Business category, Page 15
Elon Musk says he’ll spend less time in Washington and more time running Tesla after its profit plunges
NEW YORK — Elon Musk says he’ll be spending less time in Washington slashing government costs and more time running Tesla after his electric vehicle company reported a big drop in profits. Musk said on a conference call with analysts Tuesday that “now that the major work of establishing Department...
Wall Street rallies, recovers Monday’s losses as the dollar and U.S. bond market steady
NEW YORK — Stocks jumped in a widespread rally Tuesday, and other U.S. investments steadied a day after falling sharply on worries about President Donald Trump’s trade war and his attacks on the head of the Federal Reserve. The S&P 500 climbed 2.5%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 1,016...
Gold soars to a new high as economic uncertainty deepens. Here’s what to know
NEW YORK — As economic uncertainty deepens worldwide, gold prices have notched more and more record highs. That’s because gold sales can rise sharply when anxious investors seek “safe havens” for parking their money. Gold’s current rally arrives as President Donald Trump’s announces new tariffs on economic allies and foes...
U.S. and global economic outlook deteriorates in Trump trade war, IMF says
WASHINGTON — The U.S. and global economies will likely slow significantly in the wake of President Donald Trump’s tariffs and the uncertainty they have created, the International Monetary Fund said Tuesday. The IMF said that the global economy will grow just 2.8% this year, down from its forecast in January...
Walgreens to pay up to $350 million in U.S. opioid settlement
Walgreens has agreed to pay up to $350 million in a settlement with the U.S. Department of Justice, who accused the pharmacy of illegally filling millions of prescriptions in the past decade for opioids and other controlled substances. The nationwide drugstore chain must pay the government at least $300 million...
Sellers of secondhand clothes prepare for tariffs to give their businesses a boost
NEW YORK — Stores selling secondhand clothes, shoes and accessories are poised to benefit from President Donald Trump’s trade war even as businesses the world over race to avert potential damage, according to industry experts. American styles carry international influence, but nearly all of the clothing sold domestically is made...
Trump renews attacks on Federal Reserve Chair Powell, accelerating U.S. market slide
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump repeated his attacks Monday against the chair of the Federal Reserve, demanding that the central bank lower its key interest rate to boost the economy. Trump called Powell “a major loser” and said that energy and grocery prices are “substantially lower” and “there is virtually...
Google faces off with U.S. government in attempt to break up company in search monopoly case
Google is confronting an existential threat as the U.S. government tries to break up the company as punishment for turning its revolutionary search engine into an illegal monopoly. The drama began to unfold Monday in a Washington courtroom as three weeks of hearings kicked off to determine how the company...
Wall Street, dollar tumble as investors retreat further from the United States
NEW YORK — Wall Street weakened Monday as investors worldwide get more skeptical about U.S. investments because of President Donald Trump’s trade war and his criticism of the Federal Reserve, which are shaking the traditional order. The S&P 500 sank 2.4% in another wipeout. That yanked the index that’s at...
Strollers and other baby products will get more expensive — and harder to find — with tariffs
Sam Rutledge and his wife have a baby due in mid-July, so they thought they had a few more months to research and buy the gear they’ll need. But President Donald Trump’s tariff announcement in early April turned the couple’s slow walk into a sprint. In the past few weeks,...
Team that resurrected dire wolf has Pitt, Penn State connections
Some of the scientific groundwork that paved the way for a rebirth of the long-extinct dire wolf took place in Pennsylvania. With much fanfare, Texas company Colossal Biosciences announced April 7 that its scientists had returned the dire wolf, a species extinct for more than 10,000 years, “to its rightful...
Power tools: Robotics research at Carnegie Mellon aims to revolutionize everyday tasks
At this year’s Consumer Electronics Show, the world’s foremost tech conference, farming machinery giant Kubota introduced Flash, a vehicle-mounted camera that creates ultra-detailed images to help farmers care for their crops. It was an idea born in a Carnegie Mellon University robotics lab and another example of the revolutionary technology...
Strange sell-off in the dollar raises specter of investors losing trust in U.S. under Trump
NEW YORK — Among the threats tariffs pose to the U.S. economy, none may be as strange as the sell-off in the dollar. Currencies rise and fall all the time because of inflation fears, central bank moves and other factors. But economists worry that the recent drop in the dollar...
Capital One $35 billion purchase of Discover Financial gets regulatory approvals
NEW YORK — The pending merger between Capital One and Discover Financial services received approval from several regulators Friday, bringing the $35 billion tie-up closer to completion. The Federal Reserve and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency signed off on the deal, which was first announced in February...
Federal judge pausing Trump administration’s plans for mass layoffs at the CFPB
WASHINGTON — A federal judge who blocked the Trump administration from dismantling the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau ruled Friday that the bureau can’t go forward immediately with plans to mass fire hundreds of employees. U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson said she is “deeply concerned” that administration officials aren’t complying...
Mack Trucks to lay off hundreds of workers at Pa. plant, with company blaming tariffs, other factors
Mack Trucks will lay off 250 to 350 workers at its Lehigh Valley Operations plant in Lower Macungie Township because of tariffs and other economic factors. A Mack spokesperson said heavy-duty truck orders “continue to be negatively affected by market uncertainty about freight rates and demand, possible regulatory changes, and...
News media hail Google ‘monopoly’ ruling
News media organizations applauded a federal judge’s ruling Thursday that Google, the premier internet search engine, illegally monopolized the lucrative online advertising market. U.S. District Judge Leonie Brinkema ruled that Google, a $348 billion behemoth owned by Alphabet Inc., created a monopoly over advertising software used by publishers. “This ruling...
Google’s digital ad network declared an illegal monopoly, joining its search engine
SAN FRANCISCO — Google has been branded an abusive monopolist by a federal judge for the second time in less than a year, this time for illegally exploiting some of its online marketing technology to boost the profits fueling an internet empire currently worth $1.8 trillion. The ruling issued Thursday...
UnitedHealth’s worst drop in decades weighs on U.S. indexes even as most stocks tick higher
NEW YORK — The worst plunge for UnitedHealth Group’s stock in more than a quarter century is weighing on Wall Street, even as most stocks ticked higher. The S&P 500 was 0.1% lower in its final day of trading for a holiday-shortened week. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down...
Columbia Gas seeks 11.3% hike; consumer advocate claims rate is higher
Columbia Gas of Pennsylvania wants to boost the monthly gas bill of a typical residential customer 11.3%, but a state consumer advocate says the change could be illegal. The gas distribution rate hike from Columbia Gas would raise the average residential monthly gas bill from $138.50 to $154.30, while small...
Heritage Valley CEO: Sewickley hospital here to stay, even as system consolidates
The head of Heritage Valley Health System says the network’s Sewickley hospital isn’t going anywhere, despite the upcoming closure of its Kennedy counterpart. “Clearly, there is a need for a hospital in that Sewickley community,” Heritage Valley President and CEO Norm Mitry told TribLive. “We don’t foresee any negative impact...
Trump suggests he can remove Fed Chair Powell, saying he’s ‘not happy’ with him over interest rates
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump attacked Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell on Thursday for not cutting interest rates and said he could fire him if he wanted to, renewing a threat from his first term that could cause a major legal showdown over the issue of the central bank’s longstanding...
Trump administration plans to end IRS Direct File program for free tax filing, AP sources say
WASHINGTON — The Trump administration plans to eliminate the IRS’ Direct File program, an electronic system for filing tax returns directly to the agency for free, according to two people familiar with the decision. The program developed during Joe Biden’s presidency was credited by users with making tax filing easy,...
U.S. stocks drop as Nvidia slides and the fog of Trump’s trade war thickens
NEW YORK — U.S. stocks fell Wednesday after Nvidia warned new restrictions on exports to China will chisel billions of dollars off its results, while companies around the world said President Donald Trump’s trade war is clouding forecasts for how they and the economy will do this year. The S&P...
Powell says Federal Reserve can wait on any interest rate moves
WASHINGTON — The Federal Reserve can stay patient and wait to see how tariffs and other economic policies of the Trump administration play out before making any changes to interest rates, Chair Jerome Powell said Wednesday. “For the time being, we are well positioned to wait for greater clarity” on...
