Finance

Retirement savers have eked out steady gains this year, even as the stock market turned increasingly volatile amid uncertainty over the trade war between the U.S. and China and fear of a global economic slowdown. The average 401(k) plan balance rose 2% to $106,000 in the second quarter versus a year earlier, according to new […]

The owner of Timberland, Vans and several other shoe and clothing brands said Thursday that it has stopped buying leather from Brazil as fires continue to destroy the Amazon rainforest in that country. VF Corp. said it won’t purchase leather and hide from Brazilian suppliers until it’s assured that the materials “do not contribute to

Best Buy Co. reported a sales shortfall for the fiscal second quarter and trimmed its annual sales forecast, blaming uncertainty surrounding an escalating trade war with China heading into the holiday shopping season. Shares of the retailer fell 8% in afternoon trading Thursday. “It is difficult to factor in the uncertainty related to overall customer

Stocks marched broadly higher in afternoon trading on Wall Street Thursday, adding to the market’s solid gains from a day earlier. The rally came as investors held out fresh hope that new talks between the U.S. and China set for September can lead to progress in the nations’ ongoing trade war. Technology companies accounted for

Fewer Americans signed contracts to buy homes in July, signaling that the housing market has yet to enjoy a strong bounce from lower mortgage rates. The National Association of Realtors said Thursday that its pending home sales index fell 2.5% to 105.6 in July. The index has slipped 0.3% from a year ago as uncertainty

The U.S. economy grew more slowly in the spring, and many economists think the slowdown will continue and perhaps complicate President Donald Trump’s hopes that a surging economy enhance his 2020 re-election hopes. The gross domestic product, the broadest gauge of economic health, advanced at a moderate 2% annual rate in the April-June quarter, down

DUNWOODY, Ga. — Aisha Adkins would rather have her own place, instead of living with her parents. She would also like a job, a car, a master’s degree and savings. But at 35, a decade after graduating from Georgia Southern University in Statesboro with a specialty in social services, she has had to put off

Asian stocks declined Thursday following Wall Street’s rebound amid uncertainty about U.S.-Chinese trade tension. Market benchmarks in Shanghai, Tokyo and Seoul declined. Hong Kong was little-changed. Investors were looking for news about the outlook for U.S.-Chinese trade negotiations following confusion over President Donald Trump’s conflicting statements about the status of talks. Negotiators are due to

In the car business, Labor Day is more than just the end of the summer selling season. It signals the beginning of what many bargain hunters eagerly await: the end-of-model-year clearance. In the eyes of these shoppers, the Labor Day holiday weekend sales time equals big-time savings. But as Edmunds data shows, this year’s Labor

The Communications Workers of America and AT&T say that the 20,000 workers in the Southeast who went on strike over the weekend are coming back to work Wednesday. The union and the company would not say what was resolved to end the four-day action. The union had protested that AT&T was not sending officials who