Business category, Page 269
GateHouse, Gannett to merge for $1.4B, build newspaper giant
NEW YORK — Two of the largest U.S. newspaper companies have agreed to combine for roughly $1.4 billion, creating a new industry giant that hopes to manage the crisis of print’s decline through sheer size. GateHouse Media, a fast-growing chain backed by an investment firm, is buying USA Today owner...
Kennametal says ‘softening markets’ hurt quarterly sales, earnings
Kennametal Inc. saw sales, net income and earnings per share drop as a result of softening of its markets during the fourth quarter that ended June 30 compared to a year ago, but it still posted increases in sales, net income and earnings for the 2019 fiscal year, the company...
Bid from New Kensington company awarded to rehabilitate I-70 bridges in West VirginiaVideo
WHEELING, W.Va. — West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice has awarded a nearly $215 million bid to improve bridges on Interstate 70. News outlets report the selection of the lowest bid for the project was announced Monday in Wheeling. New Kensington-based Swank Construction won the project to rehabilitate or replace more...
U.S. labels China a ‘currency manipulator’ as stocks fall and trade war worsens
WASHINGTON — The U.S.-China trade war took a dangerous turn for the worse Monday as Beijing allowed its currency to weaken and said it was halting new American farm purchases, sending U.S. stocks in a tailspin and heightening risks of a global economic downturn. The Chinese actions were seen as...
Stocks suffer worst rout of year as China escalates trade warVideo
NEW YORK — stocks plunged to their worst loss of the year Monday and investors around the world scrambled to sell on worries about how much President Trump’s worsening trade war will damage the global economy. China let its currency, the yuan, drop to its lowest level against the dollar...
Japan’s NEC shows ‘flying car’ hovering steadily for minute
ABIKO, Japan — Japanese electronics maker NEC Corp. on Monday showed a “flying car,” a large drone-like machine with four propellers that hovered steadily for about a minute. The test flight reaching 3 meters (10 feet) high was held in a gigantic cage, as a safety precaution, at an NEC...
Ford shows most powerful street-legal Mustang with 760 hp
DETROIT — The most powerful street-legal Ford Mustang ever built will go on sale this fall. A 5.2-liter supercharged V8 will crank out 760 horsepower in the 2020 Shelby GT500. The new version has a beefed-up suspension and brakes. It also has a seven-speed automatic transmission that Ford promises will...
Blackjewel’s coal assets sold at auction; hearing Monday
CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Contura Energy has made a successful bid at an auction for the assets of three Blackjewel LLC coal mines, including two of the top producers in the country. The results are subject to a federal bankruptcy judge’s approval Monday in Charleston. The judge ordered the parties to...
Kennametal to start layoffs at Carbidie plant; 60 workers impacted in closure
Kennametal Inc. will begin laying off its 60 workers from its Carbidie plant in Hempfield in October and continue through the end of March 2020, when the plant will close, according a notice the company filed with the state. Kennametal, an industrial toolmaker with corporate offices in Unity, recently notified...
FedEx to invest additional $450 million to modernize hub
MEMPHIS, Tenn. — FedEx Corp. is investing an additional $450 million to improve operations at its busy hub in Memphis, Tenn. The shipping giant’s announcement Friday at Memphis International Airport increases its investment toward modernizing its Memphis hub to about $1.5 billion. The company announced in March 2018 a $1.1...
Chick-fil-A tops poll as America’s favorite fast-food spot
Even with one day tied behind its back, Chick-fil-A has taken the crown as the nation’s favorite fast-food joint. The latest edition of MarketForce Information’s annual consumer study reveals more customers are loyal to Chick-fil-A than any other quick-service restaurant (MarketForce’s terminology). RestaurantNews reports MarketForce surveyed over 7,600 consumers, asking...
Trump threatens 10% tariffs on China starting Sept. 1
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump says the United States will apply a new tariff of 10% on about $300 billion worth of products from China on Sept. 1. Trump tweeted Thursday amid slow-moving talks with China that negotiations will continue. But he blamed China for not following through on stopping...
Stock markets recover their poise after Fed rate confusion
LONDON — Global stock markets recovered their poise Thursday after the U.S. central bank’s first rate cut in more than a decade had initially been greeted with some disappointment on Wall Street. The Fed’s quarter-point cut was widely expected so there was much more interest in the accompanying statements from...
Fed cuts key rate in its first reduction in more than decade
WASHINGTON — The Federal Reserve cut its key interest rate Wednesday for the first time in a decade to try to counter threats ranging from uncertainties caused by President Donald Trump’s trade wars to chronically low inflation and a dim global outlook. The Fed also repeated a pledge to “act...
Networks sue Locast, a service that streams TV for free
NEW YORK — The country’s biggest TV networks — ABC, CBS, NBC and FOX — are suing Locast, a streaming service that transmits their broadcasts for free. The companies say that Locast is violating their copyrights. Locast has held that under the law, it is allowed to stream the networks...
Survey: Businesses added 156,000 jobs in July
WASHINGTON — U.S. companies added a healthy 156,000 jobs in July with larger firms accounted for much of the gains, a private survey found. Payroll processor ADP said Wednesday that there was solid hiring in the construction, transportation, health care and leisure and hospitality sectors. But smaller companies are struggling...
Fire-free zone in war between growth and value
For more than two decades, I’ve been a value investor. In recent years, that’s been a handicap. Growth investors are running the table. Growth stocks have beaten value stocks in seven of the past 10 years, winning by a large margin in the past two years. The trend continued in...
Capital One hit with massive data breach affecting more than 100 million customers
SEATTLE — A hacker gained access to personal information from more than 100 million Capitol One credit applications, the bank said Monday as federal authorities arrested a suspect in the case. Paige A. Thompson — who also goes by the handle “erratic” — was charged with a single count of...
Pfizer to absorb Washington County-based Mylan, creating generic giant
Pfizer, the country’s largest drugmaker, will absorb the generic pharmaceutical company Mylan, potentially creating a global generic powerhouse. The two companies said Monday that they’ll combine Mylan, a $10 billion company based in Washington County, with Pfizer’s Upjohn, which sells household names from Viagra to cholesterol fighter Lipitor that have...
Black rag dolls meant to be abused are pulled from stores
NEWARK, N.J. — Black rag dolls that came with instructions to “find a wall” and slam the toy against it have been pulled from three stores after customers and a lawmaker said they were offensive. The “Feel Better Doll” featured instructions to “whack” the doll “whenever things don’t go well...
Chevron is allowed to stay in Venezuela until October
WASHINGTON — The Trump administration is allowing Chevron to continue operating in Venezuela at least until October despite U.S. sanctions aimed at ousting President Nicolás Maduro by choking off revenue from the world’s largest crude reserves. Friday’s action gives Chevron until Oct. 25, when the Treasury Department will decide again...
U.S. economy slowed to 2.1% growth rate in 2nd quarter
WASHINGTON — The U.S. economy slowed sharply in the April-June quarter even as consumers stepped up their spending. The gross domestic product, the economy’s total output of goods and services, grew at a 2.1% annual rate last quarter, down from a 3.1% gain in the first quarter, the Commerce Department...
Google crushes second quarter earnings expectations
SAN FRANCISCO — Google parent Alphabet beat analyst expectations for the second quarter Thursday, sending its shares up sharply as it bounced back from a rough first quarter. The company comforted investors with advertising revenue growth that edged out last quarter and assurances that video streaming site YouTube and the...
NYC sues American Airlines over employee sick leave
NEW YORK — New York City’s worker protection department said Thursday that American Airlines is violating the city’s sick leave law by retaliating against workers who use sick days or not letting them use the sick leave they’ve accrued. The Department of Consumer and Worker Protection announced it had sued...
FTC fines Facebook $5B, adds oversight for privacy mishaps
WASHINGTON — Federal regulators have fined Facebook $5 billion for privacy violations and are instituting new oversight and restrictions on its business. But they are only holding CEO Mark Zuckerberg personally responsible in a limited fashion. The fine is the largest the Federal Trade Commission has levied on a tech...
