Wire stories category, Page 104
Stocks hit records as strong jobs report calms trade worries
NEW YORK — Stocks powered to records Friday after an encouraging jobs report gave reassurance that the economy is still solid, despite the pain U.S. factories are feeling from President Donald Trump’s trade war. The Labor Department’s report showed that employers added more jobs in October than economists expected, and...
Minnesota company snubs time change by removing clocks
MAPLEWOOD, Minn. — While most everyone wishes they could turn back time, one of the largest corporations in the country is sick of it. Minnesota-based 3M is taking advantage of the end of daylight saving time and removing about 1,000 wall clocks at its 400-acre Maplewood campus. For decades, nearly...
Stocks close broadly lower on new U.S.-China trade jitters
Stocks closed broadly lower on Wall Street Thursday after investors got spooked by a published report that cast doubt on the prospects of a long-term U.S-China trade deal. Bond prices surged, sending yields sharply lower, as traders turned cautious. The sell-off was a marked shift from a day earlier, when...
Apple TV Plus joins streaming wars, has Oprah but no catalog
LOS ANGELES — As the streaming wars near a fever pitch and viewers are targeted from every vantage point — Disney Plus has the Marvel and Star Wars brands! HBO Max counters with “Game of Thrones” and DC superheroes! — Apple TV Plus could be cast as the highly pedigreed...
Twitter pulls back on political ads, but pitfalls await
SAN FRANCISCO — Twitter announced an end Wednesday to political campaign and issue ads on its service, calling it an important step in reducing the flow of election-related misinformation. But some of its users might face an unintended consequence or two. Among those potentially affected could be public-interest nonprofits eager...
S&P 500 hits new high as traders welcome latest Fed rate cut
Stocks closed broadly higher on Wall Street Wednesday, sending the S&P 500 to a record high for the second time this week, as investors welcomed the Federal Reserve’s decision to lower interest rates for the third time this year. The central bank also indicated that it won’t cut rates again...
Purdue Pharma paid CEO $9M in year before bankruptcy
OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma paid its CEO $9 million and its board chairman nearly $4 million in the 12 months before the company’s bankruptcy filing last month, according to recently filed financial documents. Five other board members overseeing the private company were paid a combined $3.7 million over that span....
Fed cuts rates a 3rd time this year but signals likely pause
WASHINGTON — The Federal Reserve cut its benchmark interest rate Wednesday for the third time this year to try to sustain the economic expansion in the face of global threats. But it hinted that it won’t likely cut again this year. The Fed’s move reduces the short-term rate it controls...
Beverage companies aim to get bottles recycled, not trashed
Every year, an estimated 100 billion plastic bottles are produced in the U.S., the bulk of which come from three of America’s biggest beverage companies: Coca-Cola, Pepsi and Keurig Dr Pepper. The problem? Only one-third of those bottles get recycled; the rest end up in the trash. That bleak trend...
U.S. stocks cap wobbly day of trading with modest losses
Technology companies led stocks lower on Wall Street on Tuesday as a wobbly day of trading ended with modest losses for the market. Health care stocks jumped on stronger-than-expected reports from drugmakers, but losses by internet and media companies held the market in check following a mixed report from Google’s...
3 major automakers side with Trump in legal fight with California
WASHINGTON — General Motors, Fiat Chrysler, Toyota and 10 smaller automakers are siding with the Trump administration in a lawsuit over whether California has the right to set its own greenhouse gas emissions and fuel economy standards. The companies said Monday they will intervene in a lawsuit filed by the...
More employers offer workers help paying off student loans
Americans collectively owe nearly $1.5 trillion in student loans — more than twice the total a decade ago. It’s a burden that weighs on millions of adults, shaping their life choices and often stunting their financial growth. Now a small but growing number of employers are stepping in to help....
Grubhub valuation tumbles as rivals encroach
NEW YORK — Shares in Grubhub plunged 43% on Tuesday after it sharply cut its revenue expectations for the year and warned of intense competition. The steep decline in share price wiped away more than $2.25 billion of the company’s valuation in the public market in midday trading. It is...
Horsepower, literally: Finnish horse show runs on manure
HELSINKI — In a glimpse of the future, an entire sports event has been run on horse manure. The world’s governing equestrian body on Monday praised a climate-friendly scheme by a Finnish equestrian event to generate all its electricity needs from horse manure, saying the initiative paves way in cutting...
GM workers ratify contract, ending contentious 40-day strike
ROMULUS, Mich. — A contentious 40-day strike that crippled General Motors’ U.S. production came to an end Friday as workers approved a new contract with the company. The four-year deal will now be used as a template in bargaining with crosstown rival Ford Motor Co., the union’s choice for the...
American Express ‘Green Card’ turns 50, gets needed revamp
NEW YORK — For 50 years, the American Express “Green Card” has been everywhere its card members wanted to be. Launched in 1969, the Green Card gave travelers a sense of importance they didn’t feel carrying travelers’ cheques. For many people, it was their first AmEx card. Over time, however,...
Nike CEO Mark Parker to step down in JanuaryVideo
NEW YORK — Nike said Tuesday that its longtime CEO Mark Parker is stepping down early next year. He will be replaced by board member John Donahoe, who formerly ran e-commerce company eBay. Parker will become executive chairman of the board. Nike’s sales have been on the rise as the...
Macy’s to stop selling real fur by end of fiscal year 2020
NEW YORK — Macy’s Inc. says it will stop selling real fur by the end of its fiscal year 2020 at its namesake stores, Bloomingdale’s, as well as at its discount outlets. As part of the announcement, the department store chain says it will close its fur vaults and salons....
Online ordering boom gives rise to virtual restaurantsVideo
NEW YORK — Frato’s Pizza looks like a typical family restaurant, with its black-and-white checkered floor and red chairs. But in the kitchen, the cooks are whipping up dishes for four other restaurants at the same time. There is, of course, the gourmet pizza that patrons have come to expect...
Stocks end lower; S&P 500 notches 2nd straight weekly gain
The S&P 500 index closed out an uneven week of trading on Wall Street with its second straight weekly gain, even though stock indexes ended lower Friday. Technology companies led the slide, erasing some of the market’s gains from a day earlier. Communication services, industrials and health care stocks also...
Juul halts sales of fruit, dessert flavors for e-cigarettesVideo
WASHINGTON — Juul Labs stopped selling fruit and dessert flavors Thursday, acknowledging the public’s “lack of trust” in the vaping industry. The voluntary step is the company’s latest attempt to weather a growing political backlash blaming its flavored-nicotine products for hooking a generation of teenagers on electronic cigarettes. Juul, the...
U.S. home construction fell 9.4% last month
WASHINGTON — U.S. home building fell last month, driven by a sharp decline in the construction of new apartments. The Commerce Department said Thursday that housing starts dropped 9.4% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.26 million. The construction of new apartments plunged 28.3% to an annual pace of...
Netflix heads into showdown with slowing subscriber growthVideo
SAN FRANCISCO — Netflix’s subscriber growth is bogging down even before the leading video streaming service confronts high-powered threats from Apple and Walt Disney Co. The latest sign of the challenges the company is facing emerged Wednesday with the release of its third-quarter results. The numbers provided further evidence that...
Technology companies lead modest slide for U.S. stock indexes
A day of mostly listless trading on Wall Street ended Wednesday with modest losses as the stock market gave back some of its gains from the day before. Technology stocks accounted for most of the selling, which lost some of its momentum toward the end of the day. Energy companies...
GM and union reach tentative deal that could end strike
DETROIT — Bargainers for General Motors and the United Auto Workers reached a tentative contract deal on Wednesday that could end a monthlong strike that brought the company’s U.S. factories to a standstill. The deal, which the union says offers “major gains” for workers, was hammered out after months of...
