Business category, Page 21
Clairton Coke Works, site of deadly explosions, stirs both pride and pain
Brian Doyle remembers the explosion that hurled him to the coke plant’s floor — but little else from that day. It was a Wednesday — July 14, 2010 — and Doyle, a steamfitters union member and contractor for Power Piping, was inside the Clairton Coke Works getting ready to repair...
Government forces Air Canada and flight attendants back to work and into arbitration
TORONTO — Canada’s government forced Air Canada and its striking flight attendants back to work and into arbitration Saturday after a work stoppage stranded more than 100,000 travelers around the world during the peak summer travel season. Federal Jobs Minister Patty Hajdu said now is not the time to take...
Tiny chemical safety board, battling to keep funding, launches probe of Clairton explosion
The Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board’s probe into the deadly explosion at the Clairton Coke Works could take a year or more and will include worker interviews, careful examination of daily operations and a cinematic recreation of the blast. The aim is to trace events leading up to the...
U.S. Steel early findings pinpoint gas valve failure as cause of fatal Clairton Coke Works blast
U.S. Steel on Friday pinned blame for the deadly explosion Monday at the Clairton Coke Works on a valve failure that led to coke oven gas igniting, according to the company’s preliminary findings. “Preliminary indications lead us to believe that the explosion happened when flushing a gas valve in preparation...
A look at consumer prices 6 months into the 2nd Trump administration
It’s been a little over six months since President Donald Trump assumed office for his second term. In that time, the economic landscape has shifted quite drastically: The new administration has implemented broad tariffs on U.S. trade partners, the stock market has both plummeted and soared to historic heights, hiring...
Solar panels that fit on your balcony or deck are gaining traction in U.S.
When Terrence Dwyer received a knock on his door and a flyer for a solar panel system small enough to fit on his deck, he was quickly sold. Solar systems that plug into regular wall outlets have been popular in Europe for years and are gaining traction in the U.S....
PNC sues NYC entrepreneur, claims $27M loss in bad-checks scheme
PNC Bank on Thursday sued a New York tech-company founder, accusing him of defrauding it of $27 million in a check-kiting scheme that involved the movement of hundreds of millions of dollars. Dan Herbatschek, a mathematician who founded Ramsey Theory Capital, is named as the lead defendant in the lawsuit,...
Costco forgoes sale of abortion pill, emboldening religious groups
Costco Wholesale Corp. has decided not to dispense the abortion pill mifepristone at its more than 500 pharmacy locations, a decision hailed by a group of faith-based activists who urged the retailer to avoid selling the drug. Costco said in a statement that it hasn’t seen consumer demand for the...
Producer prices surge in July as Trump tariffs push costs higherVideo
WASHINGTON — U.S. wholesale inflation surged unexpectedly last month, signaling that President Donald Trump’s sweeping taxes on imports are pushing costs up and that higher prices for consumers may be on the way. The Labor Department reported Thursday that its producer price index — which measures inflation before it hits...
U.S. applications for jobless benefits fell last week and remain in historically healthy range
The number of Americans filing for jobless benefits fell modestly last week, remaining in the historically low range since the U.S. economy emerged from the covid-19 pandemic. Applications for unemployment benefits for the week ending Aug. 9 fell by 3,000 to 224,000, the Labor Department reported Thursday. That’s below the...
Amazon expands its perishable delivery service, putting pressure on traditional grocers
NEW YORK — Amazon is now rolling out a service where its Prime members can now order their blueberries and milk at the same time as basic items like batteries and T-shirts and get them within hours. The online juggernaut said Wednesday that customers in more than 1,000 cities and...
McDonald’s Japan’s Pokemon card Happy Meals promotion comes to an unhappy end
TOKYO — Fast-food chain McDonald’s Japan has canceled a Happy Meal campaign that came with coveted Pokemon cards, apologizing after resellers rushed to buy the meals and then discarded the food, leaving trash outside stores. The meals, called Happy Sets in Japan, were meant for children. They came with a...
Clairton Coke Works employees stay focused despite deadly blast
Richard Tikey stood by anxiously until every last one of his colleagues was accounted for after a deadly blast Monday morning at the Clairton Coke Works. He felt it was his duty as vice president of the plant’s union local to stay on scene, assist emergency responders and field concerns...
Kodak cautions on business operations but remains confident it can meet debt obligations
The more than 130-year-old Eastman Kodak Co. is cautioning on its business operations, but says it is confident it will be able to work out upcoming debt obligations. “Kodak has debt coming due within 12 months and does not have committed financing or available liquidity to meet such debt obligations...
Spirit Airlines sounds alarm on its future ability to stay in business
NEW YORK — Just five months after emerging from Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, Spirit Airlines is warning about its future ability to stay in business. Spirit Aviation Holdings, the budget carrier’s parent company, says it has “substantial doubt” about its ability to continue as a going concern over the next...
U.S. Steel: No indications of safety concerns prior to Clairton blastVideo
A U.S. Steel executive said Tuesday there were no indications of safety concerns leading up to the explosion a day earlier at the company’s Clairton Coke Works that killed two workers and injured 10 people. “It was a normal course of business yesterday,” said Scott Buckiso, senior vice president and...
U.S. inflation held steady as mild tariff hit offset by cheaper gas, food
WASHINGTON — U.S. inflation was unchanged in July as rising prices for some imported goods were balanced by falling gas and grocery prices, leaving overall prices modestly higher than a year ago. Consumer prices rose 2.7% in July from a year earlier, the Labor Department said Tuesday, the same as...
U.S., China extend trade truce another 90 days, easing tension between world’s largest economies
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump extended a trade truce with China for another 90 days Monday, at least delaying once again a dangerous showdown between the world’s two biggest economies. Trump posted on his Truth Social platform that he signed the executive order for the extension, and that “all other...
Trump nominates conservative economist to head agency that compiles jobs, inflation data
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump said Monday that he has nominated E.J. Antoni, chief economist at the conservative Heritage Foundation, to head the agency that compiles and publishes the nation’s employment and inflation figures. “Our Economy is booming, and E.J. will ensure that the Numbers released are HONEST and ACCURATE,”...
Ford to invest nearly $2 billion in Kentucky assembly plant to produce electric vehicles
LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Ford Motor Co. will invest nearly $2 billion retooling a Kentucky factory to produce electric vehicles that it says will be more affordable, more profitable to build, and will outcompete rival models. The automaker’s top executive unveiled the new EV strategy Monday at Ford’s Louisville Assembly Plant...
Nvidia, AMD to pay 15% of China chip sale revenue to U.S. government
NEW YORK — Nvidia and AMD agreed to share 15% of their revenues from chip sales to China with the U.S. government, a U.S. government official has confirmed. President Donald Trump’s administration halted the sale of advanced computer chips to China back in April over national security concerns, but Nvidia...
A pause on higher tariffs for China is due to expire Tuesday. Here’s what to know
TAIPEI, Taiwan — A 90-day pause on imposing higher tariffs on China is due to expire on Tuesday and it is unclear if it will be extended. After the most recent round of China-U.S. trade talks, held late last month in Stockholm, Chinese and U.S. officials said they expected the...
Forging forward: As contract talks loom, union workers grapple with rift over U.S. Steel-Nippon deal
Brian Pavlack leads something of a rebel faction within the United Steelworkers union. Steelworkers for Trump, started by Pavlack ahead of the November election, gave voice to a growing number of defectors from the union’s traditional Democratic identity. The group mostly lives through Facebook, where it’s some 2,600 accounts strong,...
Instagram rolls out map feature, sparking privacy concerns
Is Instagram the new Snapchat? It seems that way, as a map feature similar to Snap Map was just launched — eliciting mixed reactions from users. instagram showing y’all location oh that’s not pic.twitter.com/Qx9n5dn7zs— kaydenciaga⋆.ೃ࿔*:･ (@i30clip) August 6, 2025 On Wednesday, Meta rolled out several new features on the social...
Trump opens door for private equity and crypto as 401(k) retirement plan options
NEW YORK — Millions of Americans saving for retirement through 401(k) accounts could have the option of putting their money in higher-risk private equity and cryptocurrency investments, according to an executive order signed Thursday by President Donald Trump that could give those financial players long-sought access to a pool of...
