Business

BOGOTA, Colombia — A Chinese freighter laden with nearly 9,500 metal cargo containers transited the expanded Panama Canal on June 26, inaugurating the interoceanic waterway and opening a new era in global trade.

Hapag-Lloyd AG approved a plan to acquire all shares of United Arab Shipping Co., paving the way for the second merger in two years to bolster the position of Germany’s biggest container-shipping line in an industry plagued by excess capacity.

Cellphone-signal equipment provider weBoost introduced a booster kit for longhaul drivers.

Mobile solutions provider LinkeDrive Inc. said it reached agreement with TravelCenters of America, operator of the TA and Petro Stopping Centers travel center brands, for technicians at some locations to be trained on installing and servicing LinkeDrive’s PedalCoach mobile app.

Consumer confidence rose in June to an eight-month high as Americans became somewhat more optimistic about the economy, according to a report from the New York-based Conference Board on June 28.

Home prices in 20 U.S. cities rose at a steady pace in April from a year earlier, a sign demand for residential real estate remains solid enough to support both buyers and sellers, data from New York-based S&P/Case-Shiller showed June 28.

More than 18 months after the International Longshoremen's Association seized control of its largest Baltimore local, the union is poised to end its strict oversight of Local 333 after the local elected new leaders last week.

The U.S. retail diesel average price was unchanged at $2.426 after a 0.5-cent dip the prior week, the Department of Energy reported.

UPS Inc., with its large international business, was cautious in its reaction to England’s decision to leave the European Union on June 24.

The North Carolina State Port Authority is nearing completion of infrastructure improvements designed to prepare the Port of Wilmington for larger ships traveling through the new locks at the Panama Canal.