Looking back: 2015 in business
A look back at the top business stories from 2015:
STEEL BIZ STRUGGLES
Cheap imports from China, falling demand and weak prices combined to give the steel industry one of its worst years in more than a decade. Profits, revenue and stock prices tanked. Companies idled plants and laid off thousands of workers as steel prices plummeted by 40 percent.
At the peak in the spring, U.S. Steel Corp. issued layoff warnings to 9,000 of its 23,000 workers in North America. Contract talks with the United Steelworkers union became testy as steel producers sought concessions. Allegheny Technologies Inc. locked out its union workforce at a dozen plants.
GAS, OIL PRICES PLUMMET; ENERGY STOCKS SUFFER
Oil and gas companies that transformed the energy landscape with huge shale production entered 2015 in budget-cutting mode. Record production overran domestic demand and pipeline capacity, leading to a glut that gutted prices; crude oil hit six-year lows and natural gas tumbled below 2001 prices.
Producers from Pennsylvania and other energy states idled hundreds of drilling rigs and contractors laid off tens of thousands of workers. A slowdown aimed at easing the glut rippled through industries that cater to drillers. Energy stocks tumbled and companies began seeking bankruptcy protection.
With no desire by major oil producing nations to reduce production, prices show no sign of rebounding.
HEINZ, KRAFT JOIN FORCES
H.J. Heinz and Kraft Foods Group announce a merger, bringing together some of the best-known grocery store brands in the nation to create the world's fifth-largest food company. The deal was part of a flurry of mergers in 2015.
Generic drugmaker Mylan NV joined the frenzy. It acquired Abbott Laboratories' overseas generics business for $5.3 billion, moving its corporate address to the Netherlands. The company was rebuffed by Perrigo Co., an Irish maker of store-branded drugs, in a contentious battle and successfully fended off a hostile offer from Israel's Teva Pharmaceutical Industries.
Failing to buy Mylan, Teva agreed to acquire the generics business of Allergan for $40 billion. And Pfizer Inc. bid $160 billion for Allergan in the biggest pharmaceutical deal ever. Other mega deals included: Chemical giants DuPont and Dow Chemical; drug-store chains Rite Aid and Walgreens; and Starwood Hotels and Marriott.
EDMC ENDURES YEAR OF CHANGE
It was a year of upheaval for Education Management Corp. The Downtown-based operator of for-profit colleges began 2015 with an ownership change in April when creditors assumed control of the financially troubled company in exchange for wiping out $1.3 billion in debt.
Massive changes followed, including an overhaul of the board, a decision to close a quarter of its flagship Art Institutes and hundreds of layoffs throughout its 110 campuses. CEO Ed West resigned in August and his replacement, Mark McEachen, took over in September.
But perhaps the biggest hurdle was a federal lawsuit over the company's recruiting practices. The whistle-blower case had sought to recover some of the $11 billion in federal student aid from 2003 to 2011 and threatened to bankrupt EDMC. It was settled with federal and state officials for $95.5 million.
PROBLEMS PLAGUE AUTO INDUSTRY
Public trust in the auto industry plummeted with one scandal after another.
Automakers recalled millions of vehicles because of air bag, brake and other problems. Most widespread were rupture-prone air bags made by Japanese company Takata Corp. The air bags were linked to at least six deaths and led to 30 million vehicles being recalled by nearly a dozen automakers.
Faulty ignition switches used by the nation's largest automaker, General Motors, led to criminal charges and a $900 million settlement. Defective switches were linked to the deaths of 124 people.
Volkswagen, the world's largest automaker by sales, was accused of rigging diesel emissions tests on as many as 11 million vehicles. Its chief executive officer resigned amid the global outrage.
