Business category, Page 59
Former Abercrombie & Fitch chief Mike Jeffries arrested on federal sex trafficking charges
NEW YORK — Former Abercrombie & Fitch CEO Mike Jeffries, his romantic partner and a third man were arrested Tuesday on charges of luring dozens of men into sex parties held around the world, sometimes by dangling the promise of modeling for the clothing retailer. Jeffries, partner Matthew Smith and...
America’s most famous inflation gauge is easing — but some of your biggest expenses are left out
Price pressures have eased substantially over the past two years, but a disconnect remains between what U.S. inflation data show and what millions of Americans experience with their finances. That’s in part because price levels are still higher than they were before the pandemic. Another explanation: the government’s key inflation...
How Namdar Realty profits from Pittsburgh Mills and other ‘dying’ malls
The owner of Pittsburgh Mills mall has built a real estate empire by buying dying malls and letting them deteriorate before selling off property and walking away, leaving helpless communities in its wake, according to officials where Namdar Realty Group owns assets. New York-based Namdar boasts a portfolio of nearly...
SpaceX launches 99th operational mission of the year
SpaceX knocked out its 99th operational flight of the year with a Starlink mission from Cape Canaveral, Fla., on Friday night. A Falcon 9 with 20 Starlink satellites lifted off from Canaveral’s Space Launch Complex 40 at 7:31 p.m. This was the 17th flight of the first-stage booster that made...
2 longtime Westmoreland food businesses change hands
Hempfield high school sweethearts Halie Altman and Cole Rendulic have always wanted to open a business together. When the owner of Angelo’s Cucina and Catering in Hempfield stepped down, the couple of nearly a decade knew their opportunity had come. Like Altman and Rendulic, Irwin resident Shakib Ahmady also is...
Italian autoworkers go on strike, as troubled Stellantis faces pressure over production plans
ROME — Workers in Italy’s troubled automotive sector are holding a national strike on Friday for the first time in 20 years, with a massive demonstration crossing the center of Rome. Tens of thousands automotive workers marched through the capital’s streets, waving the unions’ red flags and holding banners asking...
U.S. to probe Tesla’s ‘Full Self-Driving’ system after pedestrian killed in low visibility conditions
DETROIT — The U.S. government’s road safety agency is again investigating Tesla’s “Full Self-Driving” system, this time after getting reports of crashes in low-visibility conditions, including one that killed a pedestrian. The National Highway Safety Administration says in documents that it opened the probe on Thursday with the company reporting...
PPG to lay off 1,800 employees as paints and coatings maker aims to cut costs; local effect unclear
NEW YORK — PPG Industries plans to lay off about 1,800 employees amid efforts to cut costs, with the paints and coatings maker also inking a deal to sell a sizeable chunk of its architectural business. Pittsburgh-based PPG said Thursday the job cuts would primarily impact positions in the U.S....
Defense contractor Raytheon agrees to pay $950 million to resolve bribery, fraud allegations
NEW YORK — RTX Corp., the defense contractor formerly known as Raytheon, agreed Wednesday to pay $950 million to resolve allegations that it defrauded the government and paid bribes to secure business with Qatar. The company entered into deferred prosecution agreements in separate cases in federal court in Brooklyn and...
EXPlore: Pittsburgh Tech Week kicks off with diversity in AI discussion
People of color make up about 37% of the tech industry, while white people account for a little over 60%, according to a 2023 Techreport. Intersectionality of AI & Inclusion was the topic of discussion on the opening day of the EXPlore: Pittsburgh Tech Week on Monday at Google’s Bakery...
What’s behind the widening gender wage gap in the U.S.?
NEW YORK — Just how much of a setback was the covid-19 pandemic for U.S. working women? Although women who lost or left their jobs at the height of the crisis have largely returned to the workforce, a recent finding points to the price many paid for stepping back: In...
Protesters demand Kellogg remove artificial colors from Froot Loops and other cereals
Dozens of people rallied outside the Michigan headquarters of WK Kellogg Co. on Tuesday, demanding the company remove artificial dyes from its breakfast cereals in the U.S. Kellogg, the maker of Froot Loops and Apple Jacks, announced nearly a decade ago it would remove artificial colors and ingredients from its...
U.S. retail trade group expects holiday season sales to grow more slowly
NEW YORK — The largest retail trade group in the United States said Tuesday it expects consumers to spend more during the upcoming holiday shopping season but the growth in sales to be slower than last year because of concerns over persistent inflation and prices. The National Retail Federation said...
John Dorfman: These 5 stocks make up Purloined Portfolio
Just because someone you respect owns a stock is no reason you should own it. On the other hand, you’d be a fool not to consider it. Once a year, I devote a column to stocks that show up in the course of my competition research. I collect a few...
Walgreens to close 1,200 U.S. stores as chain attempts to steady operations at home
Walgreens will close about 1,200 locations over the next three years as the drugstore chain seeks to turnaround a struggling U.S. business that contributed to a $3 billion quarterly loss. The company said Tuesday that about 500 store closures will come in the current fiscal year and should immediately support...
Trump’s economic plans would worsen inflation, experts say
WASHINGTON — With characteristic bravado, Donald Trump has vowed that if voters return him to the White House, “inflation will vanish completely.” It’s a message tailored for Americans who are still exasperated by the jump in consumer prices that began 3 1/2 years ago. Yet most mainstream economists say Trump’s...
Inflation explained: Housing costs driven by supply and demand
When it comes to inflation, the real estate market is a bit of a different animal, according to experts. “Real estate is a very unique marketplace, and it’s driven very much by supply and demand,” said John Petrack, executive vice president for the Realtors Association of Metropolitan Pittsburgh, who’s been...
‘This is the place’: Tech leaders, Shapiro tout Pittsburgh as AI hub
With top-notch universities, a plethora of tech companies and support from local and state leaders, Pittsburgh is at the forefront of innovations in artificial intelligence, industry experts said Monday during an artificial intelligence summit in the city’s East End. Artificial intelligence is becoming increasingly prevalent in daily life, bringing conveniences,...
Documents show OpenAI’s long journey from nonprofit to $157B valued company
Back in 2016, a scientific research organization incorporated in Delaware and based in Mountain View, California, applied to be recognized as a tax-exempt charitable organization by the Internal Revenue Services. Called OpenAI, the nonprofit told the IRS its goal was to “advance digital intelligence in the way that is most...
Boeing to lay off 10% of employees as strike by factory workers cripples airplane production
Boeing plans to lay off about 10% of its workers in the coming months as it continues to lose money and tries to deal with a strike that is crippling production of the company’s best-selling airline planes. New CEO Kelly Ortberg told staff in a memo Friday the job cuts...
TD Bank to pay $3 billion in historic money-laundering settlement with the Justice DepartmentVideo
WASHINGTON — TD Bank will pay approximately $3 billion in a historic settlement with U.S. authorities who said Thursday that the financial institution’s lax practices allowed significant money laundering over multiple years. Canada-based TD Bank pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit money laundering, the largest bank in U.S. history to...
Average U.S. 30-year mortgage rate surges to 6.32%, adding pressure to buyers facing high home prices
The average rate on a 30-year mortgage in the U.S. surged to 6.32% this week, adding pressure on home buyers facing sky-high prices and a limited supply of houses for sale. The rate ticked up from 6.12% last week, mortgage buyer Freddie Mac said Thursday. A year ago, the rate...
Social Security recipients will get a 2.5% cost-of-living boost in 2025, smaller than in recent past
WASHINGTON — Millions of Social Security recipients will get a 2.5% cost-of-living increase to their monthly checks beginning in January, the Social Security Administration announced Thursday. The cost-of-living adjustment, or COLA, for retirees translates to an average increase of more than $50 for retirees every month, agency officials said. About...
U.S. jobless claims hit 258,000, the most in a year. Analysts point to Hurricane Helene, Boeing strike
The number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits last week jumped to its highest level in a year, which analysts are saying is more likely a result of Hurricane Helene — and the Boeing machinist strike — than a broader softening in the labor market. The Labor Department reported Thursday...
U.S. inflation reaches lowest point since February 2021, though some price pressures remain
WASHINGTON — Inflation in the United States dropped last month to its lowest point since it first began surging more than three years ago, adding to a spate of encouraging economic news in the closing weeks of the presidential race. Consumer prices rose just 2.4% in September from a year...
