Business category, Page 5
Starbucks union baristas to walk out in 40 cities in push for contract talks
More than 1,000 Starbucks unionized baristas in over 40 U.S. cities launched an open-ended strike on Thursday, the union said, escalating their push for a collective bargaining agreement over pay and other benefits at the coffee giant. The walkout, which the union said will begin with 65 stores, coincides with...
Shady Ave Magazine to change ownership
Shady Ave Magazine, the highly regarded Pittsburgh-based lifestyle publication, has been acquired by Table Media Inc., officials announced Wednesday. Table Media is buying the publication from Trib Total Media, which has produced the magazine since May 2022. The transition to new ownership is expected to be completed by Dec. 1,...
Costco looks to sell beer and wine at Cranberry store — a 1st in Pa.
Costco wants to break into the beer and wine business in Pennsylvania, starting with its Cranberry location. The bulk goods retailer has a pending application with the Pa. Liquor Control Board that, if successful, would enable it to sell limited amounts of alcohol. In states and stores where allowed, Costco...
Fed to cut rates again in December on weakening job market, say most economists: Reuters poll
BENGALURU — The U.S. Federal Reserve will again lower its key interest rate by 25 basis points next month to underpin a weakening labor market, according to 80% of economists polled by Reuters, up slightly from a poll taken last month. That strengthening resolve contrasts with the clear disagreement among...
Explainer: Does Trump have a defamation case against the BBC?
President Donald Trump has threatened to sue the BBC for at least $1 billion over its airing of what he says was a deceptively edited documentary, but the case could hinge on whether anyone in Florida watched it online and felt misled. If that hurdle is cleared, a U.S. court...
John Dorfman: Conagra, Beazer Homes look good based on book value
A classic stock-picking technique that has fallen into disuse is the price-to-book-value ratio. Ben Graham, widely considered the father of value investing, liked stocks selling “below book.” I still do, although they are rarer today than they were in Graham’s Day. Book value is a company’s net worth — its...
Paramount Skydance to invest over $1.5 billion in programming next year; shares jump
LOS ANGELES — Paramount Skydance said it will make incremental programming investments of more than $1.5 billion next year to grow its streaming video business and revitalize its film studio, as it delivered its first quarterly results since the completion of the $8.4 billion merger. The company projected total revenue...
Target has a new ’10-4 policy.’ Here’s what that means
Target customers will soon see more smiles and maybe even exchange more pleasantries with employees, thanks to a new staff policy the retailer has implemented, the company said. The new policy requires employees who are within 10 feet of customers to smile, make eye contact, wave, and use friendly, approachable,...
Wendy’s to close hundreds of U.S. stores in bid to halt falling profit
Wendy’s plans to close hundreds U.S. restaurants over the next few months in an effort to boost its profit and make its remaining stores more appealing. The Dublin, Ohio-based chain said during a conference call with investors last week that it planned to begin closing restaurants in the fourth quarter...
Appellate court panel sides with striking Post-Gazette workers; PG will appeal decision
A federal appeals court panel on Monday ruled in favor of striking journalists at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, possibly heralding an end to a long and bitter labor dispute that led newspaper staffers to walk the picket line for more than three years. The decision by three judges on the U.S....
‘It’s all about giving back’: Macy’s partners with Gateway School District to provide winter gear
Giving back is something Macy’s is passionate about. Every March, the department store focuses on food insecurities in its communities. Locally, Macy’s in Monroeville Mall works with Best of the Batch Foundation and Big Brothers Big Sisters. “It’s something we’re passionate about. It’s in our DNA,” store manager Danielle Meehan...
ByHeart baby formula recalled amid infant botulism investigation
ByHeart, a next-generation baby nutrition company, has announced a voluntary recall of some batches of its powdered infant formula after federal authorities linked the product to an infant botulism outbreak. In separate statements on Saturday, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said...
Duolingo’s stock plunges after company eases push for paid subscribers
Duolingo’s stock price plunged nearly 30% after the Pittsburgh-based language learning app said Wednesday it’s prioritizing getting users in the door over making them paying customers. Shares of Duolingo on the Nasdaq stock exchange tumbled to $183 Thursday from $260 a day earlier. By market close Friday, the price made...
Spirit Airlines reaches tentative cost-saving labor deals amid bankruptcy proceedings
Spirit Airlines said on Friday it has reached tentative deals with unions representing its pilots and flight attendants that would involve some contract concessions, as the carrier tries to rein in costs as part of its ongoing Chapter 11 restructuring process. The airline said its senior leadership team has also...
Trump finalizes U.S. Gulf oil lease sale, proposes Alaska waterway sale in 2026
WASHINGTON — The Trump administration will hold an auction for drilling oil and gas off the U.S. Gulf next month and has proposed another in a waterway in southern Alaska, it said on Friday. The lease sale in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico, which President Donald Trump refers to as...
So far, so good: Pittsburgh airport running smoothly, for now, as flight cuts take effect
Pittsburgh International Airport appeared to be running normally Friday as the Federal Aviation Administration began curtailing flights across the nation in response to the government shutdown. Jackie Ferguson, a customer assistance representative for American Airlines at the airport, said Pittsburgh might not be directly affected until the end of the...
Nippon Steel projects long-term success for U.S. Steel despite current challenges
U.S. Steel is facing significant challenges in its early days under Nippon Steel, according to financial reports released Wednesday, but the Japanese firm remains confident its nearly $15 billion purchase will pay off. Nippon cited weak domestic demand in the U.S., market uncertainty and costs from the deadly Clairton Coke...
PNC broadens branch expansion plan to more than 300 by 2030
PNC said Friday it will be opening more than 300 new branches by 2030, adding about 100 locations to its earlier plan as it looks to expand its in-person banking footprint. Even as digital banking and online payments have lowered the need for frequent branch visits, several U.S. lenders are...
U.S. judge rejects Capital One $425 million settlement with depositors
A federal judge rejected Capital One’s $425 million settlement with depositors who said they were cheated out of high interest rates, saying the payout was too small and millions of account holders would continue to be short-changed. The class action settlement was intended to resolve claims that Capital One froze...
U.S. consumer sentiment weakens in November as government shutdown drags on
WASHINGTON — U.S. consumer sentiment weakened to the lowest level in nearly 3½ years in early November amid worries about the economic fallout from the longest government shutdown in history, a survey showed on Friday. The University of Michigan’s Surveys of Consumers said its Consumer Sentiment Index fell to 50.3...
Elon Musk’s $1 trillion Tesla pay plan wins shareholder approval
SAN FRANCISCO — Tesla CEO Elon Musk won shareholder approval on Thursday for the largest corporate pay package in history as investors endorsed his vision of morphing the EV maker into an AI and robotics juggernaut. The proposal was approved with over 75% support, and Musk bounded to the stage...
More Outback Steakhouses expected to close in Bloomin’ Brands turnaround plan
The parent company of Outback Steakhouse is cooking up a turnaround strategy to improve its restaurants. As part of its turnaround plan, Bloomin’ Brands has closed nearly two dozen U.S. restaurants and has decided to not renew the leases of more than 20 additional U.S. restaurants, the company said in...
Private reports suggest U.S. labor market weakened in October
WASHINGTON — The U.S. economy shed jobs in October amid losses in the government and retail sectors, while cost-cutting and the adoption of artificial intelligence by businesses led to a surge in announced layoffs, data showed on Thursday. The reports, including an estimate from the Chicago Federal Reserve that the...
Trump expands U.S. critical minerals list to include copper, metallurgical coal
The Trump administration on Thursday unveiled a new list of critical minerals it deems essential to the U.S. economy and national security, adding copper, which is vital to electric vehicles, power grids, and data centers, as well as metallurgical coal, which is used to make coke. The Interior Department’s list...
U.S. judge approves DOJ decision to drop Boeing criminal case
WASHINGTON — A U.S. judge on Thursday approved a request by the Justice Department to dismiss a criminal case against Boeing in a deal that allowed the planemaker to avoid prosecution on a charge stemming from two fatal 737 MAX plane crashes that killed 346 people but harshly criticized the...
