Business category, Page 173
$475M settlement proposed in longest-running U.S. oil spill
NEW ORLEANS — A New Orleans-based oil company has agreed to turn over a $432 million cleanup trust fund and pay an additional $43 million to settle a federal lawsuit over cleaning up abandoned wells leaking since 2004, federal prosecutors said Wednesday. “This settlement represents an important down payment to...
Pittsburgh’s URA to forgive $2.9M in small-business loans
Pittsburgh’s Urban Redevelopment Authority said this week it would forgive more than $2.9 million in small business loans given through its Emergency Loan Fund program, in a move meant to help small businesses survive the covid-19 pandemic. As covid-19 restrictions forced many small businesses to close their doors or alter...
Fresh Express announces recall of salad mix due to potential health risk
SILVER SPRING, Md. — Fresh Express is recalling certain varieties of its branded and private label salad products produced at the company’s Streamwood, Ill., facility because the product has the potential to be contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes. The organism can cause serious and sometimes fatal infections in young children, frail...
U.S. economy grew at 2.3% rate in Q3, up from earlier estimate
WASHINGTON — The U.S. economy grew at a 2.3% rate in the third quarter, slightly better than previously thought, the Commerce Department said Wednesday. But prospects for a solid rebound going forward are being clouded by the rapid spread of the latest variant of the coronavirus. The third and final...
John Dorfman: Peloton leads market’s parade of losers
Part of Peloton Interactive Inc.’s stock decline this year was funny. But the loss of 73% for the year to date (through Dec. 21) was not so humorous. As shown in the accompanying table, Peloton suffered the biggest loss of all stocks with a market value of $5 billion or...
Rite Aid to close 63 stores and expects to close more locations next year
Rite Aid, the long-time East Pennsboro Township-based pharmaceutical chain that will soon be based on Philadelphia, announced on Tuesday that it will close 63 stores. The company made the announcement as part of its third quarter results from 2021. Rite Aid said the move will save the company $25 million....
California sues Walmart over disposal of hazardous waste
SACRAMENTO — Retail giant Walmart illegally dumps more than 1 million batteries, aerosol cans of insect killer and other products, toxic cleaning supplies, electronic waste, latex paints and other hazardous waste into California landfills each year, state prosecutors alleged Monday in a lawsuit that the company labeled “unjustified.” “As we...
Payrolls grow, but Pennsylvania’s labor force shrinks again
Pennsylvania’s unemployment rate fell for the ninth straight month and payrolls grew again in November, according to new state figures, but the labor force shrank, as did the workforce participation rate. Pennsylvania’s unemployment rate dropped three-tenths of a percentage point to 5.7% from October’s rate, according to state Department of...
Starbucks vows good faith talks with 1st unionized store
NEW YORK — Starbucks says it will negotiate in good faith with workers at the first store to unionize in the company’s 50-year history. In a letter sent to all U.S. employees Rossann Williams, an executive vice president, said Starbucks never favored unionization and still prefers to speak directly to...
Biden boosts fuel-economy standards to fight climate change
WASHINGTON — In a major step to fight climate change, the Biden administration is raising vehicle mileage standards to significantly reduce emissions of planet-warming greenhouse gases. A final rule being issued Monday would raise mileage standards starting in the 2023 model year, reaching a projected industry-wide target of 40 miles...
Wall Street joins global slump for stocks on omicron jitters
NEW YORK — Stocks on Wall Street added to their recent string of losses Monday, joining a worldwide slump by financial markets amid worries about how badly the omicron variant, inflation and other forces will hit the economy. The S&P 500 fell 1.1% for its third straight drop. The decline...
Biogen cuts the price tag on its Alzheimer’s drug in half
Biogen is slashing the price of its Alzheimer’s treatment in half months after it debuted to widespread criticism for an initial cost that could reach $56,000 annually. The drugmaker said Monday that it will cut the wholesale acquisition cost of the drug by about 50% next month. That means the...
Inflation squeezes holiday budgets for low-income shoppers
NEW YORK — Emarilis Velazquez is paying higher prices on everything from food to clothing. Her monthly grocery bill has ballooned from $650 to almost $850 in recent months. To save money, she looks for less expensive cuts of meat and has switched to a cheaper detergent. She also clips...
Do employers have to follow Biden’s vaccine mandates?
Tens of millions of workers across the U.S. are in limbo as federal courts have issued different rulings related to President Joe Biden’s covid-19 vaccine mandates for larger private companies, certain health care workers and federal government contractors. A federal appeals court panel has allowed a vaccine requirement for employers...
Labor board certifies first union at a U.S. Starbucks store
BUFFALO, N.Y. — The National Labor Relations Board confirmed a vote Friday to form a union at a Starbucks store in Buffalo, meaning the coffee retailer, for the first time, will have to bargain with organized labor at a company-owned U.S. store. “We don’t want to fight Starbucks — we’re...
Kellogg’s reaches tentative agreement with striking workers
OMAHA, Neb. — Kellogg’s has reached a new tentative agreement with its 1,400 striking cereal plant workers that could bring an end to the strike that began Oct. 5. Members of the Bakery, Confectionary, Tobacco Workers and Grain Millers International Union will vote on the new offer that includes cost-of-living...
Mortgage rates up slightly this week to a still-low 3.12%
SILVER SPRING, Md. — The average interest rate on a long-term mortgage in the U.S. ticked up slightly this week but remains historically low just as the Federal Reserve announces that it will begin tightening credit. Mortgage buyer Freddie Mac reported Thursday that the average rate on the benchmark 30-year,...
Fed will tighten credit faster and sees 3 rate hikes in 2022
WASHINGTON — The Federal Reserve will quicken the pace at which it’s pulling back its support for the economy as inflation surges, and it expects to raise interest rates three times next year. In an abrupt policy shift, the Fed announced Wednesday that it will shrink its monthly bond purchases...
Stocks fall on Wall Street ahead of Fed policy statement
Stocks fell in afternoon trading on Wall Street Wednesday as investors wait to hear from the Federal Reserve after its last policy meeting of the year. The S&P 500 index fell 0.2% as of 1:32 p.m. Eastern and is coming off of two days of losses. The Dow Jones Industrial...
Retail sales rise 0.3% in November as Americans brush off rising prices
NEW YORK — Americans slowed their spending in November from October, but continued shopping despite higher prices and shortages in stores. Retail sales rose a modest seasonally adjusted 0.3% in November from the month before when sales rose a revised 1.8%, the U.S. Commerce Department said Wednesday, a bit weaker...
Kroger ending some covid-19 benefits for unvaccinated staffVideo
Kroger, the country’s biggest traditional grocery chain, is ending some benefits for unvaccinated workers as big employers attempt to compel more of their workforce to become vaccinated with cases of covid-19 again rising. Unvaccinated workers will no longer be eligible to receive up to two weeks paid emergency leave if...
Japan’s Toyota promises more electric models, investmentVideo
TOKYO — Japanese automaker Toyota is beefing up its electric vehicle lineup, offering 30 new fully electric models by 2030, its president, Akio Toyoda, said Tuesday. Toyota Motor Corp. plans to sell 3.5 million electric vehicles globally in 2030, he said, up from its earlier plan to sell 2 million...
Resale is making gains in December holiday gift shopping
NEW YORK — Second hand. Like new. Thrift. Buy Nothing. Gently used. There are lots of ways to describe consumption in the booming resale market. Add “Merry Christmas!” to the list. Resale has taken off among those looking to save the planet and spend less on gifts during what can...
John Dorfman: The Bunny roared in 2021
The Bunny Portfolio is hopping again. It bounced to a 36.6% return in the past year. I named this hypothetical portfolio after the Energizer Bunny of battery-commercial fame, which is “still going” long after you’d expect it to lose its energy. The companies in the Bunny Portfolio have done well...
Stocks end higher, closing out best week since February
Technology companies led a rally on Wall Street that powered the S&P 500 to an all-time high and gave the index its best weekly gain since February. The S&P 500 rose 1%, enough to recoup its losses from a day earlier. The benchmark index closed higher four of the last...
