Business category, Page 140

WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden on Wednesday warned oil and gas companies against increasing prices for consumers as Hurricane Ian neared landfall along Florida’s southwest coast. “Do not, let me repeat, do not use this as an excuse to raise gasoline prices or gouge the American people,” Biden said at...

PORTLAND, Ore. — A renewable energy plant being commissioned in Oregon on Wednesday that combines solar power, wind power and massive batteries to store the energy generated there is the first utility-scale plant of its kind in North America. The project, which will generate enough electricity to power a small...

Spotlight PA is an independent, nonpartisan newsroom powered by The Philadelphia Inquirer in partnership with PennLive/The Patriot-News, TribLIVE/Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, and WITF Public Media. Sign up for our free newsletters. HARRISBURG — Pennsylvania’s rent and property tax rebate program — which helps older and disabled residents offset the rising cost of...

NEW YORK — Stocks gave up early gains and turned lower in afternoon trading on Wall Street on Tuesday as markets stagger amid recession worries. The volatile trading comes a day after a broad sell-off sent the Dow Jones Industrial Average into a bear market, joining other major U.S. indexes....

LONDON — The British pound stabilized Tuesday as U.K. authorities tried to ease investor concerns after the biggest tax cuts in 50 years sent the currency tumbling to a record low the previous day. The turmoil is already having real-world effects, with several British mortgage lenders pulling offers from the...

The largest stocks dominate the headlines — and investors’ wallets. So even though I’m fond of off-the-beaten-path stocks, once a year I give my buy-or-avoid ratings on the 20 largest stocks. Today’s the day. • Apple Inc. (AAPL, $2.4 trillion market value). Buy. The company’s iPhones and Mac computers have...

Ollie’s Bargain Outlet president and CEO John Swygert described the last two-and-a-half years as “a total rollercoaster ride.” “It was a challenge from every aspect you could think of,” he said. In December 2019, co-founder and longtime Ollie’s CEO Mark Butler died unexpectedly at the age of 61. Butler was...

WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden announced a new initiative Monday that would eventually allow consumers to see a more complete price on airline tickets — including baggage and change fees — before they buy, as the White House continues to search for ways to lower costs for Americans amid persistently...

LONDON — The pound is taking a pounding. The British currency has taken a plunge, sliding against the U.S. dollar to touch an all-time low. It’s a sign of the alarm in financial markets over new Prime Minister Liz Truss’ emergency budget measures unveiled last week aimed at jump-starting the...

Amazon said Monday that next month it will hold a second Prime Day-like shopping event, making it the latest major retailer to offer holiday deals earlier this year to entice cautious consumers struggling with tighter budgets. During the Oct. 11-12 event, Amazon Prime members will get early access to discounted...

DALLAS — The government’s antitrust lawsuit against American Airlines and JetBlue begins Tuesday and the outcome could determine how closely the Biden administration examines other airline deals, including JetBlue’s pending attempt to buy Spirit Airlines. The Justice Department and six states are suing American and JetBlue to break up their...

WASHINGTON — A federal judge has rejected the Justice Department’s bid to block a major U.S. sugar manufacturer from acquiring its rival, clearing the way for the acquisition to proceed. The ruling, handed down Friday by a federal judge in Wilmington, Delaware, comes months after the Justice Department sued to...

Cookin’ with gas? Maybe not for long. According to CBS News, “major cities across the U.S. are passing bans on gas stoves and other appliances that run on natural gas because of their planet-warming emissions.” About 80 local governments — mostly in California — have passed laws requiring or encouraging...

LOS ANGELES — Jet fuel prices have been dropping dramatically since May, and the nation’s airlines now have more workers on staff than before the pandemic. So Americans preparing for Thanksgiving and Christmas travel should expect lower airfares and fewer delays and cancellations, right? Don’t get your hopes up. Ticket...

Stocks tumbled worldwide Friday on more signs the global economy is weakening, just as central banks raise the pressure even more with additional interest rate hikes. The S&P 500 fell 2.3% in early afternoon trading, adding a dismal cap on what’s already been a rough week. It’s almost all the...

SAVANNAH, Ga. — U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock urged the U.S. Treasury secretary Friday to use “maximum flexibility” in implementing a revised tax credit for Americans buying electric vehicles, a perk that Hyundai stands to lose as the automaker invests billions of dollars to open its first American EV plant in...

WASHINGTON — Average long-term U.S. mortgage rates jumped by more than a quarter-point this week to their highest level since 2008 as the Federal Reserve intensified its effort to tamp down decades-high inflation and cool the economy. Mortgage buyer Freddie Mac reported Thursday that the 30-year rate climbed to 6.29%,...

NEW YORK — Walmart and Target plan to begin offering deals and price matching offers earlier this year to keep up with Americans pressed by soaring inflation and looking for ways to ease the potential sting of holiday shopping. For two years now, shoppers have started preparing for the holidays...

NEW YORK — Home Depot workers in Philadelphia have filed a petition with the federal labor board to form what could be the first store-wide union at the world’s largest home improvement retailer. The petition, filed with the National Labor Relations Board this week, seeks to form a collective bargaining...

Disgruntled Airbnb guests are taking to Twitter and TikTok to vent about everything from cleaning fees to misleading listings. But they aren’t the only ones with complaints: Airbnb hosts themselves have become increasingly disillusioned with the platform and its disrespectful guests. On message boards and Facebook groups, hosts are sharing...

Sales of previously occupied U.S. homes slowed in August for the seventh month in a row, as sharply higher mortgage rates and rising prices made homebuying less affordable, further cooling the once red-hot housing market. The National Association of Realtors said Wednesday that existing home sales fell 0.4% last month...

NEW YORK — Walmart said it will hire 40,000 U.S. workers for the holidays, a majority of them seasonal workers. The move, announced Wednesday, comes as the nation’s largest retailer and largest private employer said it’s in a stronger staffing position heading into the holidays than last year and is...