Business category, Page 166
Subaru buyers caught in right-to-repair fight over its cars
Driving a rugged Subaru through snowy weather is a rite of passage for some New Englanders, whose region is a top market for the Japanese automaker. So it was a surprise to Subaru fans when Massachusetts dealerships started selling its line of 2022 vehicles without a key ingredient: the in-car...
Former PPG Industries top executive Vincent Sarni dies at 93
Vincent “Vin” Sarni, retired PPG Industries chairman and chief executive officer, died on Feb. 21 at age 93. Sarni served as chairman and CEO of the company from 1984 until his retirement in 1993, concluding a 25-year career with PPG. “Vin was a strong and highly respected leader. He was...
If your life changed in 2021, watch for income tax surprises
The events of 2021 didn’t always play out as expected. A lingering pandemic, a shifting government response and a wave of career moves meant many people ended the year in a far different place from where they began. Now, as the income tax filing deadline approaches, those life changes may...
Stocks slide further amid Ukraine crisis; S&P in correctionVideo
NEW YORK — Stocks closed broadly lower Tuesday after Russia sent forces into Ukraine’s eastern region and the U.S., European Union and U.K. responded with economic sanctions. The rising geopolitical tensions kept financial markets on edge, pulling the S&P 500 into a correction — Wall Street speak for a drop...
International forces costing American drivers $375M more every day on gas, analyst says
Americans are spending about $375 million more on gasoline every day compared to a year ago, as prices continue to rise in the Pittsburgh area and across the nation, said Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis for GasBuddy. While there are concerns about how Russia’s actions in Ukraine could...
U.S. consumer confidence dips slightly but remains high
SILVER SPRING, Md. — U.S. consumer confidence declined modestly this month but remains high, even as prices for just about everything continue to rise. The Conference Board, a business research group, said Tuesday that its consumer confidence index — which takes into account consumers’ assessment of current conditions and their...
Kmart is down to its last 4 stores in the country
AVENEL, N.J. — On a busy stretch of Route 35 near Rahway, N.J., one of the nation’s last Kmart stores looks like a relic from the past. Its big red K is faded and cracked. Inside this most American of retail stores, popular for K Cafe luncheonettes and Bluelight Specials,...
John Dorfman: Beware of stocks selling for 100 times revenue
Just as there are no sure winners in the stock market, there are no sure losers. But I can tell you something that’s close. If you want excellent odds of losing your money, invest in a stock selling for 100 times revenue or more. Each year from 2000 through 2006,...
Trump’s social media app launches year after Twitter ban
NEW YORK — Former President Donald Trump’s social media app that he hopes will rival Twitter launched Monday as he seeks a new digital stage to rally his supporters and fight Big Tech limits on speech, a year after he was banned from Twitter, Facebook and YouTube. His Truth Social...
Shock gas, grocery price hikes spur states to pursue tax relief
Rapidly climbing inflation in the U.S. is accelerating calls from governors and state leaders to provide immediate tax relief to cash-strapped residents facing higher prices on everyday products such as gas, milk and electricity. The governors of Maine and Kentucky this week joined states including Illinois, California, Massachusetts, Florida, Alabama,...
Stocks fall again, handing Wall Street another losing week
Stocks are closing lower on Wall Street Friday, leaving indexes with a second weekly loss in a row after another bout of turbulence shook markets. The S&P 500 fell 0.7%, the Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 0.7% and the Nasdaq fell 1.2%. Investors have been watching the latest developments in...
January home sales rise ahead of expected rate hikes
Sales of previously occupied homes rose in January as a surge in buyers with cash and others eager to avoid higher mortgage rates snapped up properties, leaving the number of available houses on the market at a record low. Existing home sales rose 6.7% last month from December to a...
Astrobotic’s Griffin test model moves lunar lander closer to 2023 mission
Pittsburgh-based Astrobotic has moved one step closer to a 2023 moon landing for its Griffin Lunar Lander, the largest lunar-lander since the Apollo Lunar Module. Astrobotic announced that it has completed a Griffin Lunar Test model and is now headed for environmental testing. Unlike the Apollo landers of the late...
Construction wraps on problem-plagued Mariner East pipeline
PHILADELPHIA — Work is finished on a multibillion-dollar pipeline system that connects the vast Marcellus Shale gas field in western Pennsylvania to an export terminal near Philadelphia, according to its corporate owner, which faces criminal charges that it fouled waterways and residential water supplies during pipeline construction. Energy Transfer said...
Explainer: Will burglar alarms still work after 3G shutdown?
NEW YORK — As telecom companies rev up the newest generation of mobile service, called 5G, they’re shutting down old networks — a costly, years-in-the-works process that’s now prompting calls for a delay because many products out there still rely on the old standard, 3G. AT&T is scheduled to be...
U.S. approves new headlights that won’t blind oncoming drivers
DETROIT — Anyone who has ever been temporarily blinded by high-beam headlights from an oncoming car will be happy to hear this. U.S. highway safety regulators are about to allow new high-tech headlights that can automatically tailor beams so they focus on dark areas of the road and don’t create...
Disney World: No more masks indoors for vaccinated visitors
ORLANDO, Fla. — Starting this week, the masks are coming off for vaccinated visitors to Walt Disney World in Florida. The theme park resort announced Tuesday that face coverings will be optional for fully-vaccinated visitors in all indoor and outdoor locations, with one exception. Face masks still will be needed...
Stocks gain ground, oil prices fall as Ukraine tensions ease
NEW YORK — Technology companies led a rebound for stocks Tuesday on Wall Street as investors welcomed signs that tensions might ease over the Russian military buildup on Ukraine’s border. The S&P 500 rose 1.6%. The gain snapped a three-day losing streak and nearly made up for all of its...
Stocks close lower as Wall Street watches Ukraine tensions
Stocks on Wall Street shed early gains and closed broadly lower Monday as the United States moved to close its embassy in Ukraine amid heightened tensions over the thousands of Russian troops that have been amassing on the border. The S&P 500 fell 0.4% after having been down as much...
John Dorfman: All hail the balance sheet powerhouses
For the past half dozen years, investors couldn’t care less about a company’s balance sheet. But now that interest rates are rising, companies with lots of cash and little debt will increasingly hold the advantage. You’ll find 32 such companies this year on my annual list that I call Balance...
Corruption trial opens for ex-Goldman banker in 1MDB scandal
NEW YORK — Federal prosecutors told a jury Monday that a former Goldman Sachs executive pocketed $35 million in “secret kickbacks” in the multibillion-dollar ransacking of a Malaysian state investment fund, accusing the banker of playing a “crucial” role in the massive money laundering and bribery scheme. Roger Ng also...
Boom in vinyl records goes bust for bands facing delays in manufacturing
MINNEAPOLIS — Minnesota’s favorite recording artists are starting to pay for the resurgence of vinyl. That includes the Cactus Blossoms, who released a new album last week and are anxiously returning to the road to promote it after two years of tour postponements from covid. One more problem, though: Vinyl...
Super Bowl ads look toward the future — and the past
NEW YORK — Super Bowl advertisers this year want Americans to forget about pandemic woes and focus on the future: of electric vehicles, mind reading Alexas, robots and cryptocurrency — and also to harken back to the nostalgic past of ’90s movies like “Austin Powers” and “The Cable Guy.” The...
Starbucks workers at Pittsburgh’s Bloomfield store join nationwide unionization wave
Workers at the Starbucks location in Bloomfield on Friday became the first of the coffee chain’s employees in the Pittsburgh region to file to unionize. This comes as a wave of unionization has hit the international coffee giant, including efforts at more than 60 stores across 14 states. Pittsburgh’s push...
Why cage-free eggs becoming norm: It’s what people want
DES MOINES, Iowa — Without much fuss and even less public attention, the nation’s egg producers are in the midst of a multibillion-dollar shift to cage-free eggs that is dramatically changing the lives of millions of hens in response to new laws and demands from restaurant chains. In a decade,...
