US stocks lose ground as war with Iran keeps pressure on oil prices

March 13, 2026

Wall Street’s losses deepened Friday as the ongoing fallout from the war in Iran keeps pushing oil prices higher, ratcheting up inflationary pressure on the global economy. The S&P 500 fell 0.6% after having been up as much as 0.9% in the early going. The benchmark index is now down 3.1% so far this year. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 0.3%, and the Nasdaq composite finished 0.9% lower. The indexes also ended the week with their third straight weekly loss. After briefly easing early Friday, crude oil prices rose again, bringing the benchmark oil price back above $100 a ...

Capitalism and Conservation: Louisiana’s alligator farms raise reptiles for profit and research

March 13, 2026

ABBEVILLE, La. — Jacob Sagrera unrolls an alligator skin and lays it flat on a metal table, brushing off flecks of salt. He holds it up to the light, looking for blemishes, and gives it a score. That score will help a tannery an ocean away prepare it to be used by a luxury designer — ...

Ticker: Senate passes bipartisan housing bill

March 13, 2026

In a rare bipartisan effort for a deeply divided Congress, the Senate has passed a broad bill to make U.S. housing more accessible and affordable. The bill passed on Thursday would reduce regulations, regulate corporate investors and expand how housing dollars can be used to build affordable homes and rentals. Lawyers make cases to jury in social media trial After about a month of hearing from addiction experts, therapists, platform engineers and executives, including Mark Zuckerberg, a jury is listening to closing arguments before heading to the deliberation room to decide whether ...

Workplace

March 13, 2026

New hires and promotions Mary Slattery of Anderson Family Funeral Homes has officially become a licensed funeral director. This milestone follows the successful completion of her internship under the direction of Garrett Anderson, which began in February 2025. Slattery first joined the Anderson Family Funeral Homes team in August 2022. A 2010 graduate of Penn Cambria High School, she initially pursued a career in health care, earning her bachelor’s degree in nursing from Mount Aloysius College in 2014. After working at the Hollidaysburg Veterans Home and the Primary Health Network, ...

Inflation steady prior to Iran attack boosting costs

March 11, 2026

KANSAS CITY — Inflation remained stubbornly elevated last month as gas prices rose, but it’s a snapshot of consumer prices before a U.S.-Israeli attack on Iran sent energy costs soaring. Consumer prices rose 2.4% in February compared with a year earlier, the Labor Department said Wednesday, matching January’s increase. Excluding the volatile food and energy, core prices climbed 2.5% from a year ago, also matching January’s level, which was the lowest in five years. Both remain above the Federal Reserve’s 2% target. Wednesday’s data has been overtaken by a conflict that ...

States rush to set rules for rounding without pennies

March 12, 2026

Months after the last of the United States’ 1-cent coins were pressed, some states are beginning to offer their own 2 cents on the penny problem by setting rounding guidance for cash purchases. President Donald Trump announced early last year an end to penny production, saying it was ...