Business category, Page 179
Pittsburgh area adds jobs in September, loss of workers reflects slow recovery
The Pittsburgh region had 10,000 fewer workers in September than a year ago, despite the availability of the covid vaccine, employers offering higher wages and the federal government eliminating extra jobless benefits. The seven-county region saw the labor force decrease to 1.16 million workers in September, a drop of 13,600...
Stocks gain, pushing the Dow Jones industrials over 36,000 for 1st timeVideo
Wall Street added to its recent run of milestones Tuesday as stock indexes hit new highs again and the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed above 36,000 points for the first time. The Dow and benchmark S&P 500 each rose 0.4%. The Nasdaq gained 0.3%. The three indexes also notched all-time...
Facebook to shut down face-recognition system, delete data
MENLO PARK, Calif. — Facebook said it will shut down its face-recognition system and delete the faceprints of more than 1 billion people amid growing concerns about the technology and its misuse by governments, police and others. “This change will represent one of the largest shifts in facial recognition usage...
U.S. says oil, gas sales damage climate — but won’t stop them
BILLINGS, Mont. — The Biden administration is planning to sell oil and gas leases on huge tracts of public land in the U.S. West, despite the Interior Department’s conclusion that doing so could cost society billions of dollars in climate change impacts. Administration officials announced last week that government regulators...
U.S. files antitrust suit to stop major book publisher merger
The Justice Department is suing to block a $2.2 billion book publishing deal that would have reshaped the industry, saying consolidation would hurt authors and, ultimately, readers. German media giant Bertelsmann’s Penguin Random House, already the largest American publisher, wants to buy New York-based Simon & Schuster, whose authors include...
Kennametal revenues rise, net income up
Kennametal Corp.’s sales jumped by 26% in the July-through-September quarter compared with a year ago and earnings per share rose 69 cents from the same quarter a year ago, the company said Monday. The Pittsburgh-based maker of metalworking tools said it earned 43 cents a share on sales of $483.5...
Major Wall Street stock indexes eke out more record highs
Stocks closed with modest gains Monday on Wall Street, extending the major indexes’ recent record-setting run. The S&P 500 rose 0.2% after spending much of the day wavering between small gains and losses. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 0.3% and the Nasdaq rose 0.6%. The gains pushed the three...
Coca-Cola acquires remainder of sports drink BodyArmor for $5.6BVideo
Coca-Cola Co. is making a multibillion-dollar bet on the sports drink brand BodyArmor as part of a larger push to diversify its offerings. Coke said Monday it paid $5.6 billion for the remaining 85% of BodyArmor. Coke originally bought a 15% stake in the BodyArmor in 2018. Coke confirmed that...
John Dorfman: AMC may be ugly, but it’s winning Keynesian beauty contest
John Maynard Keynes, a canny investor as well as a famous British economist, wrote in 1936 that the stock market resembles a beauty contest, with a twist. The goal, he said, is not to select the contestants who are “really the prettiest,” but rather those whom the other judges will...
Happy Halloween: Gaming platform Roblox is back online
The popular gaming site Roblox went back online Sunday after being down for most of the weekend. The online platform crashed Friday. In a statement, the company tweeted Sunday evening that “Roblox is back online everywhere! Thank you for your continued patience as we get back to normal.” The company...
‘Deja vu all over again’: American Airlines cancels hundreds more flights Sunday
DALLAS — American Airlines has canceled nearly 700 flights so far Sunday, adding to more than 1,000 already called off as the airline struggled to recover from slowed operations caused by weather on Thursday and Friday. Nearly a quarter of the mainline operations for the Fort Worth-based carrier were sidelined...
Broad gains for stocks push S&P 500, Nasdaq to record highsVideo
A broad rally for stocks on Wall Street sent the S&P 500 and Nasdaq to new highs Thursday, as the market more than made up for modest losses a day earlier. The S&P 500 rose 1%, posting its third all-time high this week. More than 80% of the stocks in...
Merck envisions billions from covid-19 treatment sales
Merck fell out of the race to develop covid-19 vaccines earlier this year but could vault to head of the pack for treatments in 2022. The drugmaker’s potential antiviral, molnupiravir, may generate $5 billion to $7 billion in sales through next year, company executives told analysts Thursday morning. That could...
In the middle of a crisis, Facebook Inc. renames itself MetaVideo
OAKLAND, Calif. — Like many companies in trouble before it, Facebook is changing its name and logo. Facebook Inc. is now called Meta Platforms Inc., or Meta for short, to reflect what CEO Mark Zuckerberg said Thursday is its commitment to developing the new surround-yourself technology known as the “...
What’s a ‘wealth tax’ and how would it work?
To help pay for his big economic and social agenda, President Joe Biden is looking to go where the big money is: billionaires. Biden never endorsed an outright “wealth tax” when he campaigned for the White House last year. But his more conventional proposed rate increases on the income of...
New home sales jumped 14% in September
WASHINGTON — Sales of new homes jumped 14% in September to the fastest pace in six months as strong demand helped offset rising prices. The Commerce Department reported Tuesday that sales of new single-family homes rose to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 800,000 units last month which was well...
GM program to install more EV chargers across U.S., Canada
General Motors is planning to install up to 40,000 electric vehicle chargers across the U.S. and Canada as part of a new community charging program. The vehicle maker said Tuesday that the program will start next year. It will work with its dealers to have the charging stations in locations...
‘Buy it when you see it’: Retailers dread holiday shortages
NEW YORK — The Perfect Pigg, a gift shop owned by Ginger Pigg, is the go-to place for residents of Cumming, Ga., to pick up gift items like kids toys and home goods. But this year, store shelves might be a little sparse. Because of bottlenecks in the global supply...
Hertz order for Teslas ranks among biggest-ever EV purchasesVideo
DETROIT — Hertz announced Monday that it will buy 100,000 electric vehicles from Tesla, one of the largest purchases of battery-powered cars in history and the latest evidence of the nation’s increasing commitment to EV technology. The purchase by one of the world’s leading rental car companies reflects its confidence...
Tesla wants to keep secret its response in Autopilot probe
DETROIT — Tesla wants to keep secret its response to the U.S. government’s request for information in an investigation of its Autopilot partially automated driving system. The electric vehicle maker sent a partial response by a Friday deadline to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, which is investigating how the...
People or profit? Facebook papers show deep conflict within company
Facebook the company is losing control of Facebook the product — not to mention the last shreds of its carefully crafted, decade-old image as a benevolent company just wanting to connect the world. Thousands of pages of internal documents provided to Congress by a former employee depict an internally conflicted...
Stocks end mostly higher, enough for S&P 500 to set recordVideo
A wobbly day of trading on Wall Street left major stock indexes mostly higher Thursday, nudging the S&P 500 to an all-time high. The benchmark index bounced back from an early slide to rise 0.3%, its seventh straight gain. The S&P 500 eclipsed the record high it set on Sept....
G-20 leaders lower ambitions to ‘consign coal to history’
Group of 20 diplomats have all but given up on their lofty goal of consigning coal to history and are instead closing in on a more modest plan to stop governments funding foreign coal-fired power plants, according to people familiar with the situation. With the energy crisis changing the dynamics...
California proposes new oil drilling ban near neighborhoods
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — California’s oil and gas regulator on Thursday proposed that the state ban new oil drilling within 3,200 feet of schools, homes and hospitals to protect public health in what would be the nation’s largest buffer zone between oil wells and communities. It’s the latest effort by Democratic...
Volvo adds 195,000 vehicles to recall for dangerous air bags
DETROIT — Volvo is recalling another 195,000 vehicles in the U.S. because the front driver’s air bags could explode and send shrapnel into the cabin. It’s the company’s third U.S. recall for the issue with air bag inflators made by supplier ZF/TRW. It stems from the death of an unidentified...
