is my purloined portfolio
A politician would be silly not to do opposition research. A baseball team would be goofy not to use scouting reports. By the same token, an investment manager would have to be singularly incurious not to check out what other managers are buying and selling. Once a year in this...
Stocks rally on Wall Street in latest volatile move
Wall Street kicked off a busy week of corporate earnings with a broad rally Monday, the latest about-face for a market that has been unsteadily lurching between gains and losses in recent weeks. The S&P 500 climbed 2.6%, more than recovering the ground it lost in a sell-off Friday. The...
Kanye West to buy conservative social media platform Parler
The rapper formerly known as Kanye West is offering to buy right-wing friendly social network Parler shortly after being booted off Twitter and Instagram for antisemitic posts. Parlement Technologies, which owns the platform, and West, legally known as Ye, said the acquisition should be completed in the fourth quarter, but...
Greensburg beef jerky business aiding troops, veterans
A Salem man who started a beef jerky business in California six years ago is competing for a slice of the $1.2 billion annual domestic meat jerky market. Part of the mission of Air Force veteran Christopher Prascus’ Soldier Boy Beef Jerky is to give back to those who serve...
Small businesses brace for cautious holiday shoppers
NEW YORK — Small businesses are stocking the shelves early this holiday season and waiting to see how many gifts inflation-weary shoppers feel like giving. Holiday shopping was relatively strong during the past two years as shoppers flocked online to spend, aided by pandemic stimulus dollars. Sales in November and...
Pa. plan for electric vehicle supercharger stations becoming reality
Davie Huddleston wasn’t looking for an electric vehicle. He loves his gas-powered Nissan Murano convertible. But his two daughters kept insisting, and he finally bought one. “They should sell electric vehicles,” he said of his daughters. “It was constant. And they had a point for my every objection. But it...
Musk has a ‘super app’ plan for Twitter. It’s super vague
Elon Musk has a penchant for the letter “X.” He calls his son with the singer Grimes, whose actual name is a collection of letters and symbols, “X.” He named the company he created to buy Twitter “X Holdings.” His rocket company is, naturally, SpaceX. Now he also apparently intends...
Apple workers in Oklahoma vote to unionize in 2nd labor win
NEW YORK — Workers at an Apple store in Oklahoma City voted to unionize, marking the second unionized Apple store in the U.S. in a matter of months, according to the federal labor board. The vote on Friday signaled another win for the labor movement, which has been gaining momentum...
Shell Pipeline Co., contractor fined $670K for repeated chemical releases
The Shell Pipeline Co. and a contractor will pay $670,000 for violations that released chemicals into local waterways, including the Ohio River. The state Department of Environmental Protection, Shell and its contractor, Minnesota Limited, agreed to the settlement. The DEP said in a release that 67 inspections showed repeated violations...
Fighting food poisoning: Sweeping poultry changes proposed
DES MOINES, Iowa — The U.S. Department of Agriculture on Friday proposed sweeping changes in the way chicken and turkey meat is processed that are intended to reduce illnesses from food contamination but could require meat companies to make extensive changes to their operations. Despite decades of efforts to try...
Biden pushing lower prescription drug costs in midterm press
LOS ANGELES — President Joe Biden is set to highlight his administration’s efforts to lower prescription drug costs on Friday as part of his three-state Western tour this week, as he confronts a sobering inflation report in the waning weeks before midterm elections. Biden will head to a community college...
Banking breakup between Kanye West, JPMorgan planned for weeks
NEW YORK — JPMorgan Chase and the rapper formerly known as Kanye West are ending their business relationship, but the breakup is not a result of the controversy over the hip-hop star’s recent antisemitic comments. The letter ending West’s relationship with JPMorgan was tweeted Wednesday by conservative activist Candice Owens,...
Stocks mount biggest comeback in years; S&P 500 jumps 2.6%
NEW YORK — Wall Street staged its biggest comeback in years Thursday, as stocks roared back from steep morning losses caused by a worse-than-expected report on inflation. The S&P 500 jumped to a gain of 2.6%, a stunning reversal after earlier being down as much as 2.4% and touching its...
Social Security recipients to receive historic hike next year
WASHINGTON — Millions of Social Security recipients will get an 8.7% boost in their benefits in 2023. That’s a historic increase and welcome news for American retirees and others — but it’s tempered by the fact that it’s fueled by record high inflation that’s raised the cost of everyday living....
Cranberry-based nuclear power company Westinghouse acquired by 2 Canadian companies
Westinghouse Electric Company, one of the largest nuclear power companies in the world, will be acquired by a Canadian consortium. Cameco Corp. and Brookfield Renewable Partners formed a partnership to acquire the Cranberry Township-headquartered company, which is valued at $7.8 billion. Westinghouse President and CEO Patrick Fragman said the acquisition...
Rough times ahead: Hurricane Ian batters SW Florida economy
FORT MYERS, Fla. — Hurricane Ian might have come and gone but it could deliver prolonged blows to the local economy, walloping small businesses heavily dependent on tourists and seasonal residents. The scenes of destruction in southwestern Florida will keep many winter tourists and snowbirds away as well as tasking...
Explainer: U.S. set to announce huge jump in Social Security payments
NEW YORK — Tens of millions of older Americans are about to get what may be the biggest raise of their lifetimes. On Thursday, the U.S. government is set to announce how big a percentage increase Social Security beneficiaries will see in monthly payments this upcoming year. It’s virtually certain...
TikTok going big on U.S. e-commerce? Job listings offer clues
NEW YORK — TikTok appears to be deepening its foray into e-commerce with plans to operate its own U.S. warehouses, the kind of packing and shipping facilities more associated with Amazon or Walmart than the social media platform best known for addictive short videos. In the past two weeks, TikTok...
Honda, LG to build $3.5B battery plant, hire 2,200 in Ohio
COLUMBUS — Honda says it will build a $3.5 billion joint-venture battery factory in rural southern Ohio and hire 2,200 people to staff it as the company starts to turn the state into its North American electric vehicle hub. Honda, which announced its first Ohio factory 45 years ago, also...
Wall Street ends mostly lower after another volatile dayVideo
Another volatile run on Wall Street left stocks lower Tuesday, extending the market’s recent losses as traders brace for updates on inflation and corporate earnings. The S&P 500 fell 0.7%, marking its fifth straight loss. The benchmark index had been down as much as 1.2% in the early going after...
Labor proposal could upend rules for gig workers, companies
The Biden administration published a new proposal Tuesday regarding how workers should be classified, saying that thousands of people have been incorrectly labeled as contractors rather than employees, potentially curtailing access to benefits and protections they rightfully deserve. The new U.S. Department of Labor regulations would replace a Trump-era rule...
Stocks close lower on Wall Street ahead of earnings reportsVideo
Wall Street added to its recent string of losses Monday, as stocks fell ahead of a busy week of inflation updates and the start of corporate earnings reporting season. The S&P 500 fell 0.7%, extending its losing streak to a fourth day. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 0.3% after...
