A Florida boat builder absorbs $4 million in lost business and expects more pain. An Ohio pork producer is losing access to a vital export market and fears the damage will last years. A motorcycle shop near Cologne, Germany, wonders ...
Read More »Federal study: Chemicals toxic at levels EPA thought safe
The chemicals used by a West Virginia factory to make non-stick products are dangerous at levels the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency had thought were safe, according to a federal study that had been previously blocked from publication. The federal Agency ...
Read More »Fed finds biggest US banks strong enough to survive shock
The Federal Reserve says that all of the 35 largest U.S. banks are fortified enough to survive an economic shock and keep on lending. Banks’ hypothetical losses from credit cards increased in the latest “stress tests,” however. The first round ...
Read More »Tariffs stir unrest among American whiskey producers
Much of the rye whiskey aging in hundreds of barrels at Catoctin Creek Distillery in Virginia could end up being consumed in Europe, a market the 9-year-old distilling company has cultivated at considerable cost. An escalating trade dispute, however, has ...
Read More »Why many Americans aren’t benefiting from robust US economy
“The economy,” Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell declared this month, “is doing very well.” And it is. Steady hiring has shrunk unemployment to 3.8 percent — the lowest since the 1960’s. Consumers are spending. Taxes are down. Inflation is tame. ...
Read More »Automakers improve quality to record level in annual survey
A survey of new-vehicle buyers finds that car and truck quality hit a record high this year as automakers started to clear up bugs with infotainment systems. The annual survey by J.D. Power finds that buyers reported a record-low 93 ...
Read More »Alexa, I can trust you with my checkbook, right?
Hey Alexa, what’s my bank-account balance? Big banks and financial companies have started to offer banking through virtual assistants — Amazon’s Alexa, Apple’s Siri, and Google’s Assistant — in a way that will allow customers to check their balances, pay ...
Read More »Fed chair signals gradual rate hikes in tame inflation era
Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell says the Fed will likely keep raising short-term interest rates at a gradual pace, partly because there are few signs, so far, that the ultra-low U.S. unemployment rate is pushing up inflation. In a speech ...
Read More »US home sales fell 0.4 percent in May amid inventory crunch
U.S. existing home sales slipped 0.4 percent in May, as the prolonged shortage of properties on the market is deterring home-buying. The National Association of Realtors said Wednesday that homes sold at a seasonally adjusted annual pace of 5.43 million ...
Read More »US housing starts jumped 5 pct. in May off Midwest building
A surge of construction in the Midwest drove U.S. housing starts up 5 percent in May from the prior month. The Commerce Department said Wednesday that housing starts rose to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.35 million, the strongest ...
Read More »Apple sets up iPhones to relay location for 911 calls
Apple is trying to drag the U.S.’s antiquated system for handling 911 calls into the 21st century. If it lives up to Apple’s promise, the iPhone’s next operating system will automatically deliver quicker and more reliable information pinpointing the location ...
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