Business category, Page 245
Fracking pioneer Chesapeake files for bankruptcy protection
NEW YORK — Chesapeake Energy, a shale drilling pioneer that helped to turn the United States into a global energy powerhouse, has filed for bankruptcy protection. The Oklahoma City-based company said Sunday that it was a necessary decision given its debt. Its debt load is currently nearing $9 billion. It...
Businesses weigh reopening — or closing again — as cases rise
It’s not the reopening businesses were hoping for. After months of shutdown, restaurants, stores and even amusement parks announced their reopening with fanfare. But now that states like Texas and Arizona are seeing alarming surges in reported cases of covid-19, businesses large and small must decide whether to keep their...
Facebook to label all rule-breaking posts – even Trump’s
OAKLAND, Calif. — Facebook said Friday that it will flag all “newsworthy” posts from politicians that break its rules, including those from President Donald Trump. Separately, Facebook’s stock dropped more than 8%, erasing roughly $50 billion from its market valuation, after the European company behind brands such as Ben &...
U.S. consumer spending up 8.2%, partly erasing record plunge
WASHINGTON — American consumers increased their spending by a record 8.2% in May, partly erasing record plunges the previous two months, against the backdrop of an economy that’s likely shrinking by its steepest pace on record this quarter. Last month’s rebound in consumer spending followed spending drops of 6.6% in...
Building at Jeannette Industrial Park to be renovated with $657K state grant
A $657,000 project to renovate an unoccupied building at Jeannette Industrial Park was approved Thursday by the Westmoreland County Industrial Development Corp. TBI Contracting of McKeesport was awarded the contract, according to an announcement. Workers will install energy-efficient interior lighting, add insulation, replace the floor and doors, add a women’s...
Stocks sink as virus cases jump, forcing states to backtrack
Stocks fell sharply on Wall Street Friday as the number of confirmed new coronavirus cases in the U.S. hit an all-time high, stoking worries among investors that the reopening of businesses they are banking on to revive the economy will be derailed. The S&P 500 slid 2%, giving up all...
Families of 3 deceased workers sue Tyson over Iowa outbreak
IOWA CITY, Iowa — The families of three workers who died after contracting the coronavirus in an Iowa meat plant outbreak sued Tyson Foods and its top executives Thursday, saying the company knowingly put employees at risk and lied to keep them on the job. The lawsuit alleges that Tyson...
California to vote on 1st-in-US electric truck sales rule
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — California regulators approved new rules on Thursday that would force automakers to sell more electric work trucks and delivery vans, a first-of-its-kind rule aimed at helping the nation’s most populous state clean up its worst-in-the-nation air quality. The rules require a certain percentage of work truck sales...
Banks lead gains for stocks on Wall Street in jumpy trading
Financial companies led stocks broadly higher on Wall Street Thursday as traders welcomed news that the Federal Reserve and other regulators are removing some limits on the ability of banks to make investments. The S&P 500 climbed 1.1% following a jumpy day of trading. At one point, the index was...
Chuck E Cheese files for bankruptcy as pandemic takes a bite
NEW YORK — Chuck E Cheese, the restaurant chain that became a Mecca for children and a crucible for many of their parents, is filing for bankruptcy protection. CEC Entertainment Inc. has reopened 266 of its 612 company-operated Chuck E Cheese and Peter Piper Pizza restaurants, but did not elaborate...
Macy’s cuts corporate headcount by 3,900 as virus takes toll
NEW YORK — Macy’s said Thursday it’s laying off 3,900 people corporate staffers, roughly 3% of its overall workforce, as the pandemic takes a financial toll on the iconic department store chain’s sales and profits. The company said in a release that the headcount reduction will save the company $630...
U.S. GDP fell at 5% rate in 1st quarter; worse is likely on the way
WASHINGTON — The U.S. economy shrank at a 5.0% rate in the first quarter with a much worse decline expected in the current three-month economic period, which will show what happened when the pandemic began spread across the U.S. The Commerce Department reported Thursday that the decline in the gross...
Bayer paying up to $10.9B to settle Monsanto weedkiller case
BERLIN — Bayer will pay up to $10.9 billion to settle litigation over the subsidiary Monsanto’s weedkiller Roundup, which has faced thousands of lawsuits over claims it causes cancer, the German-based company said Wednesday. Bayer said it was also paying up $1.22 billion to settle two additional areas of intense...
Stocks slide on Wall Street as new coronavirus cases surge
Stocks fell sharply on Wall Street Wednesday as new coronavirus cases in the U.S. climbed to the highest level in two months, dimming investors’ hopes for a relatively quick economic turnaround. The S&P 500 was down 2.6% in late-afternoon trading, giving back all of its gains for the month. The...
GNC files for bankruptcy, plans to close up to 1,200 stores
Pittsburgh-based health and wellness retailer GNC Corp. filed for bankruptcy and plans to close 800 to 1,200 stores, including several in Western Pennsylvania, unless it finds a buyer willing to pay at least $760 million under an agreement with lenders. Saying the covid-19 pandemic “had a dramatic negative impact on...
More gains for tech as U.S. stocks head for a 3rd monthly gain
Stocks closed higher on Wall Street on Tuesday, extending the market’s recent winning streak after another strong showing by technology companies. The S&P 500 rose 0.4% and is on pace for its third straight monthly gain. The Nasdaq composite, which is heavily weighted with technology stocks, climbed to an all-time...
John Dorfman: Hit hard this year, these 4 stocks may rebound
On Wall Street, FOMO means fear of missing out. I think what many investors are feeling now is not FOMO but FOHAMO — fear of having already missed out. The stock market’s waterfall decline in February and March created some bargains, but with a virus-led recession starting, many investors were...
National coin shortage linked to coronavirus pandemicVideo
The novel coronavirus pandemic has caused a coin shortage in the country, according to the Federal Reserve. “What’s happened is that, with the partial closure of the economy, the flow of coins through the economy has gotten all — it’s kind of stopped,” Federal Reserve chairman Jerome Powell said recently....
AMC Theaters reverses course on masks after backlash
LOS ANGELES — The nation’s largest movie theater chain changed its position on mask-wearing less than a day after the company became a target on social media for saying it would defer to local governments on the issue. AMC Theaters CEO Adam Aron said Friday that its theaters will require...
Judge to OK $58B plan to end PG&E bankruptcy after wildfires
SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. — A federal judge on Friday said he was approving a $58 billion plan by the nation’s largest utility to end a contentious bankruptcy saga that began after Pacific Gas & Electric’s outdated equipment ignited wildfires in California that killed more than 100 people, wiped out entire...
Apple re-closes some stores, raising economic concerns
Apple’s Friday decision to close stores in four states with surging coronavirus cases highlights a question that other businesses may soon face: Stay open or prepare for more shutdowns? Apple, like many other major U.S. retailers, shut down all of its U.S. locations in March. On Friday, it said it...
Wall Street ends a sluggish day lower, still up for the week
NEW YORK — Wall Street careened through all the forces that have pushed and pulled it through the week, at first rising on Friday amid hope for the economy and then falling on worries about worsening coronavirus levels in some states, all before ending with modest losses. The S&P 500...
Google loses appeal against $56 million fine in France
PARIS — France’s highest administrative court has upheld a fine of $56 million Google was ordered to pay for not being “sufficiently clear and transparent” with Android users about their data protection options. Google was first slapped with the fine in January 2019, the first penalty for a U.S. tech...
BMW to drop 6,000 jobs through turnover, early retirement
FRANKFURT, Germany — Automaker BMW says it will drop 6,000 jobs through early retirements and turnover, as the auto industry adjusts to a sharp drop in demand due to the coronavirus outbreak. The Munich-based maker of the X5 SUV and 3-Series sedan said Friday that it had agreed on the...
American Airlines bans man who refused to wear face mask
DALLAS — American Airlines has banned a man who was kicked off a plane for refusing to wear a face covering, among the first such incidents since airlines promised this week to step up enforcement of their mask rules. A spokesman for American said Thursday that the airline decided to...
