Business category, Page 167
Fed attacks inflation with its largest rate hike since 1994
WASHINGTON — The Federal Reserve on Wednesday intensified its drive to tame high inflation by raising its key interest rate by three-quarters of a point — its largest hike in nearly three decades — and signaling more large rate increases to come that would raise the risk of another recession....
Explainer: Just how high is the risk of another recession?
WASHINGTON — Inflation is at a 40-year high. Stock prices are sinking. The Federal Reserve is making borrowing much costlier. And the economy actually shrank in the first three months of this year. Is the United States at risk of enduring another recession, just two years after emerging from the...
Wall Street rallies after dismal week as Fed decision looms
NEW YORK — U.S. stocks are rallying Wednesday, on track for their first gain in six days, but more turbulence may be ahead when the Federal Reserve announces in the afternoon how sharply it’s raising interest rates. The S&P 500 was 1.2% higher as investors ready for the Fed’s rate...
Biden tells oil refiners: Produce more gas, fewer profits
President Joe Biden on Wednesday called on U.S. oil refiners to produce more gasoline and diesel, saying their profits have tripled during a time of war between Russia and Ukraine as Americans struggle with record high prices at the pump. “The crunch that families are facing deserves immediate action,” Biden...
U.S. report: nearly 400 crashes of automated tech vehicles
DETROIT — Automakers reported nearly 400 crashes of vehicles with partially automated driver-assist systems, including 273 involving Teslas, according to statistics released by U.S. safety regulators on Wednesday. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration cautioned against using the numbers to compare automakers, saying it didn’t weight them by the number...
So long, Internet Explorer. The browser retires today
SAN FRANCISCO — Internet Explorer is finally headed out to pasture. As of Wednesday, Microsoft will no longer support the once-dominant browser that legions of web surfers loved to hate — and a few still claim to adore. The 27-year-old application now joins BlackBerry phones, dial-up modems and Palm Pilots...
Employers, counselors see ‘huge need’ for summertime workers
Employers expecting to fill job vacancies with the traditional summertime influx of high school students have been left wondering where the workers have gone. Many employers are “literally begging for new employees” with little result, said Don Acker, program manager for Equus Workforce Solutions in New Kensington. “Right now, we...
Stocks dip deeper into bear market ahead of big Fed news
NEW YORK — Most stocks on Wall Street dipped Tuesday in their first trading after tumbling into a bear market on worries that high inflation will push central banks to clamp the brakes too hard on the economy. The S&P 500 fell 14.15, or 0.4%, to 3,735.48 as investors braced...
Millennial Money: Maximize your music festival savings
Attendees of this year’s Coachella music festival have posted viral videos adding up their expenses from the weekend — with costs reaching the thousands for flights, hotels, food, drinks, outfits and rideshares. Plus the ticket, which can start around $400 for a three-day pass to a popular festival like Lollapalooza...
Musk to address Twitter employees for 1st time this week
Elon Musk will address Twitter employees Thursday for the first time since the billionaire and Tesla CEO offered $44 billion to buy the social media platform, the company said Tuesday. Twitter CEO Parag Agrawal announced an all-hands meeting to employees in an email on Monday, saying they’d be able to...
The S&P 500 is in a bear market; here’s what that means
NEW YORK — Wall Street is back in the claws of a bear market as worries about inflation and higher interest rates overwhelm investors. The Federal Reserve has signaled it will aggressively raise interest rates to try to control inflation, which is the highest in decades. Throw in the war...
Pandemic has caused a changing face of the workweek
The workweek as it once existed likely has changed forever. Four-day workweeks. Zoom calls. Hybrid schedules. Full-time remote. All have become standard operating procedure for many businesses and their employees. Companies were forced to adjust — or be faced with the prospect of folding — after the covid-19 pandemic struck....
John Dorfman: The 26 stocks I own personally and for clients
I recommend about 250 stocks a year in this column, but in a typical client portfolio, I own only 20 to 30 stocks. Readers sometimes are curious about which stocks I own. Here’s a rundown on my current holdings. Communications The world clamors for American entertainment and information. I own...
Bear market hits Wall Street as stocks, bonds, crypto dive
Wall Street tumbled into what’s called a bear market Monday after fears about a fragile economy and rising interest rates sent the S&P 500 more than 20% below its record set early this year. The index sank 3.9% in the first chance for investors to trade after getting the weekend...
Bitcoin plunges as major crypto lender halts operations
NEW YORK — Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies were collapsing in price Monday, after a major crypto lender halted all withdrawals citing “extreme market conditions.” It is the second collapse of a part of the cryptocurrency world in the last two months. The stablecoin Terra imploded in early May, erasing tens...
McDonald’s shrinking menu means healthier foods are vanishing
McDonald’s diners have said goodbye to salads. Stock investors should be glad they’re gone. A pandemic-driven menu overhaul at McDonald’s Corp. has eliminated more nutritious menu options such as grilled-chicken sandwiches and fruit and yogurt parfaits. The world’s biggest restaurant company is trimming out offerings to move diners through lines...
U.S. inflation at new 40-year high as price increases spread
WASHINGTON — The prices of gas, food and most other goods and services jumped in May, raising inflation to a new four-decade high and giving American households no respite from rising costs. Consumer prices surged 8.6% last month from a year earlier, faster than April’s year-over-year increase of 8.3%, the...
Small businesses are facing ‘summer of uncertainty’
NEW YORK — Small businesses that depend on outdoor crowds and free-spending tourists aren’t sure what to expect this summer. Consumers likely have a lot of pent-up demand after more than two years of the pandemic. But they’re also facing some significant financial headwinds because of the highest inflation in...
Sriracha hot sauce maker warns of shortage
IRWINDALE, Calif. — Bottles of the popular Sriracha hot sauce could be hard to find on store shelves this summer. Southern California-based Huy Fong Inc., told customers in an email earlier this year that it would suspend sales of its famous spicy sauce over the summer because of a shortage...
Teslas with Autopilot a step closer to recall after wrecks
DETROIT — Teslas with partially automated driving systems are a step closer to being recalled after the U.S. elevated its investigation into a series of collisions with parked emergency vehicles or trucks with warning signs. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said Thursday that it is upgrading the probe to...
Biden pushing to lower ocean shipping costs, fight inflation
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden launched a renewed push Thursday to reduce the costs of shipping goods across oceans, a major challenge for retailers that the White House said has pushed up prices as the world emerges from the coronavirus pandemic. The White House released a video featuring Biden talking...
Europe’s central bank to hike rates in July — 1st in 11 years
AMSTERDAM — The European Central Bank said Thursday that it would carry out its first interest rate increase in 11 years in July, followed by another hike in September, as it catches up with other central banks worldwide in pivoting from supporting the economy during the pandemic to squelching soaring...
No, you’re not imagining it — package sizes are shrinking
It’s the inflation you’re not supposed to see. From toilet paper to yogurt and coffee to corn chips, manufacturers are quietly shrinking package sizes without lowering prices. It’s dubbed “shrinkflation,” and it’s accelerating worldwide. In the U.S., a small box of Kleenex now has 60 tissues; a few months ago,...
Facing huge inventory, Target cuts vendor orders, prices
NEW YORK — Target is canceling orders from suppliers, particularly for home goods and clothing, and it’s slashing prices further to clear out amassed inventory ahead of the critical fall and holiday shopping seasons. The actions, announced Tuesday, come after a pronounced spending shift by Americans, from investments in their...
U.S. investigating complaints that Honda engines won’t restart
DETROIT — The U.S. government’s road safety agency is investigating complaints that the fuel-saving stop-start system on some Honda Pilot SUVs can fail to restart. Owners complained that the engine won’t restart on its own from a complete stop at a traffic light or intersection with the stop-start feature in...
