Business category, Page 205
Warren Buffett again encourages investors to bet on America
OMAHA, Neb. — Billionaire Warren Buffett encouraged investors to maintain their faith in America’s economy and the businesses his Berkshire Hathaway conglomerate owns in a reassuring letter to his shareholders Saturday. Buffett hardly even addressed the coronavirus that ravaged many businesses last year, instead focusing on the long-term prospects for...
A bumpy day for stocks leaves indexes mixed; yields ease
Stocks ended a bumpy Friday mostly lower on Wall Street. Technology stocks recovered slightly following several days of heavy selling, but the Nasdaq still posted its biggest weekly loss since October. On Friday the S&P 500 gave back 0.5%, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 1.5%. Treasury yields fell...
Specialized mini Apple stores to open in Target locations, online
Apple mini stores will open in select Target locations and online this month, expanding the number of iPhones and other products available. The Monticello, Minn., store will be one of the first with the concept. The mini stores will expand to locations throughout 2021, Target said Thursday. The newly designed...
U.S. consumers rebound to boost spending 2.4% as income jumps
WASHINGTON — Bouncing back from months of retrenchment, America’s consumers stepped up their spending by a solid 2.4% in January in a sign that the economy may be making a tentative recovery from the pandemic recession. Friday’s report from the Commerce Department also showed that personal incomes, which provide the...
Best Buy cuts 5,000 jobs even as sales soared during pandemic
NEW YORK — Best Buy said Thursday that it laid off 5,000 full-time store workers earlier this month, even as the company’s sales soared during the pandemic as homebound people bought laptops, TVs and other gadgets. The company said it cut the jobs because more shoppers are choosing to buy...
Twitter to let users charge followers to see premium posts
Twitter is branching out from advertising to find more ways to make money — both for itself and for its most prolific users, whether those are businesses, celebrities or regular people. In an investor presentation Thursday, the social media company announced a new feature called “Super Follows,” which will let...
Twitter to let users charge followers to see premium postsVideo
Twitter is branching out from advertising to find more ways to make money — both for itself and for its most prolific users, whether those are businesses, celebrities or regular people. In an investor presentation Thursday, the social media company announced a new feature called “Super Follows,” which will let...
New coronavirus grants for small Pa. businesses aim for inclusivity, but can’t track success
Spotlight PA is an independent, non-partisan newsroom powered by The Philadelphia Inquirer in partnership with PennLive/The Patriot-News, TribLIVE/Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, and WITF Public Media. HARRISBURG — Applications open next month for $145 million in state grants for small hospitality businesses, with a significant change by lawmakers intended to ensure the money...
Anticipation? Heinz’s website takes 57 minutes to load — on purposeVideo
We’ve all been on the receiving end of a website taking forever to load. That spinning hourglass mocking us relentlessly. But sometimes playing the waiting game is the entire point. Kraft Heinz, the company known for its “anticipation” ad campaign of the ’70s and ’80s, is going for the slow...
Is it a truck? Or duck? USPS unveils new delivery vehicles
The U.S. Postal Service on Tuesday unveiled a new-generation vehicle coming to its fleet. The striking design — likened to a duck or “Pixar”-inspired car — is a major change from current delivery vehicles seen on the roads. Car and Driver called it a “visual abomination,” but probably better at...
IRS still hasn’t processed millions of 2019 tax returns
Christanine Brodis gathered her tax paperwork in February including a 1099-G for state unemployment compensation and a W2-G for some gambling winnings at MGM Grand Detroit, the only bright spot in a money-losing 2020. But she’s looking at taxable income now. Brodis, 48, sent her forms to a tax preparer...
Anticipating 2021 boom, Q4 GDP revised up slightly to 4.1%
WASHINGTON — The economy grew at a 4.1% pace in the final three months of 2020, slightly faster than first estimated, ending a year in which the overall economy, ravaged by a global pandemic, shrank more than in any year in the past seven decades. The influx of new government...
Tech rout pulls Nasdaq down 3.5%, biggest loss since October
Rising bond yields triggered a broad sell-off on Wall Street Thursday that erased the market’s gains for the week and handed the Nasdaq composite its biggest loss in nearly four months. The S&P 500 dropped 2.4%, led lower by heavy selling in technology and communications companies. The tech-heavy Nasdaq fell...
U.S. jobless claims fall to 730,000 but layoffs remain high
WASHINGTON — The number of Americans seeking unemployment benefits fell sharply last week but remained high by historical standards. Applications for benefits declined 111,000 from the previous week to a seasonally adjusted 730,000, the Labor Department said Thursday. It is the lowest figure since late November. Still, before the virus...
Facebook says it will pay $1B over 3 years to news industryVideo
Facebook, following in Google’s footsteps, says it plans to invest $1 billion to “support the news industry” over the next three years. The social networking giant, which has been tussling with Australia over a law that would make social platforms pay news organizations, said it has invested $600 million since...
Federal judge says California can enforce net neutrality law
SACRAMENTO — A federal judge ruled that California can for the first time enforce its tough net neutrality law, clearing the way for the state to ban internet providers from slowing down or blocking access to websites and applications that don’t pay for premium service. Former Gov. Jerry Brown signed...
Chairman Jerome Powell: Fed is in no hurry to raise interest ratesVideo
WASHINGTON — Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell told Congress on Wednesday that the central bank will not start raising interest rates until it believes its goals on maximum employment and inflation have been reached. Powell also warned that many who had worked in industries hardest hit by the pandemic and...
Red-hot U.S. housing market: January new home sales jump 4.3%
SILVER SPRING, Md. — Demand for new homes in the U.S. surged 4.3% in January with the housing market still one of the strongest segments of the economy. Last month’s increase pushed sales of new homes to an adjusted annual rate of 923,000, the Commerce Department reported Wednesday. That’s much...
Biden to order a review of U.S. supply chains for vital goods
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden is preparing to sign an executive order to review U.S. supply chains for large-capacity batteries, pharmaceuticals, critical minerals and semiconductors that power cars, phones, military equipment and other goods. The United States has become increasingly reliant on imports of these goods — a potential national...
Gains for bank stocks help lead major indexes higher
Stocks shook off a weak start and closed broadly higher Wednesday, nudging the Dow Jones Industrial Average to another all-time high. The S&P 500 rose 1.1% after having been down 0.6% in the early going. Gains in financial, technology and industrial stocks powered the comeback. Utilities fell. U.S. Treasury yields...
USPS selects Oshkosh Defense to build greener mail truck
WASHINGTON — The United States Post Office said Tuesday that it has chosen Oshkosh Defense to build its next-generation mail-delivery vehicle, part of an effort to make the USPS more environmentally friendly by switching a portion of its huge fleet to electric vehicles. Oshkosh Defense, a division of Wisconsin-based Oshkosh...
Board leaders of Texas’ grid operator resign after outagesVideo
AUSTIN, Texas — Top board leaders of Texas’ embattled power grid operator said Tuesday they will resign following outrage over more than 4 million customers losing electricity last week during a deadly winter storm, including families whose frigid homes lacked heat for days in subfreezing temperatures. The resignations are the...
ATI, Steelworkers continue talks as extended contract’s end nears
A one-year contract extension for Allegheny Technologies Inc.’s 1,300 United Steelworkers members expires Sunday, but there has been no talk of a strike or lockout, according to the union local president representing workers at ATI’s Brackenridge facility in Harrison. “We all want to get this wrapped up,” said Todd Barbiaux,...
Technology sector leads stock market lower; bond yields rise
Declines in technology stocks are dragging the broader market lower Tuesday as investors remain increasingly focused on a big tick up in bond yields and what it means for the overall market. Major indexes pared a good part of their losses by the afternoon. The S&P 500 index was down...
Consumer confidence rises for 2nd straight month
SILVER SPRING, Md. — U.S. consumer confidence rose again in February as an accelerating covid-19 vaccine push provides hope for Americans who have lived through a year of unprecedented restrictions. The Conference Board reported Tuesday that its consumer confidence index rose to 91.3, up from 88.9 in January. However, despite...
