Business category, Page 194
Jobless claims dip below 400,000 for first time in pandemic
Applications for state unemployment insurance dipped below 400,000 for the first time during the pandemic as hiring accelerates and the economy strengthens heading into the summer months. Initial claims in regular state programs decreased by 20,000 to 385,000 in the week ended May 29, Labor Department data showed Thursday. The...
Stocks end lower on Wall Street; AMC sinks after stock saleVideo
Technology companies helped drag stocks lower on Wall Street Thursday, knocking the S&P 500 into the red for the week. The benchmark S&P 500 index dropped 0.4% and is now on track for a 0.3% weekly loss. Technology companies, whose pricey valuations make them more sensitive to inflation fears, were...
United bets on supersonic future with $3 billion Boom jet orderVideo
United Airlines is jumping into the potential market for supersonic travel with the first firm order for Boom Technology Inc.’s Overture aircraft, wagering that business flyers will pay top dollar for speedier trips across oceans. The airline will buy 15 of the supersonic jets, which are expected to carry passengers...
Twitter starts subscription service in Canada, Australia
Twitter is rolling out a subscription service, starting in Canada and Australia, that offers perks like an undo button for subscribers. The “Twitter Blue” subscription service will offer features that users have long asked for — but still no edit button. It includes bookmark folders for organizing saved content; an...
Walmart aims to empower workers with own devices, new app
NEW YORK — Walmart is coming out with a new app for its store workers’ phones that allows them to do a variety of tasks from digitally clocking into work to helping locate merchandise and answering customers’ questions. It also has a push-to-talk feature to let them communicate directly with...
Stocks manage modest gains overall; AMC nearly doubles
Wall Street wrapped up another wobbly day of trading Wednesday with modest gains for the major stock indexes, as energy and technology companies kept losses elsewhere in the market in check. The benchmark S&P 500 rose 0.1% after wobbling between a gain of 0.4% and a loss of 0.1%. Strength...
Marshall Township’s Kevin Walker becomes 1st Black man to lead Duquesne Light Co.
Kevin Walker of Marshall Township has been named the new president and CEO of Duquesne Light Co., company officials announced. Walker is a U.S. Army combat veteran with more than three decades of experience leading utility companies and is the first Black man to become head of Duquesne Light Co.,...
Even after Bernie Madoff’s death, work to unwind epic fraud goes on
NEW YORK — Epic Ponzi scheme mastermind Bernie Madoff is dead. But the effort to untangle his web of deceit lives on. More than 12 years after Madoff confessed to running one of the biggest financial fraud in Wall Street history, a team of lawyers is still at work on...
Amazon to hold Prime Day over 2 days in June
NEW YORK — Amazon said Wednesday that it will hold its annual Prime Day over two days in June this year, the earliest it has ever held the sales event. Typically, Amazon holds Prime Day in July. Amazon has said it was holding it earlier because of the Olympics, which...
Moderna seeks full FDA approval for its covid-19 vaccine
Moderna Inc. said it is seeking a full approval for its covid-19 vaccine, a move that could make a shot cleared on an emergency basis during the pandemic into a stable source of revenue for years to come. The company said in a statement Tuesday that it will submit data...
John Dorfman: Where the insiders are buying stock lately, you might want to, too
“Eating your own cooking” is a good sign in the stock market. When a company’s executives are buying its shares, it often pays for investors to follow suit. Lately, there’s not a lot of buying, and it’s happening at companies you might never have heard of. Here’s a peek at...
U.S. cities to power revival in domestic travel, TripAdvisor CEO saysVideo
The United States will have a busy vacation season this summer as cities make a strong comeback, according to Stephen Kaufer, chief executive officer of TripAdvisor Inc. “Now we have a lot more activities all around the country, and it’s not just outdoors. The cities are making a very real...
U.S. consumers boosted spending by a slight 0.5% in April
WASHINGTON — Americans increased their spending by a slight 0.5% in April, a slowdown after a massive gain in March that had been powered by the distribution of billions of dollars in individual stimulus checks. Even with the pullback from a 4.7% surge in spending in March, the April increase...
Sheetz to start accepting digital currency payments this summer
Digital payment network Flexa announced Thursday that Sheetz convenience stores will accept digital currency payments and will be the first convenience store chain to do so. The program is expected to roll out this summer. Flexa said Sheetz will accept bitcoin, ether, litecoin, dogecoin and others, first at its cafe...
Many women CEOs saw raises last year, but ranks remain thin
Most of the women running the biggest U.S. companies saw their pay increase last year, even as the pandemic hammered the economy and many of their businesses. Despite those gains, however, the median pay for female chief executives actually fell in 2020. Already a small group, they saw several high-profile...
Bank CEOs tell Congress they’ll work to avoid foreclosuresVideo
WASHINGTON — The chief executives of the nation’s largest banks went in front of Congress for a second day Thursday, facing questions ranging from bitcoin to their efforts to keep Americans in their homes after government aid to pandemic-hit mortgage holders expires this summer. The House hearing comes after senators...
Fewer Americans sign contracts to buy homes in April
SILVER SPRING, Md. — Fewer Americans signed contracts to buy homes in April as a lack of supply continues to foil would-be buyers. The National Association of Realtors’ index of pending home sales fell 4.4% to 106.2 in April, a third straight sluggish month after nearly a year-long rebound from...
U.S. jobless claims fall to 406,000, a new pandemic low
WASHINGTON — The number of Americans seeking unemployment benefits dropped last week to 406,000, a new pandemic low and more evidence that the job market is strengthening as the virus wanes and economy further reopens. Thursday’s report from the Labor Department showed that applications declined 38,000 from 444,000 a week...
Shoppers go back to stores, but retailers face challenges
NEW YORK — Americans are going back to one of their favorite past times: store shopping. With more people getting vaccinated and dropping their face masks, retailers from Walmart to Macy’s are seeing an eager return to their stores after more than a year of their customers migrating online during...
Stocks close modestly higher after choppy day on Wall Street
A choppy day of trading on Wall Street ended with stocks closing higher Wednesday, reversing much of the S&P 500’s modest pullback the day before. The benchmark index ended just under 0.2% higher after wavering between small gains and losses. Retailers and other companies that rely on consumer spending made...
New Era apologizes, pulls hats mocked on social media
NEW YORK — New Era says it pulled a lampooned line of Major League Baseball hats from its website Tuesday and is apologizing for design inaccuracies on the caps meant to pay homage to communities with big league clubs. New Era spokesman Mark Maidment said in a statement Wednesday to...
Workers return to weirder offices with moveable walls and touchless elevators
Masked, desk-bound and unable to recognize their colleagues in an elevator, people are starting to return to offices in cities around the world where the pandemic is receding. Many will find their offices transformed, too. In the challenge to make offices both covid-19-safe and attractive places to work, firms have...
Ford: Electric vehicles to be 40% of global sales by 2030
DETROIT — Ford expects 40% of its global sales to be battery-electric vehicles by 2030 as it adds billions to what it’s spending to develop them. Ahead of a presentation to Wall Street on Wednesday, the automaker says it will add about $8 billion to its EV development spending from...
Amazon to buy MGM, studio behind James Bond and ‘Shark Tank’
NEW YORK — Amazon is going Hollywood. The online shopping giant is buying MGM, the movie and TV studio behind James Bond, “Legally Blonde” and “Shark Tank,” with the hopes of filling its video streaming service with more stuff to watch. Amazon is paying $8.45 billion for MGM, making it...
Stocks give up an early gain and end lower on Wall Street
Wall Street capped a listless day of trading Tuesday with a modest pullback for the major U.S. stock indexes, giving back some of the market’s gains after a solid start to the week. The S&P 500 slipped 0.2% after spending much of the day wavering between small gains and losses....
