Business category, Page 21

NEW YORK — Amazon is planning to donate $1 million to President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration fund, a move that comes as major tech companies seek to improve their relationship with the incoming president. A company spokesperson confirmed Thursday evening that the e-commerce giant will also stream Trump’s inauguration on its...

An appeals court in Louisiana has ruled that Nasdaq can’t require diversity on the boards of companies that list on the exchange. The decision comes more than three years after the Securities and Exchange Commission approved Nasdaq’s proposal to boost the number of women, racial minorities and LGBTQ people on...

NEW YORK — President-elect Donald Trump has been recognized for the second time by Time magazine as its Person of the Year. To mark the event, Trump rang the opening bell Thursday at the New York Stock Exchange. The honors for the businessman-turned-politician are a measure of Trump’s remarkable comeback...

WASHINGTON — Fueled by pricier used cars, hotel rooms and auto insurance, inflation in the United States moved slightly higher last month while remaining far below its peak of two years ago. Consumer prices rose 2.7% in November from a year earlier, up from a yearly figure of 2.6% in...

President Joe Biden is on the verge of blocking a proposed $14.9 billion sale of U.S. Steel to Japan’s Nippon Steel Co., according to reports from multiple outlets. Bloomberg and Reuters reported Tuesday evening the president plans to kill the deal because of national security concerns. A Financial Times story,...

Boeing is resuming production of its bestselling plane, the 737 Max, for the first time since 33,000 workers began a seven-week strike that ended in early November. The company said Tuesday that plane-building resumed at its plant in Renton, Washington, after going through a process of training workers and identifying...

Financial problems continue for the former Butler Health System’s Clarion and Butler hospitals, with a national credit rating agency downgrading its bonds to junk status, indicating it has a negative outlook and would be a risky investment. Fitch Ratings on Dec. 3 lowered the Butler County Hospital Authority’s bonds issued...

Rupert Murdoch lost his bid to change his family trust and hand sole control of his media empire to his eldest son. Edmund Gorman Jr., the Reno, Nevada, probate commissioner hearing the case, rendered a verdict on Saturday, The New York Times reported, citing a sealed document saying the elder...

The future of the popular social media app TikTok is growing murkier. A court ruling Friday indicates TikTok will be banned next year in the United States unless it’s sold before then — which is unlikely, according to experts. Jessica Ghilani, associate professor of communication and Cyber Institute Affiliate Scholar...

The Bank of New York Mellon Corp. sold its data center and office building in South Buffalo for $5.5 million to a subsidiary of an Irish firm. Commonly known as BNY, the company’s departure from RIDC Armstrong Innovation Park represents a “strategic consolidation,” spokesperson Ryan Wells said. He did not...

New robotic shorts could transform the way older adults and frail people walk. Designed to improve mobility and independence, the WalkON shorts were created to be worn over everyday clothes and could help those with chronic illnesses as well, the Washington Post reported. “A pouch-like harness goes around the waist...

Chipotle is raising its U.S. prices to offset inflation and to compensate for a promise to increase portion sizes. Chipotle’s chief corporate affairs officer, Laurie Schalow, confirmed Friday that the Mexican restaurant chain was implementing a 2% price increase nationally. Schalow said it’s the first time the California-based company has...

KASHIMA, Japan — The signs at Nippon Steel read: “The world through steel,” underlining why Japan’s top steelmaker is pursuing its $15 billion bid to acquire U.S. Steel. “We can’t expect demand in Japan to grow as the population is declining. We need to invest in production that leads to...

One of the country’s largest health insurers reversed a change in policy Thursday after widespread outcry, saying it would not tie payments in some states to the length of time a patient went under anesthesia. Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield said in a statement that its decision to backpedal resulted...

The average rate on a 30-year mortgage in the U.S. eased again this week, slipping to its lowest level since late October. The rate dropped to 6.69% from 6.81% last week, mortgage buyer Freddie Mac said Thursday. A year ago the rate averaged 7.03%. Borrowing costs on 15-year fixed-rate mortgages,...

DETROIT — The reliability of electric vehicles and plug-in hybrids has dramatically improved, narrowing a wide gap with gas-powered automobiles, according to the latest survey by Consumer Reports. But vehicles with internal combustion engines and gas-electric hybrids are still far more dependable, the survey found. Consumer Reports subscribers, who filled...

The number of Americans applying for unemployment benefits rose last week but remains at historically healthy levels. Jobless claim applications rose by 9,000 to 224,000 for the week of Nov. 30, the Labor Department reported Thursday. That’s more than the 214,000 analysts were forecasting. Continuing claims, the total number of...

NEW YORK — Bitcoin topped $100,000 for the first time this week as a massive rally in the world’s most popular cryptocurrency, largely accelerated by the election of Donald Trump, rolls on. The cryptocurrency officially to rose six figures Wednesday night, just hours after the president-elect said he intends to...

WASHINGTON — President-elect Donald Trump campaigned on the promise that his policies would reduce high borrowing costs and lighten the financial burden on American households. But what if, as many economists expect, interest rates remain elevated, well above their pre-pandemic lows? Trump could point a finger at the Federal Reserve,...

The District of Columbia sued Amazon on Wednesday, alleging the company secretly stopped providing its fastest delivery service to residents of two predominantly Black neighborhoods in Washington while still charging residents millions of dollars for a service that promises the benefit. The complaint filed in District of Columbia Superior Court...

Chief executives probably know their companies better than anyone else. So when the boss is buying his company’s stock, it’s wise to pay attention. Here are four stocks I think deserve a look. In each case, the chief executive officer (CEO) has made a significant purchase in the past few...

Nearly three out of 10 U.S. drugstores that were open during the previous decade had closed by 2021, new research shows. Black and Latino neighborhoods were most vulnerable to the retail pharmacy closures, which can chip away at already-limited care options in those communities, researchers said in a study published...

On Monday night, President-­elect Donald Trump reiterated his opposition to the proposed $14.9 billion sale of U.S. Steel to Japan’s Nippon Steel Co., vowing to block the deal when he takes office. Some steelworkers in Pittsburgh’s Mon Valley who support the deal — and Trump — weren’t happy. “I am...

DETROIT — General Motors is adding over 132,000 heavy-duty pickups in the U.S. to a previous recall for tailgate release switches that can short circuit and open the gates while the trucks are in park. The recall adds certain 2024 Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra 2500 and 3500 trucks to...

A Sewickley-based cybersecurity business has been recognized for excellence as a start-up company. Custos IQ was named a 2024 Tech 50 finalist in the start-up company culture category by the Pittsburgh Technology Council from Intersections of Possibility. Co-owners Robert Ragan Jr. and Isabelle Syring work with a small team of...