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Wire stories category, Page 81

Pope Francis, first Latin American pontiff, dies at 88
How will office life be different in a pandemic?
How will office life be different in a pandemic? The office you once knew is likely to look vastly different. Companies are taking a variety of steps to keep people a safe distance apart, such as using staggered shifts or asking people to come in on alternating days. Cubicles may...
Fed officials worried about withdrawal of government support
WASHINGTON — U.S. consumers lifted their spending in May and June but businesses remained cautious because of the tremendous uncertainty surrounding the economic outlook, Federal Reserve officials said at a policy meeting last month. The nascent economic recovery faces several risks, Fed officials said in discussions during their most recent...
As Trump threatens ban, TikTok launches U.S. ad campaign 
TikTok on Tuesday announced a nationwide ad campaign that features people who create content for the viral social video app. The move comes as the company, owned by China-based ByteDance, faces growing pressure from President Trump, who believes the app is a national security threat because of its ties to...
Stocks drift on Wall Street following latest run at record
NEW YORK — After a day of drifting between small gains and losses, major stock indexes ended more or less where they started on Friday, but still notched gains for the week. The S&P 500 ended down less than 1 point, even though more stocks rose than fell within the...
U.S. retail sales regain pre-virus pace but slowdown is likely
WASHINGTON — Americans increased their retail purchases by 1.2% in July, with solid gains in appliances and clothing, restoring sales to their level before the viral pandemic erupted in March. Sales at retail stores and restaurants have now risen for three straight months, after enormous plunges in March and April,...
TikTok and its employees prepare to fight Trump over app ban
TikTok and its U.S. employees are planning to take President Donald Trump’s administration to court over his sweeping order to ban the popular video app, according to a lawyer preparing one of the lawsuits. The employees’ legal challenge to Trump’s executive order will be separate from a pending lawsuit from...
Mazda-Toyota boosts investment in Alabama plant by $830M
HUNTSVILLE, Ala. — Mazda Toyota Manufacturing, the new joint-venture between the two auto companies, on Thursday announced an additional $830 million investment in its new Alabama plant. Gov. Kay Ivey said in a news release that the investment in the new auto facility is now $2.3 billion, up from the...
S&P 500 briefly rises above record close as stocks drift
NEW YORK — Wall Street is drifting on Thursday, and the S&P 500 is again on the verge of erasing the very last of its pandemic losses. The S&P 500 was 0.1% higher in afternoon trading at 3,383.64. Earlier in the afternoon, it briefly rose above 3,386.15, which was the...
United plans more Florida flights, but coronavirus gets final say
DALLAS — United Airlines said Wednesday it plans to add up to 28 daily flights to Florida this winter, but the airline is prepared to reverse course if the rate of coronavirus cases in the state remains high. United said that it will increase flights from New York, Boston and...
Tribune Publishing closing 5 newsrooms including New York Daily News
Tribune Publishing Company, which owns some of the most storied newspapers in American journalism, said Wednesday that it is closing the newsrooms at five of them, including New York’s Daily News and The Capital Gazette in Annapolis, Md. The company said the newspapers — including the Orlando Sentinel in Florida,...
Stocks rebound on Wall Street, S&P 500 trades above record 
Stocks marched broadly higher on Wall Street Wednesday, briefly nudging the S&P 500 above its all-time closing high set in February, before the coronavirus pandemic led to a historic market plunge. The benchmark index notched a 1.4% gain, its eighth in nine days. It ended within 0.2% of its record...
Report: Amazon and a mall developer are scoping out JC Penney and Sears stores for fulfillment centers 
J.C. Penney’s lenders extended a key deadline over the weekend as negotiations continue about the fate of the Plano, Texas-based retailer. The lenders filed a notice to extend the deadline as the Wall Street Journal reported speculation that Amazon may be interested in buying some of Penney’s stores with major...
Rate of firearms found in flight carry-ons has tripled amid pandemic
Far fewer people are flying during the covid-19 pandemic, but those who are seem more likely to try to bring firearms on the plane: The rate of passengers carrying guns through U.S. airport security tripled in July compared with the same month last year. Airport screeners for the Transportation Security...
Wall Street perks up; S&P 500 edges even closer to record
NEW YORK — Stocks are perking higher on Wall Street Thursday after a report showed the pace of layoffs across the country is slowing, though it remains incredibly high. The S&P 500 was up 0.6% in afternoon trading after spending much of the day waffling between smaller gains and losses....
With loan money gone, restaurants are at mercy of coronvirus
NEW YORK — The check has arrived and beleaguered restaurant owners across America are looking down on their empty wallets. Government covronavirus loans in the spring helped eating establishments rehire laid-off employees and ride out the pandemic’s initial surge and wave of shutdown orders. But that Paycheck Protection Program money...
Spirit Airlines warns of layoffs, ExpressJet’s fate in doubt
Spirit Airlines has warned up to 30% of its employees that they will lose their jobs in October, and regional carrier ExpressJet’s future is in doubt after losing a key contract as the virus pandemic continues to hammer the airline industry. Spirit is the latest airline to deliver layoff warnings...
U.S. consumer spending up 5.6%, but virus could stall gains
WASHINGTON — American consumers increased their spending in June by a solid 5.6%, helping regain some of record plunge that occurred after the coronavirus struck hard in March and paralyzed the economy. But the virus’ resurgence in much of the country could impede further gains. Last month’s rise in consumer...
Amid the pandemic, Big Tech reports mixed earnings 
Big Tech companies reported mixed quarterly earnings on Thursday, a day after their top executives faced a tough congressional grilling over their market power and alleged monopolistic practices. All four were affected by the pandemic, although in strikingly different ways. Google and Facebook reported slowing growth in the April-June quarter...
4 Big Tech CEOs tell Congress they don’t stifle competition 
WASHINGTON — The leaders of Amazon, Apple, Facebook and Google fended off accusations Wednesday that their companies stifle competition, under intense questioning from lawmakers who have been i nvestigating Big Tech’s market dominance for the past year. Amazon’s Jeff Bezos, in his first appearance before Congress, Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg, Sundar...
U.S. expected to report record-breaking economic plunge
WASHINGTON — Having endured what was surely a record-shattering slump last quarter, the U.S. economy faces a dim outlook as a resurgent coronavirus intensifies doubts about any sustained recovery the rest of the year. A huge plunge in consumer spending as people stayed home and avoided shopping, traveling or gathering...
Pandemic drives average age of cars in U.S. to a record high
Drivers are holding on to cars and trucks longer during the coronavirus pandemic. The average age of a vehicle on U.S. roads rose by a month this year to a record 11.9 years. The IHS Markit consulting firm says the pandemic has caused consumers to put the brakes on spending...
Workers praise Disney virus safety, but will visitors come?
ORLANDO, Fla. — Every week, it seems, Kaila Barker, her husband and their five children change their minds about whether to travel from their home in Connecticut to Florida’s Walt Disney World as planned in September. On the one hand, the lack of crowds means more opportunities to go on...
U.S. meatpackers don’t have many answers for lack of distancing
As part of an investigation into the spread of coronavirus at U.S. meat plants, Democratic Sens. Elizabeth Warren and Cory Booker released responses from major producers that defended their operations during the pandemic. The four biggest meatpackers — Tyson Foods Inc., JBS USA, Cargill Inc. and Smithfield Foods Inc. —...
U.S. new home sales jump 13.8% in June
WASHINGTON — Sales of new homes rose a sharp 13.8% in June, the second straight increase after two months when sales plunged as the country went into lockdown because of the coronavirus. The Commerce Department reported Friday that the June gain pushed sales of new homes to a seasonally adjusted...
Wall Street stumbles after rise in layoffs, tech weakness
NEW YORK — Wall Street is stumbling on Thursday, undercut in part by a discouraging report showing that layoffs are picking up across the country with coronavirus counts. Technology stocks had the sharpest losses after a better-than-expected profit report from Microsoft wasn’t enough to satisfy investors expecting even more. The...


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