Business category, Page 239
John Dorfman: T. Rowe Price, Align Technology, PetMed Express show high profit, low debt
Ask some average investors how to identify a company that’s doing well. They will probably reply, “Good earnings growth and a rising stock price.” Well, sure, those things are fine. But I feel that most investors neglect at least two other important characteristics: high profitability and low debt. High profits...
Auto workers chief, prosecutor to discuss reforming union
DETROIT — The head of the United Auto Workers will meet this month with the U.S. attorney in Detroit to discuss potential changes for the union following a wide-ranging corruption probe. Matthew Schneider, the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Michigan, has floated the idea of the government taking...
Stocks erase an early loss after Fed widens bond purchasesVideo
NEW YORK — Wall Street rallied back from a sharp, early slump on Monday to notch modest gains after the Federal Reserve unveiled its latest push to prop up the economy. The S&P 500 climbed 0.8% in the latest day of big swings for global markets, as a remarkable, weekslong...
Hotels in Westmoreland County, impacted by coronavirus, could see growth in coming years
Hotels in Westmoreland County are expected to stray from national numbers depicting a ravaged travel industry following the coronavirus pandemic, making way for close to a full recovery and leaving room for future growth, local leaders said. Nationally, occupancy rates could plummet by 28% this year, a drop that is...
Fed’s Jerome Powell to bring sober message this week to Capitol Hill
WASHINGTON — Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell will deliver a cautionary message about the economy and covid-19 when he appears twice this week on Capitol Hill. His remarks to lawmakers are widely expected to echo the mostly downbeat assessment he gave Wednesday after policymakers held interest rates near zero at...
Care-free days at theme parks giving way to virus safeguards
TOLEDO, Ohio — Hugs from Mickey Mouse are out at Walt Disney World. So is bunching up at Six Flags to snag a front-seat roller coaster ride. But the season won’t be completely lost for thrill-seekers. Carefree days of sharing cotton candy on crowded midways will give way this year...
Stocks bounce higher on Wall Street a day after big rout
Stocks moved higher on Wall Street in afternoon trading Friday, recouping some of their losses a day after the market had its biggest rout since mid-March. The S&P 500 was up 0.7% a day after dropping 5.9%. The benchmark index is still headed for a weekly loss following three weeks...
Band-Aid is expanding bandage skin tone options
Band-Aid is embracing diversity. Johnson & Johnson announced Thursday it would be rolling out several new skin tone colors for its bandages. “We hear you. We see you. We’re listening to you,” the company said in a post on its Instagram page. “We are committed to launching a range of...
URA, Citizens Bank donate $15,000 to Pittsburgh Black Business Relief Fund
A local consulting agency that seeks to advance black businesses in the Pittsburgh area has secured a $15,000 grant via a joint effort from the Urban Redevelopment Authority of Pittsburgh and Citizens Bank. Cocoapreneur has started the Pittsburgh Black Business Relief Fund to alleviate the financial burden for black-owned businesses...
Microsoft joins Amazon, IBM in pausing face scans for police
Microsoft has become the third big tech company this week to say it won’t sell its facial recognition software to police, following similar moves by Amazon and IBM. Microsoft’s president and chief counsel, Brad Smith, announced the decision and called on Congress to regulate the technology during a Washington Post...
Dow sinks 1,800 as virus cases rise, deflating optimismVideo
The Dow Jones industrials lost more than 1,800 points, nearly 7%, as increases in coronavirus cases deflated optimism that the economy could recover quickly from its worst crisis in decades. The pullback Thursday comes after the market has been screeching higher for more than two months at a pace that...
1.5 million more laid-off workers seek unemployment benefits – Jun. 11, 2020Video
WASHINGTON — About 1.5 million laid-off workers applied for U.S. unemployment benefits last week, evidence that many Americans are still losing their jobs even as the economy appears to be slowly recovering with more businesses partially reopening. The latest figure from the Labor Department marked the 10th straight weekly decline...
Just Eat swallows Grubhub creating restaurant delivery giant
Two pioneers in restaurant delivery — Just Eat Takeaway.com and Grubhub — are combining in a $7.3 billion deal that will create one of the world’s largest delivery companies. Amsterdam-based Just Eat Takeaway.com said late Wednesday that it was acquiring Chicago-based Grubhub, snatching it away from ride-hailing giant Uber, which...
Amazon bans police use of its face recognition for a year
NEW YORK — Amazon on Wednesday banned police use of its face-recognition technology for a year, making it the latest tech giant to step back from law-enforcement use of systems that have been criticized for incorrectly identifying people with darker skin. The Seattle-based company did not say why it took...
Fed to keep buying bonds and sees no rate hike through 2022
WASHINGTON — The Federal Reserve says it will keep buying bonds to maintain low borrowing rates and support the U.S. economy in the midst of a recession. And it says nearly all the Fed’s policymakers foresee no rate hike through 2022. The Fed has cut its benchmark short-term rate to...
Ford, VW to collaborate on vans, pickup, electric vehicleVideo
DEARBORN, Mich. — Ford and Volkswagen will each offer a small city van, a larger cargo van, a small pickup truck and an electric vehicle as part of their global alliance announced last year. The companies announced some details of what the venture will yield Wednesday, with the city van...
Stocks slide on glum growth forecast, eye Fed decisionVideo
BANGKOK — World shares turned lower on Wednesday after a downbeat forecast for the global economy and as investors awaited the outcome of a Federal Reserve policy meeting. Markets in Europe and Wall Street futures shed their gains and were largely down for the day after the Organization for Economic...
Kennametal to cut global workforce 10% by end of year
Facing a weakness in its industrial markets caused by the covid-19 pandemic, Kennametal Inc. said Tuesday it is accelerating its plans to permanently cut about 10% of its salaried workforce, a reduction on a global scale it expects to substantially complete by the end of the year. Kennametal, an industrial...
4 casinos in region reopen with safety measures; 5th reopens Friday
The familiar ping of slot machines returned to four casinos in the region after a three-month closure due to public safety concerns caused by the coronavirus. The Meadows Racetrack & Casino in Washington County joined the Rivers Casino on Pittsburgh’s North Shore Tuesday as they reopened since being ordered to...
CrossFit founder, dropped by Reebok, apologizes about tweet
SILVER SPRING, Md. — The founder of CrossFit is apologizing for a Twitter post he made about racial inequality protests after Reebok cut ties with his company. On Saturday, the Institute of Health Metrics and Evaluation tweeted: “Racism is a Public Health Issue.” In a response, also on Twitter, CrossFit...
Tailoring portfolios to coronavirus and recession
February through May, my firm has been recasting our clients’ portfolios to reflect a continuing coronavirus epidemic and a recession of unknown length. We maintain a Model Portfolio, and about three quarters of our client accounts track it pretty closely. Here are the stocks in it, all of which I...
Union demands Pittsburgh Post-Gazette rescind ban on some journalists covering protests
The union representing Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reporters demanded Monday management rescind their ban on two black journalists covering protests over the death of George Floyd. The situation began to unfold a week ago, according to Michael Fuoco, president of the Newspaper Guild of Pittsburgh, which represents most newsroom employees at the...
A U.S. recession began in February in the face of coronavirusVideo
WASHINGTON — The U.S. economy entered a recession in February as the coronavirus struck the nation, a group of economists declared Monday, ending the longest expansion on record. The economists said that employment, income and spending peaked in February and then fell sharply afterward as the viral outbreak shut down...
Most stocks on Wall Street rise again on hopes for economyVideo
NEW YORK — Most stocks are rising on Wall Street as markets continue to ride the high supplied by Friday’s surprisingly encouraging report on the U.S. jobs market. The S&P 500 was up 0.3% in morning trading on Monday, bringing it back within 5.4% of its record set in February,...
Left out: More workers now losing hope of getting back jobs
NEW YORK — Eric Benz didn’t worry very much when his graphic design firm in Atlanta laid him off in March. He felt sure he’d be recalled to work once the viral pandemic eased and his firm’s clients resumed spending. Three months later, there’s been no call. Instead, Benz has...
