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Wire stories category, Page 53

Pope Francis, first Latin American pontiff, dies at 88
Markets 2021: Stocks soar, IPOs explode, crypto goes wild
Wall Street delivered another strong year for investors in 2021, as a resurgence in consumer demand fueled by the reopening of the global economy pumped up corporate profits. As of Dec. 22, the S&P 500 had risen 25%, its third-straight annual increase. Along the way, the benchmark index set 67...
$475M settlement proposed in longest-running U.S. oil spill
NEW ORLEANS — A New Orleans-based oil company has agreed to turn over a $432 million cleanup trust fund and pay an additional $43 million to settle a federal lawsuit over cleaning up abandoned wells leaking since 2004, federal prosecutors said Wednesday. “This settlement represents an important down payment to...
California sues Walmart over disposal of hazardous waste
SACRAMENTO — Retail giant Walmart illegally dumps more than 1 million batteries, aerosol cans of insect killer and other products, toxic cleaning supplies, electronic waste, latex paints and other hazardous waste into California landfills each year, state prosecutors alleged Monday in a lawsuit that the company labeled “unjustified.” “As we...
Payrolls grow, but Pennsylvania’s labor force shrinks again
Pennsylvania’s unemployment rate fell for the ninth straight month and payrolls grew again in November, according to new state figures, but the labor force shrank, as did the workforce participation rate. Pennsylvania’s unemployment rate dropped three-tenths of a percentage point to 5.7% from October’s rate, according to state Department of...
Wall Street joins global slump for stocks on omicron jitters
NEW YORK — Stocks on Wall Street added to their recent string of losses Monday, joining a worldwide slump by financial markets amid worries about how badly the omicron variant, inflation and other forces will hit the economy. The S&P 500 fell 1.1% for its third straight drop. The decline...
Kellogg’s reaches tentative agreement with striking workers
OMAHA, Neb. — Kellogg’s has reached a new tentative agreement with its 1,400 striking cereal plant workers that could bring an end to the strike that began Oct. 5. Members of the Bakery, Confectionary, Tobacco Workers and Grain Millers International Union will vote on the new offer that includes cost-of-living...
Mortgage rates up slightly this week to a still-low 3.12%
SILVER SPRING, Md. — The average interest rate on a long-term mortgage in the U.S. ticked up slightly this week but remains historically low just as the Federal Reserve announces that it will begin tightening credit. Mortgage buyer Freddie Mac reported Thursday that the average rate on the benchmark 30-year,...
Kroger ending some covid-19 benefits for unvaccinated staff 
Kroger, the country’s biggest traditional grocery chain, is ending some benefits for unvaccinated workers as big employers attempt to compel more of their workforce to become vaccinated with cases of covid-19 again rising. Unvaccinated workers will no longer be eligible to receive up to two weeks paid emergency leave if...
Japan’s Toyota promises more electric models, investment 
TOKYO — Japanese automaker Toyota is beefing up its electric vehicle lineup, offering 30 new fully electric models by 2030, its president, Akio Toyoda, said Tuesday. Toyota Motor Corp. plans to sell 3.5 million electric vehicles globally in 2030, he said, up from its earlier plan to sell 2 million...
Resale is making gains in December holiday gift shopping
NEW YORK — Second hand. Like new. Thrift. Buy Nothing. Gently used. There are lots of ways to describe consumption in the booming resale market. Add “Merry Christmas!” to the list. Resale has taken off among those looking to save the planet and spend less on gifts during what can...
‘The internet’s on fire’ as techs race to fix software flaw
A critical vulnerability in a widely used software tool — one quickly exploited in the online game Minecraft — is rapidly emerging as a major threat to organizations around the world. “The internet’s on fire right now,” said Adam Meyers, senior vice president of intelligence at the cybersecurity firm Crowdstrike....
Stocks end higher, closing out best week since February
Technology companies led a rally on Wall Street that powered the S&P 500 to an all-time high and gave the index its best weekly gain since February. The S&P 500 rose 1%, enough to recoup its losses from a day earlier. The benchmark index closed higher four of the last...
Gaming while driving: Tesla allows it, Mercedes does recall
A few days after reports surfaced that Tesla allows drivers to play video games on dashboard touch screens while vehicles are moving, Mercedes-Benz has issued a U.S. recall for a simliar issue. The German automaker said in documents posted Friday by U.S. regulators that the issue affected 227 vehicles and...
Stocks end modestly higher after a choppy day of trading 
Major stock indexes weathered a bout of choppy trading Wednesday on Wall Street and closed higher for the third day in a row. The S&P 500 rose 0.3%, with 62% of the stocks within the benchmark index closing higher. The muted trading followed a strong start to the week that...
Instagram CEO faces senators amid anger over potential harm 
WASHINGTON — The CEO of Facebook’s Instagram is facing lawmakers angry over revelations of how the popular photo-sharing platform can harm some young users and demanding that the company commit to making changes. Adam Mosseri is testifying Wednesday at a Senate hearing as Facebook, whose parent now is named Meta...
Toyota to build $1.3B battery plant in North Carolina
RALEIGH — Toyota announced on Monday that it plans to build a $1.3 billion electric vehicle battery plant near Greensboro, N.C., that will employ at least 1,750 people and help meet the auto giant’s growing goals of electric vehicle sales this decade. Company leaders joint Gov. Roy Cooper and other...
Stocks rise broadly on Wall Street, travel companies rebound 
Stocks rose broadly Monday on Wall Street, nearly reversing the S&P 500’s losses from last week, when jitters over a new coronavirus variant roiled markets. The benchmark index rose 1.2%. More than 85% of stocks in the index gained ground, with technology companies and banks accounting for a large slice...
U.S. jobless claims rise by 28,000, but still low at 222,000
The number of Americans applying for unemployment benefits rose last week even though the U.S. job market has been rebounding from last year’s coronavirus recession. Jobless claims climbed by 28,000 to 222,000 from the previous week’s 52-year low 194,000, the Labor Department reported Thursday. The four-week average of claims, which...
Broad rally lifts stocks after run of volatile trading
A broad rally on Wall Street pushed stocks higher Thursday, giving the S&P 500 its best day in seven weeks as the market recouped some of its losses after several days of volatile trading. The benchmark index rose 1.4%, its biggest gain since mid-October. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose...
Markets turn cautious, reversing an early gain to end lower 
Another roller-coaster ride on Wall Street whipsawed investors Wednesday as an early market rally reversed course by midafternoon, piling up more losses for stocks. The S&P 500 had been up 1.9% in the early going following some better-than-expected readings on the U.S. economy, but the gains gradually gave way to...
Fed survey finds supply-chain shortages boosting inflation
WASHINGTON — Many parts of the country were hit by supply chain disruptions and labor shortages in November, the Federal Reserve reported Wednesday. In a survey of business conditions around the country, the Fed’s 12 regional banks found that the economy continued to grow at a modest-to-moderate pace, and the...
Omicron unravels travel industry’s plans for a comeback
Tourism businesses that were just finding their footing after nearly two years of devastation wrought by the covid-19 pandemic are being rattled again as countries throw up new barriers to travel in an effort to contain the omicron variant. From shopping districts in Japan and tour guides in the Holy...
Wall Street steadies following omicron slide; stocks rise
NEW YORK — Wall Street steadied itself Monday after last week’s stock market slide caused by the newest coronavirus variant, with investors now waiting for more clues about just how much damage it may do to the economy. The S&P 500 rose 1.3% to recover more than half of its...
Activists block Amazon warehouses in Europe on Black Friday
Climate activists blockaded Amazon warehouses in three European countries on Friday, part of a global effort to pressure the ecommerce giant on one of its busiest days of the year to improve working conditions and end business practices that hurt the environment. Members of Extinction Rebellion targeted 13 Amazon fulfilment...
Stores kick off Black Friday but pandemic woes linger
Retailers are expected to usher in the unofficial start to the holiday shopping season Friday with bigger crowds than last year in a closer step toward normalcy. But the fallout from the pandemic continues to weigh on businesses and shoppers’ minds. Buoyed by solid hiring, healthy pay gains and substantial...


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