News/Business
Shoppers fixated with discounts pose big worry for stores
By ANNE D’INNOCENZIO
NEW YORK — Shoppers who got addicted to sales during the last recession have more tools than ever to cross-check prices and find bargains, creating a race to the bottom — particularly on clothes.While retailers are trying to offer more exclusive...
Are you hiring?: Job market for teens still struggling to recover from the Great Recession
By SCOTT MERZBACH
With a driver’s permit in hand and a desire to work, Amherst teenager Cady Bestor is confident that for part of the summer she’ll have a job, getting both experience in the workplace and money for spending or saving.But with the school year ending in...
Why you can’t buy a car online — for now
By Rick Popely
As bricks-and-mortar stores around the country close up and more retail sales shift to the internet, the auto industry seems stuck in the past, plodding along in much the same way that it has for decades.If you want to buy a new vehicle, you still...
J. Rich Clothing to end 3-decade run in downtown Northampton this summer
By DUSTY CHRISTENSEN
NORTHAMPTON — After more than 30 years of stylishly dressing Northampton area residents, J. Rich Clothing for Men will close at the end of July.The store is one of three Northampton clothing businesses, including 2nd Time Around and Ci Ci Boutique,...
BA debacle puts spotlight on cost cuts
By DANICA KIRKA
LONDON — The catastrophic IT failure at British Airways that ruined travel plans for 75,000 people has raised questions about some older airlines’ focus on costs to the detriment of investment in new computer systems.As British Airways resumed full...
Farms join forces to turn manure into energy
Combined Sources
For years, dairy farmers have used cow manure as fertilizer to spread over crops like corn and hay. But some farms in western Massachusetts have a new use for all that manure — renewable energy.The farms, in Deerfield, Hatfield and Granville, are...
New leader takes helm at South Hadley/Granby Chamber of Commerce
By CAITLIN ASHWORTH
SOUTH HADLEY — Change is the new mantra at the South Hadley & Granby Chamber of Commerce, an organization keen on promoting businesses in the neighboring towns along the Route 202 corridor.Two months into her position as executive director, Mariann...
More records, barely, as stocks rise for 7th day
By MARLEY JAY
NEW YORK — U.S. stocks made the tiniest of gains Friday as media companies and sellers of beauty products and food ticked higher. Major indexes added to their winning streak and record highs.Stocks spent the day flipping back and forth between small...
Retailers help send indexes to records
By MARLEY JAY
NEW YORK — U.S. stocks climbed for the sixth day in a row Thursday as strong first-quarter results from retailers like Best Buy and PVH led indexes to record highs. That offset weakness in energy stocks caused by a plunge in oil prices.Stocks are on...
A job for all: Employment collaboratives connect disabled workers with employers
By CAITLIN ASHWORTH
AMHERST — Jeannette White whizzed through the Blue Wall dining hall at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, picking up empty cups and used napkins and wiping down the tables.“I finally found a job that I like to do,” she said. “It keeps me busy…I...
Ashfield’s Double Edge theater company gets creative economy grant
By DIANE BRONCACCIO
ASHFIELD — A $140,000 state grant may allow a local theater company to expand further by converting a barn into an artists’ studio.The Double Edge Theatre has just received a Cultural Facilities Fund grant that makes it possible to complete the...
Unemployment rates hit record lows in 3 states
By JOSH BOAK
WASHINGTON — Solid hiring nationwide led unemployment rates to touch record lows in three U.S. states last month.Unemployment rates declined in 10 states in April, increased in one — Massachusetts — and held relatively stable in the other 39, the...
US stocks close broadly higher; oil rises
By ALEX VEIGA
Industrial companies led U.S. stocks higher Friday, giving the stock market its second gain in two days.The rally was broad, with all 11 industry sectors in the Standard & Poor’s 500 index closing higher. That included energy stocks, which climbed as...
US stock indexes end mostly lower; Nasdaq notches new high
By ALEX VEIGA
A subdued day of trading on Wall Street ended Tuesday with stocks closing mostly lower even as the Nasdaq composite notched another record high.Utilities, phone companies and other high-dividend paying stocks were among the biggest decliners. Energy...
Ci Ci Boutique to close Northampton store, move business online
By AMANDA DRANE
NORTHAMPTON — Another downtown retail clothing store is going the way of the market: online.Cindy Hackworth, owner of Ci Ci Boutique at 112 Main St., said it no longer makes sense to sell her wares in a permanent brick and mortar space. She’ll close...
Ice cream shop preps to reopen in downtown Amherst
By SCOTT MERZBACH
AMHERST — Residents and visitors craving locally made ice cream as warm weather arrives will still have a place to get the summertime treat in downtown Amherst.Though Amherst Homemade Ice Cream and Cookies at 103 North Pleasant St. hasn’t yet reopened...
S&P 500 index slips, posts its first down week in a month
By STAN CHOE
NEW YORK — Shares of department stores sank again Friday, hurt by more evidence that shoppers are turning away from them. A drop in Treasury yields also put pressure on bank stocks, and the weakness helped pull the Standard & Poor’s 500 index to its...
Disappointing retail earnings drag on US stocks; oil rises
By ALEX VEIGA
Disappointing quarterly results from Macy’s, Kohl’s and other big department store chains put investors in a selling mood Thursday, sending U.S. stocks modestly lower.Stocks in the consumer discretionary sector, which includes many retailers, slumped...
US jobs report points to a healthy drop in underemployment
By CHRISTOPHER S. RUGABER
WASHINGTON — A burst of hiring in April provided a reassuring sign for the U.S. economy and reduced a broader gauge of the job market’s health to its lowest level since the recession began nearly a decade ago.Employers added 211,000 jobs, more than...
After jobs report, a late push takes stocks to new records
By MARLEY JAY
NEW YORK — A solid pickup in hiring last month helped push the stock market to record highs Friday. The gains were driven by energy, technology and industrial companies.The Labor Department told investors what they had hoped to hear: employers added...
