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Pope Francis, first Latin American pontiff, dies at 88
Warren Buffett’s firm tweaks stock portfolio, adds Suncor, Red Hat
OMAHA, Neb. — Billionaire Warren Buffett’s company has taken a new stake in Canadian firm Suncor Energy and trimmed its huge Apple stake. Berkshire Hathaway Inc. filed a quarterly update on its holdings with the Securities and Exchange Commission on Thursday. The Omaha, Nebraska-based company said it owned 10.76 million...
Toys R Us plans second act by holiday season
NEW YORK — Toys R Us fans in the United States should see the iconic brand re-emerge in some form by this holiday season. Richard Barry, a former Toys R Us executive and now CEO of the new company called Tru Kids Brands, told The Associated Press he and his...
Feb. 12 webinar to cover tax changes for small businesses
Small businesses looking for help with their taxes can participate in a free webinar at 11 a.m. Feb. 12. The webinar, titled “Tax Reform and Its Impact on Government Contractors,” is being offered by the Pittsburgh District of the U.S. Small Business Administration. The webinar will cover recent tax reform...
Charlotte Russe plans to close 94 stores, 4 in Pa.
The year 2018 was not a stellar year for some retailers. It looks as if 2019 is not getting any more traction. Charlotte Russe filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy and plans to close 94 stores, the company announced Monday. The chain plans to completely liquidate if it can’t find a...
FX chief says Netflix exaggerates viewership numbers
PASADENA, Calif. — Someone is standing up to television’s Goliath, with a prominent competitor saying Monday that Netflix is deceiving the public about what is a hit and what isn’t. John Landgraf, the FX Networks chief executive who has frequently pointed out the glut of scripted TV, said Netflix is...
Americans got 26.3B robocalls last year, up 46 percent from 2017, report says
Americans are now getting so many robocalls on a regular basis that many are simply choosing not to answer the phone altogether. That’s one big takeaway from a report released Tuesday by Hiya, a Seattle-based spam monitoring service that analyzed activity from 450,000 users of its app to determine the...
Small business workshop slated at Saint Vincent College
The Saint Vincent College Small Business Development Center will offer a seminar titled “The First Step to Small Business Success” from 9:30-11:30 a.m. Feb. 13 at its Unity campus. The informal workshop will provide information on what is needed to start a small business venture, including financing and licenses. The...
Comcast loses cable users, but internet subscribers surge
NEW YORK — Comcast is still losing U.S. cable customers but is racking up more internet subscribers and has gotten a revenue boost from Sky, its big bet on European TV. The Philadelphia company said Wednesday that it lost 29,000 U.S. cable customers in the fourth quarter but added 351,000...
Calif. payday lender refunds $800K to settle predatory lending allegations
WASHINGTON — A California payday lender is refunding about $800,000 to consumers to settle allegations that it steered borrowers into high-interest loans and engaged in other illegal practices, state officials said Monday. California Check Cashing Stores also agreed to pay $105,000 in penalties and other costs in a consent order...
5 Hyundai, Kia models have high fire insurance claim rates
DETROIT — Owners of five Hyundai and Kia cars and SUVs file fire insurance claims at a rate far higher than the average for comparable vehicles, according to an insurance industry study. The Highway Loss Data Institute, which analyzes data from insurers representing about 85 percent of the U.S. industry,...
Netflix joins MPAA lobbying group, its 1st streaming member
NEW YORK — On the same day Netflix scored its first best picture nomination from the Oscars, the streaming company is also joining the lobbying group the Motion Picture Association of America. The MPAA announced Tuesday that Netflix will join its ranks, becoming the first streaming service to do so....
White House considering new candidates for open Fed board seat
WASHINGTON — White House officials are considering new candidates for at least one and possibly both empty seats on the Federal Reserve Board for President Trump to nominate, according to people familiar with the matter. Fed economist Nellie Liang withdrew from consideration earlier this month for one of the vacancies....
Burger King trolls Trump on Twitter
DETROIT — Burger King is needling President Trump for his tweet about ordering more than 1,000 “hamberders” for the Clemson University Tigers’ visit to the White House after winning the college football championship. The spelling error was quickly corrected. But Burger King jumped in with a tweet of its own:...
PNC Bank to buy Allentown-based Ambassador Financial Group
PNC Bank has reached a “definitive agreement” with Ambassador Financial Group Inc. to purchase the Allentown-based broker-dealer, PNC announced Monday. Upon closing in the second quarter of 2019, Ambassador Financial Group will become a subsidiary of PNC Bank. Ambassador is a provider of balance sheet management, investment banking and capital...
Elliott Group COO Michael Lordi named CEO
Elliott Group Chief Operating Officer Michael Lordi has been named CEO of the Jeannette-based company. Lordi succeeds outgoing CEO Yasuyuki Uruma, who has retired after 47 years with the Elliott Group and its parent company, the Tokyo-based Ebara Corp. “Going forward, we will continue to strengthen the Elliott brand by...
Amazon emerges as most valuable U.S. firm amid market turmoil
SAN FRANCISCO — Amazon has eclipsed Microsoft as the most valuable publicly traded company in the U.S. as a see-sawing stock market continues to reshuffle corporate America’s pecking order. The shift occurred Monday after Amazon’s shares rose 3 percent to close at $1,629.51 and lifted the e-commerce leader’s market value...
Weather Channel app accused of selling users’ personal data
LOS ANGELES — People relied on the most popular mobile weather app to track forecasts that determined whether they chose jeans over shorts and packed a parka or umbrella, but its owners used it to track their every step and profit off that information, Los Angeles prosecutors said Friday. The...
Western Pa. ag firms to demonstrate innovations at Farm Show
Several Western Pennsylvania agribusiness start-ups that use technology innovations will share the spotlight beginning Saturday at the annual Pennsylvania Farm Show in Harrisburg. Five of six companies to be featured in the Farm Show Innovation Showcase are located on the western end of the state. Included are three Allegheny County...
Apple sees a significant slump in iPhone sales
SAN FRANCISCO — Apple acknowledged that demand for iPhones is waning, fulfilling the worst fears of investors concerned that the company’s most profitable product has lost some of its luster. The reckoning came in the form of a warning that Apple CEO Tim Cook delivered to the company’s shareholders in...


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