Breaking News

Local Business

US stocks rise for fifth straight day to close out volatile month

Wall Street rose for a fifth straight day to put the wraps on a volatile month. The S&P 500 rose 0.5% in abbreviated trading Friday and closed out November with a slim gain of 0.1%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 289 points, or 0.6%. The Nasdaq gained 0.7% but ended November with a drop of 1.5% because of losses for some big tech stocks. Stocks swooned in mid-month as investors worried that stocks boosted by the frenzy around artificial intelligence such as Nvidia had gotten too expensive. Nvidia lost 1.8% Friday and closed the month with a double-digit loss. Oracle fell 23% ...

Focus on care: Home Instead marks 25 years in region

Home Instead has been providing personal care for area senior citizens for 25 years. The Blair County office, now in Duncansville, was opened by Theresa Zurilla in 2000. Owner/general manager Mindy Sheehan bought the franchise 3.5 years ago and also serves as owner and general manager of ...

Workplace

New hires and promotions Michael Johnson has joined Keller Engineers Inc. as bridge inspection team leader. With over 20 years of experience, Johnson brings a wealth of knowledge in leading bridge inspection teams, conducting scheduled inspections, generating reports, training and responding to emergency situations involving bridges and public safety. In addition to holding an associate degree in architectural drafting from Triangle Tech, he is a certified bridge safety inspector and has completed numerous bridge safety trainings. Awards and honors Celina Seftas, director of ...

Best ways to steadily build an emergency fund

NEW YORK — Maybe your car broke down, your computer was stolen, or you had a surprise visit to urgent care. Emergencies are inevitable, but you can prepare to deal with them by building an emergency fund. “There are so many things that happen in our lives that we don’t expect and most of them require financial means to overcome,” said Miklos Ringbauer, a certified public accountant. The industry standard is to save three to six months of expenses in an emergency fund. However, this can feel daunting if you live paycheck to paycheck or if you have debt. But if you’re in either ...

Stocks finish higher despite continued swings on Wall Street

NEW YORK — More swings hit Wall Street on Friday, except the U.S. stock market finished higher this time. After bobbing up and down through the morning, the S&P 500 took off and rallied nearly 2% before finishing with a gain of 1%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 493 points, or 1.1%, and the Nasdaq composite rose 0.9%. It was a fitting finish for a week that left the S&P 500 just 4.2% below its record but also forced investors to stomach the sharpest hour-to-hour swings since a sell-off in April. The jarring moves are testing investors following a monthslong and remarkably ...

Study: Luxury shoppers spurning high-end brands

MILAN — Global sales of personal luxury goods are forecast to contract for the second straight year, as well-heeled shoppers rebel against extravagant price hikes on ho-hum offerings and global turmoil shakes confidence, according to a new study by the Bain & Co. consultancy released on Thursday. Sales of high-end apparel, footwear and handbags are expected to drop 2% to $412 billion this year from 364 billion euros in 2024, Bain said in its semiannual market update for the Altagamma association of Italian luxury producers. The dip would mark the first two-year slowdown since the ...