Business category, Page 165
Powell tells Congress that Fed will raise rates this month
WASHINGTON — Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell made clear Wednesday that the Fed will begin raising interest rates this month in a high-stakes effort to restrain surging inflation. In prepared testimony he will deliver to a congressional committee, Powell cautions that the financial consequences of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine are...
Ford splits EV, internal combustion into separate units
NEW YORK — Ford said that it will run its electric vehicle and internal combustion divisions as two separate businesses, attempting to accelerate its adaptation of new technology. The automaker said Wednesday that its plan includes two distinct, but strategically interdependent, auto businesses — Ford Blue focusing on traditional combustion...
Economic dangers from Russia’s invasion ripple across globe
WASHINGTON — Moscow’s war on Ukraine and the ferocious financial backlash it has unleashed are not only inflicting an economic catastrophe on President Vladimir Putin’s Russia. The repercussions are also menacing the global economy, shaking financial markets and making life more perilous for everyone from Uzbek migrant workers to European...
Nations agree to release 60 million barrels of oil amid war
FRANKFURT, Germany — All 31 countries that are members of the International Energy Agency have agreed to release 60 million barrels of oil from their strategic reserves “to send a strong message to oil markets” that there will be “no shortfall in supplies” as a result of Russia’s invasion of...
Oil prices surge above $100 a barrel as war on Ukraine rages
NEW YORK — Oil prices soared Tuesday and investors shifted more money into ultra-safe U.S. government bonds as Russia stepped up its war on Ukraine. Stocks fell following a volatile day for major indexes as investors tried to measure how the conflict will impact the global economy. The S&P 500...
Coors Light says it will eliminate 6-pack plastic rings by end of the year
Molson Coors Beverage Co. said it will make an $85 million investment to transition away from plastic rings for its beverage packaging. Coors Light said it will begin the transition “to fully recyclable and sustainably sourced cardboard-wrap carriers later this year.” Molson Coors said it “will upgrade its packaging machinery,...
Come join my Derby of Economic Forecasting Talent
They never see it coming. By “they,” I mean almost everyone. By “it,” I mean a surprise in the economy. As evidence, consider my annual Derby of Economic Forecasting Talent (DEFT), which has just concluded its 19th year. Inflation in 2021 heated up to 7%. Not a single one of...
Swings return to Wall Street, oil up after Russia sanctions
NEW YORK — Markets quivered Monday amid worries about how high oil prices will go and how badly the global economy will get hit after the United States and allies upped the financial pressure on Russia for its invasion of Ukraine. Stocks swung up and down several times, leaving the...
Target seeks to entice workers with pay of up to $24 an hour
NEW YORK — Workers at Target stores and distribution centers in places like New York, where competition for finding and hiring staff is the fiercest, could see starting wages as high as $24 an hour this year. The Minneapolis-based discount retailer said Monday that it will adopt minimum wages that...
Toyota’s Japan production halted over suspected cyberattack
TOKYO — Toyota is suspending production at all 28 lines of its 14 plants in Japan starting Tuesday, because of a “system malfunction” that a domestic supplier suspects is a cyberattack. Kojima Industries Corp., based in Toyota city in central Japan, said Monday the problem could be a cyberattack as...
Ruble plummets as sanctions bite, sending Russians to banks
MOSCOW — Ordinary Russians faced the prospect of higher prices and crimped foreign travel as Western sanctions over the invasion of Ukraine sent the ruble plummeting, leading uneasy people to line up at banks and ATMs on Monday in a country that has seen more than one currency disaster in...
John Dorfman: Why I think George Soros is wrong about Rivian
George Soros recently bought shares of Rivian Automotive Inc. (RIVN). I think he’s wrong. Shares in Rivian, an electric-truck startup backed by Amazon.com Inc. and Ford Motor Co., trade for 6,637 times the company’s revenue for the past four quarters. That’s the kind of multiple you see when investors mentally...
BP exiting stake in Russian oil and gas company Rosneft
BP said Sunday it is exiting its share in Rosneft, a state-controlled Russian oil and gas company, in reaction to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. BP has held a 19.75% stake in Rosneft since 2013. That stake is currently valued at $14 billion. London-based BP also said its CEO, Bernard Looney,...
Potent protest: Bars drop Russian vodka, promote Ukraine’s
Some bars and liquor stores think they’ve found a potent way to punish Russia for invading Ukraine: They’re pulling Russian vodka off their shelves and promoting Ukrainian brands instead. “I woke up yesterday morning, and I saw that Russia had invaded Ukraine. You wonder what you can do,” said Bob...
China is Russia’s best hope to blunt sanctions, but wary
BEIJING — China is the only friend that might help Russia blunt the impact of economic sanctions over its invasion of Ukraine, but President Xi Jinping’s government is giving no sign it might be willing to risk its own access to U.S. and European markets by doing too much. Even...
Stocks up, fear down on Wall Street despite Ukraine invasion
NEW YORK — Some relief flowed through Wall Street on Friday, even as deadly attacks continued to rage in Ukraine. Stocks rose, oil fell and investors turned away from gold and other traditional havens they favor when fear is high. The S&P 500 was 1.3% higher in midday trading, following...
Key inflation gauge hit 6.1% in January, highest since 1982
WASHINGTON — An inflation gauge that is closely monitored by the Federal Reserve jumped 6.1% in January compared with a year ago, the latest evidence that Americans are enduring sharp price increases that will likely worsen after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The figure reported Friday by the Commerce Department was...
How joining the Great Resignation could hamper homebuying plans
If you joined the Great Resignation in the last year, you may have found it even harder to compete in the already wild pandemic housing market. A record number of Americans quit their jobs in 2021, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, and while it was a liberating experience...
How much will the Fed raise interest rates in 2022? Here’s what experts are saying
Consumers may soon see the most aggressive Federal Reserve in decades. Expectations are growing that the U.S. central bank will hike interest rates this year by the most since 2005. How much depends on who you ask: Goldman Sachs is penciling in seven increases, while traders are betting on at...
Wall Street reels, then recovers after invasion of Ukraine
NEW YORK — Markets swung wildly Thursday as the world reacted to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Stocks in Europe fell sharply, while stocks in the U.S. recovered from early losses after President Joe Biden stopped short of implementing the steepest possible sanctions against Russia. The S&P 500 rallied 1.5% after...
U.S. slightly revises up its GDP estimate for Q4 to 7%
WASHINGTON — The U.S. economy ended 2021 by expanding at a brisk 7% annual pace from October through December, the government reported Thursday in a slight upgrade from its earlier estimate. For all of 2021, the nation’s gross domestic product — its total output of goods and services — jumped...
Ford recalls heavy-duty pickups; drive shafts can fracture
DETROIT — Ford is recalling nearly a quarter-million heavy duty pickup trucks in the U.S. because the drive shafts can fracture and cause a loss of power. The recall covers certain F-250 and F-350 Super Duty pickups from the 2017 through 2022 model years. The trucks have gasoline engines and...
Covid vaccine sales push Moderna to $12B profit in 2021
Moderna’s covid-19 vaccine brought in nearly $7 billion in the final quarter of 2021, and the drugmaker says it has signed purchase agreements for another $19 billion in sales this year. The vaccine maker’s covid-19 shots, which are now available in more than 70 countries, totaled $17.7 billion in sales...
Over 1.7M Hondas probed for unexpected automatic braking
DETROIT — U.S. auto safety regulators are investigating complaints that the automatic emergency braking systems on more than 1.7 million newer Hondas can stop the vehicles for no reason. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration says it has 278 complaints that the problem can happen in 2017 through 2019 CR-V...
Wall Street losses mount amid simmering Ukraine crisis
NEW YORK — Wall Street’s losses mounted Wednesday as world leaders waited to see if Russian President Vladimir Putin orders troops deeper into Ukraine. The S&P 500 fell 1.8% to an 8-month low, deepening the benchmark index’s “correction,” or a loss of 10% from its recent peak. More than 85%...
