Business category, Page 274
Cuba legalizes private Wi-Fi, importation of routers
HAVANA — Cuba is legalizing private Wi-Fi networks and the importation of equipment like routers, eliminating one of the world’s tightest restrictions on internet use. The measure announced by state media Wednesday provides a legal status to thousands of Cubans who created homemade digital networks with smuggled equipment that was...
Sports Illustrated magazine sold for $110 millionVideo
NEW YORK — Sports Illustrated magazine has been sold for $110 million to a company that specializes in managing fashion, entertainment and sports brands, including marketing rights to Shaquille O’Neal and Muhammad Ali. The seller, Meredith Corp., will continue running the print edition and the website SI.com for at least...
Chad Amond to do 4-month fellowship with U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation
Chad Amond, president and CEO of the Westmoreland County Chamber of Commerce, has been named a Business Leads Fellow of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation. Amond will participate in the third cohort of the Business Leads Fellowship Program, which trains and equips leaders from state and local chambers of...
Pittsburgh region’s jobless rate drops to 3.8%, lowest since 1976
The seven-county Pittsburgh region’s 3.8% unemployment rate in April was the lowest jobless rate on record since 1976, the state said Tuesday. The jobless rate for the region — Allegheny, Armstrong, Beaver, Butler, Fayette, Washington and Westmoreland counties — fell .1% from March to April, based on seasonal hiring factors....
While you’re sleeping, your iPhone stays busy
It’s 3 a.m. Do you know what your iPhone is doing? Mine has been alarmingly busy. Even though the screen is off and I’m snoring, apps are beaming out lots of information about me to companies I’ve never heard of. Your iPhone probably is doing the same - and Apple...
John Dorfman: Molina and Great Lakes have jumped, still look good
When a stock jumps 50% or 100% in a year, you know something is afoot. Maybe the company is firing on all cylinders. Maybe the stock was radically mispriced a year ago. Perhaps both. Once a year, around this time, I select a few stocks that have exploded upward and...
New auto giant? Fiat Chrysler wants to merge with Renault
PARIS — Fiat Chrysler proposed on Monday to merge with France’s Renault to create the world’s third-biggest automaker, worth $40 billion, and combine forces in the race to make electric and autonomous vehicles. The merged company would reshape the global industry: it would produce some 8.7 million vehicles a year,...
Arkansas newspaper gambles on free iPads as the future
HOPE, Ark. — Over a lunch of hamburger steaks, mashed potatoes and green beans, Walter Hussman delivered his pitch to the dozen or so attendees of the Hope, Arkansas, Rotary Club meeting. He promised that if they keep paying their current rate of $36 a month for subscription to the...
The highest-paid CEOs by state
Here are the top paid CEOs by state for 2018, as calculated by The Associated Press and Equilar, an executive data firm. The survey considered only publicly traded companies with more than $1 billion in revenue that filed their proxy statements with federal regulators between Jan. 1 and April 30....
CEOs averaged $800,000 pay raise in 2018, workers not so much
NEW YORK — Pay for CEOs at the biggest U.S. companies climbed 7% last year, widening the gap between chief executives and their workers, whose pay did not rise as quickly. Chief executives at S&P 500 companies earned a median of $12 million last year, roughly $800,000 more than the...
Beer industry contributes $11.5B annually to Pennsylvania’s economy
In Pennsylvania, beer brings in the bucks. A recent economic impact study shows America’s beer industry contributes $11.5 billion annually to Pennsylvania’s economy and provides 77,197 jobs. Commissioned by the National Beer Wholesalers Association and the Beer Institute, the study shows that the jobs impacted by the beer industry in...
Theme park attendance crosses half-billion mark for 1st timeVideo
ORLANDO, Fla. — Worldwide attendance at the 10 biggest operators of amusement parks increased 4% last year and crossed the half-billion-visitors mark for the first time, according to an industry report released this week. The report by the Themed Entertainment Association and the Economics Practice at AECOM said global attendance...
House passes bill to help workers with retirement savings
WASHINGTON — The House overwhelmingly approved a bill Thursday to promote retirement security by making it easier for small businesses and other companies to offer retirement plans. The bipartisan bill, approved 417-3, also makes it easier for workers to transfer retirement plans when they change jobs and allows part-time workers...
Facebook: Fake account removal doubles in 6 months to 3B
SAN FRANCISCO — Facebook removed more than 3 billion fake accounts from October to March, twice as many as the previous six months, the company said Thursday. Nearly all of them were caught before they had a chance to become “active” users of the social network. In a new report,...
Trump admin sending another $16 billion to ailing farmers
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump is delivering another $16 billion in aid to farmers hurt by his trade policies, an effort to relieve the economic pain among his supporters in rural America. U.S. Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue said the first of three payments is likely to be made in July...
Mnuchin says Harriet Tubman $20 bill design delayed past 2020Video
WASHINGTON — Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said Wednesday the redesign of the $20 bill to feature 19th century abolitionist leader Harriet Tubman has been delayed. The decision to replace Andrew Jackson, the nation’s seventh president, with Tubman on the $20 bill had been made by Mnuchin’s predecessor, former Treasury Secretary...
Kroger, largest grocery chain in U.S., to eliminate plastic bags
The nation’s largest grocery chain has vowed to stop using plastic bags. Cincinnati-based Kroger says it will phase out the plastic bags by 2025. The chain goes through 6 billion bags annually. Six years to eliminate plastic bags, Kroger?? Disappointing. ♻️ Nancy Dinell (@Nancy_Advocate) May 22, 2019 The project...
Borgata casino unveils $12M sports bet, nightspot project
ATLANTIC CITY — Atlantic City’s Borgata casino is investing $12 million in a new sports betting and entertainment project. Casino officials tell The Associated Press it will open a sports bar and sports betting facility named Moneyline Bar & Book on June 29. The name is a reference to the...
U.S., China appear to brace for long haul in trade disputeVideo
WASHINGTON — With negotiations on hold and tariffs piling up, the United States and China appear to be bracing for a prolonged standoff over trade. Beijing is airing Korean War movies (antagonist: America) to arouse patriotic feelings in the Chinese public and offering tax cuts to software and chip companies...
Bankruptcy judge to approve sale of Reading Eagle
READING — A federal bankruptcy judge said Wednesday he intends to approve the sale of the Reading Eagle to a large newspaper chain known for taking over struggling papers and then making deep newsroom cuts. MediaNews Group, better known as Digital First Media, offered $5 million for the assets of...
Qualcomm violated antitrust law, judge rules
Qualcomm violated antitrust law by brandishing its market dominance to squeeze excessive licensing fees from phone manufacturers, a federal judge in California ruled, delivering a major jolt to the critical components market for next-generation smartphones. U.S. District Judge Lucy Koh’s ruling late Tuesday night sided with the Federal Trade Commission,...
Anti-groping smartphone app highly popular in Japan
TOKYO — A smartphone app developed by Japanese police is being widely downloaded by women trying to protect themselves from gropers on packed rush-hour trains. The “Digi Police” app was originally issued by Tokyo police three years ago, but a function to scare off molesters was only added a few...
Tech rebound powers U.S. stocks higher, snaps 2-day S&P slump
Technology companies helped power stocks broadly higher on Wall Street Tuesday, snapping the market’s two-day losing streak. The rally followed the U.S. government’s decision to temporarily ease off proposed restrictions on technology sales to Chinese companies. The news gave a boost to technology sector stocks, which took steep losses a...
Department stores troubles increase for Kohl’s, Penney’s
NEW YORK — The outlook for department stores got murkier Tuesday after J.C. Penney and Kohl’s reported fiscal first quarter results that showed they struggled at the start of the year. Penney, which has been trying to turn around its business for several years after a disastrous reinvention plan, reported...
Women’s clothing chain Dressbarn to close all its 650 stores
NEW YORK — Dressbarn, the women’s clothing chain that’s been around for nearly 60 years, is closing all 650 of its stores. The company’s chief financial officer, Steven Taylor, said Dressbarn has not been operating at an “acceptable level of profitability in today’s retail environment.” Its owner, Ascena Retail Group...
