Business category, Page 163
A key U.S. inflation gauge reaches 6.8% as prices keep surging
WASHINGTON — An inflation gauge that is closely tracked by the Federal Reserve jumped 6.8% in June from a year ago, the biggest increase in four decades, and leaving Americans with no relief from surging costs. Friday’s figures from the Commerce Department underscored the persistence of the inflation that is...
Unprecedented profit for major oil drillers as prices soared
NEW YORK — Oil companies swam in record profits over the last few months at a time when Americans struggled to pay for gasoline, food and other basic necessities. On Friday, Exxon Mobil booked an unprecedented $17.85 billion profit for the second quarter and Chevron made a record $11.62 billion....
JetBlue-Spirit deal brings hope and concern for Western Pa.
Westmoreland County Airport Authority Executive Director Gabe Monzo said he’s hopeful a $3.8 billion deal for JetBlue to purchase Spirit Airlines ultimately will be a boon for local travelers. But there are no guarantees. The deal was announced Thursday. Spirit has been the sole carrier at Arnold Palmer Regional Airport...
U.S. economy shrank 0.9% last quarter, its 2nd straight drop
WASHINGTON — The U.S. economy shrank from April through June for a second straight quarter, contracting at a 0.9% annual pace and raising fears that the nation may be approaching a recession. The decline that the Commerce Department reported Thursday in the gross domestic product — the broadest gauge of...
JetBlue agrees to buy Spirit for $3.8 billion
JetBlue has agreed to buy Spirit Airlines for $3.8 billion in a deal that would create the nation’s fifth largest airline if approved by U.S. regulators. The agreement Thursday comes a day after Spirit’s attempt to merge with Frontier Airlines fell apart. Spirit had recommended its shareholders approve a lower...
Shell posts record earnings again as energy prices soar
LONDON — Shell posted record profits Thursday for a second straight quarter as the energy giant benefited from soaring prices of oil and natural gas fueled by Russia’s war in Ukraine. London-based Shell said it’s second-quarter adjusted earnings — which exclude one-time items and fluctuations in the value of inventories...
With Frontier deal dead, Spirit ponders sale to JetBlueVideo
Spirit Airlines and Frontier Airlines agreed Wednesday to abandon their merger proposal, opening the way for JetBlue Airways to acquire Spirit after a monthslong bidding war for the budget carrier. The decision by Spirit and Frontier to terminate their deal was announced while Spirit shareholders were still voting on the...
Stocks rise on Wall Street after new Fed rate hike, earnings
Stocks on Wall Street are solidly higher in afternoon trading Wednesday after the Federal Reserve raised its key interest rate by a widely expected three-quarters of a point as the central bank ratchets up its campaign to quell surging inflation. The Fed’s move, its second three-quarters of a point hike...
Fed set to impose another big rate hike to fight inflation
WASHINGTON — With inflation at a four-decade high, the job market strong and consumers still spending, the Federal Reserve is under pressure to continue raising interest rates aggressively. When it ends its latest policy meeting Wednesday afternoon, the Fed is expected to impose a second consecutive three-quarter-point hike in its...
Wawa agrees to payment, security changes for data breach in 2019
HARRISBURG — A Pennsylvania-based convenience store chain will pay $8 million to several states over a 2019 data breach that involved some 34 million payment cards, authorities announced Tuesday. The Pennsylvania attorney general’s office said Wawa Inc. did not take reasonable security measures to prevent hackers from installing malware that...
Explainer: How do we know when a recession has begun?
WASHINGTON — By one common definition, the U.S. economy is on the cusp of a recession. Yet that definition isn’t the one that counts. On Thursday, when the government estimates the gross domestic product for the April-June period, some economists think it may show that the economy shrank for a...
Fraudulent text, email messages target PNC Bank customers
PNC Bank customers are being warned of a scam that aims to obtain personal or account-related information. “Some cybercriminals have shifted their approach and are targeting consumers directly through known and trusted channels of communication,” a PNC spokesperson said. “One such scam involves fraudulent outreach via text, email or phone...
As online pandemic boom fades, Shopify cuts 1,000 jobs
NEW YORK — Shopify is cutting 10% of its staff, or about 1,000 employees, as the e-commerce company reckons with an unexpected sales downturn after a pandemic-fueled explosion. There has been a wave of layoffs or cutbacks in the tech sector with Wall Street distancing itself from some of the...
Consumer confidence slides for 3rd straight month in July
U.S. consumer confidence slid again in July higher prices for food, gas and just about everything else continued to weigh on Americans. The Conference Board said Tuesday that its consumer confidence index fell to 95.7 in July from 98.4 in June, largely due to consumer anxiety over the current economic...
U.S. economy’s mixed signals — here’s what it all means
WASHINGTON — The U.S. economy is caught in an awkward, painful place. A confusing one, too. Growth appears to be sputtering, home sales are tumbling and economists warn of a potential recession ahead. But consumers are still spending, businesses keep posting profits and the economy keeps adding hundreds of thousands...
Unilever hikes prices for products but expects strong sales
LONDON — Unilever, the consumer goods giant that owns brands ranging from Ben & Jerry’s ice cream to Dove skin care, raised prices by more than 11% between April and June as inflation surged around the world. That shored up revenue in the first half of the year, with the...
McDonald’s reports lower Q2 sales, charges weigh down profit
McDonald’s sales fell short of expectations in the second quarter, a sign that inflation and menu price increases could be taking a toll on U.S. demand. The Chicago burger giant said its revenue fell 3% to $5.72 billion in the April-June period. That was short of Wall Street’s forecast of...
Fed set to impose another big rate hike to fight inflationVideo
WASHINGTON — Conflicting signs about the health of the U.S. economy have thrust the Federal Reserve into a difficult spot. With inflation raging at a four-decade high, the job market strong and consumer spending still solid, the Fed is under pressure to raise interest rates aggressively. But other signs suggest...
Ex-U.S. congressman among 9 charged in insider trading cases
NEW YORK — A former U.S. congressman from Indiana, technology company executives, a man training to be an FBI agent, and an investment banker were among nine people charged in four separate and unrelated insider trading schemes revealed on Monday with the unsealing of indictments in New York City. It...
Rents spike as big-pocketed investors buy mobile home parks
LOCKPORT, N.Y. — For as long as anyone can remember, rent increases rarely happened at Ridgeview Homes, a family-owned mobile home park in upstate New York. That changed in 2018 when corporate owners took over the 65-year-old park located amid farmland and down the road from a fast food joint...
Amazon to buy primary care provider One Medical for $3.9B
NEW YORK — Amazon will acquire the primary care organization One Medical in a deal valued roughly at $3.9 billion, marking another expansion for the retailer into health care services. The Seattle-based e-commerce giant said Thursday it is buying One Medical for $18 per share cash. Its one of Amazon’s...
John Dorfman: Berkshire, Applied Materials combine growth and value
In my experience, stocks that display both growth and value characteristics are often promising stocks to hold. Right now, I believe that Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (BRK.B), Applied Materials Inc. (AMAT), Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc. (REGN) and Laboratory Corp. of America Holdings (LH) fit the bill. Should you buy these stocks now,...
Businesses eye economic boost as Steelers training camp returns to Saint Vincent
On an artist’s palette, black and gold don’t make green. But during the Pittsburgh Steelers training camp near Latrobe, they do make green — and a lot of it. Area businesses are anticipating an economic boost in the coming weeks as the Steelers return to Saint Vincent College in Unity...
Zimbabwe debuts gold coins as legal tender to stem inflation
HARARE, Zimbabwe — Zimbabwe has launched gold coins to be sold to the public in a bid to tame runaway inflation that has further eroded the country’s unstable currency. The unprecedented move was announced Monday by the country’s central bank, the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe, to boost confidence in the...
Janet Yellen says signs of U.S. recession aren’t in sight for nowVideo
WASHINGTON — Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen expressed confidence in the Federal Reserve’s fight against inflation and said she doesn’t see any sign that the U.S. economy is in a broad recession. “We’re likely to see some slowing of job creation,” Yellen said on NBC’s “Meet the Press” on Sunday. “I...
