Business category, Page 16
How a West Deer company is helping kids with autism and sensory needs through play
Sometimes, you just fall in love with a place. And that, sort of, is how West Deer became home to an international company’s only U.S. location. Not widely-known to many in the community, TFH Special Needs Toys is a transatlantic company producing toys and other gadgets that make life better...
1.2M immigrants are gone from the U.S. labor force under Trump, preliminary data shows
It’s tomato season and Lidia is harvesting on farms in California’s Central Valley. She is also anxious. Attention from U.S. Immigration Control and Enforcement could upend her life more than 23 years after she illegally crossed the U.S.-Mexico border as a teenager. “The worry is they’ll pull you over when...
How the Fed losing its independence could affect Americans’ everyday lives
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump’s attempt to fire a member of the Federal Reserve’s governing board has raised alarms among economists and legal experts who see it as the biggest threat to the central bank’s independence in decades. The consequences could impact most Americans’ everyday lives: Economists worry that if...
Dorfman: Comcast, Allstate look good on price-to-cash flow ratio
“It’s my way or the highway.” That’s the attitude of some investment professionals toward stock-selection methods that differ from their own. If astronomers had a narrow view like that, they might spot Jupiter but miss the beautiful rings of Saturn. The price-to-cash flow ratio isn’t my favorite measure, but I...
Spirit Airlines files for bankruptcy protection again
Budget carrier Spirit Airlines said Friday it has filed for fresh bankruptcy protection months after emerging from a Chapter 11 reorganization. The no-frills airline said it intends to conduct business as normal during the restructuring process, meaning passengers can continue to book trips and use their tickets, credits and loyalty...
Cracker Barrel quietly deletes Pride page, drops DEI references from website
Cracker Barrel has quietly deleted a Pride page and removed references to Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging employee resource groups from its website. The changes, first reported by CNN, follow a highly publicized decision by the Tennessee-based restaurant chain to scrap a new logo after pressure from right-wing groups. Until...
AI Apocalypse? Why language surrounding tech is sounding increasingly religious
TORONTO — At 77 years old, Geoffrey Hinton has a new calling in life. Like a modern-day prophet, the Nobel Prize winner is raising alarms about the dangers of uncontrolled and unregulated artificial intelligence. Frequently dubbed the “Godfather of AI,” Hinton is known for his pioneering work on deep learning...
Key U.S. inflation gauge holds mostly steady though core inflation ticks higher
WASHINGTON — The Federal Reserve’s preferred inflation gauge mostly held steady last month despite President Donald Trump’s broad-based tariffs, but a measure of underlying inflation increased. Prices rose 2.6% in July compared with a year ago, the Commerce Department said Friday, the same annual increase as in June. Excluding the...
U.S. applications for jobless benefits fell last week as layoffs remain low
WASHINGTON — Fewer Americans sought unemployment benefits last week as employers appear to be holding onto their workers even as the economy has slowed. Applications for unemployment benefits for the week ending Aug. 23 dropped 5,000 to 229,000, the Labor Department reported Thursday. Measures of the job market are being...
YouTube TV reaches ‘short-term extension’ in dispute with Fox, warding off immediate disruptions
NEW YORK — YouTube TV says it’s reached a “short-term extension” in its contract dispute with Fox, meaning subscribers of the Google-owned streamer won’t see immediate disruptions of Fox channels on the platform. The current carriage agreement between YouTube TV and Fox originally faced a Wednesday afternoon deadline — with...
Sweet revival: Iconic Clark Candies gets a refresh in Tarentum
Brett Luedde says he’s in the business of happiness. The Highland Park native and his wife, Tera, have taken the reins at Clark Candies, a Tarentum institution churning out chocolates since 1937. The East First Avenue factory was founded by Tera’s grandfather and great- uncles, and run for many years by...
U.S. tariffs take effect on India, threatening $48.2B in exports
NEW DELHI — Steep U.S. tariffs on a range of Indian products took effect Wednesday, threatening a big blow to India’s overseas trade in its largest export market. President Donald Trump had initially announced a 25% tariff on Indian goods. But earlier this month he signed an executive order imposing...
Cracker Barrel relents, says its old logo will return
Cracker Barrel said late Tuesday it’s returning to its old logo after critics — including President Donald Trump — protested the company’s plan to modernize. In a post on its website, Cracker Barrel said it will retain its old logo, which features an older man in overalls sitting next to...
CSX railroad’s merger prospects derail as BNSF and CPKC make clear they aren’t interested in a deal
OMAHA, Neb. — The prospects for additional consolidation in the rail industry derailed this week when both of CSX’s potential partners said they weren’t interested in a deal. Investors widely speculated that CSX would be an acquisition target once rumors of merger talks between Union Pacific and Norfolk Southern emerged...
What is the Fed? An explainer of the Federal Reserve and how it works
Tensions escalated Tuesday between the Trump administration and the Federal Reserve. After President Donald Trump announced on social media that he was firing an official on the Fed’s chief governing body — something that hasn’t happened in U.S. history — the official, Fed Governor Lisa Cook, said she had no...
Millvale Hardee’s — chain’s only location in Pittsburgh region — closes
The only Hardee’s restaurant in the Pittsburgh region, and a cornerstone of the Millvale community, has closed. While a banner on the eatery at the convergence of North and Evergreen avenues thanks its customers for 50 years of business, the message under the red pylon sign simply said, “Closed.” Eric...
U.S. tariff exemption for small orders ends Friday. It’s a big deal to some shoppers and businesses
NEW YORK — Low-value imports are losing their duty-free status in the United States this week as part of President Donald Trump’s agenda for making the nation less dependent on foreign goods and resetting global trade with tariffs. An executive order signed last month eliminates a widely used customs exemption...
Fox channels may be dropped from YouTube TV in fee dispute
LOS ANGELES — About 10 million YouTube TV subscribers could lose access to Fox News and Fox Corp. channels that broadcast sports in a fee dispute that comes just days before the start of college football. The Google-owned television service notified customers that Fox-owned channels, including Fox Business and local...
August consumer confidence dips in U.S. with jobs, tariffs and high prices driving most unease
WASHINGTON — Americans’ view of the U.S. economy declined modestly in August as anxiety over a weakening job market grew for the eighth straight month. The Conference Board said Tuesday that its consumer confidence index ticked down by 1.3 points to 97.4 in August, down from July’s 98.7, but in...
Trump vows retaliation against countries with digital rules targeting U.S. tech
BRUSSELS — President Donald Trump vowed to impose new tariffs and export curbs on countries with digital taxes or regulations that affect American technology companies. Trump didn’t mention specific places but his comments were taken as a threat against the European Union’s digital rules to rein in companies like Google,...
What shoppers can do to limit charges once the U.S. ends a tariff exemption for goods under $800
NEW YORK — U.S. consumers have gotten used to shopping the world without paying customs duties on the international packages they receive from big e-commerce companies like Shein and Temu, specialty shops and businesses that sell goods through online marketplaces like Amazon, Etsy and eBay. That era is about to...
World shares sink after Trump escalates feud with the Federal Reserve
TOKYO — Shares sank Tuesday in Europe and Asia after President Donald Trump announced he was firing Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook. The announcement came after trading closed Monday on Wall Street, where benchmarks reversed some of their big gains notched last week on hopes for interest rate cuts from...
What’s in a brand? Cracker Barrel stock tanks 10% after booting Uncle Herschel from logo
Since Cracker Barrel cleaned up its logo a week ago, it has been dressed down by those averse to the change. The restaurant and gift shop, a staple of roadside rest stops throughout the homeland, prides itself on a homey atmosphere that’s emblematic of an episode of “The Waltons.” Locally,...
Elon Musk accuses Apple and OpenAI of stifling AI competition in antitrust lawsuit
Elon Musk on Monday targeted Apple and OpenAI in an antitrust lawsuit alleging that the iPhone maker and the ChatGPT maker are teaming up to thwart competition in artificial intelligence. The 61-page complaint filed in Texas federal court follows through on a threat that Musk made two weeks ago when...
Australia partly pauses U.S. parcel deliveries after Trump changes
Australia’s postal service has announced it will immediately partially suspend deliveries to the U.S. and its territories, after the Trump administration ended duty-free treatment for packages. The decision was in response to “significant changes” by the U.S. government and was in line with measures taken by other postal operators around...
