Business category, Page 198
Another choppy day on Wall Street ends with indexes mixedVideo
Wall Street closed out another choppy day of trading Thursday, leaving the major stock indexes on pace for a weekly loss. The S&P 500 managed a 0.1% gain after having been down 0.7% in the early going. The Nasdaq composite also recovered to eke out 0.1% gain, while the Dow...
OnlyFans website to ban ‘sexually explicit’ content
OnlyFans, a site where fans pay creators for their photos and videos, is planning to ban “sexually explicit” content. The ban will start Oct. 1 and is the result of requests from banking partners and companies that handle financial transactions, a spokesperson said. Still, nudity is OK if it’s “consistent”...
Toys R Us making a comeback via Macy’s online and in stores
Macy’s said Thursday it is partnering with WHP Global to bring the Toys R Us brand to its website and stores. Shoppers can buy Toys R Us products online now. Next year, Macy’s said it will have Toys R Us shops inside more than 400 of its stores. “As a...
U.S. jobless claims hit a pandemic low as hiring strengthens
WASHINGTON — The number of people seeking unemployment benefits fell last week for a fourth straight time to a pandemic low, the latest sign that America’s job market is rebounding from the pandemic recession as employers boost hiring to meet a surge in consumer demand. The Labor Department reported Thursday...
Blower fans sold at Home Depot, Amazon recalled after they overheat, start fires
Intertex has recalled blower fans after the capacitor in some of them overheated and started fires causing thousands of dollars in property damage. The B-Air VP-33 blower fans were sold at Home Depot and Menard’s and online at Amazon and Home Depot, according to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission....
Disney World tweaks face mask policy, optional for outdoors
ORLANDO, Fla. — Walt Disney World is tweaking its face mask policy. Starting Thursday, the theme park resort in Florida will allow visitors to choose whether or not to wear face coverings in outdoor lines, outdoor theaters and outdoor attractions. Masks had been required previously. Face coverings will remain optional...
Pennsylvania casino revenues top record $423M in July
Pennsylvania casinos generated more than $423.6 million in July, the highest monthly revenue total to date, according to state regulators. That was nearly $35 million more revenue than what was reported in June, which totaled $388.8 million. It also is significantly higher than revenues reported in July 2020, which reached...
Old Navy integrates its plus-size women’s business
NEW YORK —Gap Inc.’s low-price division Old Navy is overhauling its approach to how it designs and markets to plus-size women, a demographic that many analysts say has been underserved. Starting Friday, Old Navy will be offering every one of its women’s styles in all sizes with no price difference....
Pandemic pushed people to buy groceries online. How many will still get them delivered?
Jon Roesser, the general manager of Weavers Way Co-op, usually works with banks and suppliers to keep the grocery running, puts together the $34 million budget, or plans marketing promotions, like an upcoming sale on frozen shrimp. But as the demand for home deliveries exploded during the pandemic, Roesser became...
Spirit Air says canceled flights cost $50M, hurt bookings
Spirit Airlines said Monday the cancellation of more than 2,800 flights over an 11-day stretch this summer cost the budget airline about $50 million in lost revenue and caused spending to soar. The airline said the service meltdown that started in late July and a rise in covid-19 cases are...
Americans spent less in July as covid-19 cases surged
NEW YORK — Americans cut back on their spending last month as a surge in covid-19 cases kept people away from stores. Retail sales fell a seasonal adjusted 1.1% in July from the month before, the U.S. Commerce Department said Tuesday. It was a much larger drop than the 0.3%...
Walmart ups outlook as back-to-school sales take off
NEW YORK — Walmart is raising its sales outlook for the year as Americans returned to shopping for back-to-school clothes and travel goods during the fiscal second quarter. Still, concerns are mounting over spending in the months ahead as the delta variant of covid-19 surges across the U.S. and mask...
John Dorfman: Ben Graham might favor these 4 stocks if he were alive
Eighty-seven years after he published his seminal work, Benjamin Graham remains the patron saint of value investors. Graham – a hedge fund manager, Columbia University professor and author – believed that a stock’s price orbits its “intrinsic value” the way a planet orbits the sun. It may get further away...
S&P hits new record amid rising concerns about pandemicVideo
A choppy day on Wall Street ended Monday with the S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average notching new highs after recovering from an early slide. The indexes each rose 0.3%, extending their winning streak to a fifth day, while the Nasdaq fell 0.2%. Technology and health care stocks accounted...
U.S. agency opens formal probe into Tesla Autopilot system
DETROIT — The U.S. government has opened a formal investigation into Tesla’s Autopilot partially automated driving system after a series of collisions with parked emergency vehicles. The investigation covers 765,000 vehicles, almost everything that Tesla has sold in the U.S. since the start of the 2014 model year. Of the...
Ram pickups recalled; faulty side air bags can hurl shrapnel
Stellantis is recalling more than 266,000 pickup trucks mainly in North America because the side air bags can explode without warning and hurl shrapnel into the cabin. It’s the second major recall of pickup trucks in the past two months for the same problem. Stellantis, formerly Fiat Chrysler, says the...
‘Down, not out’: Latrobe’s Dainty Pastry Shoppe looks to rebound from fire likely sparked by lightningVideo
Authorities are speculating a fire Thursday night that gutted much of the Dainty Pastry Shoppe in Latrobe may have resulted from a lightning strike. “We won’t know for sure until we get in there. The State Police Fire Marshal is coming back Monday, but it looks as though the fire...
Limited production close for Lordstown, future still hazy
Lordstown Motors expects to begin limited production of its electric pickup truck next month, yet the future of the Ohio start-up remains hazy. In addition to this week’s announcement that the company, based just outside of Youngstown, aims to begin production in September, Executive Chairwoman Angela Strand said Lordstown also...
U.S. stocks eke out gains, leaving S&P 500 higher for the week
Stocks managed to eke out tiny gains after another day of wobbly trading, leaving the S&P 500 higher for the second week in a row. The benchmark index added 0.2% Friday, its fourth straight gain. The Dow Jones Industrial Average and the Nasdaq edged up less than 0.1%. Small-company stocks...
Despite covid pandemic, Pittsburgh’s Allentown remains open for business
Rebecca Romagnoli is passionate about pasta. Romagnoli’s business, Forma Pasta, began as a subscription service in August 2019 but in November 2020 — in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic — opened a retail location in the Pittsburgh neighborhood of Allentown. “I chose Allentown because it is still up and...
Extra federal unemployment aid will soon end for 500,000 Pennsylvanians
More than a half-million jobless Pennsylvanians receiving temporary aid from three federal unemployment programs will see those checks end as of Sept. 4, the state said. The state Department of Labor and Industry said it is working with organizations and agencies to identify programs and support services for those who...
Giant Eagle, GetGo now accepting PayPal, Venmo for payment
People shopping at Giant Eagle or GetGo can now pay using the digital wallets they have on their smartphones. The O’Hara-based chain now allows customers to pay using PayPal or Venmo mobile applications on their smartphones. Giant Eagle worked with Blackhawk Network, a Pleasonton, Calif.-based company to offer the option,...
OxyContin-maker Purdue goes to judge to confirm settlement
NEW YORK — Purdue Pharma’s quest to settle thousands of lawsuits over the toll of OxyContin and its other prescription opioid painkillers entered its final phase Thursday with the grudging support of many of those who have claims against the company. Nearly two years after seeking bankruptcy protection, the company...
Court rules UPMC can proceed with controversial South Hills hospital
A new UPMC hospital planned about a mile from an Allegheny Health Network hospital in Jefferson Hills can be built, a state appeals court has ruled. The 63-bed hospital, called UPMC South, has been in the works since 2018, and is planned off Route 51 along Elliott Road. But more...
U.S. jobless claims near pandemic low
WASHINGTON — The number of Americans seeking unemployment benefits fell for a third straight time last week, the latest sign that employers are laying off fewer people as they struggle to fill a record number of open jobs and meet a surge in consumer demand. Thursday’s report from the Labor...
