Business category, Page 83
Dick’s signs lease for former Westmoreland Mall Sears
Dick’s Sporting Goods plans to move into the former Sears at Westmoreland Mall, according to the company that controls the property. The Findlay-based sporting goods chain already has a store behind the mall in Hempfield. Dick’s hasn’t responded to requests seeking comment about the move. Transformco Properties, a Chicago-area company...
Home sales rose in January as easing mortgage rates, more homes for sale enticed homebuyers
LOS ANGELES — Sales of previously occupied U.S. homes rose in January as homebuyers were encouraged by easing mortgage rates and a modest pickup in properties on the market. Existing home sales rose 3.1% last month from December to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4 million, the National Association...
‘Something’s not right to me,’ UPS worker says of cuts at New Stanton hub
A United Parcel Service employee said she felt betrayed this week after receiving news the company plans to shed about 200 jobs from its New Stanton delivery hub. “In the end, we got screwed. It’s rough. Something’s not right to me,” said Lindsey Kramer, 37, of Mt. Pleasant. She was...
Boeing ousts head of 737 jetliner program weeks after panel blowout on a flight over Oregon
SEATTLE — Boeing said Wednesday that the head of its 737 program is leaving the company in an executive shake-up weeks after a door panel blew out on a flight over Oregon, renewing questions about safety at the company. Boeing announced the departure of Ed Clark, who had been with...
American Airlines is raising bag fees, changing how customers earn frequent-flyer points
DALLAS — American Airlines is raising the cost of checking bags and it is making other changes to push customers to buy tickets directly from the airline if they want to earn frequent-flyer points. The airline said Tuesday that checking a bag on a domestic flight will rise from $30...
UPS plans layoffs at New Stanton facility
Global shipper UPS plans to eliminate the full daylight shift that sorts packages at its New Stanton facility April 15, the company said Tuesday. Teamsters Local 30 in Jeannette will meet with its members Wednesday to discuss the company’s plans to cut the local workforce, said Eugene “Geno” Bosetti, president...
Capital One to buy Discover for $35 billion in deal that combines major U.S. credit card companies
NEW YORK — Capital One Financial said it will buy Discover Financial Services for $35 billion, in a deal that would bring together two of the nation’s credit card companies as well as potentially shake up the payments industry, which is largely dominated by Visa and Mastercard. Under the terms...
TikTok faces European Union scrutiny for possible breaches of strict new digital rulebook
LONDON — The European Union said Monday it is investigating whether TikTok has broken the bloc’s strict new digital rules for cleaning up social media and keeping internet users safe. The European Commission, the EU’s executive branch, said it has “opened formal proceedings to assess” whether TikTok has breached the...
In-demand apprentice machinists compete for regional awards as industry looks fill vacant jobs
Travis Bayne of New Kensington was focused on cutting a cylinder-shaped piece of aluminum on a manual lathe Friday as part of a competition for apprentice machinists determined to produce a precise, quality machined part as quickly as possible. “You’re trying to get the job done as fast as you...
Tech companies sign accord to combat AI-generated election trickery
Major technology companies signed a pact Friday to voluntarily adopt “reasonable precautions” to prevent artificial intelligence tools from being used to disrupt democratic elections around the world. Tech executives from Adobe, Amazon, Google, IBM, Meta, Microsoft, OpenAI and TikTok gathered at the Munich Security Conference to announce a new voluntary...
U.S. wholesale inflation accelerated in January in latest sign that prices picked up
WASHINGTON — Wholesale prices in the United States accelerated in January, the latest sign that some inflation pressures in the economy remain elevated. The Labor Department reported Friday that its producer price index — which tracks inflation before it reaches consumers — rose 0.3% from December to January after having...
Cleveland-Cliffs to shutter West Virginia tin plant, lay off 900 after tariff ruling
CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Cleveland-Cliffs announced Thursday that it is shutting down a northern West Virginia tin production facility indefinitely and plans to lay off 900 workers after the International Trade Commission voted against imposing tariffs on tin imports. The trade commission ruled earlier this year that no anti-dumping and countervailing...
Ford CEO says company will rethink where it builds vehicles after last year’s autoworkers strike
DETROIT — Last fall’s contentious United Auto Workers’ strike changed Ford’s relationship with the union to the point where it will “think carefully” about where it builds future vehicles, Ford’s top executive said Thursday. CEO Jim Farley told the Wolfe Research Global Auto Conference in New York that the company...
Date night strike: Thousands of U.S., UK delivery, ride-hailing drivers stop work on Valentine’s Day
Thousands of ride-hailing and delivery workers in the U.S. and the U.K. went on strike on Valentine’s Day, calling for fair compensation and other changes to their working conditions. In the U.S., Uber and Lyft drivers planned daylong strikes in Pittsburgh; Chicago; Philadelphia; Miami; Orlando and Tampa, Florida; Hartford, Connecticut;...
Sony’s profit rises on growing sales of music, games, pictures, sensors
TOKYO — Japanese electronics and entertainment company Sony’s profit rose 13% in October-December on growing sales of music, image sensors and video games, the company said Wednesday. Tokyo-based Sony Corp.’s quarterly profit totaled 363.9 billion yen, or $2.4 billion, up from 321.5 billion yen the year before. Quarterly sales for...
John Dorfman: Alphabet, Mueller Industries balance-sheet powerhouses
Many investors see only half the picture. They are like a baseball scout who looks only for hitting ability, not fielding. They focus obsessively on a company’s income statement (profit and loss), mostly ignoring the balance sheet (assets and liabilities). I believe the balance sheet is important, particularly now that...
Paramount to lay off hundreds of staffers in cost-cutting effort
Layoffs are hitting Paramount Global. The media giant that owns the famed Paramount Pictures movie studio, plus CBS, Nickelodeon and other networks, will eliminate roughly 800 jobs as part of a broad streamlining effort, according to a person familiar with the matter who was not authorized to comment. There is...
U.S. inflation slows but remains elevated in sign that price pressures are easing only gradually
WASHINGTON — Consumer inflation in the United States cooled last month yet remained elevated in the latest sign that the pandemic-fueled price surge is only gradually and fitfully coming under control. Tuesday’s report from the Labor Department showed that the consumer price index rose 0.3% from December to January, up...
Rock star: Lab-grown diamonds are skyrocketing in popularity, say local jewelers, industry experts
When Sandee Vargo lost one of her diamond earrings two years ago, she turned that sinking feeling into an opportunity to try something new. Her remaining one-third carat stud earring was a natural diamond, mined from the ground. But Vargo of North Huntingdon became interested in another option for her...
Super Bowl bets placed online surged this year, verification company says
ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. — Online betting on the Super Bowl surged this year, with many gamblers waiting until right before the kickoff to place their wagers, according to a company that tracks the location of internet gamblers. Data released Monday from GeoComply shows that the number of verification checks it...
Judge orders Elon Musk to testify in SEC probe of his $44 billion Twitter takeover in 2022
SAN FRANCISCO — A judge has ordered Elon Musk to testify for a third time as part of the Securities and Exchange Commission’s investigation into his $44 billion purchase of Twitter, now called X, in 2022. Magistrate Judge Laurel Beeler issued an order Saturday giving Musk, his team and the...
U.S. closes 7-year probe into Ford Fusion power steering failures without seeking further recalls
U.S. auto safety regulators have closed a seven-year investigation into complaints about power-assisted steering failures in Ford Fusions without seeking additional recalls. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration says in documents posted Monday that its testing found only minor steering effort changes if the power-assist failed. It also found a...
Less is more? Consumers have fewer choices as brands prune their offerings to focus on best sellers
NEW YORK — How much choice is too much? Apparently for Coca-Cola, it’s about 400 different types of drinks. That’s why the beverage company recently decided to discontinue half of them, shedding brands like Tab, Zico coconut water, Diet Coke Feisty Cherry and Odwalla juices but still leaving about 200...
Jeff Bezos sells nearly 12 million Amazon shares worth at least $2 billion, with more to come
SEATTLE — Jeff Bezos filed a statement with federal regulators indicating his sale of nearly 12 million shares of Amazon stock worth more than $2 billion. The Amazon executive chairman notified the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission of the sale of 11,997,698 shares of common stock on Feb. 7 and...
Western Pa. casinos ready for Super Bowl influx, wagers on Chiefs win
Dave Bilsky is a Steelers fan, but come Sunday evening, you can bet he’ll be pulling for the Kansas City Chiefs. He’ll have plenty of company locally. Bilsky, 51, of Belle Vernon is among myriad local gamblers putting money on the Chiefs in Super Bowl LVIII. “One thing that we’ve...
