Business category, Page 70
Amtrak raises prices on Northeast Corridor multi-ride tickets
Owen Sahnow, who works at the Delaware Theatre Company, wonders how he’ll commute in the future from Philadelphia to Wilmington now that Amtrak is raising the price of his monthly pass by nearly 70%. He moved to Philadelphia last year for his partner’s work and has been taking a trolley...
NASA cancels Pittsburgh company’s moon rover mission, citing cost overruns and launch delays
WASHINGTON — NASA said Wednesday it’s canceling its water-seeking moon rover, citing cost overruns and launch delays. The Viper rover was supposed to launch in late 2023 aboard a lander provided by Astrobotic Technology, but extra testing and increased costs kept delaying the mission, threatening other projects, the space agency...
Ross dry cleaner plans full transition to delivery
A long-standing business soon will be gone, at least from its Ross location. Duro Cleaners has been a McKnight Road fixture since Dwayne Trimble started offering dry-cleaning services, and it continued after O’Hara resident Joe Ferrante became the owner in 2017. “The customers were great. They’ve always been great here....
United Airlines Q2 profit rises to $1.32B as travel demand offsets rising costs
United Airlines on Wednesday reported that its second-quarter profit rose 23% to $1.32 billion, as record crowds at U.S. airports helped the carrier overcome sharply rising costs for fuel and labor. However, United warned that third-quarter results will fall short of Wall Street expectations. Like rival Delta Air Lines, United...
John Deere ends support of ‘social or cultural awareness’ events, distances from DEI
NEW YORK — Farm equipment maker John Deere says it will no longer sponsor “social or cultural awareness” events, becoming the latest major U.S. company to distance itself from diversity and inclusion measures after being targeted by conservative backlash. In a statement posted Tuesday to social media platform X, John...
Amazon Prime Day a big event for scammers, experts warn
NEW YORK — Amazon Prime Day is here, and experts are reminding consumers to be wary of scams. Deceptions such as phony emails from people impersonating online retailers like Amazon are nothing new. But phishing attempts increase amid the heavy spending seen during significant sales events, whether it’s Black Friday...
5 years into Amazon’s Climate Pledge, workers challenge its progress
Five years after Amazon committed to an ambitious climate goal, the company says it is making progress on reducing emissions, but critics allege those calculations are misleading. In its annual sustainability report, released this month, Amazon said carbon emissions dropped 3% last year, largely because of its sizable investment in...
John Dorfman: Pilgrims Pride, Wabash National look good on this ratio
Want to invest in a company that is better at generating sales than profits? On the surface, that sounds like a remarkably bad idea. But investing in a company that has robust revenues and skimpy profits can sometimes pay off. New management, new products or plain old cost cutting may...
Pittsburgh refugee nonprofit Hello Neighbor bids goodbye to NLRB charge with $198K settlement
A Pittsburgh nonprofit that provides services to refugees has settled a labor dispute with workers and agreed to pay nearly $200,000 in back pay and wage increases following a complaint filed last year. Hello Neighbor, based in the city’s Larimer neighborhood, faced charges of unfair labor practices in February 2023....
Amazon Prime Day is a major cause of injuries for warehouse workers, Senate review says
NEW YORK — Amazon’s popular Prime Day sales event has been “a major cause of injuries” for warehouse workers who pick and pack customer orders at the e-commerce giant’s facilities across the United States, according to a report released Tuesday by Sen. Bernie Sanders. The report, which draws information from...
Retail sales unchanged in June from May, underscoring shoppers’ resilience
NEW YORK — Shoppers paused their spending in June from May, defying economic forecasts for a pullback and proving their resilience in the face of an uncertain economy Retail sales were unchanged in June from May, after being revised upward to a 0.3% increase in May, according to the Commerce...
Macy’s ends takeover talks with Arkhouse and Brigade citing lack of certainty over financing
Macy’s is terminating its monthslong buyout talks with two investment firms, citing a substandard offer and the lack of certainty over financing. In announcing the end of negotiations on Monday, Macy’s alleged that Arkhouse Management and Brigade Capital Management did not meet its request for information by a June 25...
Data of nearly all AT&T customers downloaded from a third-party platform in security breach
The data of nearly all customers of the telecommunications giant AT&T was downloaded from a third-party platform in a security breach, the company said Friday, as cyberattacks against businesses, schools and health systems continue to spread globally. The breach, which took place in April of this year but mostly involved...
European Union says X’s blue checks are deceptive ‘dark patterns’ that breach its social media laws
LONDON — The European Union said Friday that blue checkmarks from Elon Musk’s X are deceptive and that the online platform falls short on transparency and accountability requirements, the first charges against a tech company since the bloc’s new social media regulations took effect. The European Commission outlined the preliminary...
Patagonia asks some employees to relocate to hub cities, including Pittsburgh
Patagonia asked about 90 of its remote employees to relocate within 60 miles of one of the brand’s seven hub cities — including Pittsburgh — or leave the company. Patagonia’s sole Pennsylvania location is its store on Walnut Street in Shadyside. J.J. Huggins, public relations and communications manager at Patagonia,...
U.S. wholesale inflation picked up in June in sign that some price pressures remain elevated
WASHINGTON — Wholesale prices in the United States rose by a larger-than-expected 2.6% last month from a year earlier, a sign that some inflation pressures remain high. The increase, the sharpest year-over-year increase since March 2023, comes at a time when other price indicators are showing that inflation has continued...
2 state lawmakers call on Pirates to increase player payroll, citing economic impact
Two Pennsylvania lawmakers are calling on the Pittsburgh Pirates organization to increase spending on player salaries, which, in turn, they said, will result in millions more for the local economy. State Reps. Tim Bonner, R-Mercer/Butler and Jim Gregory, R-Blair, said a report released Wednesday by Pennsylvania’s Independent Fiscal Office showed...
Average rate on a 30-year mortgage falls slightly, easing borrowing costs for home shoppers
LOS ANGELES — The average rate on a 30-year mortgage fell slightly this week, providing modest relief for home shoppers facing record-high home prices. Mortgage buyer Freddie Mac said Thursday that the rate fell to 6.89% from 6.95% last week. A year ago, it averaged 6.96%. The average rate has...
Higher costs and low base fares send Delta’s profit down 29%. The airline still earned $1.31 billion
Americans are traveling in record numbers this summer, but Delta Air Lines said Thursday that it saw second-quarter profit drop 29% due to higher costs and discounting of base-level fares across the industry. The airline is also predicting a lower profit than Wall Street expects for the third quarter. On...
IRS collects milestone $1 billion in back taxes from high-wealth taxpayers
WASHINGTON — The IRS announced Thursday that it has collected $1 billion in back taxes from high-wealth tax cheats — a milestone meant to showcase how the agency is making use of the money it received as part of the Biden administration’s signature climate, health care, and tax package signed...
U.S. inflation cools again, potentially paving way for Fed to cut interest rates soon
WASHINGTON — Inflation in the United States cooled in June for a third straight month, a sign that the worst price spike in four decades is steadily fading and may soon usher in interest rate cuts by the Federal Reserve. In a better-than-expected report, consumer prices declined 0.1% from May...
Costco raises annual membership fees for the 1st time since 2017, boosting them an additional $5 to $10
ISSAQUAH, Wash. — Costco bargain hunters are going to have to pay an additional $5 to $10 annually as the popular warehouse chain prepares to raise its membership fees for the first time in seven years. The Issaquah, Washington, company disclosed the forthcoming 8% increase in the fee to gain...
S&P 500 tops 5,600 as Wall Street’s record-breaking rally keeps rollingVideo
NEW YORK — Wall Street’s blistering rally stretched into a seventh day Wednesday and vaulted the U.S. stock market to more all-time highs. The S&P 500 jumped 1% and topped the 5,600 level for the first time. The Nasdaq composite also rallied to a seventh straight gain and added 1.2%...
Archegos Capital founder Bill Hwang convicted of securities fraud
NEW YORK — The founder of Archegos Capital Management, a hedge fund that collapsed in 2021, was convicted Wednesday of securities fraud in a scheme that prosecutors said cost global investment banks billions of dollars. Bill Hwang looked straight ahead as the verdict was read, taking several sips of water...
Samsung brings tech’s latest fashion to wearable technology with AI twists in new watch and ring
SAN FRANCISCO — Samsung is dressing up its wearable devices in technology’s latest fashion — artificial intelligence. The South Korean electronics giant on Wednesday revealed that both its first-ever premium smartwatch and a smart ring heralding its entry into a niche market will include AI features that are supposed to...
