Business category, Page 181
U.S. auto sales slump, stalled by car computer chip shortage
DETROIT — In a normal month before the pandemic, Con Paulos’ Chevy dealership in Jerome, Idaho, sold around 40 new vehicles. In September, it was only six. Now he’s got nothing new in stock, and every car, truck or SUV on order has been sold. Last month, what happened at...
Stocks swing between gains and losses, energy companies rise
Stocks were swinging between slight gains and losses on Friday, closing out what has been one of the worst weeks for financial markets in months. The S&P 500 index was up 0.3%, as of 11:20 a.m. Eastern. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.6%, with help from energy companies...
U.S. consumer spending rebounded in August
WASHINGTON — U.S. consumer spending accelerated in August amide a surge in covid-19 cases, even as soaring demand and snarled supply chains kept inflation high. Consumer spending rose 0.8% in August, up from a decline of 0.1% in July. Income rose by a smaller 0.2%, the Commerce Department reported Friday....
Taiwan’s Foxconn has deal to buy former GM plant in Ohio
Foxconn Technology Group, the world’s largest electronics maker, has a deal to buy a huge auto assembly plant in Ohio from startup electric truck maker Lordstown Motors, the companies announced Thursday. The agreement stands to give Taiwan-based Foxconn, best known for making Apple iPhones, an entry into the growing electric...
S&P 500 fell 4.8% in September, worst month since March 2020
Stocks on Wall Street fell broadly Thursday, closing out September with their worst monthly loss since the beginning of the pandemic. The S&P 500 ended the month 4.8% lower, its first monthly drop since January and the biggest since March 2020, when the viral outbreak rattled markets as it wreaked...
Consumers see red, meatpackers see green as beef prices surge
Beef prices have climbed as much as 30% since the pandemic began, and that has Lorry Denis seeing red. “It’s an outrage,” Denis said after a recent run for groceries. The Atlanta retiree said she likes a nice cut of beef on the table, “but not enough to warrant paying...
Biden signs bill to avert partial government shutdown
WASHINGTON — With only hours to spare, President Joe Biden on Thursday evening signed legislation that would avoid a partial federal shutdown and keep the government funded through Dec. 3. Congress had passed the bill earlier Thursday. The back-to-back votes by the Senate and then the House averted one crisis,...
Powell sees inflation cooling, evading ‘difficult situation’
WASHINGTON — Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said Thursday that current high levels of inflation are likely to fade next year and won’t prevent the Fed from pushing toward its goal of full employment. Powell spoke earlier this week about “tension” between the Fed’s two goals of maximum employment and...
Pittsburgh Brewing Co. puts its name on brewery being developed in East Deer
Those traveling along Route 28 will see a new addition to the East Deer brewery being developed as the new home of Iron City Beer. Company spokeswoman Anna Angotti said signage displaying “Pittsburgh Brewing Co.” was installed on the sprawling, 140,000-square-foot facility over the weekend. “We are making small progress...
Dollar Tree breaks the $1 barrier as costs take a bite
CHESAPEAKE, Va. — Dollar Tree embedded in its very name what it stands for: Behind these doors, everything can be had for just $1. The mantra to which the Chesapeake, Va., company has held true for decades will now be only mostly true. After expanding nationwide from only a handful...
S&P 500 clings to a modest gain as other indexes end mixedVideo
Wall Street capped a wobbly day of trading Wednesday with a mixed finish for the major stock indexes, as technology and communication companies weighed on the market for a second straight day. The S&P 500 rose 0.2% after shedding most of a 0.8% gain. The modest gain came a day...
Fighting wave of misinfo, YouTube bans false vaccine claims
YouTube announced a wide crackdown of vaccine misinformation Wednesday that booted popular anti-vaccine influencers from its site and deleted false claims that have been made about a range of immunizations. The video-sharing platform said it will no longer allow users to baselessly speculate that approved vaccines, like the ones given...
Century III Mall: Video showing mall’s current state of disrepair hits 1 million viewsVideo
A recent look inside Century III Mall in West Mifflin doesn’t paint a pretty picture of the once-bustling shopping center. Water dripping from the ceiling pools in puddles on the ground. Broken ceiling tiles litter the floor. An empty water fountain and dead palm trees in giant pots serve as...
Spike in bond yields spooks investors, deflates tech stocks
Technology companies led a broad slide in stocks Tuesday on Wall Street, deepening the market’s September swoon. The S&P 500 fell 2%, its worst drop since May. The tech-heavy Nasdaq dropped 2.8%, its biggest drop since March. Decliners outnumbered advancers on the New York Stock Exchange 4 to 1. The...
Pittsburgh region lost jobs, workers in August
The seven-county Pittsburgh region shed jobs and lost workers in August as the economy continues to remain far below the pre-pandemic levels in terms of jobs and those who are working or seeking work, state data shows. “There’s not much shift in the numbers. We’ve pretty much plateaued since last...
Sen. Warren says she opposes ‘dangerous man’ Jerome Powell for 2nd term as Fed chairVideo
Sen. Elizabeth Warren, pressing Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell on his record on financial regulation, said she wouldn’t support him for a second term as head of the U.S. central bank. “Your record gives me grave concern,” the Massachusetts Democrat said Tuesday during a Senate Banking Committee hearing. “You have...
Kmart prepares to close last store in Michigan, state where chain began
The last Kmart store in Michigan — the birthplace of the once-ubiquitous discount brand — is closing. The Kmart in Marshall, about a 20-minute drive east of Battle Creek, is preparing to shut its doors by Nov. 21 and is hiring temporary employees to help with the closing, according to...
Toyota banks on mobility technology for future growth
TOKYO — Japanese automaker Toyota is revving up acquisitions in mobility technology, adding Renovo Motors Inc., a Silicon Valley software developer, to its Woven Planet team, which is working on automated driving. The addition, announced Tuesday, follows the purchase earlier this year of CARMERA Inc., a U.S. venture that specializes...
Ford to add 10,800 jobs making electric vehicles, batteriesVideo
GLENDALE, Ky. — Ford and a partner company say they plan to build three major electric-vehicle battery factories and an auto assembly plant by 2025 — a dramatic investment in the future of EV technology that will create an estimated 10,800 jobs and shift the automaker’s future manufacturing footprint toward...
John Dorfman: My buy-sell ratings on the 20 largest stocks
You won’t find Facebook or Procter & Gamble in the portfolios I run. But that doesn’t mean I never think about them. Once a year in this column, I give my “buy” or “avoid” opinion on the 20 largest stocks. Here are my latest ratings, from the very largest (Apple)...
PennEast says planned natural gas pipeline won’t go forward
TRENTON, N.J. — Construction of a nearly 120-mile-long proposed natural gas pipeline from northeastern Pennsylvania to central New Jersey will not go forward, the group behind the project said Monday. PennEast Pipeline Company, which won a recent legal battle against New Jersey at the Supreme Court, nonetheless said the state...
Stocks end mixed as losses for Big Tech weigh on market
Wall Street’s major stock indexes ended mixed Monday as losses by technology and health care companies outweighed gains elsewhere in the market. The S&P 500 fell 0.3% after spending much of the day essentially flat. The pullback ended a three-day winning streak for the benchmark index, which last week notched...
Facebook puts Instagram for kids on hold after pushback
Instagram is putting a hold on the development of Instagram kids, geared toward children under 13, so it can address concerns about the vulnerability of younger users. Adam Mosseri, the head of Instagram, wrote in a blog post Monday that a delay will give the company time to “work with...
Pa. Turnpike tolls outpace passenger vehicle rates in neighboring states
Pennsylvania drivers who cross onto the Ohio Turnpike notice at significant difference other than the flat terrain. There is a significantly lower per-mile cost of traversing the Buckeye State’s 241-mile turnpike versus the 550 miles in Pennsylvania. Ohio’s E-ZPass toll rate per mile for passenger vehicles is 0.058 cents, the...
Why Pa. Turnpike tolls soared — and will continue rising for next 30 years
Surrounded by bushels of fresh local peaches, Lori Hanscom spent an afternoon greeting truckers, commuters and vacationers from behind her fruit stand at the New Stanton rest stop along the Pennsylvania Turnpike. Her day was filled with friendly chatter about the weather, traffic and which fruits were in season. One...
