Business category, Page 242
Pandemic job losses hit tourism-dependent states hardest
HONOLULU — The coronavirus pandemic has been particularly brutal to the tourism-dependent economies of Nevada and Hawaii, lifting the unemployment rate in both states to about one-quarter of the workforce. Nevada topped the nation with an April unemployment rate of 28.2%, the worst any state has seen since the national...
Stocks end lower on Wall Street as US-China tensions continue
Stocks closed broadly lower on Wall Street on Thursday as investors weighed more data showing the economic damage being caused by the coronavirus pandemic and another flareup in tensions between the U.S. and China. The S&P 500 fell 0.8%, shedding some of the gains it made in a solid rally...
Victoria’s Secret, Bath & Body Works closing some stores in U.S.
About 250 Victoria’s Secret stores and around 50 Bath & Body Works stores will be closing for good in the United States and Canada, according to news from the chain’s parent company L Brands. USA Today reports a quarterly earnings report by the parent company says sales have declined 37%...
Another 2.4 million apply for unemployment benefits, 39 million in all since coronavirus hit
WASHINGTON — More than 2.4 million people applied for U.S. unemployment benefits last week in the latest wave of layoffs from the viral outbreak that triggered widespread business shutdowns two months ago and sent the economy into a deep recession. Roughly 38.6 million people have now filed for jobless aid...
Pandemic could push Macy’s to losses exceeding $1 billion
NEW YORK — Macy’s is warning that it could lose more than a $1 billion during its first quarter after the coronavirus pandemic paralyzed retail operations nationwide. Sales, the New York department store said in a preliminary report Thursday, could plummet to around $3 billion, down 45% from the $5.5...
3M billed government $7.63 for 85-cent earplugs. It now has $1 billion covid contract
WASHINGTON — The company that has been awarded the largest single covid-19 federal contract once boasted it charged the Defense Department $7.63 for earplugs that cost 85 cents a pair to produce. That company, 3M, was awarded a $1 billion contract on April 15 for “medical and surgical instruments, equipment...
Ford shuts down Dearborn Truck Plant when worker tests positive for coronavirus
DETROIT — Ford Motor Company shut down its Dearborn Truck Plant on Wednesday afternoon because of coronavirus, releasing its early shift of UAW hourly workers. “They sent everybody home,” said a UAW worker who asked not to be named for fear of disciplinary action. “We probably got 800 people there....
In wake of coronavirus, Excela’s ink runs from black to red with nearly $36 million in losses
Editor’s note: This story has been updated to reflect the current title of Excela Health CEO John Sphon. Until early March, the financial turnaround that Excela Health officials had been expecting for the past year was in full swing. Just two months later, a nearly $3 million profit has turned...
Western Pa. Gordmans stores could close after parent company files for bankruptcy
Several local Gordmans stores, including those in Allegheny Township, East Huntingdon and Rostraver, are at risk of closing for good, another victim of the coronavirus pandemic that left stores largely shuttered across the country. Houston, Texas-based Stage Stores Inc. — the parent company of Gordmans, which has been in operation...
Stocks head higher on Wall Street a day after a late slide
Technology companies powered broad gains for stocks on Wall Street in midday trading Wednesday, as the market bounced back from a sudden drop a day earlier. The S&P 500 was up 1.9%, more than it lost on Tuesday, when the index snapped a three-day winning streak. Crude oil prices headed...
Royal Caribbean loses $1.4 billion in first quarterVideo
NEW YORK — Royal Caribbean lost $1.4 billion in the first quarter after the coronavirus forced its entire fleet to port. Wall Street, however, overlooked the massive loss Wednesday, focusing instead on bookings for next year. The Miami cruise company said that bookings for 2021 are within “historical ranges.” Shares...
Target’s online push readied it for pandemicVideo
NEW YORK — Online sales at Target more than doubled as the pandemic put millions in lockdown during the first quarter, revealing further the critical role big box stores played in getting supplies to an immobilized population. The Minneapolis company reported Wednesday that comparable-store sales, which include online purchases, rose...
Pier 1 Imports to close down all stores
Pier 1 Imports, the home decor retailer, announced Tuesday that it will begin closing all of its company’s 540 stores once they are able to reopen following mandated shutdowns. The company, which filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in February, said it was forced to shutter stores because it was...
Who got what? Details scant on small-business relief effortVideo
WASHINGTON — A small, overlooked federal agency is shouldering a massive relief effort for the nation’s small businesses and their workers left reeling by the pandemic. The Small Business Administration has committed to auditing every sizable emergency loan it approves. But six weeks after the $600 billion-plus program was launched,...
Stocks open lower on Wall Street as gloom settles back inVideo
NEW YORK — Stocks are opening lower on Wall Street on Tuesday, a day after the market had its biggest jump in more than five weeks. Banks and health care companies were posting the biggest losses in the early going, while technology companies kept up their winning streak. Earnings reports...
EasyJet reveals ‘sophisticated’ hack of customer details
LONDON — U.K.-based budget airline easyJet said Tuesday that “highly sophisticated” hackers accessed the email addresses and travel details of approximately 9 million customers. It also said that following a “forensic” investigation, it found that the credit card details of only 2,208 people were accessed and that those affected have...
Walmart’s online sales surge 74% amid coronavirusVideo
NEW YORK — Walmart became a lifeline to millions of people as the coronavirus spread and its profit and sales surged during the first quarter, topping almost all expectations. Online sales jumped 74%, fueled by a rush on canned foods, paper towels and other supplies as people sheltered in place....
Trump points to good news as restaurant owners tell of fearsVideo
WASHINGTON — Restaurant owners gave President Donald Trump a sobering accounting of the widespread damage the coronavirus pandemic has dealt their industry and asked him to adjust a loan program for small businesses to address their concerns. The president put a hopeful spin on the situation, saying encouraging news on...
John Dorfman: 4 stocks you should sell right now
Weeding isn’t just for gardens. I recommend that investors weed their portfolios at least once a year. Since the United States faces a recession — a stiff one, in my view — this is a good time to look at your holdings and weed out companies that have high debt,...
J.C. Penney plans to close more than 240 stores
NEW YORK — J.C. Penney will close almost 30% of its 846 stores as part of a restructuring under bankruptcy protection. The Plano, Texas, retailer said Monday that it plans to close about 192 stores by February 2021, and then 50 additional stores in the year after that. That would...
Uber cuts 3,000 jobs as virus slashes payroll by 25%Video
NEW YORK — Uber has cut 3,000 jobs from its workforce, its second major wave of layoffs in two weeks as the coronavirus slashed demand for rides. The San Francisco company has cut a quarter of its workforce since the year began, eliminating 3,700 people from the payroll earlier this...
Stocks rally on hopes for vaccine and economic recoveryVideo
NEW YORK — The stock market bounced back from its worst week in nearly two months Monday as optimism about a potential vaccine for the coronavirus and hopes for a U.S. economic recovery in the second half of the year put investors in a buying mood. The S&P 500 climbed...
Pandemic claims another retailer: 118-year-old J.C. Penney
NEW YORK — The coronavirus pandemic has pushed the storied but troubled department store chain J.C. Penney into Chapter 11 bankruptcy. It is the fourth major retailer to meet that fate. As part of its reorganization, the 118-year-old company said late Friday it will be shuttering some stores. It said...
Reopening the economy doesn’t necessarily mean people are opening wallets
Suzann Ordile spent her time and money on restaurants and entertainment before the coronavirus disrupted life in the Philadelphia region and across the world. In a typical week, the Newtown lawyer ordered takeout twice, saw a couple shows with her wife and dined near a theater in Princeton. She squeezed...
University students recreate campuses in Minecraft to host graduationsVideo
The notion of a video game enthusiast as a sweaty, jobless loser alone in his mother’s basement goes back as far as video games, themselves. Not only do gamers come in all shapes, sizes, ages, genders and income brackets, but the concept of players as antisocial is equally outmoded. Many...
