Wire stories category, Page 81
U.S. trade deficit jumps to $68.1 billion in November
The U.S. trade deficit jumped to $68.1 billion in November, the highest monthly deficit in 14 years, as a surge in imports overwhelmed a smaller increase in exports. The November gap between what America buys from abroad compared to what it sells abroad rose by 8% from the October deficit...
U.S. unemployment claims slip to still-high 787,000
The number of Americans seeking unemployment aid fell slightly to 787,000, evidence of a job market stumbling in the face of the viral pandemic and the damage it has inflicted on the economy for nearly 10 months. Thursday’s figure from the Labor Department, a slight decline from the previous week,...
Small stocks rally, yields rise as market eyes Democratic DC
NEW YORK — Wall Street is piling into stocks of smaller companies, banks and other companies that would be winners if Washington can prop up the economy with another dose of financial support amid rising expectations that Democrats may take control of Washington. Most stocks across Wall Street were higher...
Slack kicks off 2021 with a global outage
Slack, the messaging service used by millions of people for work and school, suffered a global outage on Monday, the first day back for most people returning from the New Year’s holiday. It’s the latest tech glitch to show how disruptive technical difficulties can be when millions of people are...
Stocks fall as trading starts for year of great expectations
Stocks pulled back from their recent record highs Monday, as big swings return to Wall Street at the onset of a year where the dominant expectation is for a powerful economic rebound to sweep the world. The S&P 500, which ended 2020 at an all-time high, slid 1.5% after earlier...
Fiat Chrysler, Peugeot shareholders approve merger
MILAN — Shareholders of Fiat Chrysler and PSA Peugeot voted Monday to merge and create the world’s fourth-largest auto company which, its architects hope, can more readily take on an enormous technological shift in the industry. Addressing separate meetings, PSA Peugeot CEO Carlos Tavares and Fiat Chrysler Chairman John Elkann...
Major U.S. stock indexes waver on final day of tumultuous year
U.S. stocks wavered between small gains and losses in early afternoon trading Thursday, hovering near record highs as investors close the book on a tumultuous year. The S&P 500 was mostly unchanged and remains close to the record high it set on Monday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average, which set...
Hedge fund Alden offers to buy Tribune, valuing it at $521M
Hedge fund Alden, Tribune’s largest shareholder, has offered to buy the rest of the newspaper publisher at a price that values it at $520.6 million. Alden sent a letter to Tribune on Dec. 14, according to a regulatory filing posted Thursday, offering $14.25 per share for the stock of Tribune...
Stocks hold on to modest gains, marking another Dow record
Stocks eked out modest gains Wednesday, keeping the major stock indexes on Wall Street at or near record highs. The S&P 500 inched up 0.1%, recovering some of its losses from a day earlier. It’s hovering within 0.1% of the record high it set on Monday. The Dow Jones Industrial...
Stocks fall as investors turn cautious following recordsVideo
Stocks closed modestly lower Tuesday on Wall Street as investors turned cautious a day after major indexes closed at their latest record highs. The S&P 500 slipped 0.2%, the benchmark index’s first decline in four days. Investors shifted money away from technology companies, which have been among of the biggest...
More than 190,000 ceiling fans recalled because blades fly off
NEW YORK — More than 190,000 ceiling fans sold at Home Depot are being recalled after reports that the blades fell off while spinning, hitting people and causing property damage. The Hampton Bay Mara indoor and outdoor ceiling fans were sold this year between April and October at Home Depot...
Fired Tyson boss says covid office pool was a ‘morale boost’
One of the Tyson Foods managers fired for betting on how many workers would contract covid-19 at an Iowa pork plant said the office pool was spontaneous fun and intended to boost morale. Don Merschbrock, former night manager at the plant in Waterloo, Iowa, said he was speaking in an...
Stocks hit records after Trump signs $900B aid package
Stocks began the final week of 2020 with more gains Monday, nudging the major U.S. indexes to record highs. The S&P 500 climbed 0.9%, powered by gains in technology, communication services and consumer discretionary stocks. Companies that were hit the hardest by the pandemic, including restaurants, airlines and cruise operators,...
‘We are struggling’: A bleak Christmas for America’s jobless
NEW YORK — Last Christmas, Shanita Matthews cooked up a feast for her family of three: Roast chicken, barbecue spareribs, spinach, macaroni and cheese. This year? They’ll stick with tuna fish and crackers, among the few items she can afford at the supermarket. “We’re not really doing Christmas — I...
Writing off more of that 3-martini lunch is causing a stir
Stuffed into the new emergency relief package is a morsel that President Donald Trump has long had on the buffet of his economic wish list: restoring full tax breaks for restaurant business meals. But experts say it’s scant immediate help for an industry reeling from the pandemic, while critics deride...
S&P 500 ticks higher, on track to break 3-day losing streak
Stocks are ticking higher on Wall Street Wednesday following a mixed set of reports on the economy. The S&P 500 was up by 0.6% and on pace for its first gain after three days of losses pulled it off its record high. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was 253 points...
November existing home sales fall 2.5% following record summer
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — The market for existing homes cooled slightly in November, the National Association of Realtors said Tuesday, after climbing through the late spring, summer and early fall despite the pandemic. Existing home sales fell 2.5% between October and November on a seasonally adjusted basis to 6.69 million annualized...
Rich Americans who fear higher taxes hurry to move money now
Rich Americans are rushing to make large transactions before the end of the month, trying to get ahead of any moves next year by President-elect Joe Biden and Democrats in Congress to raise taxes or close loopholes. Some advisers say they’re busier than ever in the last weeks of 2020,...
Stocks around the world slump as coronavirus mutation hits economy
NEW YORK — Stocks are falling Monday as worries about a new, potentially more infectious strain of the coronavirus have borders shutting around the world and adding more threats for the economy. The S&P 500 was 1% lower in early trading, putting it on track to fall for a second...
Average US price of gas up 4 cents a gallon to $2.26
CAMARILLO, Calif. — The average U.S. price of regular-grade gasoline jumped 4 cents a gallon over the past two weeks to $2.26. Industry analyst Trilby Lundberg of the Lundberg Survey said Sunday that a rise in crude oil prices spurred the increase. The price at the pump is 35 cents...
Senate investigators fault FAA over Boeing jet, safety
Boeing improperly influenced a test designed to see how quickly pilots could respond to malfunctions on the Boeing 737 Max, and Federal Aviation Administration officials may have obstructed a review of two deadly crashes involving the plane, Senate investigators say. In a report released Friday, the Senate Commerce Committee also...
U.S. stocks slip from records as wait continues for Congress
NEW YORK — U.S. stock indexes pulled back from their record levels Friday as the wait drags on to see if Congress can reach a deal to send more cash to struggling workers and businesses. The S&P 500 fell 0.4%, a day after it and other major indexes returned to...
Robinhood agrees to pay $65 million to settle SEC charges
Robinhood Financial agreed to pay $65 million to settle government charges that it failed to disclose the full details of its dealings with high-speed traders and didn’t get the best prices for customers trading on its app, the Securities and Exchange Commission said Thursday. Robinhood and other retail brokerage firms...
38 states, including Pennsylvania, file anti-trust lawsuit against Google
DENVER — A group of 38 states filed an anti-trust lawsuit against Google on Thursday, alleging that the search giant has an illegal monopoly over the online search market that hurts consumers and advertisers. The lawsuit, announced by Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser, was filed in federal court in Washington,...
Bitcoin surges past $20,000, erasing 3 years of deep losses
The price of bitcoin rose above $20,000 for the first time Wednesday, as the speculative digital currency topped its previous peak reached shortly after it became tradable on Wall Street three years ago this month. Like other instruments used to store value in times of uncertainty, bitcoin has benefited from...
