Business category, Page 266
Uber to let riders use pin codes to help identify right car
NEW YORK — Uber is offering riders a four-digit pin code to help ensure they’re getting into the right car. The ride-hailing company rolled out the new feature across the U.S. and Canada Tuesday and said all riders in those two countries will be able to use pin codes by...
Pier 1 Imports closing nearly half of stores as sales falter
FORT WORTH, Texas — Pier 1 Imports is closing nearly half its 942 stores as it struggles to draw consumers and compete online. The home decor company said Monday it is closing up to 450 stores and will also shutter distribution centers. It didn’t say where the store closures would...
John Dorfman: This investing strategy has doubled S&P 500’s returns over 21 years
Over the past 21 years, my Robot Portfolio, a naive stock-picking paradigm, has more than doubled the return on the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index, the gauge most professionals use to track the performance of the U.S. stock market. The cumulative returns: 1034% for the Robot, 379% for the S&P...
Borden files for bankruptcy amid drop in U.S. milk drinkers
The U.S. dairy industry, the largest in the world, is under severe pressure as the consumption habits of Americans shift. Borden Dairy Co. filed for bankruptcy protection, the second major U.S. dairy to do so in as many months. Borden produces nearly 500 million gallons of milk each year for...
Woman sues TripAdvisor after falling off runaway camel
DEDHAM, Mass. — A woman is suing TripAdvisor after a runaway camel tossed her to the ground during a tour in Morocco. Breanne Ayala, 24, is accusing Massachusetts-based TripAdvisor and its subsidiary Viator of negligence and breach of contract for failing to ensure the camel tour company was operating safely,...
Flight attendants, employees sue Delta Air Lines after new uniforms allegedly cause health problems
More than 500 Delta Air Lines employees have filed a class-action lawsuit against Lands’ End, alleging that the uniforms provided by the clothing company are “toxic” and causing some workers health issues. The new duds worn by thousands of flight attendants and maintenance workers “pose an ongoing, unreasonable risk of...
Federal Reserve last month saw a declining risk of recession
WASHINGTON — The Federal Reserve’s policymaking committee saw much less risk of recession at its meeting last month, when it kept interest rates steady after three straight cuts and signaled that it expected to keep low rates unchanged through this year. Minutes of the December meeting, released Friday, showed that...
U.S. manufacturing activity falls to lowest level in decade
WASHINGTON — U.S. manufacturing activity fell to the lowest level in more than a decade, as the sector was hurt by weakening demand and last year’s global economic slowdown. The Institute for Supply Management, an association of purchasing managers, said Friday that its manufacturing index dropped to 47.2 in December,...
U-Haul International to stop hiring smokers in Pennsylvania, 20 other states
PHOENIX — U-Haul International has announced plans to stop interviewing and hiring nicotine users, including people who use e-cigarettes and vaping products. The well-known truck and trailer rental company approved the nicotine-free policy set to go into effect Feb. 1 in more than 20 states where the company operates, the...
Amazon workers clash with company over climate change
NEW YORK — Amazon employees say the company is threatening to fire workers for publicly pushing the company to do more to combat climate change. Amazon Employees For Climate Justice, a climate change advocacy group founded by Amazon workers, said Thursday that the company sent letters to members telling them...
Trump’s plan to curb teen vaping exempts some flavors
WASHINGTON — U.S. health officials will begin cracking down on most flavored e-cigarettes that are popular with underage teenagers, but their plan includes major exceptions that benefit vaping manufacturers, retailers and adults who use the nicotine-delivery devices. The Trump administration announced Thursday that it will prohibit fruit, candy, mint and...
On the Money: Tackling credit card debt from the holidays
NEW YORK — The children are playing with their gifts, the new TV is up on the wall, and that puppy has a brand-new cashmere-lined bed, when another gift arrives in the mail. This one isn’t from Santa. It’s your statement from your friendly credit card company. They want to...
Ex-Nissan boss Ghosn in Lebanon, left Japan over ‘injustice’
TOKYO — Nissan’s former Chairman Carlos Ghosn said Tuesday from Lebanon that he was not fleeing justice but instead left Japan to avoid “injustice and political persecution” over financial misconduct allegations during his tenure leading the automaker. Ghosn had been released on bail by a Tokyo court while awaiting trial...
John Dorfman: Disney, Oshkosh among best stocks for 2020
If you’re doing a portfolio refresh for the new year, here are 10 stocks that I think deserve strong consideration. Most of them sell for 16 times earnings or less, in a market where the average multiple is about 23. They all have low debt or reasonable debt, in my...
Pending homes sales rebound in November
WASHINGTON — Americans signed more contracts to purchase homes in November, a rebound from the previous month, indicating that the housing market is still strong. The National Association of Realtors said Monday that its pending home sales index, which measures the numbers of purchase contracts signed, rose 1.2% last month,...
California vastly expands digital privacy. Will people use it?
SAN FRANCISCO — Forty million Californians will soon have sweeping digital-privacy rights stronger than any seen before in the U.S., posing a significant challenge to Big Tech and the data economy it helped create. So long as state residents don’t mind shouldering much of the burden of exercising those rights,...
Jim Beam fined in massive bourbon spill that killed fish
VERSAILLES, Ky. — Jim Beam was fined $600,000 earlier this month after a July warehouse fire sent a nearly 23-mile plume of alcohol into the Kentucky and Ohio rivers, killing fish. The distiller agreed to the fine in a Dec. 6 order from the Kentucky Energy and Environment Cabinet, The...
Reorganized Westmoreland commissioners’ board to address ‘State of the County’
Those attending Westmoreland’s 2020 State of the County luncheon will have an opportunity to hear from and question the three county commissioners on issues of interest to the business community. The annual event will be held at 11:30 a.m. Jan. 9 at the Ramada by Wyndham Greensburg Hotel and Conference...
About a dozen hurt in blast at Beechcraft plant in Kansas
WICHITA, Kan. — More than a dozen people were injured Friday when a nitrogen line ruptured at the Beechcraft aircraft manufacturing facility in Wichita, Kansas, causing part of the building to collapse, authorities said. Daniel Wegner, deputy fire chief for Sedgwick County, said the explosion happened at around 8 a.m....
Another executive departs as Boeing tries to correct course
A close adviser to Boeing’s ousted CEO will also leave the company. Mike Luttig was Boeing’s general counsel from 2006 until this spring. Shortly after the crash of a second Boeing 737 Max, the companies premiere aircraft, he was assigned to head the company’s legal strategy and to advise the...
Drones need huge tracking network for expanded flights, FAA says
WASHINGTON — All but the smallest civilian drones would have to broadcast radio tracking data to ensure greater safety and prevent terrorism under a sweeping proposal unveiled by U.S. regulators Thursday. The long-awaited draft rules call for a massive new tracking network for everything from toys to larger commercial drones...
Special software can help the blind access the internet, but not every website supports it. A wave of lawsuits is pushing to change that
CHICAGO — Jose Martinez has been thwarted when buying concert tickets online. He changed banks after finding his financial institution’s mobile app wouldn’t work for him. Sometimes, when he can’t finalize a purchase on an e-commerce site, he simply takes his business elsewhere. Martinez, 37, is legally blind. The Chicago...
Raising a glass of Champagne will get more expensive under Trump’s tariff plan
WASHINGTON — That glass of Champagne being raised to welcome in the New Year is about to get a lot more expensive. Absent a major breakthrough in trade negotiations with France, the Trump administration is preparing to raise tariffs on a host of French products — including cheeses, wines and...
Online sales make up a larger portion of overall sales again
NEW YORK — More people did their shopping online this year during one of the shortest holiday shopping seasons in years, helping to push total sales higher. Retail sales in the U.S. rose 3.4% between Nov. 1 and Dec. 24 compared with last year, according to early data from Mastercard...
Online sales make up a larger portion of overall sales again
NEW YORK — More people did their shopping online this year during one of the shortest holiday shopping seasons in years, helping to push total sales higher. Retail sales in the United States rose 3.4% between Nov. 1 and Dec. 24 compared with last year, according to early data from...
