Business briefs
Alcoa in carbon-free smelting venture
Alcoa and Rio Tinto have formed a joint venture to develop and commercialize a process for making aluminum without greenhouse gas emissions. The Elysis venture will be based in Montreal and employ about 100. The two companies will invest about $43 million over the next three years. Other partners include Apple, which will provide technical support, the Canadian government and the Quebec provincial government. The technology was developed by Alcoa and is being used to produce aluminum at the Alcoa Technical Center in Westmoreland County.
AHN names president of planned Pine hospital
Allan Klapper has been named president of Allegheny Health Network’s planned 160bed hospital in Pine that is expected to open in 2021. Dr. Klapper, an obstetrician and gynecologist, joined Highmark’s AHN in 2011 from New York Downtown Hospital and serves as chair of AHN’s Women’s & Children’s Institute.
FCC fines Miami business record $120M for robocalls
The Federal Communications Commission fined a Miami, Fla., businessman a record $120 million for robocall violations. The agency said Adrian Abramovich,
or companies he controlled, made 96 million robocalls that appeared to be local calls using a practice known as “neighbor spoofing” to trick consumers into answering the phone. The messages indicated the calls came from well-known companies such as Marriott, Expedia, Hilton and TripAdvisor, and prompted consumers to “press 1” to hear about “exclusive” vacation deals. Those who did were transferred to foreign call centers where operators tried to sell vacation packages, including timeshares. Regulations prohibit callers from falsifying caller ID information with the intent to defraud or unlawfully obtain something of value.
Ampco-Pitt swings to profit in 1st quarter
A contract settlement and higher sales to the oil and gas industry helped Ampco-Pittsburgh Corp. post a first quarter profit. The Carnegie industrial products company reported net income of $941,000, or 8 cents per share, vs. a loss of $4.8 million, or 39 cents per share, in the year-ago period. Sales rose 11 percent to $115.1 million, spurred by higher demand from the energy industry. Results for the current year included a one-time benefit of $2.4 million from a contract dispute settlement.
ExOne loss narrows on higher sales
The ExOne Company reported a smaller first-quarter loss on higher sales, but the results fell short of Wall Street estimates. The North Huntingdon 3D printing company reported a loss of $6.4 million, or 40 cents per share, vs. a loss of $6.8 million, or 42 cents per share, in the year-ago quarter. Sales rose 9 percent to $11.9 million. Analysts were expecting a loss of 33 cents per share on sales of $12.4 million.
Equifax says passport info was stolen in breach
Equifax acknowledged a small number of passport images and information were stolen as part of last year’s security breach, despite previously denying such a thing occurred. The credit monitoring company said 3,200 passport images were stolen last year, according to a letter sent last week by lawyers representing Equifax to the Senate Banking Committee. That’s compared to the 148 million individuals that were impacted by the overall breach.
GE to buy energy stakes for $3.1 billion
General Electric will be required to buy Alstom’s stakes in three energy joint ventures for 2.59 billion euros ($3.1 billion), closing a lengthy chapter in the massive 2015 tie-up that has become a headache for the beleaguered U.S. manufacturer. Alstom will exercise its options to exit the renewable energy, grid and nuclear businesses that were created as part of the original $10 billion deal, which gave GE control of the French company’s gas-turbine operations. The transfer to GE of the joint-venture assets will occur on Oct. 2, according to a statement.
Goldman looks to partner with Apple on credit card
Goldman Sachs and Apple are looking to partner together to create a new credit card, the first foray by Goldman Sachs into the $1 trillion credit card market, The Wall Street Journal reported Thursday, citing unnamed sources. The Goldman-Apple credit card would be tied to Apple’s payment service known as Apple Pay and Apple’s co-brand partnership with Barclays would come to an end, the Journal said.
U.S. key mortgage rate steady at 4.55 percent
The key long-term U.S. mortgage rate held steady this week, providing a lure for potential homebuyers as the spring buying season goes forward. Mortgage buyer Freddie Mac said the average rate on 30-year, fixed-rate mortgages was 4.55 percent, unchanged from last week. The benchmark rate rose steadily for most of April, reaching its highest level in more than four years. By contrast, the rate averaged 4.05 percent a year ago. The average rate on 15-year, fixed-rate loans declined slightly to 4.01 percent from 4.03 percent last week.