Business category, Page 63
Ex-Pittsburgher pleads guilty to swindling investors out of $2M in green energy scheme
A former Pittsburgher admitted Wednesday in court to using a sham energy company to bilk victims out of more than $2 million he and his colleagues used to gamble, pay court-ordered fines and buy jewelry, boats, furniture and wedding gifts. Jonathan Freeze, 65, pleaded guilty in federal court in Pittsburgh...
U.S. Steel rallies for sale to Nippon Steel as Biden threatens to block deal
Standing before a sea of workers in orange jackets and hard hats, U.S. Steel executive Scott Buckiso argued for a $14.9 billion sale to Nippon Steel at a rally in downtown Pittsburgh on Wednesday. Buckiso, senior vice president and chief manufacturing officer of U.S. Steel’s North American Flat-Rolled segment, zeroed...
Workers at GM joint venture battery plant in Tennessee unionize and will get pay raise
DETROIT — About 1,000 workers at a General Motors joint venture electric vehicle battery plant in Spring Hill, Tennessee, will get big pay raises now that they have joined the United Auto Workers union. GM and LG Energy Solution of Korea, which jointly run the plant, agreed to recognize the...
U.S. job openings fall as demand for workers weakens
WASHINGTON — America’s employers posted fewer job openings in July than they had the previous month, a sign that hiring could cool in the coming months. The Labor Department reported Wednesday that there were 7.7 million open jobs in July, down from 7.9 million in June. The pace of hiring...
Nordstrom family offers to take department store private for $3.76B with Mexican retail group
NEW YORK — Members of the Nordstrom family with the help of a Mexican retail group are offering to take the century-old department store private for $3.76 billion per share cash, months after first expressing interest in a buyout. In a letter to the board of directors dated Tuesday, Erik...
Even dollar store chains are seeing a pullback by customers as higher prices squeeze the vulnerable
Dollar Tree is slashing its full-year earnings and sales forecasts as its customers continue to struggle with higher prices and spend less. Shares tumbled more than 12% before the opening bell Wednesday after hitting a 52-week low on the prior day. Less than a week ago, shares of rival bargain...
Wall Street tumbles on worries about economy, Dow drops more than 600
NEW YORK — U.S. stocks tumbled Tuesday to their worst day since an early August sell-off, as a week full of updates on the economy got off to a discouragingly weak start. The S&P 500 sank 2.1% to give back a chunk of the gains from a three-week winning streak...
Former Volkswagen boss Winterkorn goes on trial over diesel cars rigged to cheat on emissions tests
FRANKFURT, Germany — Former Volkswagen Group CEO Martin Winterkorn went on trial Tuesday on charges of fraud and market manipulation in connection with the corporate scandal over Volkswagen’s use of rigged software that let millions of cars cheat on emissions tests and emit high levels of harmful pollutants. Prosecutors say...
Volkswagen aims to cancel a no-layoffs pledge and won’t rule out closing plants in Germany
FRANKFURT, Germany — Germany’s Volkswagen says auto industry headwinds mean it can’t rule out plant closings in its home country - and must drop a longstanding job protection pledge in force since 1994 that would have barred layoffs through 2029. “The European automotive industry is in a very demanding and...
Labor Day hotel strikes reflect the frustrations of a workforce largely made up of women of colorVideo
More than 10,000 workers at 25 U.S. hotels were on strike Monday after choosing Labor Day weekend to amplify their demands for higher pay, fairer workloads and the reversal of covid-era cuts. The UNITE HERE union, which represents the striking housekeepers and other hospitality workers, said 200 workers at the...
How proposed rules could protect U.S. workers from heat
The first federal legal protections for indoor and outdoor workers exposed to heat could go into effect next year following decades of activism by medical experts, unions and labor advocates. The rule would, among other things, require employers across the U.S. to create heat safety plans and provide water and...
ESPN networks, ABC and Disney channels go dark on DirecTV on a busy night for sports
ESPN has gone off the air on a major carrier for the second straight year during the U.S. Open tennis tournament and in the midst of the first full weekend of college football. Disney Entertainment channels went dark on DirecTV Sunday night after the sides were unable to reach a...
Inflation explained: It seems everything is more expensive than 5 years ago. Here’s why.
As she walked the aisles of Walmart in Frazer, Ashley Williams of Pittsburgh’s Morningside neighborhood wanted to know the “mathematics behind” the rising cost of milk, eggs and other staples. Terry Riehle of Greensburg struggled to understand why Land O’Lakes cheese costs more per pound than most cuts of meat...
Harris, Trump and the future of corporate taxes
Kamala Harris and Donald Trump will clash over corporate tax rates in the next two months. As President, Trump pushed for lower corporate tax rates and got them. In 2017, Congress slashed the corporate tax rate to 21% from 35%. Corporate tax as we know it today was born in...
Japan wants its hardworking citizens to try a 4-day workweek
TOKYO — Japan, a nation so hardworking its language has a term for literally working oneself to death, is trying to address a worrisome labor shortage by coaxing more people and companies to adopt four-day workweeks. The Japanese government first expressed support for a shorter working week in 2021, after...
Brazil blocks Musk’s X amid feud with judge
SAO PAULO — Brazil started blocking Elon Musk’s social media platform X early Saturday, making it largely inaccessible on the web and through mobile apps after the billionaire refused to name a legal representative to the country. The move escalates a monthslong feud between Musk and a Brazilian Supreme Court...
Federal Reserve’s favored inflation gauge shows price pressures easing as rate cuts near
WASHINGTON — An inflation measure closely tracked by the Federal Reserve remained low last month, extending a trend of cooling price increases that clears the way for the Fed to start cutting its key interest rate next month for the first time in 4 1/2 years. Prices rose just 0.2%...
Canadian rail union says it has filed lawsuits challenging back-to-work orders
The union that represents workers at both of Canada’s largest freight railroads has filed the lawsuits it promised challenging the orders that forced employees back to work and got the trains moving again, the union announced Friday. The lawsuits were filed late Thursday afternoon, the Teamsters Canada Rail Conference said....
Slinging suds: Salem beer distributor expects to move about 40,000 cases this weekVideo
Pallets holding more than 150,000 six-packs moved through the Frank B. Fuhrer Wholesale warehouse just off Route 22 in Salem this week. That should get the Labor Day weekend going. Summer is far and away the busiest season for beverage wholesalers like Fuhrer, which opened the 335,000-square-foot distribution facility —...
UPMC posts $313 million loss for first half of 2024
UPMC lost $313 million in the first six months of the year, the Pittsburgh-based health care giant said. The company announced the financial picture at a time when it is cutting about 1,000 jobs. UPMC said Thursday its expenses topped $14.7 billion, but had $14.47 billion in revenue from its...
Sheetz in Youngwood slated to permanently close in October
A Sheetz convenience store and gas station in Youngwood is set to permanently close Oct. 7. Employees were offered jobs at other locations around the area, according to Nick Ruffner, public relations manager for Sheetz. Company representatives did not respond to Trib questions about how many employees work there. The...
Giant Eagle’s sale of GetGo refocuses company amid growing grocer competition, experts say
Giant Eagle’s decision to sell its GetGo franchise to focus on its role as a leading grocer is indicative of increasing competition from national retailers, an industry expert said. Quebec-based Alimentation Couche-Tard, parent company of Circle K convenience stores, announced the purchase of GetGo on Aug. 19. Giant Eagle CEO...
Nippon Steel pledges $1 billion to Mon Valley Works pending U.S. Steel acquisition as government opposition continues
Nippon Steel will spend $2.7 billion through 2026 to upgrade steel plants if its plan to acquire U.S. Steel comes to fruition. The Japanese company announced Wednesday at least $1 billion would be used to replace or upgrade the West Mifflin hot strip mill and other facilities to improve yield...
Kroger hiked milk, egg prices above inflation, merger judge told
Kroger Co. hiked prices on milk and eggs more than needed to account for inflation, the company’s top pricing executive testified during a court hearing on the U.S. government’s bid to block the grocery chain’s purchase of rival Albertsons Cos. In a March 2024 email to his bosses, Andy Groff,...
French authorities issue preliminary charges against Telegram messaging app CEO
PARIS — French authorities handed preliminary charges to Telegram CEO Pavel Durov on Wednesday for allowing alleged criminal activity on his messaging app, and barred him from leaving France pending further investigation. Both free-speech advocates and authoritarian governments have spoken out in Durov’s defense since his weekend arrest. The case...
