Business category, Page 171

The U.S. Postal Service on Tuesday unveiled a new-generation vehicle coming to its fleet. The striking design — likened to a duck or “Pixar”-inspired car — is a major change from current delivery vehicles seen on the roads. Car and Driver called it a “visual abomination,” but probably better at...

Christanine Brodis gathered her tax paperwork in February including a 1099-G for state unemployment compensation and a W2-G for some gambling winnings at MGM Grand Detroit, the only bright spot in a money-losing 2020. But she’s looking at taxable income now. Brodis, 48, sent her forms to a tax preparer...

WASHINGTON — The economy grew at a 4.1% pace in the final three months of 2020, slightly faster than first estimated, ending a year in which the overall economy, ravaged by a global pandemic, shrank more than in any year in the past seven decades. The influx of new government...

Rising bond yields triggered a broad sell-off on Wall Street Thursday that erased the market’s gains for the week and handed the Nasdaq composite its biggest loss in nearly four months. The S&P 500 dropped 2.4%, led lower by heavy selling in technology and communications companies. The tech-heavy Nasdaq fell...

WASHINGTON — The number of Americans seeking unemployment benefits fell sharply last week but remained high by historical standards. Applications for benefits declined 111,000 from the previous week to a seasonally adjusted 730,000, the Labor Department said Thursday. It is the lowest figure since late November. Still, before the virus...

SACRAMENTO — A federal judge ruled that California can for the first time enforce its tough net neutrality law, clearing the way for the state to ban internet providers from slowing down or blocking access to websites and applications that don’t pay for premium service. Former Gov. Jerry Brown signed...

SILVER SPRING, Md. — Demand for new homes in the U.S. surged 4.3% in January with the housing market still one of the strongest segments of the economy. Last month’s increase pushed sales of new homes to an adjusted annual rate of 923,000, the Commerce Department reported Wednesday. That’s much...

WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden is preparing to sign an executive order to review U.S. supply chains for large-capacity batteries, pharmaceuticals, critical minerals and semiconductors that power cars, phones, military equipment and other goods. The United States has become increasingly reliant on imports of these goods — a potential national...

Stocks shook off a weak start and closed broadly higher Wednesday, nudging the Dow Jones Industrial Average to another all-time high. The S&P 500 rose 1.1% after having been down 0.6% in the early going. Gains in financial, technology and industrial stocks powered the comeback. Utilities fell. U.S. Treasury yields...

WASHINGTON — The United States Post Office said Tuesday that it has chosen Oshkosh Defense to build its next-generation mail-delivery vehicle, part of an effort to make the USPS more environmentally friendly by switching a portion of its huge fleet to electric vehicles. Oshkosh Defense, a division of Wisconsin-based Oshkosh...

A one-year contract extension for Allegheny Technologies Inc.’s 1,300 United Steelworkers members expires Sunday, but there has been no talk of a strike or lockout, according to the union local president representing workers at ATI’s Brackenridge facility in Harrison. “We all want to get this wrapped up,” said Todd Barbiaux,...

Declines in technology stocks are dragging the broader market lower Tuesday as investors remain increasingly focused on a big tick up in bond yields and what it means for the overall market. Major indexes pared a good part of their losses by the afternoon. The S&P 500 index was down...

SILVER SPRING, Md. — U.S. consumer confidence rose again in February as an accelerating covid-19 vaccine push provides hope for Americans who have lived through a year of unprecedented restrictions. The Conference Board reported Tuesday that its consumer confidence index rose to 91.3, up from 88.9 in January. However, despite...

The housing market was among the very few bright spots for the U.S. economy in the year of the lockdown and Home Depot became its supplier, racking up an unprecedented $132 billion in sales for 2020. Sales grew even stronger in the final quarter of the year, surging 25% to...

NEW YORK — Macy’s fourth-quarter profit plunged 52% and sales slid nearly 19%. In the context of a year spent under the weight of a pandemic, that was seen as a pretty good ending to 2020 for the besieged department store. Shares rose more than 3% before the opening bell...

Residents of Nebraska earned a clean sweep of the honors in my 19th annual Derby of Economic Forecasting Talent (DEFT). Contestants entered from Pennsylvania, Virginia, Iowa, Kentucky and even Poland. But none of them won. It must be something in the Nebraska water. Oh yes, Warren Buffett, widely considered the...

Microsoft is teaming up with European publishers to push for a system to make big tech platforms pay for news, raising the stakes in the brewing battle over whether Google and Facebook should pay for journalism. The U.S. tech giant and four big European Union news industry lobbying groups unveiled...

NEW YORK — Two of the biggest remaining American tire companies are joining forces. Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. is acquiring Cooper in a deal valued at $2.5 billion that will combine the two century-old Ohio manufacturers. Cooper, founded in 1914, is the 5th largest tire maker in North America...

WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden is targeting federal pandemic assistance to the nation’s smallest businesses and taking steps to further equity in what is known as the Paycheck Protection Program. The administration is establishing a two-week window, starting on Wednesday, in which only businesses with fewer than 20 employees —...

Women are bearing a tremendous financial burden during the pandemic, primarily because of leaving the workforce, by choice or by force. The Associated Press spoke with Suze Orman, personal finance expert and author of the podcast Women & Money, about how women can survive and emerge from this period. Responses...