Wire stories category, Page 65
Stocks end lower after a brief afternoon recovery fades
Another day of choppy trading on Wall Street left stocks mostly lower, cutting into the major indexes’ gains for the week. The S&P 500 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average each lost about 0.2%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq managed to eke out a gain of 0.1%. More stocks fell than...
Apple’s next iPhone mirrors last year’s, adds more storage
Apple unveiled its next iPhone line-up, including a model that offers twice the storage available in earlier versions and other modest upgrades to last year’s editions that proved to be a big hit among consumers devouring the latest technology during the pandemic. The pre-recorded video event streamed Tuesday gave Apple...
Child tax credit payments go out this week. Here’s what to know.
Eligible families are set to receive a third round of monthly child tax credit direct payments this week. The temporarily enhanced tax credits — included in the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan signed into law by President Biden in March — provide eligible parents with up to $3,600 per child...
U.S. will give aircraft companies $482 million for pandemic
The Biden administration is making $482 million available to aviation industry manufacturers to help them avert job or pay cuts in the pandemic. The taxpayer-funded relief will cover up to half of the payroll costs at 313 companies, according to the Transportation Department, which said Thursday will help save up...
Stocks edge higher, regrouping after a down week
A late-afternoon burst of buying helped stock indexes close mostly higher Monday on Wall Street, snapping a five-day losing streak for the S&P 500. The benchmark index shook off an afternoon slump to finish 0.2% higher. Banks, energy companies and communication stocks accounted for much of the index’s broad gains....
Federal mandate takes vaccine decision off employers’ hands
Larger U.S. businesses now won’t have to decide whether to require their employees to get vaccinated against covid-19. Doing so is now federal policy. President Joe Biden announced sweeping new orders Thursday that will require employers with more than 100 workers to mandate immunizations or offer weekly testing. The new...
Stocks higher in early trading, still lower for the week
Stocks were slightlyi higher Thursday morning on Wall Street, as the market continues to wobble between gains and losses in this holiday-shortened week. The S&P 500 index rose 0.2% as of 10 a.m. Eastern. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.2% and the Nasdaq composite rose 0.3%. The S&P 500...
Economic oddity: Record job openings and many unemployedVideo
WASHINGTON — The disconnect is jarring: Across the United States, employers who are desperate to fill jobs have posted a record-high number of job openings. They’re raising pay, too, and dangling bonuses to people who accept job offers or recruit their friends. And yet millions more Americans are unemployed compared...
Amazon to open 2 cashier-less Whole Foods stores next year
There will be something missing at two Whole Foods stores opening next year: the rows of cashiers. Amazon, which owns the grocery chain, said Wednesday that it will bring its cashier-less technology to two Whole Foods stores for the first time, letting shoppers grab what they need and leave without...
Stocks close mostly lower, but Nasdaq still inches higher
Stocks indexes on Wall Street closed mostly lower Tuesday, though solid gains by Apple, Facebook and other tech heavyweights helped nudged the Nasdaq to another all-time high. The S&P 500 slipped 0.3%, losing some ground after two straight weekly gains. Roughly 80% of companies in the benchmark index fell. Industrial...
Early stumble as El Salvador starts Bitcoin as currency
SAN SALVADOR — El Salvador became the first country to adopt Bitcoin as legal tender Tuesday, but the rollout stumbled in its first hours and President Nayib Bukele said the digital wallet used for transactions was not functioning. For part of the morning, El Salvador’s president became tech support for...
Jobless Americans will have few options as benefits expireVideo
NEW YORK — Millions of jobless Americans lost their unemployment benefits on Monday, leaving only a handful of economic support programs for those who are still being hit financially by the year-and-a-half-old coronavirus pandemic. Two critical programs expired on Monday. One provided jobless aid to self-employed and gig workers and...
Electric boats making waves without the noise
The auto industry has raced ahead on an electric wave with more manufacturers joining the race seemingly every day. The boating industry has sputtered far behind, bogged down by low-horsepower engines and batteries that take up nearly half the boat. That’s in the process of changing. Bolstered by new technology,...
Stocks decline after negative jobs report, bond yields rise
Stocks were falling Friday after a critical report on U.S. hiring showed employers created far fewer jobs than expected. It gave investors pause on whether the delta variant of the coronavirus was starting to impact economic growth out of the pandemic. The S&P 500 index fell 0.1% as of 10...
U.S. hiring slows to just 235,000 jobs after 2 strong months
WASHINGTON — America’s employers added just 235,000 jobs in August, a surprisingly weak gain after two months of robust hiring at a time when the delta variant’s spread has discouraged some people from flying, shopping and eating out. The August job gains the government reported Friday fell far short of...
Stocks shake off an afternoon stumble to end modestly higher
The stock market recovered from an afternoon stumble Thursday and ended with some modest gains, enough to mark more record highs for the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq composite. Investors had a fresh batch of economic data to weigh as they gauge the economic recovery, but much of the focus...
GM, Ford halt some production as chip shortage worsens
DETROIT — The global shortage of computer chips is getting worse, forcing automakers to temporarily close factories including those that build popular pickup trucks. General Motors announced Thursday that it would pause production at eight North American plants during the next two weeks, including two that make the company’s top-selling...
U.S. jobless claims reach a pandemic low as hiring strengthens
WASHINGTON — The number of Americans seeking unemployment benefits fell last week to 340,000, a pandemic low, another sign that the job market is steadily rebounding from the economic collapse caused by the coronavirus pandemic. Jobless claims dropped by 14,000, the Labor Department reported Thursday. The weekly count has mostly...
Stocks end with miniscule gains, enough to nudge Nasdaq to record
Stocks inched mostly higher on Wednesday, enough to nudge the Nasdaq composite index to an all-time high. Markets continue to remain quiet ahead of Friday’s jobs report and the Labor Day holiday in the United States on Monday. The S&P 500 index rose 1.41 points, less than 0.1%, to close...
S&P 500 ends August higher, its 7th straight monthly gain
A wobbly day on Wall Street ended Tuesday with major indexes slipping just below recent record highs, but the S&P 500 closed out August solidly in the green with its seventh straight monthly gain. Investors are busy trying to figure out just how much of an impact rising covid-19 cases...
Walgreens joins other retailers with starting pay boost
Walgreens will hike starting pay to $15 an hour beginning in October, as employers across the United States continue boosting wages to attract workers. The drugstore chain said Tuesday that the wage hike will take effect in phases and be completed by November 2022. It will affect workers in the...
Survey: Owners frustrated when linking phones to vehicles
Automobile quality rose last year, but glitches in pairing smartphones with infotainment systems frustrated owners more than anything, according to a large U.S. survey of auto owners. For the first time, a brand from Fiat Chrysler, now Stellantis, ranked No. 1 for having the fewest problems. Ram trucks finished first,...
Survey: 55% of Americans expect to search for a new job over the next 12 months
The coronavirus pandemic massively disrupted Americans’ working lives, and a new Bankrate survey suggests that it’s causing many of them to now re-evaluate what they want out of their careers. Most Americans (55 percent) who are either employed or looking for a job — what economists would describe as being...
Disney World will resume selling annual passes again Sept. 8
Walt Disney World will resume selling annual passes for its theme parks Sept. 8. Expect new names for the passes — which have increased in price — as well as strengthened ties to park reservations, which are staying around, the company announced Monday. The number of reservations that a passholder...
As Ida leaves Gulf, analysts foresee modest economic damage
WASHINGTON — With more than 1 million customers in Louisiana and Mississippi having lost power, Hurricane Ida is sure to take a toll on the energy, chemical and shipping industries that have major hubs along the Gulf Coast. But the impact on the overall U.S. economy will likely be modest...
