Business category, Page 57
Federal judge hears evidence on blocking Pyrex plant closure in Charleroi
A federal judge will decide by the end of Thursday whether to block the closure of a Pyrex-making glassware plant in Charleroi that is a major employer in the Mon Valley. The Pennsylvania Attorney General is seeking a preliminary injunction to prohibit Centre Lane Partners, a private equity firm working...
Trump has promised to ‘save TikTok’; what happens next is less clear
After a tumultuous year filled with anxiety and a legal battle about its future in the U.S., TikTok may have just been thrown a lifeline by the man who was once its biggest foe: Donald Trump. President-elect Trump, who tried to ban the social media platform the last time he...
Citizens and Molson Coors look good based on book value
Stocks that are cheap relative to book value appeal to me a great deal. What’s book value? It’s basically a company’s net worth — its assets minus its liabilities. The figure is often expressed per share of common stock. General Motors Co. (GM), for example, has a book value of...
Frustrated Americans await economic changes they voted for with Trump
WASHINGTON — Fed up with high prices and unimpressed with an economy that by just about any measure is a healthy one, Americans demanded change when they voted for president. They could get it. President-elect Donald Trump has vowed to topple many of the Biden administration’s economic policies. Trump campaigned...
Hempfield semiconductor plant tabbed for possible $3 million federal investment
A Hempfield manufacturer of semiconductor chips for military and commercial aircraft, solar power projects and windmills is in line to receive $3 million in federal funding. A company official said Friday the money will be used to almost double its capacity and add jobs. “This (funding) helps to ensure the...
Federal Reserve cuts its key interest rate by a quarter-point amid postelection uncertaintyVideo
WASHINGTON — The Federal Reserve cut its key interest rate Thursday by a quarter-point in response to the steady decline in the once-high inflation that had angered Americans and helped drive Donald Trump’s presidential election victory this week. The rate cut follows a larger half-point reduction in September, and it...
Slightly more Americans apply for unemployment benefits last week, but layoffs remain at low levels
The number of Americans applying for jobless aid ticked up last week but layoffs remain at historically low levels. The Labor Department reported Thursday that jobless claim applications rose by 3,000 to 221,000 for the week of Nov. 2. That’s fewer than the 227,000 analysts forecast. The four-week average of...
Average rate on a 30-year mortgage in the U.S. rises for 6th straight week
The average rate on a 30-year mortgage in the U.S. rose for the sixth straight week, returning to its highest level since early July. The rate ticked up to 6.79% from 6.72% last week, mortgage buyer Freddie Mac said Thursday. That’s still down from a year ago, when the rate...
Immersive ‘selfie’ bar set to open in Robinson
Selfie lovers will soon have a new place to snap creative content in Pittsburgh. Catwalk Selfie Bar is a new custom selfie experience set to host a grand opening celebration on Nov. 11 in Robinson. The selfie concept invites paying guests to elevate their selfie content by purchasing hour-long selfie...
Stellantis will cut 1,100 jobs at Toledo’s Jeep Gladiator plant
Stellantis NV said Wednesday it plans to cut a shift at its Toledo plant that builds Jeep Gladiator pickups, which will result in about 1,100 indefinite layoffs by early next year. The move from two to one shifts does not come as a surprise, with Gladiator sales slowing this year...
Trump win ignites crypto frenzy that sends bitcoin to a record high
LONDON — The price of bitcoin hit a new high Wednesday and crypto-related shares rallied as investors bet that former President Donald Trump’s victory in the U.S. presidential election will be a boon for cryptocurrencies. Bitcoin jumped nearly 8% in early trading, climbing above $75,000 and smashing its previous record...
Tesla shares soar 13% as Trump win sets stage for Elon Musk’s electric vehicle company
NEW YORK — Shares of Tesla soared Wednesday following an election that will send Donald Trump back to the White House, an outcome that had been strongly backed by CEO Elon Musk in the closing months of the race. Tesla stands to make significant gains under a Trump administration with...
Inflation explained: Utility costs driven by war, climate change and regulatory incentives
Pennsylvanians, who live in one of America’s most productive states for natural gas extraction, have seen their utility bills climb despite that ample supply. Experts say the fault lies in the trio of international energy demand, infrastructure investment and the jump in inflation during and after the covid pandemic. “Natural...
Stocks, bitcoin jump after Trump’s victory. So do worries about inflation as Dow surges 1,500
NEW YORK — The U.S. stock market, Elon Musk’s Tesla, banks and bitcoin all stormed higher Wednesday as investors made bets on what Donald Trump’s return to the White House will mean for the economy and the world. Among the losers the market sees: the renewable-energy industry and potentially anyone...
Bernie Marcus, Home Depot co-founder and billionaire philanthropist, dies at 95
NEW YORK — Bernard “Bernie” Marcus, the co-founder of The Home Depot, the world’s largest home improvement chain, a billionaire philanthropist, and a big Republican donor, has died. He was 95. Marcus died Monday in Boca Raton, Florida, surrounded by family, according to a Home Depot spokesperson. Marcus was Home...
Boeing factory workers vote to accept contract and end more than 7-week strike
SEATTLE — Unionized machinists at Boeing voted Monday to accept a contract offer and end their strike after more than seven weeks, clearing the way for the aerospace giant to resume production of its bestselling airliner and generate much-needed cash. Leaders of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers...
Many retailers offer ‘returnless refunds.’ Just don’t expect them to talk much about it
It’s one of the most under-publicized policies of some of the biggest U.S. retailers: sometimes they give customers full refunds and let them keep unwanted items too. Returnless refunds are a tool that more retailers are using to keep online shoppers happy and to reduce shipping fees, processing time and...
TGI Fridays files for bankruptcy protection as sit-down restaurant struggles continue
Restaurant chain TGI Fridays filed for bankruptcy protection Saturday, saying it is looking for ways to “ensure the long-term viability” of the casual dining brand after closing many of its branches this year. The Dallas-based company’s Chapter 11 filing in a Texas federal court accelerates a gradual decline for an...
Wendy’s closing 140 more restaurants as part of push to update its locations
Wendy’s plans to close 140 U.S. restaurants before the end of this year on top of the 100 it said it would close in May. But in a conference call with investors Thursday, the company said those closures will be offset by new restaurant openings. Wendy’s said it plans to...
Downtown Pittsburgh’s Carl W. Herrmann Furs to close
The final week of October, despite temperatures in the mid to high 70s, customers were waiting outside of Carl W. Herrmann Furs. They wanted to say goodbye to a long-standing business in Downtown Pittsburgh. “The store wasn’t even open yet but they were here,” said Carl “Guy” W. Herrmann IV,...
U.S. employers added just 12,000 jobs last month as hurricanes and strikes sharply reduce payrolls
WASHINGTON — America’s employers added just 12,000 jobs in October, a total that economists say was held down by the effects of strikes and hurricanes that left many workers temporarily off payrolls. The report provided a somewhat blurry view of the job market at the end of a presidential race...
Autonomous truck company Aurora delays hauling freight without human drivers until April
Autonomous truck company Aurora Innovation says it won’t start hauling freight without humans on board until April of next year, a delay from previous statements that commercial service would begin by the end of 2024. The Pittsburgh company on Wednesday said the April launch of driverless semis traveling from Dallas...
McDonald’s E. coli case count rises as federal officials inspect an onion grower
WASHINGTON — Federal officials on Wednesday reported more cases of E. coli poisoning among people who ate at McDonald’s, as government investigators seeking the outbreak’s source identified an “onion grower of interest” in Washington state. The Food and Drug Administration said 90 people across 13 states have fallen ill in...
PepsiCo closing 4 bottling plants and cutting nearly 400 jobs as it streamlines operations
PepsiCo said Wednesday it plans to close four U.S. bottling plants and lay off nearly 400 workers as part of its efforts to streamline its operations. The company said the closures will impact 136 workers in Cincinnati; 131 in Chicago; 127 in Harrisburg, Pa.; and fewer than 50 in Atlanta....
John Dorfman: These 5 stocks are hedge-fund faves
Many of this country’s most talented stock pickers choose to work at hedge funds, where salaries and bonuses often are more attractive than at bank trust departments or mutual funds. Gurufocus.com publishes a screen of stocks that are popular with leading hedge funds. For this column, I took that screen...
