Durable Household Products

Supply-chain snarls are fading from among the top challenges facing some U.S. companies as freight congestion eases, shipping costs fall and factories in Asia are freed from Covid-19 lockdowns. The benefits are being felt most among importers of finished goods, such as game company Hasbro Inc., Sharpie pen maker Newell Brands Inc. and sportswear manufacturer Under Armour Inc., whose executives on…

Some big stove makers are betting on an electromagnetic future, developing models that companies say can cook much faster than traditional gas and electric versions. Manufacturers of GE, Viking and other stove brands have been expanding their lineups of induction ranges and cooktops, electric appliances that use a magnetic field to heat pots and pans in what the companies bill as a speedy, precise and energy-efficient manner. Induction models have been around for decades, but command a fraction of the overall…

Samsung Electronics Co. on Wednesday unveiled its newest flagship Galaxy S23 phones, which have a monster camera in the top model and other more modest improvements it hopes will attract buyers when smartphones are a harder sell. The South Korean electronics giant unveiled the products at a live Unpacked event in San Francisco. The company has largely settled into a consistent design and feel for its main line of smartphones, saving its folding-screen technologies for its Galaxy Z…

SEOUL— Samsung Electronics Co. expects demand for semiconductors and smartphones to remain sluggish as macroeconomic challenges and fears of a recession continue to hurt sales, but it said a recovery could be possible in the second half.Economic uncertainties are weakening momentum for any short-term rebound in demand for memory chips, Samsung’s main cash cow, said Kim Jae-june, executive vice president for global sales and marketing at the company’s memory business, in an earnings call…

Many people hoping to score a deal on Apple Inc.’s AAPL 1.37% top-of-the-line wireless earbuds are winding up with something far less valuable: counterfeit AirPods.Caroline Ballard, 26 years old, was perusing Facebook Marketplace when she came across a pair of new AirPods Pro for $80, less than a third of the $249 list price.  She arranged to meet the seller at a nearby Walgreens parking lot the same day, a move that isn’t unusual for transactions made via…

LOGAN, Ohio—The Columbus Washboard Co., founded before the first electric washing machines put a new spin on laundering in the early 1900s, has dodged extinction for 128 years.As America’s last washboard-maker, the company controls the market, holding a monopoly with a steely grip and so far clean of antitrust scrutiny. Four employees churn out roughly 11,000 washboards a year in the basement of a former G.C. Murphy discount variety store. A popular pail-size model sells for $27.49. “The market is small, but if we can…

Stanley Black & Decker Inc. appointed the chief financial officer of Fortune Brands Innovations Inc. to lead its finances as the tool maker works on substantial cost cuts. The New Britain, Conn.-based company on Monday said Patrick Hallinan will become CFO, effective April 6. Mr. Hallinan will join Stanley Black & Decker after a 17-year career at home- and security-products maker Fortune Brands.  Fortune Brands, meanwhile,…

Dustin Bingham loves to play music when he cooks. Recently, he asked one of his eight Amazon Echo smart speakers to play Michael Bublé while he prepared some pasta.Sure enough, sounds of the Canadian crooner filled the kitchen, courtesy of his Amazon Prime music account. But what was that next tune? Not Mr. Bublé, and not anything Mr. Bingham had ever heard before. Was something broken? Irritated, he asked his smart speaker to…

Whirlpool Corp. WHR 0.40% , whose European operations have been challenged by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, said Tuesday it is turning over much of its appliance business in the region to a new entity controlled by a Turkish appliance maker. The new company, which will be majority-owned by Turkey-based Arcelik AS ARCLK.E 9.94% , is expected to have a combined $6.5 billion in sales,…

YouTube is testing a new hub of free, ad-supported streaming channels, the latest in a series of moves by the company to expand its ambitions in video. The Alphabet Inc. GOOG 0.04% -owned video platform is in talks with entertainment companies about featuring their shows and movies in the hub of cable-like channels and is testing the concept with a small number of media partners, according to people familiar with the discussions. It could launch the offering more broadly…