Business briefly

Costco closing all photo centers in online shift

Costco is closing all of its warehouse photo departments as of Feb. 14.

The big-box retailer in an email sent to members on Wednesday said it is discontinuing services in warehouses, including passport photos, ink refills, photo restoration and a home-video transfer service.

Many of Costco’s popular photo products will remain available through its online photo center. Those services include making prints, enlargements, posters, stationery and its popular and customizable greeting cards and books. The business printing service also remains online, Costco said.

Photo-related orders will be shipped to the customer vs. picked up in stores.

In an email to its members, the retailer said photo reprint demand is declining overall.

“Since the introduction of camera phones and social media, the need for printing photos has steeply declined, even though the number of pictures taken continues to grow. After careful consideration, we have determined the continued decline of prints no longer requires on-site photo printing,” the message reads.

The retailer wants all remaining orders picked up at stores by March 28.

Wall Street gains; Treasury yields slow on Wednesday

Stocks notched modest gains Wednesday following another choppy day of trading on Wall Street, leaving the market near its recent record highs.

Treasury yields stalled after rising sharply since the beginning of the year. The benchmark 10-year yield dipped as concerns calmed that the Federal Reserve may curtail its purchases of Treasurys. Expectations of higher government spending and the possibility of inflation have helped drive bond yields higher.

The S&P 500 rose 2% or 8.65 points to 3,809.84. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 8.22 points, or less than 0.1%, to 31,060.47. The tech-heavy Nasdaq composite added 56.52 points, or 0.4%, to 13,128.95.

The yield on the 10-year Treasury slowed its ascent, though, and dipped to 1.10% from 1.12% late Tuesday. Analysts said statements from two Federal Reserve officials a day earlier helped to calm concerns that it may curtail its purchases of Treasurys.

Those purchases have helped keep rates low in hopes of boosting financial markets and the economy.

The Fed released its latest “Beige Book” Wednesday. The survey of U.S. business conditions found that the bulk of the Fed’s 12 regions reported modest gains in economic activity in recent weeks. But two districts saw declines in activity and another two reported little or no change.

If interest rates keep climbing, it could bolster the argument for critics of the stock market, who say it has climbed too high and left prices too expensive.

Stocks that would benefit in particular from low rates helped drive the market higher Wednesday. Utilities rose 1.9% for the biggest gain among the 11 sectors that make up the S&P 500.

Tech stocks also climbed. Intel jumped 7% after it said industry veteran Pat Gelsinger will take over as CEO next month. It also said it expects to report revenue and profit for the latest quarter above its prior forecast.

On the losing end were some of the market’s biggest winners recently. Raw-material producers in the S&P 500 fell 1.1%, while industrial stocks fell 0.6% and financial stocks lost 0.9%.

Stocks of smaller companies also pulled back from their big recent rally. The Russell 2000 index of smallcap stocks slid 15.99 points, or 0.8%, to 2,111.97. It remains 6.9% higher for 2021 so far. That towers over the 1.4% rise for the big stocks in the S&P 500.

Dollar General to pay workers to get coronavirus vaccine

Dollar General Corp. is offering workers extra pay to encourage them to get vaccinated against COVID-19 as quickly as possible.

Hourly employees will get the equivalent of four hours of pay after getting the vaccine, while salaried workers will receive “additional store labor hours to accommodate their time away from the store,” the discount retailer said in a statement. It also will provide assistance to its distribution and transportation teams.

The announcement offers an early look at how retailers will deal with getting millions of frontline workers the vaccine — an urgent issue from both a safety and operational standpoint, as well as an unprecedented logistical undertaking.

Compiled from staff, The Associated Press and Bloomberg reports.