Business category, Page 79
Supreme Court leaves in place a Texas law requiring pornographic websites to verify users’ ages
WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court on Tuesday refused to block a Texas law requiring pornographic websites to verify the age of their users. The justices rejected an emergency appeal filed by the Free Speech Coalition, a trade association for the adult entertainment industry. The provision of House Bill 1181, signed...
Confidence of U.S. consumers continues to decline as Americans worry about the future
WASHINGTON — U.S. consumer confidence deteriorated for the third straight month as Americans continue to fret about their short-term financial futures. The Conference Board, a business research group, said Tuesday that its consumer confidence index fell to 97 in April from 103.1 in March. The index measures both Americans’ assessment...
Affluent Americans are driving U.S. economy and likely delaying need for Fed rate cuts
WASHINGTON — Since retiring two years ago, Joan Harris has upped her travel game. Once or twice a year, she visits her two adult children in different states. She’s planning multiple other trips, including to a science fiction convention in Scotland and a Disney cruise soon after that, along with...
Tractor-trailers with no one aboard? The future is near for self-driving trucks on U.S. roadsVideo
On a three-lane test track along the Monongahela River, an 18-wheel tractor-trailer rounded a curve. No one was on board. A quarter-mile ahead, the truck’s sensors spotted a trash can blocking one lane and a tire in another. In less than a second, it signaled, moved into the unobstructed lane...
Williams-Sonoma must pay almost $3.2 million for violating FTC’s ‘Made in USA’ order
NEW YORK — Home products retailer Williams-Sonoma will have to pay almost $3.2 million for violating a Federal Trade Commission “Made in USA” order. Williams-Sonoma was charged with advertising multiple products as being “Made in USA” when they were in fact manufactured in other countries, including China. That violated a...
U.S. probes whether Tesla Autopilot recall did enough to make sure drivers pay attention
DETROIT — The U.S. government’s auto safety agency is investigating whether last year’s recall of Tesla’s Autopilot driving system did enough to make sure drivers pay attention to the road. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration says in documents posted on its website Friday that Tesla has reported 20 more...
Fed’s preferred inflation gauge shows price pressures stayed elevated last month
WASHINGTON — A measure of inflation closely tracked by the Federal Reserve remained uncomfortably high in March, likely reinforcing the Fed’s reluctance to cut interest rates anytime soon and underscoring a burden for President Joe Biden’s re-election bid. Friday’s report from the government showed that prices rose 0.3% from February...
These apps allow workers to get paid between paychecks. Experts say there are steep costs
NEW YORK — When Anna Branch, 37, had her hours at work reduced in 2019, she suddenly noticed ads for an app called EarnIn. “You know how they get you — the algorithms — like they’re reading your mind,” Branch said. “The ad said I could get up to $100...
Rooting for Trump to fail has made his stock shorters millions
NEW YORK — Rooting for Donald Trump to fail has rarely been this profitable. Just ask a hardy band of mostly amateur Wall Street investors who have collectively made tens of millions of dollars over the past month by betting that the stock price of his social media business —...
Trading Trump: Truth Social’s first month of trading has sent investors on a ride
WASHINGTON — There have been lawsuits, short-selling and rampant speculation. Now, as Trump Media & Technology Group approaches its first month as a publicly traded company, it’s clear that — like the man it’s named after — there’s nothing typical about the stock. “If I woke up tomorrow and shares...
University of Pittsburgh, Steelworkers reach tentative agreement on 1st faculty labor contract
The union representing 3,400 University of Pittsburgh faculty has tentatively agreed with the school administration on their first labor contract — a pact running through June 30, 2026. The United Steelworkers union announced the deal late Thursday and said it included what it calls “historic language on wages and job...
U.S. growth slowed sharply last quarter to 1.6% pace, reflecting an economy pressured by high rates
WASHINGTON — The nation’s economy slowed sharply last quarter to a 1.6% annual pace in the face of high interest rates, but consumers — the main driver of economic growth — kept spending at a solid pace. The report Thursday from the Commerce Department said the gross domestic product —...
Strict new EPA rules would force coal-fired power plants to capture emissions or shut down
WASHINGTON — Coal-fired power plants would be forced to capture smokestack emissions or shut down under a rule issued Thursday by the Environmental Protection Agency. New limits on greenhouse gas emissions from fossil fuel-fired electric plants are the Biden administration’s most ambitious effort yet to roll back planet-warming pollution from...
Net neutrality restored as FCC votes to regulate internet providers
SAN FRANCISCO — The FCC on Thursday restored “net neutrality” rules that prevent broadband internet providers such as Comcast and AT&T from favoring some sites and apps over others. The move effectively reinstates a net neutrality order the commission first issued in 2015 during the Obama administration; under then-President Donald...
Kennywood admission cost is similar to other amusement parks, but there are ways to save
In the wake of the announcement that the Steel Curtain would be closed for the 2024 season, Kennywood enthusiasts took to social media to poke the amusement park for its $75 entrance fee. The reasoning, in part, went something like, “You’re charging $75 to get in, and one of the...
Stock market today: Tesla cruises higher as most of Wall Street drifts in mixed trading
NEW YORK — U.S. stocks drifted to a mixed finish Wednesday as Wall Street’s momentum eased following some sharp swerves. The S&P 500 was virtually flat and edged up by 1.08, or less than 0.1%, to 5,071.63. It had jumped sharply in the first two days of the week to...
What a TikTok ban in the U.S. could mean for you
No, TikTok will not suddenly disappear from your phone. Nor will you go to jail if you continue using it after it is banned. After years of attempts to ban the Chinese-owned app, including by former President Donald Trump, a measure to outlaw the popular video-sharing app has won congressional...
Microsoft and Amazon face scrutiny from UK competition watchdog over recent AI deals
LONDON — British competition regulators said Wednesday they’ll scrutinize recent artificial intelligence deals by Microsoft and Amazon over concerns that the moves could thwart competition in the AI industry. The Competition and Markets Authority said it’s looking into Microsoft’s partnership with France’s Mistral AI and the company’s hiring of key...
Boeing posts a $355M loss as the plane maker tries to dig out from under its latest crisis
Boeing said Wednesday that it lost $355 million on falling revenue in the first quarter, another sign of the crisis gripping the aircraft manufacturer as it faces increasing scrutiny over the safety of its planes and accusations of shoddy work from a growing number of whistleblowers. Boeing’s CEO said the...
Surging auto insurance rates squeeze drivers, fuel inflation
NEW YORK — Relentlessly rising auto insurance rates are squeezing car owners and stoking inflation. Auto insurance rates rose 2.6% in March and are up 22% from a year ago. Premium costs have been marching steadily higher since 2022, even as inflation at the consumer level steadily cooled from its...
Biden adminstration finalizes rule to grant overtime for millions more salaried workers
NEW YORK — The Biden administration has finalized a new rule set to make millions of more salaried workers eligible for overtime pay in the U.S. The move marks the largest expansion in federal overtime eligibility seen in decades. Starting July 1, employers will be required pay overtime to salaried...
New FTC rule would bar ‘noncompete’ agreements for most employees
WASHINGTON — U.S. companies would no longer be able to bar employees from taking jobs with competitors under a rule approved by a federal agency Tuesday, though the rule is sure to be challenged in court. The Federal Trade Commission voted Tuesday 3-2 to ban measures known as noncompete agreements,...
John Dorfman: Old Faithful erupts … with 5 stock picks
You can count on it. Every 35 to 120 minutes, Old Faithful Geyser will erupt in Yellowstone National Park. I’ve named one of my favorite stock screens after this famous geyser. It’s a simple multifactor screen, pointing to stocks that:Boast a 15% return on stockholders’ equity (profits as a percentage...
Trump called this visa ‘very bad’ for Americans. Truth Social applied for one
MIAMI — The social media company founded by former President Donald Trump applied for a business visa program that he sought to restrict during his administration and which many of his allies want him to curtail in a potential second term. Trump Media & Technology Group, the company behind Truth...
General Motors reports strong 1st-quarter profits as prices help offset small U.S. sales dip
DETROIT — Despite a small dip in U.S. vehicle sales, General Motors’ first-quarter net income rose more than 25% on strong deliveries of pickup trucks and other higher-profit vehicles. The automaker said that while its average sales price per vehicle was down slightly from last year at just under $50,000,...
