Business category, Page 38
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney says his country will match U.S. auto tariffs
TORONTO — Prime Minister Mark Carney said Thursday that Canada will match U.S. President Donald Trump’s 25% auto tariffs with a tariff on vehicles imported from the United States. Trump’s previously announced 25% tariffs on auto imports took effect Thursday. The prime minister said he told Trump last week in...
World reacts with caution to ‘reciprocal’ tariffs against dozens of nationsVideo
MEXICO CITY — The sweeping new tariffs announced Wednesday by U.S. President Donald Trump were met initially with measured reactions from key trading partners, highlighting the lack of appetite for a full-fledged trade war. The fact that the tariffs fell most heavily on parts of the world sleeping through the...
Pa.’s 1st Crispy Cones, featured on ‘Shark Tank,’ set to open with free treats for first respondersVideo
A South Buffalo couple will convert their love of the ABC series “Shark Tank” with a new ice cream shop boasting unique cones featured on the show. Mike and Ronna Brestensky will be giving free ice cream to Hampton police, firefighters and emergency medical service personnel from 6 to 9...
John Dorfman: Go off the beaten path with mid-cap stocks
You’re probably hearing a lot — much of it malarkey — about how to position your investment portfolio in an age of tariffs and trade wars. One piece of advice you may hear, which at least makes some sense, is that mid-capitalization stocks are less dependent on foreign suppliers and...
Tesla sales tumble 13% as Musk backlash, competition and aging lineup turn off buyersVideo
NEW YORK — Tesla sales fell 13% in the first three months of the year, another sign that Elon Musk’s once high-flying electric car company is struggling to attract buyers. The double-digit drop is likely because of a combination of factors, including its aging lineup, competition from rivals and a...
Nintendo offers new Switch 2 details ahead of June 5 launch
NEW YORK — Nintendo has announced a June 5 launch date for its latest gaming console, the Switch 2, which will introduce interactive chat and screenshare functions to connect gamers. At its 60-minute Nintendo Direct presentation, the company revealed a more vibrant display on the Switch 2, a larger screen...
Homer City site: Large gas-fired power plant to support data center
The site of the former Homer City power station will be transformed into a natural gas-fired plant, generating electricity for the transmission grid and what is being called the state’s largest data center campus, it was announced Wednesday. Developers called it a $10 billion project for the future. “It is...
No batteries? Thinner packaging? U.S. businesses look for ways to offset tariffs
NEW YORK — Gadgets sold without batteries. Toys sold in slimmed-down boxes or no packaging at all. More household goods that shoppers need to assemble themselves. These are some of the ways consumer product companies are retooling their wares to reduce costs and avoid raising prices as President Donald Trump...
Restaurant chain Hooters goes bust and files for bankruptcy protection
Hooters is going bust. The U.S. restaurant chain, known for chicken wings and its skimpy “Hooters Girls” wait-staff outfits, has filed for bankruptcy protection. HOA Restaurant Group filed the motion for Chapter 11 protection Monday in the North Texas Bankruptcy Court in Dallas. It’s the latest legacy restaurant chain to...
FDA’s top tobacco official is removed from post in latest blow to health agency’s leadership
WASHINGTON — The Food and Drug Administration’s chief tobacco regulator has been removed from his post as part of sweeping cuts to the federal health workforce on Tuesday, the latest in a series of actions that have cleared out many of the nation’s top experts overseeing food, drugs, vaccines and...
February U.S. job openings slip to 7.6 million, consistent with a healthy but decelerating job market
WASHINGTON — Employers posted 7.6 million job openings in February, a sign that that the job market is slowing but remains healthy. The number of vacancies fell slightly from a revised 7.8 million in January and from a 8.4 million a year earlier. Openings have come down more or less...
Bealls to open store in Hyde Park Plaza in May
First of all, it’s pronounced “bells.” Florida-based discount apparel and home goods retailer Bealls is coming May 5 to Allegheny Township, the company announced Monday, marking its first foray into the Alle-Kiski Valley. While the name might spark some confusion, the Bealls business model is familiar to most shoppers. Spokesperson...
Wall Street swings again as approach of Trump’s ‘Liberation Day’ wallops stock markets worldwide
NEW YORK — President Donald Trump’s fast-approaching “Liberation Day” sent stock markets swinging sharply worldwide on Monday. On Wall Street, the S&P 500 rose 0.6% in another roller-coaster day, after being down as much as 1.7% during the morning. The reversal helped the index shave its loss for the first...
FirstEnergy lays off 75 in Pennsylvania; 350 companywide
Electric utility owner FirstEnergy Corp., parent company of Greensburg’s West Penn Power Co., said Monday it has laid off about 75 employees in Pennsylvania. The layoffs are part of a corporate-wide restructuring impacting 350 of its employees. About 75 FirstEnergy workers throughout the state lost their jobs as the company...
Solar projects go commercial — growth up, power costs down
A fire hall in downtown Greensburg is going solar this year with rooftop panels to generate electricity, which the city fire chief says will save money on energy costs. “It will be a substantial amount of savings for Hose Company No. 2, and it will generate an excess amount of...
Noted economist honored by Trump warns that 25% tariffs risk ‘irreparable damage’ to U.S. automakers
WASHINGTON — Noted economist Arthur Laffer warns in a new analysis that President Donald Trump’s 25% tariffs on auto imports could add $4,711 to the cost of a vehicle and says the proposed taxes could weaken the ability of U.S. automakers to compete with their foreign counterparts. In the 21-page...
U.S. inflation remained elevated in February as consumer spending rose slightly
WASHINGTON — An inflation gauge closely watched by the Federal Reserve remained high in February even before the impact of most tariffs has been felt. Americans’ spending increased after a steep fall last month but remained weak, suggesting consumers have turned more cautious this year. Friday’s report from the Commerce...
Western Pa. car dealers preparing for bumpy ride when tariffs kick in
Barry Freger, co-owner of Jeannette used car dealer Pinnacle Auto Sales, is scooping up as many late-model, low-mileage vehicles as possible. With a 25% U.S. tariff on auto imports set to begin April 3, Freger hopes to be ready when sticker shock, or a lack of available new models, sends...
U.S. Steel board hopefuls urged to sell non-union assets for Mon Valley upgrades
The United Steelworkers claims an activist investor wants to sell U.S. Steel’s state-of-the-art facilities in Arkansas and funnel the proceeds toward its aging blast furnaces, including the Mon Valley Works in Southwestern Pennsylvania. These legacy operations are union-run, making Ancora Holdings Group’s apparent plan to flip the nonunion Big River...
EPA offers industrial polluters a way to avoid rules on mercury, arsenic and other toxic chemicals
WASHINGTON — As part of a push to roll back dozens of environmental regulations, the Trump administration is offering coal-fired power plants and other industrial polluters a chance for exemptions from requirements to reduce emissions of toxic chemicals such as mercury, arsenic and benzene. The Environmental Protection Agency has set...
Copper prices have soared as the U.S. threatens tariffs on the metal and China boosts its economy
NEW YORK — Copper prices have hit record highs as an ongoing trade war between the U.S. and its key trading partners threatens to squeeze supplies of the vital metal. Buyers in the U.S. have been stocking up on copper ahead of potential tariffs. Future prices for the base metal’s...
Trump places 25% tariff on imported autos, expecting to raise $100 billion in tax revenues
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump said Wednesday he was placing 25% tariffs on auto imports, a move the White House claims would foster domestic manufacturing but could also put a financial squeeze on automakers that depend on global supply chains. “This will continue to spur growth,” Trump told reporters. “We’ll...
Podcast: Pittsburgh Mills’ pothole problems
Pittsburgh Mills has spent much of its 20-year existence as part of the discussion about dying malls around the area and the country. But lately, it’s potholes — not vacancies — that have people talking. These are not ordinary potholes — we’re talking three-foot-wide, one-foot-deep, bone-rattling holes that have damaged...
Founders of Black-owned brands adapt their hopes and business plans for a post-DEI era
NEW YORK — The co-founders of a company that makes lip products for darker skin tones no longer hope to get their line into Target. A brother and sister who make jigsaw puzzles celebrating Black subjects wonder if they need to offer “neutral” images like landscapes to keep growing. Pound...
John Dorfman: 5 foreign stocks worth considering as U.S. market lags
This year through March 21, stocks were up 9% in France, 15% in Germany and 18% in Hong Kong. In the U.S., stocks were down 3%. A little international diversification might be a good idea, especially with U.S. stocks currently on the expensive side. Yet many American investors have 100%...
