Business category, Page 278
‘Land no one else wants’ gets solar as coal, nukes fade away
For two decades, coal has been pulled from a Bent Mountain mine in eastern Kentucky. But in a startling move in the heart of coal country, a rival — solar — is preparing to move on to the land. From Appalachia in the United States to Queensland in Australia and...
Westmoreland small-business owners explore co-working conceptsVideo
Deb Cavrak was sitting at home in Penn Township where she runs her business, Design Quack, when she decided there were too many distractions around to properly concentrate on work. Lisa Lauer of Greensburg, a travel agent and owner of Vida Adventures, was having a similar experience. “When you’re at...
Vacant land becoming asset as development returns to Detroit
DETROIT — When Fiat Chrysler began considering where to build its next assembly plant, the automaker didn’t have to look far to find land. A short walk from its Jefferson North plant on Detroit’s east side is 200 acres (80 hectares) of land the company is eyeing as part of...
Amazon to bring 1-day delivery to Prime members
Two-day delivery is going out of style. Amazon, which hooked shoppers on getting just about anything shipped in two days, said this week that it will soon promise one-day delivery for its U.S. Prime members on most items. The company hopes that cutting delivery times in half will make its...
Uber looks to raise up to $9B in initial public offering
NEW YORK — Uber is planning to sell 180 million shares for between $44 and $50 each, valuing the ride-hailing giant lower than previous estimates in a sign of that some of the excitement around ride-hailing has cooled. That would raise up to $9 billion for the San Francisco-based company,...
3M shares post biggest 1-day drop in decades
ST PAUL, Minn. — Shares in 3M posted the biggest one-day drop in decades after the company reported first quarter results that fell short of Wall Street projections. The company also announced plans to cut 2,000 jobs worldwide as part of a restructuring due to a slower-than-expected 2019. The maker...
Southwest Airlines grapples with financial fallout from Boeing 737 Max grounding
Airlines are struggling to deal with the financial fallout from the extended grounding of the Boeing 737 Max commercial jetliner, now in its seventh week. Southwest and American Airlines, the two U.S. airlines that owned 737 Max 8 aircraft when they were grounded on March 13, both report earnings this...
UPS shares tumble as earnings fall short
DALLAS — United Parcel Service Inc. reported Thursday that first-quarter profit fell 17% as revenue was flat from a year ago and the package-delivery company ran into higher spending to cope with a series of winter storms. The results fell short of Wall Street expectations, and the shares tumbled in...
Mexico is now the largest U.S. trading partner
MEXICO CITY — President Donald Trump has threatened to rip up NAFTA. To shut the border with Mexico. To impose tariffs on the thriving car industry in Mexico. “They’re killing us on jobs and trade,” he said as a candidate. And yet, two years into his presidency, a strange thing...
Canada accuses Facebook of breaking local privacy law, threatens lawsuit
Canadian regulators on Thursday found that Facebook committed “serious” breaches of local laws over its mishandling of users’ personal information, announcing they would take the company to court to force it to change its privacy practices. The new legal threat from Canada comes after federal authorities and regulators in British...
U.S. durable goods orders up solid 2.7% in March
WASHINGTON — Orders to U.S. factories for big-ticket manufactured goods rose 2.7% in March with a key category that tracks business investment decisions rising at the strongest pace in eight months. The increase in orders for durable goods followed a 1.1% drop in orders in February, the Commerce Department reported...
McDonald’s to hire more than 10,000 workers in Pennsylvania
McDonald’s and its franchisees expect to hire about 10,650 workers at its roughly 1,000 Pennsylvania restaurants for the summer season. That includes 450 new hires in Allegheny County, according to the company. Job seekers can visit McDonalds.com/careers to learn more and to apply to a restaurant near them. In addition,...
Tesla lost $700 million in first quarter on Model 3 problemsVideo
Tesla reported a massive loss in the first quarter of 2019 as it struggled to deliver its mass-market Model 3 and faced challenges including a diminished federal tax credit and slowing demand for its vehicles. The $702 million loss was higher than analysts forecast for the company, slightly less than...
Snapchat user base grows 2%, Snap shares climb
Snap Inc.’s fortunes rise and fall on the size of Snapchat’s user base. When the user numbers started to decline in early 2018 because of a tumultuous redesign and flabby Android app, its stock price began a long slide to less than $5 a share. Executive churn followed, and a...
Stocks rally to record on earnings surprisesVideo
The S&P 500 hit an all-time high Tuesday, marking the stock market’s complete recovery from a nosedive at the end of last year. The benchmark index’s previous record was set last September, shortly before the market sank in the fourth quarter amid fears of a recession, an escalating trade war...
Henry Bloch, co-founder of H&R Block, dies at 96
After returning from military service in World War II, 24-year-old Henry Bloch started a two-man bookkeeping shop in his home town of Kansas City, Mo., that offered tax preparation as a sideline. He spent years building the business and placed a help-wanted newspaper advertisement seeking a full-time accountant. The only...
Easton’s Weyerbacher Brewing files for bankruptcy, announces new majority owner
Weyerbacher Brewing Co. Inc., the 24-year-old Easton business known for its big Belgian-style brews, is restructuring its operations. The company on Monday announced it has finalized a partnership with 1518 Holdings LLC, a Philadelphia private investment group that will take a 55% ownership stake in Weyerbacher. As part of that...
Consumers are hanging onto old mobile phones in record numbers
Wireless customers are hanging on to their old phones longer than ever. That’s the message from Verizon Communications Inc., which said its upgrade rate fell to a record low last quarter – a harbinger of tough times ahead for the iPhone and other devices. Faced with $1,000 price tags on...
Walgreens to hike minimum age for store tobacco sales
Walgreens has decided to raise its minimum age for tobacco sales several weeks after a top federal official chastised the drugstore chain for violating laws restricting access to cigarettes and other products. Walgreens said Tuesday that it will require customers to be at least 21 years old to purchase tobacco...
U.S. expands probe into air bag failures to 12.3M vehicles
DETROIT — U.S. auto safety regulators have expanded an investigation into malfunctioning air bag controls to include 12.3 million vehicles because the bags may not inflate in a crash. The problem could be responsible for as many as eight deaths. Vehicles made by Toyota, Honda, Kia, Hyundai, Mitsubishi and Fiat...
America’s elderly are twice as likely to work now than in 1985Video
Just as single-income families began to vanish in the last century, many of America’s elderly are now forgoing retirement for the same reason: They don’t have enough money. Rickety social safety nets, inadequate retirement savings plans and sky high health-care costs are all conspiring to make the concept of leaving...
John Dorfman: Cheapest stocks in each sector could be bargains
What would happen if you bought the cheapest stock in each of the major stock market sectors? I’ve explored that question in 11 columns, from 2002 through 2006, and from 2013 to the present. I call this concept the Cheapskate Portfolio. I think it can be a way to find a...
Starbucks adding needle-disposal boxes to restrooms
Starbucks, recognizing it’s often a safe space for the most vulnerable visitors, has installed needle-disposal boxes in some locations. The coffee giant started adding the boxes in several U.S. markets in January after receiving requests from employees last year, a spokeswoman said. It will add them to any store where...
Wegmans to go plastic-bag free in N.Y. before state ban
ALBANY, N.Y. — Wegmans will eliminate single-use plastic grocery bags at its New York state stores by year’s end — just before a state ban on the packing takes effect, the grocery store chain announced Monday. The Rochester, N.Y.-based grocery chain also said it will work to reduce the usage...
BPW of Pennsylvania to celebrate 100th year at Washington convention
Business and Professional Women of Pennsylvania, an advocacy group for women in business statewide, will celebrate its centennial June 6-9 in Washington County. The group, founded in 1919, will hold its annual convention at Doubletree by Hilton Hotel Pittsburgh-Meadow Lands, 340 Racetrack Road, North Strabane Township. The theme, “Celebrating 100...
