Business category, Page 258
As part of $850 billion coronavirus response, Trump wants checks sent to public in 2 weeks
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump is asking Congress to unleash a torrent of emergency economic aid to help people through the financial pain of the coronavirus crisis, with sizable checks directly to Americans as part of the deal. Trump wants checks out to the public within two weeks, Treasury Secretary...
Fallout from coronavirus: Movie theaters close, airlines cut flying, Walmart limits hours
WASHINGTON — U.S. movie theaters are closing nationwide due to the coronavirus pandemic, turning dark nearly all of the country’s 40,000-plus screens in an unprecedented shutdown. United Airlines will slash 50% of its flying capacity in April and May and warns the cuts could extend into the peak summer travel...
Pittsburgh-based American Eagle closing all stores in U.S., Canada
American Eagle Outfitters has closed all stores in the United States and Canada, citing the most recent government recommendations about the spreading coronavirus. The clothing outlet says it hopes to reopen retail stores on March 27, but it will reevaluate as time goes by. American Eagle had already closed some...
Dollar General devotes first hour to senior shoppers
Dollar General is dedicating the first hour of its daily store operations to senior citizens in response to the coronavirus. The discount retailer with stores in 44 U.S. states said starting Tuesday, it is strongly encouraging younger customers to visit later in the day so seniors can shop early and...
Volkswagen to close Europe plants for two weeks
FRANKFURT, Germany — Volkswagen said Tuesday it would close most of its European plants for two weeks because of uncertainty about demand for cars and supplies of parts amid the virus outbreak. CEO Herbert Diess made the announcement at the start of the company’s annual news conference. The dpa news...
McDonald’s closing dine-in areas at corporate-owned restaurants over coronavirus pandemic
McDonald’s will no longer have dine-in or play areas open on Tuesday at its corporate-owned stores because of the coronavirus pandemic. McDonald’s USA announced Monday that it would serve customers who walk in for takeout, order at the drive-thru or use McDelivery. #McDonalds is closing all dining rooms nationwide. #wfsb...
Gyms, day cares among nonessential businesses closing; banks, repair shops, convenience stores stay openVideo
The Legends of Pittsburgh bustled Monday with hand sanitizer-armed gym rats sweating through one more hard workout before the coronavirus pandemic cut off access to their club indefinitely. Monday marked their last chance to do so for at least the next two weeks. The fitness center anchoring a corner of...
Dow dives 2,997 points on fears coronavirus will cause recession
NEW YORK — The U.S. stock market plunged more than 12% Monday for its worst day in more than three decades as voices from Wall Street to the White House said the coronavirus is likely dragging the economy into a recession. The S&P 500 has plummeted nearly 30% since setting...
Amazon seeks to hire 100,000 to keep up with surge in ordersVideo
NEW YORK — Amazon said Monday that it needs to hire 100,000 people across the United States to keep up with a crush of orders as the coronavirus spreads and keeps more people at home, shopping online. The online retailer said it will also temporarily raise pay by $2 an...
5 Nasdaq stocks for the moment you’re ready to buy
The time for bargain hunting in the virus-afflicted stock market may not have come yet. But it will come. Guessing when we have hit bottom will be an art, not a science. It will be partly a matter of judgment and feel. When you are ready to wade back into...
Automakers dodged parts shortage, but virus poses new threat
DETROIT — When the coronavirus cut off the flow of parts from China in early January, most global automakers were ready: Anticipating such a crisis, they had prepared to tap other suppliers and to conserve parts that they had stored. Now, they face fast-moving new threats that seem beyond their...
All Starbucks in U.S., Canada shift to takeout-only model
All Starbucks locations in the U.S. and Canada will be moving to a “to go” only model as it works to help slow the spread of covid-19, the company announced Sunday night. Seating will be suspended in the coffee shops, but takeout orders will still be accepted through the Starbucks...
Amazon grocery delivery system overloaded Sunday
Surges in demand for online deliveries appeared to throw Amazon’s grocery system into disarray Sunday, causing fear and frustration among delivery drivers. An Amazon spokesperson confirmed that “a systems impact” was limiting the company’s ability to deliver grocery orders from Amazon Fresh and Whole Foods Market. “We’re contacting customers, issuing...
France fines Apple $1.2 billion for anti-competitive acts
PARIS — French regulators fined Apple $1.2 billion on Monday for striking deals to keep prices high, in the biggest-ever such sanction by France’s Competition Authority. The agency said Apple and top re-sellers agreed to align prices with Apple’s own pricing for its iPads and some other products. The deals...
Stocks nosedive on Wall Street, triggering trading halt
NEW YORK — Stocks dropped 8% in the first minutes of trading Monday on Wall Street and triggered another temporary halt to trading as huge swaths of the economy come closer to shutting down, from airlines to restaurants. Emergency actions taken by the Federal Reserve late Sunday to prop up...
Stock futures sink after rate cut, new coronavirus restrictions
NEW YORK — U.S. stock futures fell sharply after the Federal Reserve slashed interest rates and more companies and governments took action over the weekend to shut down European and American society in the face of the growing virus outbreak. Futures for the S&P 500 fell 5% Sunday night and...
Fed slashes rate to near zero, eases lending rules
WASHINGTON — The Federal Reserve took emergency action Sunday and slashed its benchmark interest rate by a full percentage point to nearly zero and announced it would purchase more Treasury securities to encourage lending to try to offset the impact of the coronavirus outbreak. The central bank said the effects...
Walmart changes hours amid coronavirus outbreak
Walmart stores will cease 24-hour operations amid the outbreak of the coronavirus, the company announced Saturday. Beginning at 11 p.m. Sunday, all stores will close until 6 a.m. Monday. After that, the temporary operating hours will be from 6 a.m. to 11 p.m. daily, until further notice. Stores currently operating...
As virus roils markets, Trump again threatens Fed chairmanVideo
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump said Saturday he had the power to fire or demote Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell, adding new fuel to his long-running animus toward the central bank’s leader at a moment when the economy was at risk of edging into recession. Trump told reporters that he...
U.S. internet well-equipped to handle work from home surgeVideo
BOSTON — The U.S. internet won’t get overloaded by spikes in traffic from the millions of Americans now working from home to discourage the spread of the new coronavirus, experts say. But connections could stumble for many if too many family members try to videoconference at the same time. Some...
Amid coronavirus, Comcast makes Wi-Fi network free, expands unlimited data to all
With businesses and schools closed and thousands of residents now working and studying from home during the coronavirus outbreak, Comcast announced Saturday it will make its Xfinity Wi-Fi services free for everyone for the next 60 days. “During this extraordinary time, it is vital that as many Americans as possible...
Giant Eagle changes shopping hours over coronavirus pandemic
Giant Eagle temporarily is changing its store hours because of the coronavirus pandemic. Beginning Sunday, all Giant Eagle and Market District supermarkets will open at 7 a.m. and close at 10 p.m., seven days a week, the company announced Saturday. GetGo stores adjacent to supermarkets will operate on the same...
Coronavirus-related shutdowns bringing U.S. economy to grinding halt
AUSTIN, Texas — It took 15 minutes for the coronavirus to wreck Shelley Hutchings’ carefully calculated financial plans. Hutchings, a bartender and performer, had lined up gigs in advance of the South by Southwest film, music and technology festival, which draws hundreds of thousands of visitors to Austin each year....
Census faces challenges as it aims to hire up to 500,000
ORLANDO, Fla. — The U.S. Census Bureau said it has reached its goal of recruiting more than 2.6 million applicants for the once-a-decade head count that launched for most of America this week — but it has been a bumpy road getting there. The nation’s abundance of jobs has complicated...
Pentagon reconsiders Microsoft contract after Amazon protest
WASHINGTON — The Pentagon is reconsidering its awarding of a major cloud computing contract to Microsoft after rival tech giant Amazon protested what it called a flawed bidding process. U.S. government lawyers said in a court filing this week that the Defense Department “wishes to reconsider its award decision” and...
