Business category, Page 96
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...
Pitt names Ken Gabriel as BioForge CEO
The University of Pittsburgh‘s expansive BioForge initiative has hired its inaugural chief executive officer. Kaigham (Ken) J. Gabriel was appointed to the job, Anantha Shekhar, Pitt senior vice chancellor for the health sciences and medical school dean, announced Monday. Gabriel who already has begun his duties also will serve as...
Rostraver used car dealership cited with nearly 800 business infractions
A Rostraver used car dealership is facing nearly 800 charges after, state police said, those running it failed to keep proper business records and post open hours, according to court papers. The charges were filed Monday against Anden Auto. They include one misdemeanor alleging failure to maintain records of sales...
Innovative Polish Hill company looks to future of robotics, technology
Need a robot that can crawl up a metal wall? How about one with suction cup legs that can go almost anywhere? It won’t be long until robots with those abilities and more become common. In fact, you can see them now in Pittsburgh’s Polish Hill neighborhood. HEBI Robotics is...
Boeing still hasn’t fixed this problem on Max jets, so it’s asking for an exemption to safety rules
DALLAS — Boeing is asking federal regulators to exempt a new model of its 737 Max airliner from a safety standard designed to prevent part of the engine housing from overheating and breaking off during flight. Federal officials said last year Boeing was working to fix the hazard on current...
Group representing TikTok, Meta, X sues Ohio over law limiting kids’ use of social media
COLUMBUS, Ohio — A trade group representing TikTok, Snapchat, Meta and other major tech companies sued Ohio on Friday over a pending law that requires children to get parental consent to use social media apps. The law was part of an $86.1 billion state budget bill Republican Gov. Mike DeWine...
U.S. employers add a strong 216,000 jobs in a sign of continued economic strength
WASHINGTON — The nation’s employers added a robust 216,000 jobs last month, the latest sign that the American labor market remains resilient even in the face of sharply higher interest rates. Friday’s government report showed that December’s job gain exceeded the 173,000 that were added in November. The unemployment rate...
LG Electronics partnering with West Virginia to advance renewable energy, telehealth businesses
CHARLESTON, W.Va. — LG Electronics is partnering with the state of West Virginia to develop technologies in renewable energy, telehealth and other industries in a planned $700 million investment over the next five years, Gov. Jim Justice announced. Businesses established in the venture through the South Korea company’s Santa Clara,...
Pittsburgh’s Astrobotic Technology is attempting the first U.S. moon landing since the Apollo missions a half-century ago
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — China and India scored moon landings, while Russia, Japan and Israel ended up in the lunar trash heap. Now two private companies are hustling to get the U.S. back in the game, more than five decades after the Apollo program ended. It’s part of a NASA-supported...
Microsoft’s new AI key is first big change to keyboards in decades
Computer keyboards are making room for an artificial intelligence chatbot button as Microsoft unveils its first major keyboard redesign in three decades. Starting this month, some new personal computers that run Microsoft’s Windows 11 operating system will have a special “Copilot key” that launches the software giant’s AI chatbot. Getting...
Will 2024 be the year employers crack down on remote work? Not so fast
These days, it looks like the bloom is coming off the rose for remote work: Many employers are talking tougher. New research shows employees are actually less productive when they work from home full-time. And, with the tight job market starting to slacken, some predict 2024 will be the year...
New vehicle sales rise 12% as buyers shake off high prices, interest rates, and auto strikesVideo
DETROIT — Undeterred by high prices, rising interest rates, autoworker strikes and a computer-chip shortage that slowed assembly lines, American consumers still bought 15.6 million new vehicles last year, 12% more than in 2022, the biggest increase in more than a decade. Yet sales still haven’t returned to the 17...
Starbucks will let customers use their own cup at the drive-thru
Starbucks customers can now use their own personal cup in stores as well as for mobile orders and at the drive-thru. The initiative is part of the brand’s goal to reduce waste by 50% by 2030. Customers have been able to use their own cup when ordering in Starbucks cafes...
