Business category, Page 306
USA Today publisher targeted for buyout
DENVER — The publisher of USA Today has received a $1.36 billion buyout bid from a media group with a history of taking over struggling newspapers and slashing jobs. MNG Enterprises, better known as Digital First Media, said in a letter to Gannett Co. Monday that its leadership team has...
China’s 2018 trade surplus with U.S. hits record high $323B
BEIJING — China’s 2018 trade surplus with the United States surged to a record $323.3 billion but exports contracted in December as the delayed impact of President Donald Trump’s tariff hikes started to hurt demand. Exports to the United States in 2018 rose 11.3 percent to $478.4 billion despite Trump’s...
Lonely? Tech firms hope you’ll use an app for that
The post-Internet era has ushered in generations of socially awkward adults who’ve long leaned on technology for their social kicks. But as millennials age out of college, many adults have found themselves … well, painfully lonely. And tech companies have taken note. Technology titans and fledgling startups alike — including...
Ferro Corp. to shut down Washington County plant, affecting 210 jobs
WASHINGTON, Pa. — An international chemical company has announced plans to shut down a western Pennsylvania plant, cutting about 160 jobs and relocating 50 more. Ferro Corp. said Friday the Canton Township plant in Washington County that produces functional coatings and color solutions will close in late 2019 or early...
Elliott Group COO Michael Lordi named CEO
Elliott Group Chief Operating Officer Michael Lordi has been named CEO of the Jeannette-based company. Lordi succeeds outgoing CEO Yasuyuki Uruma, who has retired after 47 years with the Elliott Group and its parent company, the Tokyo-based Ebara Corp. “Going forward, we will continue to strengthen the Elliott brand by...
GM raises 2018 forecast, predicts stronger 2019 earnings
DETROIT — General Motors strengthened its pretax profit estimate for 2018 and predicted even stronger performance for this year as it executives made a presentation to investors on Friday. Shares jumped 7 percent at the opening bell. CEO Mary Barra also says the company doesn’t foresee any further job cuts...
Cheaper gas sends U.S. consumer prices down 0.1 percent
WASHINGTON — Consumer prices slipped 0.1 percent last month, pulled down by sharply lower gas prices and cheaper air fares, used cars, and mobile phone plans. The Labor Department said the consumer price index rose just 1.9 percent in December from a year earlier, the first time it has fallen...
U.S. restaurant prices jump the most since 2011
Full-service restaurants, facing higher labor and food costs, raised prices the most in more than seven years in December, a Labor Department report released Friday shows. As grocery costs rise at a slower pace, that could push more U.S. consumers to eat at home, potentially shifting sales away from sit-down...
Kyodo: ex-Nissan chair Ghosn indicted for breach of trust
TOKYO — Nissan ex-Chairman Carlos Ghosn was charged Friday with breach of trust in the latest blow for the star executive, according to the Tokyo District Court. Ghosn was detained Nov. 19. Earlier, he was charged with falsifying financial reports in underreporting his income by about 5 billion yen ($44...
Court orders Amazon to end Wi-Fi button purchases in Germany
BERLIN — A German court has ordered Amazon to stop taking orders from customers using wireless-enabled buttons because they breach e-commerce rules. The Munich regional court ruled Thursday that Amazon’s Dash buttons fail to provide customers with necessary information, such as the price of the product they are purchasing. Amazon...
Sure, robots walk and talk, but now they can pour beer
LAS VEGAS — Robots that walk, talk, pour beer and play pingpong have taken over the CES gadget show in Las Vegas again. Just don’t expect to find one in your home any time soon. Most home robot ventures have failed, in part because they’re so difficult and expensive to...
Frontier Airlines flight attendants continue to accept tips
Happy with your service, you can still tip your Frontier Airlines flight attendant. Frontier Airlines has been allowing tips on items purchased in-flight for three years, but as of the beginning of the year the tips can now be kept by the individual attendant, rather than pooled and split as...
Ford to shake up business, cut jobs in Europe
FRANKFURT, Germany — Ford Motor Co. said Thursday it is cutting jobs in Europe as it reshapes its business to focus on more profitable commercial trucks and SUVs while shifting production to electric cars over the longer term. On a day that Jaguar Land Rover also announced it is cutting...
Jaguar Land Rover cutting 4,500 jobs
LONDON — Jaguar Land Rover said Thursday it will cut 4,500 jobs as the carmaker addresses slowing demand in China and growing uncertainty about the U.K.’s departure from the European Union. The luxury carmaker, owned by India’s Tata conglomerate, said the cuts will be in addition to 1,500 people who...
USDA delays deadline for farmer aid to offset tariff losses
DES MOINES, Iowa — Farmers already reeling from low prices and uncertainty amid the nation’s trade dispute with China are welcoming a decision to extend a deadline for federal aid because of the partial government shutdown. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Purdue on Tuesday announced the Agriculture Department would extend a...
Chrysler Building in New York City is up for sale
NEW YORK — The owners of New York City’s Chrysler Building are putting the landmark Art Deco skyscraper on the market. The building’s owners, the Abu Dhabi Investment Council and New York developer Tishman Speyer, have hired commercial real estate firm CBRE Group Inc. to market the office tower, CBRE...
Elderly, conservatives shared more Facebook fake info in 2016
WASHINGTON — Sharing false information on Facebook is old. People over 65 and ultra conservatives shared about seven times more fake information masquerading as news on the social media site than younger adults, moderates and super liberals during the 2016 election season, a new study finds. The first major study...
Hubble Space Telescope’s premier camera shuts down
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — The Hubble Space Telescope’s premier camera has shut down because of a hardware problem. NASA said the camera stopped working Tuesday. Hubble’s three other science instruments are still working fine, with celestial observations continuing. This third incarnation of the wide field camera was installed by spacewalking...
Toyota recalls 1.7M vehicles in North America to fix air bags
DETROIT — Toyota is recalling 1.7 million vehicles in North America to replace potentially deadly Takata front passenger air bag inflators. The move announced Wednesday includes 1.3 million vehicles in the U.S. and is part of the largest series of automotive recalls in the nation’s history. Takata inflators can explode...
CES gadget show offers fun, care in devices
LAS VEGAS — The CES 2019 gadget show opened its doors Tuesday, with tech companies from giants to tiny startups showing off their latest products and services. In recent years, CES’s influence has declined as Apple, Google and other major companies throw their own events to launch new wares. Still,...
5 things to know about U.S.-Chinese trade negotiations
BEIJING — The United States and China have held their first face-to-face trade talks since Presidents Trump and Xi Jinping agreed Dec. 1 to postpone further tariff increases in the trade war between the world’s two biggest economies. The meetings are the start of what economists say are likely to...
U.S. stocks keep rising as investors hope for trade progress
NEW YORK — U.S. stocks are higher Tuesday as industrial and internet companies rise, and the S&P 500 index is on track for its first three-day winning streak since November. The latest round of trade talks between the U.S. and China ended without word of progress, but with no evident...
Sears gets another reprieve from liquidation
NEW YORK — Sears is getting another reprieve from liquidation after its chairman and largest shareholder revised his bid to save the iconic brand. The Hoffman Estates, Illinois-based retailer says it has accepted Eddie Lampert’s bid through an affiliate of his ESL hedge fund that could keep 425 stores open...
Toyota wants world to use its tech that keeps cars from crashing
Toyota — in an unusual move for the cut-throat car business — has decided to share with rivals an automated safety system that uses self-driving technology to keep cars from crashing. The system, known as Guardian, will take control of a car and steer it around an impending crash or...
U.S. job openings fell in November to still-strong 6.9 million
WASHINGTON — U.S. job openings fell in November from the previous month, but the number of available positions remained healthy. Job openings slipped 3.4 percent to a seasonally adjusted 6.9 million, the Labor Department said Tuesday. That is the fewest openings in five months, but still 16 percent higher than...
