Wire stories category, Page 105
Solid company earnings power broad rally for U.S. stocks
Stocks notched solid gains on Wall Street Tuesday as investors welcomed surprisingly good quarterly results from some of the nation’s biggest companies. Strong earnings from UnitedHealth Group, JPMorgan Chase and other companies helped power the market’s broad gains, erasing modest losses from a day earlier. Investors are looking to the...
New Jersey breaks its monthly sports betting record
ATLANTIC CITY — Gamblers wagered a record-breaking $445 million on sports in New Jersey in September, the largest monthly total in the state since legal sports betting began in June 2018. The release of figures Tuesday came as the rapidly growing New Jersey sports betting market challenges Nevada for nationwide...
Pennsylvania expanding tax to more out-of-state corporations
Pennsylvania will start collecting corporate income taxes from companies that don’t have offices, employees or property in the state, making it one of the last states to target such companies. Pennsylvania announced the change starting in the 2020 tax year through a tax bulletin published Sept. 30. It cites a...
California governor signs fur sales, circus performance bans
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — California will ban the sale and manufacture of new fur products and bar most animals from circus performances under a pair of bills signed Saturday by Gov. Gavin Newsom. Under the first-in-the-nation fur law, residents will no longer be able to sell or make clothing, shoes or...
Judge will halt lawsuits against Purdue Pharma, its owners
A judge will halt lawsuits against Purdue Pharma and its owners for six months in hopes of finalizing a settlement over the OxyContin maker’s role in the national opioid crisis, he said Friday. In a hearing, U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Robert Drain strongly brushed aside the argument from a group of...
Stocks climb for 2nd straight day on U.S.-China trade optimism
Stocks closed broadly higher on Wall Street for the second straight day Thursday as the U.S. and China kicked off a new round of negotiations in their long-running trade war. Technology companies and banks led the rally as investors turned hopeful that the 13th round of trade talks will bring...
Social Security checks to rise modestly amid push to expand benefitsVideo
WASHINGTON — Millions of retirees will get a modest 1.6% cost-of-living increase from Social Security in 2020, an uptick with potential political consequences in an election year when Democrats are pushing more generous inflation protection. The increase amounts to $24 a month for the average retired worker, according to estimates...
U.S. stocks notch broad gains amid renewed trade deal hopes
Stocks notched broad gains Wednesday on Wall Street as investors regained some of their optimism about the prospects for progress in the trade war between the U.S. and China. A day after escalating trade tensions led to a sharp sell-off, investors drew encouragement from reports that Beijing signaled it is...
Kroger, Walgreens to stop selling e-cigarettes in U.S.
NEW YORK — Two major retailers say they will no longer sell e-cigarettes in the U.S. amid mounting health questions surrounding vaping. Supermarket chain Kroger and drugstore chain Walgreens announced Monday they would discontinue sales of e-cigarettes at their stores nationwide, citing an uncertain regulatory environment. The vaping industry has...
UAW says negotiations with General Motors have ‘taken a turn for the worse’Video
DETROIT — The UAW’s lead negotiator said Sunday that talks with General Motors have “taken a turn for the worse.” The surprise negative development followed reports of progress in recent days and adds more uncertainty to when the UAW’s 3-week-old strike against GM might come to an end. In fact,...
U.S. stocks notch solid gains as job report allays worries
Wall Street ended a choppy week of trading with a broad rally that drove the Dow Jones Industrial Average more than 370 points higher. The gains Friday also gave the S&P 500 index its best day in seven weeks, though the benchmark index still finished with its third straight weekly...
Stocks drop again to worst loss in weeks on economy worries
NEW YORK — Stocks tumbled again on Wednesday as worries about a weakening global economy boomeranged around the world. For a second straight day, the S&P 500 dropped to its worst loss in five weeks. The latest wave of selling came after a report showed hiring by U.S. companies slowed...
Stocks sink as U.S. manufacturing shrinks again amid trade war
NEW YORK — U.S. stocks sank to their worst loss in five weeks on Tuesday after a surprisingly limp report on the nation’s manufacturing stirred worries about the economy’s strength. The report showed that manufacturing weakened in September for the second straight month as President Donald Trump’s trade war with...
Manufacturing sinks to decade-low, stoking economic fearVideo
WASHINGTON — U.S. factory activity hit a decade low last month in the face of President Donald Trump’s trade conflicts, adding to a weakening picture of the global economy. The Institute for Supply Management, an association of purchasing managers, said Tuesday that its manufacturing index shrank for a second straight...
US Steel buys $700M stake in Arkansas-based Big River Steel
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — United States Steel Corporation is buying a minority stake in an Arkansas-based steel company for $700 million. Big River Steel of Osceola announced Tuesday it had entered into an agreement with the Pittsburgh-based steel company. Under the agreement, U.S. Steel will hold a 49.9% ownership interest...
CVS stops sale of heartburn drugs with suspect contaminant
CVS has halted sales of popular heartburn treatment Zantac and its generic store brand after warnings by U.S. health regulators. It’s the latest precautionary move by retailers and manufacturers after the Food and Drug Administration recently warned consumers about a potentially dangerous contaminant in prescription and over-the-counter versions of Zantac....
Forever 21 fashion chain files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy
NEW YORK — Low-price fashion chain Forever 21, a one-time hot destination for teen shoppers that fell victim to its own rapid expansion and changing consumer tastes, has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. The privately held company based in Los Angeles said Sunday it will close up to 178...
Former college towns left to adapt to business loss
POULTNEY, Vt. — As colleges and universities come alive this fall, some campuses sit closed and empty after succumbing to a recent wave of fewer students and financial challenges. Now communities that long hosted those historic institutions and relied on them for an economic boost — and their very identity...
Barbie maker makes room in the toy box for gender-inclusive dolls
LOS ANGELES — Mattel, the toymaker behind Barbie dolls and Hot Wheels cars, is now officially woke. The company has launched its first gender-inclusive dolls to encourage more creative play for girls, boys and anyone identifying as both or in between. The Creatable World doll line, which launched Wednesday, is...
US economy grew at modest 2% rate in second quarter
WASHINGTON — The U.S. economy grew at a modest 2% annual rate in the second quarter, a pace sharply lower than the 3%-plus growth rates seen over the past year. Many analysts believe growth will slow further in coming quarters as global weakness and rising trade tensions exert a toll....
Walmart’s Sam’s Club launches health care pilot to members
NEW YORK — Walmart’s Sam’s Club is teaming up with several health care companies to offer discounts on routine care that customers might delay or skip because of the cost. Starting next month, Sam’s Club members in Michigan, Pennsylvania and North Carolina will be able to buy bundles of health...
Uber adds more services to its app in its quest for profit
SAN FRANCISCO — Uber is cramming more services into its ride-hailing app as it explores ways to generate more revenue and finally turn a profit. The makeover announced Thursday includes force-feeding its food delivery service, “Eats,” into the Uber app that millions of people use to summon a ride. That...
U.S. stocks rebound on housing data, Trump trade deal remark
U.S. stocks finished broadly higher Wednesday after President Donald Trump indicated that a deal to resolve the long-running, costly trade dispute with China could happen soon. Trump’s remarks, in addition to a sharp increase in sales of new U.S. homes, helped reverse an early slide for stocks. Technology companies led...
WeWork CEO stepping aside amid questions about company
NEW YORK — WeWork’s charismatic but controversial CEO is stepping aside from the company he founded, another moment of reckoning between a fast-growing tech company and its disenchanted investors. The New York-based company, which runs trendy communal office spaces, said Tuesday that Adam Neumann will remain on its board as...
Fresh U.S.-China trade worries erase early gains for stocks
Wall Street closed out a volatile week with losses Friday as investors worried that upcoming trade talks aimed at resolving the costly trade war between Washington and Beijing could be in trouble. The selling, which erased modest early gains for the market, snapped a three-week win streak for the S&P...
