Wire stories category, Page 115
Amazon, Microsoft finalists for Pentagon contract; ‘potential ethical violations’ noted
WASHINGTON — The Pentagon has narrowed the field of potential awardees for its $10 billion cloud computing contract to two companies: Amazon and Microsoft, Defense Department spokeswoman Elissa Smith said Wednesday. The Pentagon separately determined that alleged conflicts of interest on the part of Amazon Web Services did not adversely...
National Enquirer parent explores possible sale of tabloid
NEW YORK — The supermarket tabloid under fire for paying hush money to a former Playboy model to help Donald Trump in his 2016 presidential campaign is on the auction block. The parent of the National Enquirer said Wednesday that it is exploring a possible sale as part of a...
U.S. budget deficit running 15% higher than a year ago
WASHINGTON — The federal government reported a $146.9 billion deficit in March, causing annual debt to rise 15% for the first half of the budget year compared to the same period in 2018. The Treasury Department said Wednesday in its monthly report that the fiscal year deficit has so far...
Hormel lawsuit reveals what ‘natural’ meat really means
Consumers want “natural” meat — and the biggest meat companies want to sell it to them. American shoppers are reaching for healthier, more environmentally and animal-friendly meat products, with 39 percent saying “all-natural” is the most important claim when purchasing red meat, according to a recent survey by Mintel. But...
Ghost of Toys R Us still haunts toy makers
NEW YORK — This year, children will have a hard time finding Uncle Milton’s glow-in-the-dark ant farm, or the gel and ant village version. Basic Fun, the parent company behind the brand, has stopped producing them and now makes just three versions — basic, giant and retro. Who’s to blame?...
Delta tops long-running ranking of U.S. airlines
Delta Air Lines comes in first in a long-running study that ranks U.S. airlines by how often flights arrive on time and other statistical measures. Researchers who crunch the numbers also say that as a whole, U.S. airlines are getting better at handling baggage and overcrowded flights and are getting...
Forget kibbles: U.S. sales of fresh pet food are soaring
DETROIT — Kibbles for Fido? Nope. These days he’s getting diced chicken with sweet potatoes and spinach. U.S. pet owners are increasingly feeding fresh food to their dogs and cats. Some order pre-proportioned meals of meat and vegetables or frozen raw meat online. Others find them in refrigerators at big...
Aldi sets sustainability goals with consumers calling for less waste
Aldi is the latest supermarket chain to announce a sustainability push - an effort the company says will help it trim costs and stand out in a crowded field. The low-cost grocer, known for its spartan approach to retailing, plans to make all of its private-label packaging reusable, recyclable or...
High prices, interest rates push 1Q U.S. auto sales down 2%
DETROIT — Automobile sales in the U.S. fell 2% in the first quarter, another sign the nation’s economy is starting to slow. Automakers sold just over 4 million vehicles from January through March, according to Ward’s Automotive Intelligence, and industry analysts blame the decline on rising vehicle prices, competition from...
Family behind OxyContin calls opioid suit false, misleading
BOSTON — Massachusetts authorities created a false picture of the Sackler family’s role in promoting OxyContin, the Sacklers said Tuesday in their first court response to allegations that individual family members — not just their company, Purdue Pharma — helped fuel the deadly opioid epidemic. The Sackler family says a...
Registration open for North Allegheny’s 19th annual Pump House Run
Registration is open for the 19th annual Pump House Run on Saturday, May 18 at North Allegheny Intermediate High School. The run will include four separate races: A 5K, a 1-mile run/walk, a 1/2-mile run for people 9 and older; and a 50-yard dash for preschoolers. Money raised from the...
U.S. stock indexes cap listless trading day with mixed finish
A day of listless trading on Wall Street ended with an uneven finish for stock indexes as the market lost some of its momentum after a three-day winning streak. After a brief early slide, U.S. stocks mostly wavered between small gains and losses through the rest of the day, as...
AP: Most states’ sports betting revenue misses estimates
PROVIDENCE, R.I. — When the Patriots won the Super Bowl again — and covered the spread, too — all of New England was delirious, with the possible exception of Rhode Island’s tax collectors. The state’s sportsbooks lost $2.35 million because, come on, really, who’s going to bet against Tom Brady...
Thinking ahead: How to prepare next year’s tax filing now
If you weren’t happy with your tax bill this year, or you’re worried about next year’s, this is the time to take action. CHECK YOUR WITHHOLDINGS If you do only one thing, review the withholdings on your paycheck. The tax overhaul changed how much employers withhold from paychecks. If you...
Lyft’s shares soar as investors bet on ride-hailing future
Lyft’s shares soared as the company went public Friday, giving investors their first chance to bet on the future of the ride-hailing industry. The stock opened at $87.24, up 21 percent from its offering price of $72. Lyft won the race with its much larger rival Uber to go public,...
4 issues home buyers will face this spring
As the spring home buying market kicks into high gear, house hunters may be mostly focused on lining up their financing and finding a place to purchase. While affordability and availability are two important aspects of the process, Dana Bull, a real estate agent with Sagan Harborside Sotheby’s International Realty...
Apple vs. Netflix: Why turf wars are flaring in big tech
Apple’s latest move into streaming video illustrates an escalating trend: Tech’s biggest companies, faced with limits to their growth, are encroaching on each other’s turf. Apple is taking on Netflix. Facebook is edging into Amazon’s sphere with its e-commerce plans. Google, which has already challenged Amazon and Microsoft in cloud...
Newspapers largely shun Apple’s news subscription service
NEW YORK — Many newspaper publishers — after suffering for a decade from job losses, shrinking ad dollars and circulation declines — are so far shunning Apple’s new “Netflix for news” subscription. For $10 a month, Apple News Plus offers articles from more than 300 magazines, but only three newspapers....
Maker of OxyContin reaches $270M settlement in Oklahoma
OKLAHOMA CITY — The maker of OxyContin and the company’s controlling family agreed Tuesday to pay a groundbreaking $270 million to Oklahoma to settle allegations they helped create the nation’s deadly opioid crisis with their aggressive marketing of the powerful painkiller. It is the first settlement to come out of...
Kraft Heinz can’t count on ketchup to save it from the future of food
What went wrong at Kraft Heinz Co.? Years before last month’s jaw-dropping $15.4 billion writedown, the company had been on a mission to make over some of its quintessential products, removing maligned ingredients from its mac and cheese and hot dogs to better compete with newer, more natural upstarts. The...
U.S. average mortgage rates fall; 30-year at 4.28 percent
WASHINGTON — U.S. long-term mortgage rates fell this week, giving an incentive to potential buyers as the spring homebuying season opens. Mortgage buyer Freddie Mac says the average rate on the 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage declined to 4.28 percent from 4.31 percent the previous week. Mortgage rates have fallen substantially since...
Levi Strauss readies for prime time in the public markets
NEW YORK — Levi Strauss & Co., which gave America its first pair of blue jeans, is public again, for the second time. The 166-year-old company, which owns the Dockers and Denizen brands, previously went public in 1971, but the namesake founder’s descendants took it private again in 1985. The...
In IPO filing, Lyft outlines reasons ride-sharing could fail
Lyft is due to be the first giant tech startup to list its shares on the stock market this year — and it has laid out all the roadblocks that could derail not only its own business, but the ride-sharing industry itself. From dockless scooters and bicycles to self-driving cars,...
European, Canadian regulators plan own reviews of Boeing 737 Max
Boeing’s grounded airliners are likely to be parked longer now that European and Canadian regulators plan to conduct their own reviews of changes the company is making after two of the jets crashed. The Europeans and Canadians want to do more than simply take the Federal Aviation Administration’s word that...
Reading Eagle files for bankruptcy protection, seeks buyer
READING — The family-owned company that has published the Reading Eagle newspaper for more than 150 years is filing for bankruptcy protection and seeking a buyer. The Reading Eagle Co., whose other properties include news-talk radio station WEEU and a weekly newspaper, said Wednesday it will continue to publish and...
