Business category, Page 87
Liz Weston: Retiring wasn’t easy — even after years of writing about it
A couple of years ago, I wrote a column about how to have a retirement worth saving for. It ended with a quote from personal finance educator Barbara O’Neill, who reflected on how the pandemic disrupted many retirees’ plans. “It wasn’t just two years lost, it was two good years,”...
John Dorfman: Four stocks with big rebound potential
A Wall Street adage warns, “Don’t try to catch a falling knife.” I do it frequently. Buying good stocks on bad news is a sound methodology, I believe. You may not catch the exact bottom, but you’re likely to find a good entry point. Each quarter, I compile a Casualty...
Microsoft: State-backed Russian hackers accessed emails of senior leadership team
BOSTON — State-backed Russian hackers broke into Microsoft’s corporate email system and accessed the accounts of members of the company’s leadership team, as well as those of employees on its cybersecurity and legal teams, the company said Friday. In a blog post, Microsoft said the intrusion began in late November...
Winter weather is snarling air travel. Here’s what to do if your flight is canceled
A winter storm made its way across the eastern half of the United States on Wednesday, snarling traffic in the air and on the highways. By early afternoon in the East, more than 1,000 U.S. flights had been canceled and 4,000 others were delayed, according to FlightAware. The brunt of...
Boost for homebuyers: Average long-term mortgage rate falls to 6.6%, lowest level since May
LOS ANGELES — The average long-term U.S. mortgage rate fell this week to its lowest level since May, welcome news for prospective homebuyers facing rising home prices and intense competition for relatively few properties on the market. The average rate on a 30-year mortgage dropped to 6.6% from 6.66% last...
Faculty union, Pa. university system reach potential labor deal
The union representing 5,000 state university faculty across Pennsylvania has reached “an agreement in principle” with leaders of the State System of Higher Education, both parties confirmed Thursday. The agreement followed a full day and night of negotiating. It comes almost seven months after the existing agreement between the Association...
Amazon will invest in Diamond Sports as part of a bankruptcy restructuring agreement
Amazon will partner with Diamond Sports as part of a restructuring agreement as the largest owner of regional sports networks looks to emerge from bankruptcy. Diamond owns 18 networks under the Bally Sports banner. Those networks have the rights to 37 professional teams — 11 baseball, 15 NBA and 11...
Cutting interest rates too soon in Europe risks progress against inflation, central bank chief says
FRANKFURT, Germany — Cutting interest rates too soon could threaten Europe’s progress in battling the inflation that has ravaged the economy, the head of the European Central Bank said Wednesday amid widespread speculation that the bank will soon lower rates from record highs. Christine Lagarde, faced with market expectations for...
The JetBlue-Spirit Airlines merger was blocked by a federal judge. Here’s what you need to know
NEW YORK — The prospect of a JetBlue-Spirit Airlines merger took a major hit in court on Tuesday when a federal judge sided with the Biden administration and blocked the $3.8 billion deal. The judge ruled that JetBlue’s purchase of Spirit, the nation’s largest low-cost airline, would harm competition —...
Overdraft fees could drop to as low as $3 under new Biden proposal
NEW YORK — The cost to overdraw a bank account could drop to as little as $3 under a proposal announced by the White House, the latest effort by the Biden administration to combat fees it says pose an unnecessary burden on American consumers, particularly those living paycheck to paycheck....
The Supreme Court allows a court order to take effect that could cost Apple billions of dollars
WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court on Tuesday allowed a court order to take effect that could loosen Apple’s grip on its lucrative iPhone app store, and potentially affect billions of dollars in revenue a year. The justices rejected Apple’s appeal of lower-court rulings that found some of Apple’s app store...
As legal challenges mount, some companies retool diversity and inclusion programs
NEW YORK — Sophia Danner-Okotie’s has ambitious plans for her Nigerian-inspired clothing line but a sense of dread has punctured her optimism as she watches a legal battle being waged against a small venture capital firm that has provided funding instrumental to her boutique brand’s growth. The case against the...
Pittsburgh’s Adda coffee chain abruptly closes all locations
A small coffee chain has abruptly closed all four of its Pittsburgh locations, and some critics are claiming it is a move to undermine labor organizing. Adda Coffee & Tea House announced late Thursday on social media that it is closing all of its locations, claiming it has been running...
U.S. intensifies oversight of Boeing, will begin production audits after latest mishap for planemaker
The Federal Aviation Administration says it will increase oversight of Boeing and audit the production of the 737 Max 9 jetliner after a panel blew off an Alaska Airlines plane in midflight last week, the latest in a string of mishaps at the troubled aircraft maker. The FAA said Friday...
Cellebrite donates AI investigative tools to nonprofits to help find missing children faster
NEW YORK — John Walsh, advocate for missing children and longtime host of “America’s Most Wanted,” said he feels outmanned by criminals all the time — especially in the courtroom. “I say to myself, ‘My god, the lawyer for this dirtbag predator is smarter and more sophisticated than the cops...
Feds charge eBay over employees who sent live spiders and cockroaches to couple; company to pay $3M
BOSTON — Online retailer eBay Inc., will pay a $3 million fine to resolve criminal charges over a harassment campaign waged by employees who sent live spiders, cockroaches and other disturbing items to the home of a Massachusetts couple, according to court papers filed Thursday. The Justice Department charged eBay...
U.S. inflation edges up, fueled by food and housing prices, but many other costs rise only mildly
WASHINGTON — Higher rents and food prices boosted overall U.S. inflation in December, a sign that the Federal Reserve’s drive to slow inflation to its 2% target will likely remain a bumpy one. Thursday’s report from the Labor Department showed that overall prices rose 0.3% from November and 3.4% from...
Engine maker Cummins to repair, replace 600,000 Ram trucks in $2 billion emissions cheating scandal
The Department of Justice has ordered a recall of 600,000 Ram trucks as part of a settlement that directs engine maker Cummins Inc. to remedy environmental damage it caused when it illegally installed emissions control software in several hundred thousand vehicles, skirting emissions testing. It released new details of the...
Amazon’s Twitch cuts more than 500 jobs attempting to turn expensive platform profitable
Twitch, the video game streaming platform acquired by Amazon a decade ago for close to $1 billion, is laying off more than 500 employees as the company tries to turn the tremendously expensive division profitable. Twitch CEO Dan Clancy in an email to employees said that even with cost cuts...
Meta to hide posts about suicide, eating disorders from teens’ Instagram and Facebook feeds
SAN FRANCISCO — Meta said Tuesday it will start hiding inappropriate content from teenagers’ accounts on Instagram and Facebook, including posts about suicide, self-harm and eating disorders. The social media giant based in Menlo Park, Calif., said in a blog post that while it already aims not to recommend such...
Pittsburgh Planning Commission OKs 6-story apartment building in Bluff with murals on facade
Pittsburgh’s Planning Commission on Tuesday unanimously approved plans for a new apartment building that will prominently display 10 large panels of artwork on its facade. Pittsburgh-based GSX Ventures intends to construct a six-story, 211-unit apartment building, dubbed Phoenix on Forbes, on a 1.4-acre site in the city’s Bluff neighborhood. The...
Faulty valve, ruptured tank thwart ‘soft landing’ on moon for Astrobotic’s PeregrineVideo
Pittsburgh-based space company Astrobotic theorized Tuesday that its lunar mission was undone by a malfunction in the lander’s propulsion equipment. Astrobotic sought to make history with the first commercial lunar landing, but a fuel leak on the spacecraft after launch scuttled any possibility of that. The lander, dubbed Peregrine, has...
Tech company Excelitas commits to moving global HQ to Pittsburgh’s Strip District
A tech company is poised to move its global headquarters to Pittsburgh’s Strip District, showcasing the region’s continuing success at attracting high-tech businesses. Gov. Josh Shapiro announced Tuesday that Excelitas Technologies has committed to occupying roughly 50,000 square feet of space at 2545 Railroad St. in the Strip. Excelitas, a...
Global economy will slow for 3rd straight year in 2024, World Bank predicts
WASHINGTON — Hobbled by high interest rates, persistent inflation, slumping trade and a diminished China, the global economy will slow for a third consecutive year in 2024. That is the picture sketched by the World Bank, which forecast Tuesday that the world economy will expand just 2.4% this year. That...
Government lawyer accuses Comprehensive Healthcare of shorting workers $20M
It wasn’t an isolated issue or the result of a good-faith mistake that employees at Comprehensive Healthcare’s 15 Western Pennsylvania facilities weren’t being paid for all the hours they worked. Instead, a lawyer with the U.S. Department of Labor told a federal judge Monday, it was part of the company’s...
