Business category, Page 89
The New York Times sues OpenAI, Microsoft over the use of its stories to train chatbots
NEW YORK — The New York Times has filed a federal lawsuit against OpenAI and Microsoft seeking to end the practice of using its stories to train chatbots, saying that copyright infringements at the paper alone could be worth billions. The paper joins a growing list of individuals and publishers...
Apple seeks a way in court to keep 2 of its best watches on shelves during bitter patent dispute
Apple filed an emergency motion seeking court permission to begin selling two of its most popular watches again until a final decision on its broader appeal in a bitter patent dispute is decided. The company cut off sales right before the Christmas holiday and in a motion filed Tuesday, Apple...
Americans ramped up spending over holidays despite some financial anxiety, higher costs
NEW YORK — Holiday sales rose this year and spending remained resilient during the shopping season even with Americans wrestling with higher prices in some areas and other financial worries, according to the latest measure. Holiday sales from the beginning of November through Christmas Eve climbed 3.1%, a slower pace...
What stores are open and closed on Christmas Day in 2023? Hours for Walmart, Starbucks, CVS and more
NEW YORK — With Christmas right around the corner, you might want to check the list of what stores are open (and closed) twice. From retail to grocery chains, many companies across the U.S. close early on Christmas Eve and shut their doors entirely on Christmas Day — while others...
Here are some ways you can reduce financial stress during the holidays
NEW YORK — The holidays are supposed to be a joyful time, but they can also be financially stressful. With gifts, social gatherings and plane tickets home, the costs can start piling up. Household expenses continue to rise and many Americans are expressing concern about their financial futures, according to...
U.S. Steel sale will create new jobs, spark investment in Mon Valley, analyst says
John C. Tumazos thinks unions and Pennsylvania politicians have gotten the U.S. Steel sale all wrong. The Wilkinsburg-bred metals industry analyst said Nippon Steel’s $14.9 billion acquisition of the Pittsburgh-based steel icon will not trigger mass layoffs in Southwestern Pennsylvania or encourage the new owners to idle mills. Instead, the...
Still haven’t bought holiday gifts? Retailers have a sale for you
NEW YORK — Retailers are stepping up sales and other enticements in the final days before Christmas to lure shoppers who’ve been waiting for the best deals, or who didn’t have the time or the urge to wrap up gift-buying early. Incentives to spend last minute are an extension of...
Hydrogen tax credit plan unveiled as Biden administration tries to jump start industry
WASHINGTON — The Biden administration released its highly anticipated proposal for doling out billions of dollars in tax credits to hydrogen producers Friday, in a massive effort to build out an industry that some hope can be a cleaner alternative to fossil fueled power. The U.S. credit is the most...
Fed’s favored inflation gauge tumbles in November as price pressures continue to ease
WASHINGTON — The Federal Reserve’s preferred measure of inflation fell last month in another sign that price pressures easing in the face of the central bank’s interest rate hikes. Friday’s report from the Commerce Department showed that U.S. consumer prices slid 0.1% last month from October and rose 2.6% from...
Were your holiday deliveries stolen? What to know about porch piracy and what you can do about it
NEW YORK — You found the perfect holiday gift online. You ordered it. A notification arrived on your phone, showing the package had arrived. But when you open your doors, the parcel is nowhere to be found. If this has happened to you, then count yourself among the unlucky group...
Apple loses latest bid to avert patent dispute that has halted online U.S. sales of 2 watch models
CUPERTINO, Calif. — Apple on Thursday stopped online sales of two popular models of its internet-connected watch in the U.S. after losing its latest attempt to untangle a patent dispute that’s blocking it from using some of the technology on the device. Both the Apple Watch Series 9 and Ultra...
Homebuilders step up construction of single-family homes as 30-year mortgage rate eases below 7%
LOS ANGELES — Homebuilders are stepping up construction of single-family homes following a steady decline in mortgage rates and broad expectations among economists that home loan borrowing costs will ease further next year. Builders broke ground on single-family homes in November at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of about 1.14...
U.S. unemployment claims rise slightly, remain at low levels despite higher interest rates
WASHINGTON — The number of Americans applying for unemployment benefits rose slightly last week but still remained at historically low levels despite high interest rates intended to slow hiring and cool the economy. The Labor Department reported Thursday that jobless claims were up by 2,000 to 205,000 the week that...
Giant Eagle to move headquarters to Cranberry
Giant Eagle plans to move its headquarters from the RIDC Park in O’Hara to Cranberry. Officials said Wednesday the company signed a long-term lease on a four-story, 100,000-square-foot building at 700 Cranberry Woods Drive in the Cranberry Woods Business Park. It declined to renew its lease at 701 Alpha Drive...
Rite Aid banned from facial recognition tech use for 5 years after faulty theft targeting in stores
Rite Aid has been banned from using facial recognition technology for five years over allegations that its surveillance system was used incorrectly to identify potential shoplifters, especially Black, Latino, Asian or female shoppers. The settlement with the Federal Trade Commission addresses charges that the struggling drugstore chain didn’t do enough...
Toyota recalling 1 million vehicles for potential air bag problem
Toyota Motor Co. said Wednesday it is recalling 1 million vehicles over a defect that could cause airbags not to deploy, increasing the risk of injury. The recall covers a range of Toyota and Lexus vehicles with model years from 2020 to 2022. Included in the recall are Toyota Avalons,...
Pennsylvania senators, congressman urge federal committee to block foreign sale of U.S. Steel
Three Democratic U.S. lawmakers from Pennsylvania are calling for a federal committee to block the proposed sale of U.S. Steel to Japan-based Nippon Steel, citing national security concerns. In a letter Tuesday to U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, Sens. Bob Casey and John Fetterman and U.S. Rep. Chris Deluzio said...
Pitt top officials to receive 4% raises
Seven senior leaders at the University of Pittsburgh will see pay increases of 4% next year, bringing their base salaries to between $271,000 and nearly $1.1 million. The new pay levels were endorsed Tuesday morning by the Pitt Board of Trustees’ Compensation Committee and then approved by the full Board...
Google to pay $700 million to U.S. states, consumers in app store settlement
Google has agreed to pay $700 million and make several other concessions to settle allegations that it had been stifling competition against its Android app store — the same issue that went to trial in another case that could result in even biggthe er changes. Although Google struck the deal...
Independence Health: Hospitals post positive operating revenue but health system losses remain
Independence Health System’s five hospitals posted positive operating revenue for the fiscal year ending June 30, hospital officials said Monday, even as the former Butler and Excela health systems individually lost millions of dollars in that 12-month period. Latrobe Area Hospital topped all the other health system hospitals — Butler...
John Dorfman: Picking through the rubble of this year’s hardest-hit stocks
As each year draws to a close, I like to sift through the debris of the year’s worst-performing stocks. Usually I can find one or two that strike me as bargains. This year, among all U.S. stocks with a market value of $5 billion or more, the worst performers are:...
U.S. Steel workers in Western Pa. unsure what Nippon deal means for local mills, their future
Third-generation steelworker Don Jackson said he’s seen how mill owners weathering an economic downturn can cripple a city. In Pittsburgh in 1984, a year after Jackson graduated from high school, J&L Steel shuttered the 140-year-old South Side mill that sat just a mile from Jackson’s Arlington home. At its peak,...
How to manage holiday spending when you’re dealing with student loan debt
NEW YORK — For Nicole Plauché and her family, Christmas is the time of the year where they can use their preferred love language: gift giving. This year, however, Plauché is worried about how much she can afford to spend on gifts. Her main struggle? Student loan payments. “It just...
Love it or hate it, self-checkout is here to stay. But it’s going through a reckoning
NEW YORK — The promise of self-checkout was alluring: Customers could avoid long lines by scanning and bagging their own items, workers could be freed of doing those monotonous tasks themselves and retailers could save on labor costs. All that has happened since the rollout of self-checkout but so has...
U.S. Steel to be bought by Japanese company for $14.9B, but will keep name, Pittsburgh HQVideo
U.S. Steel would retain its name and headquarters in Western Pennsylvania under a $14.9 billion deal announced Monday with Japan’s largest steelmaker, but ownership of the venerable Pittsburgh company would be shipped overseas. The deal comes after months of speculation and U.S. Steel weighing multiple offers from suitors. In the...
