Business category, Page 71
Dollar Tree left lead-tainted applesauce pouches on store shelves for weeks after recall, FDA says
Dollar Tree failed to effectively recall lead-tainted applesauce pouches linked to reports of illness in more than 500 children, leaving the products on some stores shelves for two months, the Food and Drug Administration said Tuesday. The FDA sent a warning letter to Dollar Tree this month and placed Negasmart,...
John Dorfman: These are the stocks I own
If you’re an investment manager and you tout the stocks you own, it’s called “talking your book.” I try not to do too much of it in this column. But once a year I write about the stocks I own personally and for most of my clients. Here we go...
Apple kills off its buy now, pay later service barely a year after launch
NEW YORK — Apple is discontinuing its buy now, pay later service known as Apple Pay Later barely a year after its initial launch in the U.S., and will rely on companies who already dominate the industry like Affirm and Klarna. It’s an acknowledgement from a company known for producing...
Tupperware shutting down its only U.S. factory, moving production to Mexico, report says
The iconic brand, Tupperware, is closing its factory in the Palmetto State. Tupperware filed a WARN (Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification) notice in South Carolina informing the state it is closing its facility at 248 Tupperware Road in Hemingway, South Carolina and 148 people will be laid off. The layoffs...
Amazon Labor Union workers vote overwhelmingly in favor of affiliation with Teamsters
Workers who are part of the Amazon Labor Union are aligning themselves with the Teamsters, overwhelmingly voting in favor of an affiliation. The ALU members voted 98.3% in favor of the affiliation, the International Brotherhood of Teamsters said Tuesday. The affiliation gives the union workers access to various resources as...
Pennsylvania waste company finds $10M in loose change
You know what they say: One man’s trash is another man’s treasure. A waste management company in Pennsylvania has collected about $10 million in coins that’ve been tossed away over the years. Fox Business reports how Ash Processing at Reworld — which is located in Morrisville, Bucks County — “bridges...
The IRS wants to end another major tax loophole for the wealthy and raise $50 billion in the process
WASHINGTON — The IRS plans to end a major tax loophole for wealthy taxpayers that could raise more than $50 billion in revenue over the next decade, the U.S. Treasury Department says. The proposed rule and guidance announced Monday includes plans to essentially stop “partnership basis shifting” — a process...
Pittsburgh tops list as most affordable housing market in U.S. — but there’s a catch
Pittsburgh’s housing market is the most affordable in the United States, according to a study by a university in California. However, the report’s authors say, the ‘Burgh still falls just short of true affordability. Issued by the Center for Demographics and Policy at Chapman University and the Frontier Centre for...
Robinson-based Sabika jewelry closing after 23 years
Endings create new beginnings. That philosophy inspired Karin Mayr to launch Sabika, a Pittsburgh-based, woman-owned jewelry company. For 23 years, the business has sold sparkling necklaces, earrings, bracelets and rings through stylists who specialize in knowledge of the brand. That beginning has now reached an end. Mayr and her daughters,...
Southwest plane plunged within 400 feet of ocean near Hawaii
A Southwest Airlines Co. passenger flight in April came within 400 feet of slamming into the ocean off the coast of Hawaii after weather conditions forced pilots to bypass a landing attempt. The Boeing Co. 737 Max 8 jet briefly dropped at an abnormally high rate of more than 4,000...
Microsoft delays controversial AI Recall feature on new Windows computers
REDMOND, Wash. — New laptops equipped with Microsoft Windows start shipping to customers next week without a flagship feature called Recall that drew concerns about privacy and cybersecurity. Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella touted the new Recall feature at a showcase event last month, describing it as a step toward artificial...
ATI’s $1.2B hot strip mill in Harrison marks 10 years, remains world’s most powerful, company says
Lou Koprivnikar launched his career at ATI 36 years ago when everything was hands-on. Employees would load 43-ton metal coils by crane and affix labels on specialty metals fresh out of a 2,250-degree furnace. Today, operations are fully automated inside the Hot Rolling and Processing Facility (HRPF), a $1.2 billion...
Gamestop’s annual shareholder meeting disrupted after ‘unprecedented demand’ causes tech issue
NEW YORK — Gamestop’s highly-anticipated shareholder meeting ran into a technical problem Thursday — resulting in many eager investors being unable to log on to the livestream. A spokesperson for Computershare, the company hosting the webcast, confirmed that “unprecedented demand” from shareholders looking to access the meeting led to a...
The number of Americans filing for jobless benefits jumps to the highest level in 10 months
The number of Americans filing for jobless benefits jumped to the highest level in 10 months last week, a sign that the labor market is likely cooling under the weight of high interest rates. Unemployment benefit applications for the week ending June 8 rose by 13,000 to 242,000, up from...
Federal Reserve sees some progress on inflation but envisions just 1 rate cut this yearVideo
WASHINGTON — Federal Reserve officials said Wednesday that inflation has fallen further toward their target level in recent months but signaled that they expect to cut their benchmark interest rate just once this year. The policymakers’ forecast for one rate cut was down from a previous forecast of three, because...
Elon Musk drops lawsuit against ChatGPT-maker OpenAI without explanation
SAN FRANCISCO — Elon Musk has dropped his lawsuit against OpenAI just ahead of a scheduled Wednesday hearing on the case. Musk in February sued the San Francisco artificial intelligence company and its CEO Sam Altman over what he said was a betrayal of the ChatGPT maker’s founding aims of...
Thefts of charging cables pose yet another obstacle to appeal of electric vehicles
DETROIT — Just before 2 a.m. on a chilly April night in Seattle, a Chevrolet Silverado pickup stopped at an electric vehicle charging station on the edge of a shopping center parking lot. Two men, one with a light strapped to his head, got out. A security camera recorded them...
Faking an honest woman: Why Russia, China and Big Tech all use faux females to get clicks
WASHINGTON — When disinformation researcher Wen-Ping Liu looked into China’s efforts to influence Taiwan’s recent election using fake social media accounts, something unusual stood out about the most successful profiles. They were female, or at least that’s what they appeared to be. Fake profiles that claimed to be women got...
BNY scrapping ‘Mellon’ in rebrand, but Pittsburgh ties will remain
BNY Mellon, a global financial firm with ties to Pittsburgh, is rebranding and losing the “Mellon” part of its logo. The New York-based bank announced Tuesday it is updating its logo and simplifying its company umbrella brand to BNY, according to a press release. It may seem like an erasure...
Gas prices are falling. Experts point to mild demand at the pump ahead of summer travel
NEW YORK — Gas prices are once again on the decline across the country, bringing some relief to drivers now paying a little less to fill up their tanks. The national average for gas prices on Monday stood around $3.44, according to AAA. That’s down about 9 cents from a...
Future of Elon Musk and Tesla are on the line this week as shareholders vote on massive pay package
DETROIT — If Tesla shareholders vote against restoring Elon Musk’s $44.9 billion pay package Thursday, the CEO could deliver on threats to take artificial intelligence research to one of this other companies. Or he could even could walk away. If they approve the all-stock compensation package that was thrown out...
Apple leaps into AI with an array of upcoming iPhone features and a ChatGPT deal to smarten up Siri
CUPERTINO, Calif. — Apple has jumped into the race to bring generative artificial intelligence to the masses, spotlighting a slew of features Monday designed to soup up the iPhone, iPad and Mac. And in a move befitting a company known for its marketing prowess, the AI technology coming as part...
Alzheimer’s drug that can slow disease gets backing from FDA advisers
WASHINGTON — A closely watched Alzheimer’s drug from Eli Lilly won the backing of federal health advisers on Monday, setting the stage for the treatment’s expected approval for people with mild dementia caused by the brain-robbing disease. A panel of Food and Drug Administration advisers voted unanimously that the drug’s...
Chrysler recalls more than 211,000 SUVs and pickup trucks due to software malfunction
Stellantis-owned Chrysler is recalling more than 211,000 SUVs and pickup trucks in the U.S., due to a software malfunction that could disable the cars’ electronic stability control systems. The recall covers certain model year 2022 Dodge Durango, Ram 2500 and Ram 3500 vehicles. According to documents published by the National...
John Dorfman: Graco and A.O. Smith boast high profit, low debt
Two qualities of outstanding companies are high profitability and low debt. Let’s look at a handful of companies that can boast both. Among the largest 2,000 U.S. companies, about 27% have high profitability, as gauged by a return on stockholders’ equity of 20% or more. About 15% of companies have...
