Business category, Page 206
U.S. consumer confidence jumps to 14-month high
WASHINGTON — Consumer confidence rose sharply for a second straight month, hitting the highest level since the pandemic began, as the rapid rollout of vaccines and another round of U.S. financial support for Americans boosts optimism. The Conference Board reported Tuesday that its consumer confidence index advanced to a better-than-expected...
U.S. home prices rose 11.9% in February, fastest since 2014
WASHINGTON — U.S. home prices rose in February at the fastest pace in nearly seven years as strong demand for housing collided with a tight supply of homes on the market. The February &P CoreLogic Case-Shiller 20-city home price index, released Tuesday, rose 11.9% from a year earlier, the biggest...
Biden signs $15 minimum wage for federal contract workers
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden signed an executive order Tuesday to increase the minimum wage to $15 an hour for federal contractors, providing a pay bump to hundreds of thousands of workers. Biden administration officials said that the higher wages would lead to greater worker productivity, offsetting any additional costs...
John Dorfman: Old Faithful screen has lived up to its name
I’ve never seen the Old Faithful Geyser in Yellowstone National Park. But I’m grateful to it. Years ago, I named one of my stock screens (computerized stock-picking aids) after it. And it has indeed served me faithfully. I use the screen to help pick stocks for clients, and once a...
Orders for big-ticket manufactured goods rebound in March
WASHINGTON — Orders for big-ticket manufactured goods rebounded 0.5% in March as U.S. factories recovered from February weather disruptions. However, the recovery was not as strong as most had expected due to ongoing supply chain disruptions that continue to ensnare U.S. manufacturers. It was the tenth time in the past...
Stocks reach more records as earnings kick into high gear
Technology companies helped lift stocks modestly higher Monday on Wall Street, nudging the S&P 500 and Nasdaq indexes to all-time highs. The S&P 500 rose 0.2%, with only slightly more than half the companies in the index notching gains. Banks and companies that rely on consumer spending were among the...
Apple announces 1st East Coast campus in North Carolina
Apple announced plans on Monday to invest more than $1 billion in North Carolina to build the company’s first East Coast campus, a move expected to bring at least 3,000 new jobs to the state. The development comes as part of an effort by Apple to up investment as the...
Elon Musk, Starlink look to stars to fill internet broadband gaps, including across Western Pa.Video
Dictated by the peaks and dips of Western Pennsylvania’s rolling landscape, internet service is often spotty — even nonexistent — for thousands of people based on topography and a lack of infrastructure for high-speed internet services. But an ambitious project by billionaire Elon Musk promises lofty goals for those struggling...
Stocks rise, erasing most of S&P 500’s weekly losses
Stocks closed out a choppy week of trading with a broad rally, though the gains were not enough to keep the S&P 500 from its first weekly loss in the last five. The benchmark index rose 1.1% Friday, clawing back all of its losses from a day earlier. It posted...
New home sales surged 20.7% in March to 1.02 million
WASHINGTON — Sales of new homes surged 20.7% in March to the highest level since 2006, rebounding from a sharp decline the previous month when severe winter storms wreaked havoc in many parts of the country. Sales climbed to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.02 million last month after...
Screws tighten for home buyers in March, prices surge 17.2%
Sales of previously occupied U.S. homes fell for the second consecutive month in March because there are so few on the market, and the fierce competition for those that do exist is pushing prices to new highs. Existing home sales fell 3.7% last month from February to a seasonally-adjusted rate...
Stocks end lower after report on Biden’s tax proposal
A report that President Biden will propose a hefty tax increase on the gains wealthy individuals reap from investments triggered a stock market sell-off Thursday afternoon that left indexes broadly lower. Investors who earn $1 million or more would have to pay a 39.6% tax rate on any capital gains,...
U.S. jobless claims fall to 547,000, another pandemic low
WASHINGTON — The number of Americans applying for unemployment aid fell last week to 547,000, a new low since the pandemic struck and a further encouraging sign that layoffs are slowing on the strength of an improving job market. The Labor Department said Thursday that applications declined 39,000 from a...
Netflix’s subscriber growth, stock zapped as pandemic easesVideo
SAN RAMON, Calif. — Netflix’s pandemic-fueled subscriber growth is slowing far faster than anticipated as people who have been cooped at home are able to get out and do other things again. The video-streaming service added 4 million more worldwide subscribers from January through March, its smallest gain during that...
White House offers new tax credit to help spur vaccinations
WASHINGTON — The White House is trying to overcome diminishing demand for covid-19 shots by offering businesses a tax incentive to give employees paid leave to get vaccinated. The move comes as the United States is set to meet President Joe Biden’s goal of administering 200 million coronavirus doses in...
Amazon begins rollout of pay-by-palm at Whole Foods near HQ
NEW YORK — Amazon is rolling out pay-by-palm technology at some Whole Foods grocery stores near its headquarters to make paying quicker and more convenient. The technology, called Amazon One, lets shoppers scan the palm of their hand and connect it to a credit card or Amazon account. After the...
Biden administration opens global climate summit
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden opened a global climate summit Thursday with a pledge to cut at least in half the climate-wrecking coal and petroleum fumes that the U.S. pumps out, a commitment he hopes will spur China and other big polluters to speed up efforts of their own. Biden...
Stocks end higher on Wall Street after a day of steady gains
Technology companies and banks helped lift stocks on Wall Street broadly higher Wednesday, enabling the market to claw back some of its losses after a downbeat start to the week. The S&P 500 rose 0.9%, snapping a two-day slide. Most of the companies in the benchmark index rose, with technology,...
Foxconn deal with Wisconsin lowers tax breaks to $80 million
MADISON, Wis. — Foxconn Technology Group will be eligible for just $80 million in taxpayer subsidies under a new contract signed Tuesday, down from nearly $3 billion it could have received under the original deal that envisioned a much larger project in southeastern Wisconsin. Democratic Gov. Tony Evers, who ran...
Ex-Jack Daniel’s distiller to make new whiskey in Tennessee
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — The former top distiller at Jack Daniel’s announced on Tuesday that he and several partners are opening a new whiskey distillery near the Great Smoky Mountains in Tennessee. Company Distilling will first open a 4,000-square-foot tasting room and restaurant in Townsend, Tenn., former Jack Daniel’s master distiller...
Daily Mail owner files antitrust suit against Google in U.S.
The owner of the Daily Mail website, Associated Newspapers, is suing Google, saying the tech company’s dominance in online advertising has harmed its business. The suit, filed Monday in federal court in New York, says Google punishes publishers’ search results if they don’t sell enough ad space through Google and...
Polaroid launches the ‘smallest analog instant camera in the world’
Polaroid has announced the Polaroid Go, which it says is “the smallest analog instant camera in the world.” The camera is 4.1 inches long, 3.3 inches wide and 2.4 inches tall. The camera sells for $99.99 and is available today for pre-order and for sale on April 27. A two-pack...
Stocks close lower on Wall Street, led by tech and banks
Stocks fell for the second straight day Tuesday, giving up more of their recent gains as Wall Street shifts its focus on a busy week of corporate earnings reports. The S&P 500 fell 0.7%. The benchmark index has now lost nearly all of its gain from last week. Apple fell...
Venmo is into crypto, allowing users to buy Bitcoin, others
NEW YORK — Venmo will allow users to buy and sell cryptocurrencies on its app, the company said Tuesday, the latest mainstream financial platform to wade into alternative currency like Bitcoin. In addition to Bitcoin, Venmo has opened up the platform to Ethereum, Litecoin and Bitcoin Cash — generally considered...
Subaru recalls vehicles to fix engine, suspension problems
DETROIT — Subaru is recalling nearly 875,000 cars and SUVs in the U.S. because the engines can stall or a rear suspension part can fall off. The stalling recall covers more than 466,000 Crosstrek SUVs from 2018 and 2019 and Impreza cars from 2017 through 2019. The company says in...
