February 4, 2021

UnitedHealth Group taps Witty as new CEO

David Wichmann is stepping down as chief executive of UnitedHealth Group, the nation’s largest health insurer and Minnesota’s largest company. Andrew Witty, the head of […]
February 4, 2021

Bank of England upbeat on UK recovery after vaccine rollout

LONDON — The Bank of England opted against another monetary stimulus on Thursday amid rising optimism over the British economy’s prospects later this year in […]
February 4, 2021

UnitedHealth names former Glaxo CEO Witty to lead company

UnitedHealth Group is promoting former GlaxoSmithKline leader Sir Andrew Witty to become the health insurance provider’s next CEO immediately. The company said Thursday that current […]
February 4, 2021

Hunter Biden's memoir 'Beautiful Things' out in April

NEW YORK — Hunter Biden, son of President Joe Biden and an ongoing target for conservatives, has a memoir coming out April 6. The book […]
February 4, 2021

Japan scientists to study source of high heat on asteroid

TOKYO — Japanese space experts said Thursday they will examine soil samples brought back from a distant asteroid in an attempt to find the source […]
February 4, 2021

US productivity fell sharply in Q4 while labor costs rose

WASHINGTON — U.S. productivity fell sharply in the October-December quarter while labor costs rose. The Labor Department reported Thursday that productivity dropped at a 4.8% […]
February 4, 2021

Merck loses $2.1B in Q4; longtime CEO Frazier to retire

Merck posted a big fourth-quarter loss due to a hefty charge and higher spending on research, production and overhead. The company also announced Ken Frazier, […]
February 4, 2021

US unemployment claims fall to 779,000 but job cuts grind on

WASHINGTON — The number of Americans seeking unemployment benefits declined to 779,000 last week, a still-historically high total that shows that a sizable number of […]
February 4, 2021

Duluth tourist spending tumbles by nearly one-third in 2020

But the year could have been worse. At the onset of the pandemic, former Duluth Finance Director Wayne Parson predicted that the city likely would […]
February 4, 2021

Asian shares down on caution after modest US gains

TOKYO — Asian shares mostly fell Thursday as caution set in over company earnings reports, recent choppy trading in technology stocks and prospects for more […]