Business category, Page 292
Ford Motor Co. posts 1st quarterly loss in 2 years
DEARBORN, Mich. — Ford Motor Co., which has struggled overseas and saw U.S. sales fall last year, reported its first quarterly net loss in two years Wednesday. The Dearborn, Mich., company said it lost $116 million, or 3 cents a share, in the fourth quarter, compared with a $2.52 billion...
Amazon testing delivery by self-driving robots
NEW YORK — Amazon is bringing delivery robots to the streets of a Seattle suburb. The online shopping giant says it started to test self-driving robots that can bring Amazon packages to shoppers’ doorsteps Wednesday in Snohomish County, Washington. The robots are light blue, are about the size of a...
Verizon cutting about 800 jobs in troubled media business
NEW YORK — Verizon is cutting about 800 jobs, or 7 percent of its media and advertising employees, as it reorganizes the troubled division. The wireless company had hoped to create an ad business that could compete with Google and Facebook. It spent about $10 billion buying up internet pioneers...
Stocks end day with meager gains
U.S. stock indexes spent Wednesday drifting and finished with small gains. While big companies continue to report strong profit growth, investors aren’t sure how much longer it will last. The S&P 500 index rallied 0.8 percent in the morning after fourth-quarter earnings reports from major companies including IBM, consumer products...
Forgoing staffers, many businesses turn to freelancers
NEW YORK — It hasn’t been lost on small business owners that Uber and other ride-sharing services are enormously successful without having employees doing the work. It’s one of the reasons why small companies are forgoing employees in favor of independent contractors. Todd Miller transformed his small business a year...
Boeing’s flying car has taken off
A Boeing flying car designed to whisk passengers over congested city streets and dodge skyscrapers completed its first test flight on Tuesday, offering a peek into the future of urban transportation the aerospace giant and others are seeking to reshape. A prototype of its autonomous passenger air vehicle completed a...
Comcast loses cable users, but internet subscribers surge
NEW YORK — Comcast is still losing U.S. cable customers but is racking up more internet subscribers and has gotten a revenue boost from Sky, its big bet on European TV. The Philadelphia company said Wednesday that it lost 29,000 U.S. cable customers in the fourth quarter but added 351,000...
Analysis: Falling home sales not helping middle-class buyers
WASHINGTON — When home sales weaken, prices typically do, too, and buyers benefit. Not quite this time. Home purchases in many areas of the country have dipped, and price gains have slowed. Yet a rising number of middle-class Americans are finding that home ownership is unaffordable. Why? Mortgage rates are...
Erin Brockovich urges California to stop PG&E bankruptcy
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Consumer activist Erin Brockovich, who famously took on Pacific Gas & Electric Co. in the 1990s, urged California lawmakers Tuesday not to let the utility go bankrupt because it could mean less money for wildfire victims. “I’m mad. I think we should all be mad,” Brockovich said...
Calif. payday lender refunds $800K to settle predatory lending allegations
WASHINGTON — A California payday lender is refunding about $800,000 to consumers to settle allegations that it steered borrowers into high-interest loans and engaged in other illegal practices, state officials said Monday. California Check Cashing Stores also agreed to pay $105,000 in penalties and other costs in a consent order...
5 Hyundai, Kia models have high fire insurance claim rates
DETROIT — Owners of five Hyundai and Kia cars and SUVs file fire insurance claims at a rate far higher than the average for comparable vehicles, according to an insurance industry study. The Highway Loss Data Institute, which analyzes data from insurers representing about 85 percent of the U.S. industry,...
Netflix joins MPAA lobbying group, its 1st streaming member
NEW YORK — On the same day Netflix scored its first best picture nomination from the Oscars, the streaming company is also joining the lobbying group the Motion Picture Association of America. The MPAA announced Tuesday that Netflix will join its ranks, becoming the first streaming service to do so....
Stocks sink on growth fears, possible snag in trade talks
NEW YORK — Stocks fell sharply Tuesday following new signs the global economy is weakening and reports of difficulties in trade talks between the United States and China. That broke a four-day winning streak for U.S. indexes. Major global indexes traded lower after the International Monetary Fund trimmed its economic...
Arconic no longer considering sale, shares slide
NEW YORK — Shares of Arconic are sliding at the opening bell after the aluminum maker said it’s no longer exploring a sale. The company formerly known as Alcoa had considered a sale over the past year, but said Tuesday that it didn’t receive any offers it thought was in...
Pa. native is recording world languages in a mission to save them
When Daniel Bogre Udell turned 13, the small world he knew in the Poconos expanded into a much larger one in the kitchen of a local restaurant. It was the first time Bogre Udell, now 27, heard people speaking to one another in Spanish. That job as a busboy in...
White House considering new candidates for open Fed board seat
WASHINGTON — White House officials are considering new candidates for at least one and possibly both empty seats on the Federal Reserve Board for President Trump to nominate, according to people familiar with the matter. Fed economist Nellie Liang withdrew from consideration earlier this month for one of the vacancies....
Micron and Systemax make this year’s Casualty List
A harsh December capped a hard fourth quarter for stocks. Many good companies have been knocked down, some to bargain levels. I’ve picked four of them for my Casualty List, a quarterly compilation of wounded stocks that I believe may recover strongly. The Casualty List has a profitable track record....
Survey: CEO pessimism on economy spreads after upbeat 2018
DAVOS, Switzerland — A survey of hundreds of corporate leaders shows “a record jump in pessimism” about the world economy, with sentiment doused by trade spats, a global downturn and fading benefits from U.S. President Donald Trump’s tax cuts. Consulting firm PwC says the latest edition of its annual survey...
China grants Ivanka Trump 5 trademarks amid trade talks
SHANGHAI — The Chinese government has granted Ivanka Trump’s company preliminary approval for another five trademarks this month, as her father’s administration pushes ahead on trade negotiations with China. Four trademarks, including child care centers, sunglasses and wedding dresses, were approved on Sunday. A fifth, covering brokerage, charitable fundraising and...
Rocking beds and pillows that nudge when you snore: Tech wants into your bed
I’ve tried a mattress with water cooling and another that sways like a boat. I’ve worn brainwave-measuring helmets and rested on pillows that nudge you when you snore. In the hunt for better sleep, I’ve even snuggled up with a robot. For the gadget industry, sleep is the new exercise...
Deborah Kearns: The 4 most common mortgage and real estate scams and how to stop them
The last thing consumers should have to worry about is being scammed when they buy or rent a home, or consider refinancing options. Unfortunately, criminals are getting more creative in how they target their victims, leading to major financial headaches for their unsuspecting victims. In 2017 alone, 9,645 victims reported...
World Economic Forum warns of impact of global tensions
LONDON — International tensions and nationalist politics can further weigh on the global economy this year and hinder efforts to deal with big issues such as climate change, the organizers of this week’s Davos forum warned last weekWednesday. In its annual Global Risks Report, the World Economic Forum said the...
On road to make an affordable car, Tesla cuts jobs
Tesla, recognizing as imperative its ability to produce a cheaper electric car, told employees Friday that it must cut 7 percent of its workforce. Tesla’s cheapest model right now is the $44,000 Model 3, and it needs to broaden its customer base to survive. “Looking ahead at our mission of...
Nissan to cut up to 700 contract workers in Mississippi
JACKSON, Miss. — Nissan Motor Co. says it’s cutting up to 700 contract workers at its Mississippi assembly plant, citing slow sales for Titan pickup trucks and vans. The company employs 6,400 employees and contractors in Canton, Miss. The move follows Nissan’s December announcement that it’s cutting 1,000 jobs at...
Facebook shuts hundreds of Russia-linked pages, accounts
LONDON — Facebook says it has removed hundreds of Russia-linked pages, groups and accounts that it says were part of two big disinformation operations, in its latest effort to fight fake news. The social media company said Thursday it took action after finding two networks “that engaged in coordinated inauthentic...
