Business category, Page 3
Gasoline costs 50% more in the U.S. than it did before the Iran war
NEW YORK — The price of a gallon of regular gasoline climbed 31 cents in the past week, spiking to an average of $4.48 per gallon Tuesday, according to AAA, hitting the wallets of drivers after rising 50% since the war with Iran began. The main reason drivers are paying...
Wall Street rallies to records after oil prices ease and corporate profits keep topping expectations
NEW YORK — The U.S. stock market rose to records Tuesday after oil prices eased and companies kept reporting bigger profits for the start of the year than analysts expected. The S&P 500 climbed 0.8% to top its prior all-time high set at the end of last week. The Dow...
Parks Township medical technology company projected to create 40 new jobs locally by next year
Cook Medical-Vandergrift in Parks Township is in the process of expanding after being acquired by Nexpring Health, a global medical technology production company that specializes in assisted reproductive technology. By next year , the expansion is expected to create about 40 jobs in Armstrong County. “(Nexpring) is looking to be...
Contaminated seasoning triggers a nationwide recall of Utz potato chips
A Pennsylvania-based snack food maker has voluntarily recalled some of its potato chips because they have the potential to be contaminated with salmonella. Utz Quality Foods, a subsidiary of Utz Brands of Hanover, recalled some Zapp’s and Dirty potato chips. The company was notified that a seasoning containing dry milk...
Independent coffee shops: A community and economic driverVideo
Seeking a sense of community is what got April Zeolla, owner and operator of Novo Café in Arnold, into the coffee business. And a community is what she found. “I’ve always loved just any way to gather people in a room,” Zeolla said. “This is the best way to gather...
Roomba pioneer aims to crack the household market again with an AI-powered pet robotVideo
The robotics pioneer who helped unleash the Roomba vacuum is now betting that you might one day replace your beloved dog or cat with a plush robot that follows you around your home and adapts to your daily habits. Colin Angle unveiled a four-legged prototype of that artificial pet, called...
John Dorfman: First Solar, Cal-Maine, Gentex boast low debt
A household with high debt doesn’t need to teeter on the edge of bankruptcy to feel uncomfortable. They may have to skip the vacation to Mexico they had planned, or need to sell the antique table they got from Aunt Florence. Companies with high debt are in a similar bind....
Wall Street falls from its records as oil prices jump after fighting flares in the Middle East
NEW YORK — The U.S. stock market fell from its record heights Monday, while oil prices jumped following escalations in the Middle East that may undermine the ceasefire in the war with Iran. The S&P 500 sank 0.4%, coming off its latest all-time high. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped...
Shapiro demands a stop to ‘excessive’ utility rate increases, but has little authority to force change
Spotlight PA is an independent, nonpartisan, and nonprofit newsroom producing investigative and public-service journalism that holds power to account and drives positive change in Pennsylvania. Sign up for our free newsletters. HARRISBURG — As Pennsylvanians struggle with rising energy prices, Gov. Josh Shapiro wants the commonwealth’s utility companies to control...
UPMC reaches deal to acquire 4 Ohio hospitals
UPMC said Monday it has reached a “definitive agreement” to take over Trinity Health System, a four-hospital network in Ohio that it’s been eyeing since at least last year. The deal is expected to close this fall, pending regulatory reviews. UPMC declined to share financial terms. Trinity Health System is...
Sewickley Valley Chamber launching ‘Thursday Night Live’ series
As a way to provide more time to shop and visit Sewickley, some businesses are staying open later each week on Thursdays beginning May 7. Termed “Thursday Night Live” by the Sewickley Valley Chamber of Commerce, the concept will give people who may not be able to stop during the...
Hemingway’s Cafe goes quiet after 43 years in Oakland
Hemingway’s Cafe in Oakland served its last pitcher in the wee hours of Monday morning, ending its 43-year run in the heart of the University of Pittsburgh’s campus. Last call came around 1 a.m. and was met with a round of applause. More than 50 customers were hanging on, soaking...
Shares of eBay take off on a $56 billion buyout bid from GameStop’s Ryan Cohen
Shares of eBay are soaring before the opening bell Monday as Ryan Cohen’s GameStop pursues an approximately $56 billion takeover of the company, seeing it as a vehicle to compete with online retail giant Amazon. The national gaming retailer said that its approximately 1,600 U.S. stores could become drop-off and...
What3words app gains local popularity as large events come through PittsburghVideo
Just three words can be the difference between someone being completely lost — or knowing exactly where they are, at any point in the world. What3words is an app that uses a geocoding system to divide the world into 3-meter (10-foot) squares and assigns each a unique, three-word address. It’s...
How a weaker dollar is quietly making life more expensive
NEW YORK — A hidden force is quietly pushing up costs for everything from your summer vacation to your weekly grocery bills: a weaker U.S. dollar. The dollar has fallen about 10% against other major currencies since President Donald Trump returned to the White House, a pullback potentially playing a...
Spirit Airlines built a model the industry copied. Then it collapsed
Spirit Airlines, the scrappy discounter that once rattled the industry with cheeky ads and rock-bottom fares, took its final flight after 34 years of upending the business of flying. Once worth as much as roughly $5.5 billion on the stock market, the airline known for its bright yellow planes said...
Spirit Airlines goes out of business after 34 years, ending operations immediately
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — Spirit Airlines, an impish upstart that shook the industry with its irreverent ads and deep discount fares, announced Saturday that it has gone out of business after 34 years. The ultralow cost airline that once operated hundreds of daily flights on its bright yellow planes...
Century III Mall site demolition wrapping up soon, Zappala says
Approximately 90% of the former Century III Mall site has been demolished, Allegheny County District Attorney Stephen A. Zappala Jr. said this week. “We’ve got one building that I’m familiar with (at) Century III that is not down,” he said. “The other structures have been taken down, so that aspect...
Trump says a ‘final proposal’ to rescue Spirit Airlines is under consideration
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump said Friday that his administration was still weighing a taxpayer-funded takeover of Spirit Airlines, with talks ongoing and no final decision yet on whether to move forward with a potential bailout for a carrier mired in bankruptcy proceedings for the second time in less than...
‘Severe’ staff cuts begin at Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, union says
The Pittsburgh Post- Gazette is slashing staff as it begins operations under new ownership. At least 40% of newsroom workers are losing their jobs, and 80% of employees who had gone on strike did not receive an offer to be retained, according to Andrew Goldstein, president of the Newspaper Guild...
Profit for the biggest U.S. oil companies declined in the 1st quarter, but only on paper
Profit for the two largest oil companies in the U.S. tumbled during the first quarter, a three-month period in which the price of crude and gasoline rocketed higher. It’s a setback on paper only, however, the result of financial hedges that backfired after the U.S. and Israel launched attacks on...
Trump says he’s lifting certain tariffs on Scotch whisky after royal visit
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump said Thursday he is removing certain tariffs on Scotch whisky after this week’s White House visit by King Charles III and Queen Camilla of the United Kingdom. “The King and Queen got me to do something that nobody else was able to do, without hardly...
Pressure at the pump builds as gas prices reach 4-year highVideo
Many in Western Pennsylvania braced themselves as they pulled up to the gas pump on Thursday. That’s because U.S. gas prices have soared this week to their highest levels in four years — about $4.30 per gallon nationally. Though prices for regular unleaded in the Pittsburgh region haven’t reached the...
Jerome Powell plans to remain on Fed board, cites legal actions by Trump administration
WASHINGTON — Jerome Powell said Wednesday he plans to remain on the board of the Federal Reserve after his term as chair ends next month “for an undetermined period of time,” saying the “unprecedented” legal attacks by the Trump administration have put the independence of the nation’s central bank at...
Macy’s at Pittsburgh Mills now closed
Shoppers said their final goodbyes to the Macy’s at Pittsburgh Mills over the weekend. The company told TribLive that Sunday would be the store’s last day of business before shutting its doors. The location is among 150 that the New York City-based company plans to close this year. Macy’s officials...
