Business category, Page 83
What to know about Shapiro’s proposed $10.3M agriculture innovation program
This story was produced by the State College regional bureau of Spotlight PA, an independent, nonpartisan newsroom dedicated to investigative and public-service journalism for Pennsylvania. Sign up for our north-central Pa. newsletter, Talk of the Town, at spotlightpa.org/newsletters/talkofthetown. BELLEFONTE — An open-ended pitch by Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro to give...
U.S. employers add a surprisingly strong 275,000 jobs in sign of continued economic strength
WASHINGTON — America’s employers delivered another healthy month of hiring in February, adding a surprising 275,000 jobs and again showcasing the U.S. economy’s resilience in the face of high interest rates. Last month’s job growth marked an increase from a revised gain of 229,000 jobs in January. At the same...
Century III Mall owners joust with Allegheny County DA over razing blighted property
The owners of the blighted Century III Mall said in court papers filed this week that they have contracted with a company to raze the property, but they claim that the Allegheny County District Attorney’s office is interfering with their ability to carry out the demolition. A hearing on the...
Community group criticizes developer’s decision to bring Starbucks to Lawrenceville
A new Starbucks is coming to Pittsburgh’s Lawrenceville neighborhood, and some in the community are complaining about it. Dave Breingan, director of community group Lawrenceville United, said the Arsenal 201 mixed-use development recently agreed to a lease with Starbucks at one of its vacant storefront locations on Butler Street between...
To revive stale U.S. sales, candy companies pitch gum as a stress reliever and concentration aid
Candy companies want to know: What will make Americans start chewing gum again? Gum’s bubble burst during the covid-19 pandemic, when masks and social distancing made bad breath less of a worry and fewer people spent on impulse buys. The number of packages of gum sold dropped by nearly a...
For social platforms, the outage was short. But people’s stories vanished, and that’s no small thing
NEW YORK — Once upon a time, there was a brief outage on some social media platforms. It got fixed. The end. On the face of it, kind of a boring story. But the widespread attention given to the blanking of Meta’s Facebook, Instagram, Threads and Messenger platforms on Tuesday...
Federal judge orders U.S. minority business agency to serve all races
NEW YORK — A federal judge in Texas has ordered a 55-year-old U.S. agency that caters to minority-owned businesses to serve people regardless of race, siding with white business owners who claimed the program discriminated against them. The ruling was a significant victory for conservative activists waging a far-ranging legal...
Regulator proposes capping credit card late fees at $8, latest in Biden’s campaign against junk fees
NEW YORK — The Biden administration announced a rule Tuesday to cap all credit card late fees, the latest effort in the White House push to end what it has called junk fees and a move that regulators say will save Americans up to $10 billion a year. The Consumer...
Federal safety officials say Boeing fails to meet quality-control standards in manufacturing
The Federal Aviation Administration said Monday its audit of 737 Max manufacturing at airplane-maker Boeing and its key supplier turned up “multiple instances” of them failing to make sure manufacturing met quality standards. The FAA said that it found “non-compliance issues” with Boeing’s manufacturing-process control and parts handling and storage....
American Airlines to buy 260 new planes from Boeing, Airbus and Embraer to meet growing demand
DALLAS — American Airlines announced a massive order for new planes on Monday, splitting 260 new aircraft between Boeing, Airbus and Embraer in a move designed to meet growing travel demand and increase the airline’s supply of premium seats. American said it placed options for up to 193 more planes...
Scrapped merger of Spirit, JetBlue good news for Westmoreland airport, official says
Arnold Palmer Regional Airport’s top official welcomed Monday’s announcement that Spirit Airlines and JetBlue Airways are grounding plans for a proposed $3.8 billion merger. “It is a great opportunity for us to know what we are facing. I think it holds nothing but good news for us,” said Gabe Monzo,...
Apple fined nearly $2 billion by the European Union over music streaming competition
LONDON — The European Union leveled its first antitrust penalty against Apple on Monday, fining the U.S. tech giant nearly $2 billion for breaking the bloc’s competition laws by unfairly favoring its own music streaming service over rivals. Apple muzzled app developers from telling users where they could go to...
JetBlue, Spirit ending $3.8B deal to combine after court ruling blocked their merger
JetBlue and Spirit Airlines are ending their proposed $3.8 billion combination after a court ruling blocked their merger. JetBlue said Monday that even though both companies still believe in the benefits of a combination, they felt they were unlikely to meet the required closing conditions before the July 24 deadline...
Trader Joe’s chicken soup dumplings recalled for possibly containing permanent marker plastic
NEW YORK — More than 61,000 pounds of steamed chicken soup dumplings sold at Trader Joe’s are being recalled for possibly containing hard plastic, U.S. regulators announced Saturday. The Agriculture Department’s Food Safety and Inspection Service noted that the now-recalled dumplings, which are produced by the California-based CJ Foods Manufacturing...
Elon Musk sues OpenAI, CEO Sam Altman, claiming betrayal of goal to benefit humanity
Elon Musk is suing OpenAI and its CEO Sam Altman over what he says is a betrayal of the ChatGPT maker’s founding aims of benefiting humanity rather than pursuing profits. In a lawsuit filed at San Francisco Superior Court, billionaire Musk said, when he bankrolled OpenAI’s creation, he secured an...
China pledges to increase opportunities for foreign companies as it seeks to boost its economy
BEIJING — Chinese Vice President Han Zheng pledged Friday to provide more opportunities for foreign companies in China as the government tries to restore confidence in the world’s second largest economy. Han told an audience of American business people in Beijing that the government would continue to open up more...
Some doorbell cameras sold on Amazon and other online sites have major security flaws, report says
NEW YORK — Some doorbell cameras sold by Amazon and other online retailers have security flaws that could allow bad actors to view footage from the devices or control them completely, according to an investigation published Thursday by Consumer Reports. Researchers from the product-review organization said they found major vulnerabilities...
Sen. Casey questions Wendy’s intent with dynamic pricing plans
Fast-food giant Wendy’s has come under fire this week for its plan to implement dynamic pricing at its restaurants. Now the move is drawing concerns from Pennsylvania politicians. U.S. Sen. Bob Casey, D-Scranton, sent a letter to Wendy’s CEO on Wednesday raising issues about their plans for dynamic — or...
Anheuser-Busch, Teamsters reach labor agreement that avoids U.S. strike
Budweiser brewer Anheuser-Busch has reached a contract agreement with the Teamsters union that avoids a strike at its U.S. plants. The union had threatened a strike at the brewer’s 12 U.S. plants if an agreement on a new five-year contract wasn’t reached by 11:59 p.m. EST Thursday. The Teamsters union...
John Dorfman: Enter my economic forecasting derby
Predicting the economy is close to impossible. But we have fun trying. Welcome to the 22nd Derby of Economic Forecasting Talent, or DEFT for short. Contestants must predict six economic variables for the calendar year in progress. You can play. The winner will get a trophy, plaque or certificate. Plus,...
Consumer confidence slips in February as anxiety over potential recession surprisingly reappears
American consumers are feeling less confident this month as concerns over a possible recession grew. The Conference Board, a business research group, said Tuesday that its consumer confidence index fell to 106.7 from a revised 110.9 in January. Analysts had been forecasting that the index remained steady from January to...
Kellogg’s CEO suggests eating cereal for dinner to fight food inflation
The CEO of Kellogg’s just had his ‘let them eat cake’ moment. This after the Frosted Flakes and Fruit Loops boss has been making the rounds on cable news shows suggesting Americans serve up cereal for dinner to save on their soaring food budgets. “If you think about the cost...
Macy’s to close 150 stores as sales slip as it pivots to luxury at Bloomingdale’s, Blue Mercury
NEW YORK — Macy’s will close 150 stores over the next three years and 50 by the end of 2024, the department store said Tuesday after posting a fourth quarter loss and declining sales. At the same time the company signaled a pivot to luxury. It said it would open...
Wendy’s to introduce surge-style pricing
How much you pay for a Wendy’s meal could depend on when you’re hungry. The Ohio-based fast-food chain is planning to introduce dynamic — or surge — pricing in 2025, according to Fox Business. That means the price of burgers, fries, chicken nuggets and Wendy’s signature Frosty milkshakes could fluctuate...
Employers at job fair face hurdles to fill slots — fewer workers and low unemployment rate
About four dozen businesses and organizations seeking workers at a job fair this week in Hempfield are facing a double whammy as they attempt to woo prospective employees: The jobless rate is at a record low, and there are fewer people in the workforce since the covid pandemic upended the...
