Wire stories category, Page 63
Merck envisions billions from covid-19 treatment sales
Merck fell out of the race to develop covid-19 vaccines earlier this year but could vault to head of the pack for treatments in 2022. The drugmaker’s potential antiviral, molnupiravir, may generate $5 billion to $7 billion in sales through next year, company executives told analysts Thursday morning. That could...
New home sales jumped 14% in September
WASHINGTON — Sales of new homes jumped 14% in September to the fastest pace in six months as strong demand helped offset rising prices. The Commerce Department reported Tuesday that sales of new single-family homes rose to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 800,000 units last month which was well...
‘Buy it when you see it’: Retailers dread holiday shortages
NEW YORK — The Perfect Pigg, a gift shop owned by Ginger Pigg, is the go-to place for residents of Cumming, Ga., to pick up gift items like kids toys and home goods. But this year, store shelves might be a little sparse. Because of bottlenecks in the global supply...
Hertz order for Teslas ranks among biggest-ever EV purchasesVideo
DETROIT — Hertz announced Monday that it will buy 100,000 electric vehicles from Tesla, one of the largest purchases of battery-powered cars in history and the latest evidence of the nation’s increasing commitment to EV technology. The purchase by one of the world’s leading rental car companies reflects its confidence...
Stocks end mostly higher, enough for S&P 500 to set recordVideo
A wobbly day of trading on Wall Street left major stock indexes mostly higher Thursday, nudging the S&P 500 to an all-time high. The benchmark index bounced back from an early slide to rise 0.3%, its seventh straight gain. The S&P 500 eclipsed the record high it set on Sept....
G-20 leaders lower ambitions to ‘consign coal to history’
Group of 20 diplomats have all but given up on their lofty goal of consigning coal to history and are instead closing in on a more modest plan to stop governments funding foreign coal-fired power plants, according to people familiar with the situation. With the energy crisis changing the dynamics...
Existing home sales surge as interest rates point higher
Sales of previously occupied U.S. homes bounced back in September to their strongest pace since January as mortgage rates tick higher, motivating buyers to get off the sidelines. The National Association of Realtors said Thursday that existing homes sales rose 7% compared with August to a seasonally adjusted annual rate...
Stocks end higher, bringing S&P 500 to the cusp of a record
Solid earnings from health care companies helped send stocks higher on Wall Street Wednesday and pushed the benchmark S&P 500 to the brink of another record high. The market has been gaining ground as investors shift their focus to the latest round of corporate earnings. Stocks have been choppy for...
Workers fed up with nights, weekends seek flexible schedules
After struggling to hire workers for its outlet store in Dallas, Balsam Hill finally opened on Sept. 1. But the very next day, the online purveyor of high-end artificial holiday trees was forced to close after four of its five workers quit. The main gripe for three of them? Working...
Bitcoin tops $66,000, hits high on mainstreaming excitement
NEW YORK — Bitcoin jumped to a record Wednesday, topping $66,000 for the first time, as it rides a wave of excitement about getting further accepted by the financial establishment. Bitcoin was trading at $66,901.30, up 7.6%, as of 10:52 a.m. It’s roared back after sinking below $30,000 during the...
Facebook paying fine to settle U.S. suit on discrimination
Facebook is paying a $4.75 million fine and up to $9.5 million to eligible victims to resolve the Justice Department’s allegations that it discriminated against U.S. workers in favor of foreigners with special visas to fill high-paying jobs. Facebook also agreed in the settlement announced Tuesday to train its employees...
Tech, health care stocks lead Wall Street indexes higher
Health care and technology companies led a broad rally for stocks on Wall Street Tuesday as investors welcomed another batch of encouraging company earnings reports. The S&P 500 rose 0.7%, driving the benchmark index to its fifth straight gain. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.6% and the tech-heavy Nasdaq...
1st ETF linked to Bitcoin is set to make its debut
Interested in Bitcoin but don’t want to open a crypto trading account? Wall Street has something for you.ProShares said Monday it plans to launch the country’s first exchange-traded fund linked to Bitcoin. The ETF with the ticker symbol “BITO” is expected to begin trading Tuesday, barring any opposition from regulators....
Ford Foundation to divest millions from fossil fuels
The Ford Foundation, one of the largest private foundations in the United States, announced Monday that it will divest millions from fossil fuels, following similar investment decisions made by other sizable foundations in recent years. For years, climate activists have put pressure on endowed institutions, like Ford, to end their...
Toyota to build $1.29B U.S. battery plant employing 1,750
DETROIT — Toyota plans to build a new $1.29 billion factory in the U.S. to manufacture batteries for gas-electric hybrid and fully electric vehicles. The plant location wasn’t announced, but the company said it eventually will employ 1,750 people and start making batteries in 2025, gradually expanding through 2031. The...
Supply-chain surcharge? Sherwin-Williams latest company to add sneaky fee
Hugo Granadino recently stopped by the Sherwin-Williams paint store in Inglewood, Calif., to pick up some rollers and brushes. He’s repainting the den of his South Los Angeles home. After the purchase, Granadino, 40, took a look at his receipt and was surprised to see a 4% “supply chain charge.”...
Stocks climb the most since March as momentum buildsVideo
Technology companies powered a broad rally for stocks Thursday on Wall Street, lifting the S&P 500 to its biggest gain since March. The benchmark index rose 1.7% a day after breaking a three-day losing streak. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 1.6% and the tech-heavy Nasdaq climbed 1.7%. More than...
Modest gain breaks a 3-day losing streak for S&P 500 index
Major stock indexes closed mostly higher Wednesday, snapping a three-day losing streak for the S&P 500 despite another choppy day of trading. The benchmark index rose 0.3% after having been down 0.5% in the early going. It’s still on pace for a 0.6% weekly loss. The Dow Jones Industrial Average...
Explainer: Why Social Security COLA will jump next year
WASHINGTON — Rising inflation is expected to lead to a sizeable increase in Social Security’s annual cost-of-living adjustment, or COLA, for 2022. Exactly how much will be revealed Wednesday morning after a Labor Department report on inflation during September, a data point used in the final calculation. Over the last...
Southwest cancels hundreds more flights, denies sickout
DALLAS — Southwest Airlines canceled more than 350 flights Monday following a weekend of major disruptions that it blamed on bad weather and air traffic control issues. The pilots union accused the company of a botched response to what it said would have been a minor challenge for other airlines....
Amazon to allow employees to work remotely indefinitely
SEATTLE — Amazon said Monday it will allow many tech and corporate workers to continue working remotely indefinitely, as long as they can commute to the office when necessary. The new policy was announced in a blog post and is a change from Amazon’s previous expectation that most employees would...
Instacart CEO Fidji Simo says online grocery shopping has room to grow
When the pandemic hit the U.S. last year, grocery delivery company Instacart suddenly became a lifeline for millions of consumers. Sales volumes skyrocketed; in one month, the company added 300,000 drivers to keep up with its orders. “We saw five years of growth packed into one year,” Instacart CEO Fidji...
Southwest Airlines flight cancellations continue into Monday
DALLAS — Southwest Airlines canceled hundreds more flights Monday following a weekend of major service disruptions. By late morning Monday, Southwest had canceled about 365 flights — 10% of its schedule for the day — and more than 600 others were delayed. The Dallas-based airline blamed air traffic control issues...
Explainer: 5 key takeaways from the September jobs report
WASHINGTON — September wasn’t exactly the robust month for hiring that many had expected and hoped for. With the delta variant still disrupting the economy and employers struggling to find enough workers, the gain for the month amounted to 194,000 jobs — not even half of what economists had expected....
AT&T reportedly played major role building, funding far-right channel One America News
Far-right media outlet One America News Network, known for promoting conspiracy theories about covid-19 and the 2020 presidential election, would likely not exist without the support and funding from telecom giant AT&T — whose executives reportedly came up with the idea of starting the channel. The world’s largest communications company...
