Business category, Page 83
Sheetz seeking 800 employees for Pennsylvania stores
Convenience store chain Sheetz Inc. is competing with other stores, restaurants and businesses that are looking to add to their workforce, only it is hoping to attract about 800 employees for its more than 300 stores across the state, the company said Thursday. Sheetz said it will have a hiring...
Apple has kept an illegal monopoly over smartphones in U.S., Justice Department says in antitrust suit
WASHINGTON — The Justice Department on Thursday announced a sweeping antitrust lawsuit against Apple, accusing the tech giant of engineering an illegal monopoly in smartphones that boxes out competitors and stifles innovation. The lawsuit, filed in federal court in New Jersey, alleges that Apple has monopoly power in the smartphone...
Federal Reserve still foresees 3 rate cuts this year but envisions higher rates in future
WASHINGTON — Federal Reserve officials signaled Wednesday that they still expect to cut their key interest rate three times in 2024 despite signs that inflation stayed surprisingly high at the start of the year. Yet they foresee fewer rate cuts in 2025, and they slightly raised their inflation forecasts. After...
IRS chief zeroes in on wealthy tax cheats in AP interview
WASHINGTON — IRS Commissioner Danny Werfel has a message for high-wealth tax cheats who are wrongly deducting private jet travel and otherwise shorting the government on their taxes: Pay your fair share so “others aren’t shouldering the burden of funding our government.” He also has a thought for ordinary taxpayers...
Doing business in China is growing tougher, more uncertain, European business group says
BEIJING — Uncertainty and “draconian regulations” have drastically raised risks for foreign businesses in China, a report by a European business group said Wednesday. The lengthy paper by the European Union Chamber of Commerce in China urges China’s leaders to do more to address concerns that it says have “grown...
John Dorfman: 7 stocks I like on Nasdaq
The Nasdaq Stock Market has been hitting new highs this year. Nasdaq is a market with a dual personality. It’s home to most large technology companies and also the place where a slew of smaller stocks in other industries are traded. Tech stocks have been the stock market’s leaders last...
Faculty set to vote on contract with State System of Higher Education
Five thousand state university faculty will vote next month on a tentative four-year labor pact between the Association of Pennsylvania State College and University Faculties and the State System of Higher Education. The statewide balloting dates announced Tuesday come three months after union and management announced an agreement in principle...
Reddit is preparing to sell shares to the public. Here’s what you need to know
SAN FRANCISCO — Reddit, that vast, lively and sometimes chaotic repository of internet discussion, is expected to carry a valuation up to $6.4 billion when it conducts its initial public offering on the stock market. The offering also makes Reddit one of the first online companies to offer shares to...
Rules that helped set real estate agent commissions are changing. Here’s what you need to know
The cost of hiring a real estate agent to buy or sell a home may soon change, along with decades-old rules that have helped determine broker commissions. The policy changes could help spur price competition for agents’ services and lower the cost for sellers who now typically cover the commission...
Crafts retailer Joann files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy as consumers cut back on pandemic-era hobbies
NEW YORK — Fabric and crafts retailer Joann has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, as consumers continue to cut back on discretionary spending and some pandemic-era hobbies. In a Monday statement, the Hudson, Ohio-based company said that it expected to emerge from bankruptcy as early as the end of...
Want to feel special? Stores and restaurants with paid memberships are betting on it
NEW YORK — How much does it cost to feel special? At Chuck E- Cheese, the family entertainment and pizza chain, the price is $7.99, $11.99 or $29.99 per month. At the other end of the spectrum, the founder of a shopping app called Long Story Short wants to charge...
TikTok creators warn of economic impact if app sees ban, call it a vital space for the marginalized
Alex Pearlman shut the door on dreams of a standup comedy career almost a decade ago, pivoting from the stage to an office cubicle where he worked a customer service job. Then he started posting random jokes and commentary about pop culture and politics on TikTok. Just over 2.5 million...
Boeing plane found to have missing panel after flight from California to Oregon
PORTLAND, Ore. — A Boeing 737-800 was found to have a missing panel after a United Airlines flight arrived at its destination in southern Oregon on Friday, airport officials said. United Flight 433 left San Francisco at 10:20 a.m. and landed at Rogue Valley International-Medford Airport in Medford shortly before...
Two ex-Pittsburghers plead guilty to ‘Rent-A-Vet’ fraud scheme
Two former Pittsburgh men have pleaded guilty in federal court for claiming their companies were owned by disabled veterans so they could obtain special government contracts for their construction businesses. Edward Kessler, 68, of Myrtle Beach, entered his plea Wednesday before U.S. District Judge William S. Stickman IV. Edward DiGorio...
Home sellers cutting list prices as spring buying season starts with higher mortgage rates
LOS ANGELES — More homeowners eager to sell their home are lowering their initial asking price in a bid to entice prospective buyers as the spring homebuying season gets going. Some 14.6% of U.S. homes listed for sale last month had their price lowered, according to Realtor.com. That’s up from...
Across the U.S., batteries and green energies like wind and solar combine for major climate solution
In the Arizona desert, a Danish company is building a massive solar farm that includes batteries that charge when the sun is shining and supply energy back to the electric grid when it’s not. Combining batteries with green energy is a fast-growing climate solution. “Solar farms only produce when the...
McDonald’s system outages have been reported worldwide; chain says they’re getting fixed
LONDON — System failures at McDonald’s were reported worldwide Friday, shuttering some restaurants for hours and leading to social media complaints from customers, in what the fast food chain called a “technology outage” that was being fixed. Chicago-based McDonald’s Corp. said the problems were not related to a cybersecurity issue....
Kennametal CEO to retire; replacement named
Kennametal Inc.’s top officer will retire and the president of its metal cutting segment will take charge of the global corporation that generated almost $2.1 billion in sales in its 2023 fiscal year, the Pittsburgh-based company said. Sanjay Chowbey, a Kennametal vice president, will succeed Christopher Rossi, who decided to...
February retail sales up 0.6%, but some cracks emerge in what has been a driving force for economy
NEW YORK — Shoppers picked up their spending a bit in February after a pullback the previous month, reflecting the mixed feelings Americans have in an economy where prices are up, but jobs are plentiful. Retail sales rose 0.6% last month after falling a revised 1.1% in January, dragged down...
Biden opposes plan to sell US Steel to a Japanese firm, citing the need for ‘American steel workers’
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden came out in opposition to the planned sale of U.S. Steel to Nippon Steel of Japan, saying Thursday the U.S. needs to “maintain strong American steel companies powered by American steel workers.” In a statement, Biden added: “U.S. Steel has been an iconic American steel...
Dollar Tree to close nearly 1,000 stores, posts surprise 4th quarter loss
Dollar Tree swung to a surprise fourth-quarter loss and will close nearly 1,000 stores after the discount retailer slashed the value of a rival chain it acquired almost a decade ago. Dollar Tree plans to close about 600 Family Dollar stores in the first half of this year and 370...
What to know about the bill that could ban TikTok
WASHINGTON — TikTok once again finds itself in a precarious position as lawmakers in Washington move forward with a bill that could lead to a nationwide ban on the platform. The House on Wednesday passed legislation that would ban TikTok if its China-based owner ByteDance doesn’t sell its stakes in...
Elon Musk visits a Tesla plant near Berlin as production resumes after a suspected arson attack
GRUENHEIDE, Germany — Tesla CEO Elon Musk visited the electric car maker’s first European plant Wednesday as production resumed at the factory just outside Berlin about a week after a suspected arson attack cut its power supply. Musk was expected at a “team huddle” with employees at the plant in...
TikTok won’t be banned if it finds new owner, lawmakers say. But that’s easier said than done.
U.S. lawmakers are threatening to ban TikTok but also say they are giving its Chinese parent company a chance to keep it running. The premise of a bipartisan bill headed for a vote in the U.S. House of Representatives is that TikTok fans in the U.S. can keep scrolling through...
Most automated driving systems are lousy at making sure drivers pay attention, insurance group says
DETROIT — Most electronic systems that take on some driving tasks for humans don’t adequately make sure drivers are paying attention, and they don’t issue strong enough warnings or take other actions to make drivers behave, according to an insurance industry study published Tuesday. Only one of 14 partially automated...
