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Joseph N DiStefano

@phillyjoed.bsky.social
775 followers 70 following 780 posts

JoeD@Inquirer.com I write about money and people mostly for the Philadelphia Inquirer www.inquirer.com/author/distefano_j… +OFS

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Joseph N DiStefano @phillyjoed.bsky.social · 7h
Kind Financial: Pa. cannabis payments operator charged with fraud against Main Line, Hollywood, pro sports investors. My story: inquirer.com/business/kin... Earlier: inquirer.com/business/kin...
inquirer.com
Main Line cannabis payments operator charged with $9 million fraud
David Dinenberg's Kind Financial won over investors and a few customers but couldn't turn a profit. He has been accused of stealing investors' and growers' money.
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Joseph N DiStefano @phillyjoed.bsky.social · 7h
@KindFinancial Pa. cannabis payments operator charged with fraud against Main Line, Hollywood, pro sports investors. My story: www.inquirer.com/business/kin... Earlier: www.inquirer.com/business/kin...
inquirer.com
Main Line cannabis payments operator charged with $9 million fraud
David Dinenberg's Kind Financial won over investors and a few customers but couldn't turn a profit. He has been accused of stealing investors' and growers' money.
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Joseph N DiStefano @phillyjoed.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
Bloom Energy BE makes gas generators at its big subsidized factory in Delaware, struggled for years, struck gold w AI data-center deals and is now worth > than CMCSA or GM. Replaced MolsonCoors on SP500, Crypto. com on NBA 76ers patches. My story: www.inquirer.com/business/blo...
inquirer.com
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Joseph N DiStefano @phillyjoed.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
Hanwha Philly Shipyard leases nearby land for new facilities : www.inquirer.com/business/han...
inquirer.com
Hanwha is leasing another 47 acres at the Navy Yard
The shipbuilder is leasing additional room to grow as it aims for profits in its South Philly shipyard.
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Joseph N DiStefano @phillyjoed.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
Bosses at Vanguard_Group, which 'plateaued' atop the U.S. (mutual+ETF) fund business, still want to grow much bigger, with Advice, Private assets, Bonds and cash; and, Running from political controversy. My story: www.inquirer.com/business/van... See also: www.inquirer.com/business/van...
inquirer.com
After decades of fund growth, Vanguard pivots
The Malvern-based fund giant has moved its focus to advice, private assets, bonds, and cash.
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Joseph N DiStefano @phillyjoed.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
breaking this morning: Holtec pulls IPO as USA sentiment turns against data centers, nuclear power demand. My story: www.inquirer.com/business/hol...
inquirer.com
Holtec delays IPO, citing energy demand uncertainty amid U.S. data center backlash
CEO and founder Krishna P. Singh had hoped to raise over $750 million.
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Joseph N DiStefano @phillyjoed.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
breaking this morning: Holtec pulls IPO as USA sentiment turns against data centers, nuclear power demand. My story: www.inquirer.com/business/hol...
inquirer.com
Holtec delays IPO, citing energy demand uncertainty amid U.S. data center backlash
CEO and founder Krishna P. Singh had hoped to raise over $750 million.
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Joseph N DiStefano @phillyjoed.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
These Philly robot makers are boosting investments as US military spends $$$ on drones, autonomous systems: www.inquirer.com/business/raj...
inquirer.com
Philly-area war robot makers Asylon and Rajant reveal plans to score military contracts
Norristown's Asylon landed an investment from Germany's Bosch. Rajant of Malvern has hired a "top secret" team to win U.S. military work.
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Joseph N DiStefano @phillyjoed.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
Delaware starts work on $700 million container port as up-river rivals PhilaPort and Holt Logistics plan their own. Will more docks mean a price war? And where will Amazon fit? My story: www.inquirer.com/business/del...
inquirer.com
Delaware Container Port plan is full speed ahead, despite lacking research showing it’s needed
The Delaware Container Port is designed to replace high-wage union industrial jobs lost when northern Delaware’s auto, steel and chemical works shut over the past 20 years.
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Ben S @bensh3.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
"Philly is going to struggle to recruit an industrial workforce. There is a rhyme and rhythm to an industrial city. You have industrial accidents. You have elevated rates of chronic conditions years afterward."
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Joseph N DiStefano @phillyjoed.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
My Q&A with Gary Kim: "Shipyards are great for everyone except the people who work there. The economic boom is paid in blood." My latest, on why the real audience for shipyard recruiters shd be our 30MM construction, transport, factory workers. Q&A with Gary Kim: www.inquirer.com/business/han...
inquirer.com
Why don’t construction and factory workers want to build ships?
Gary Kim, formerly a junior officer with U.S. Navy construction units in Asia, detailed the painful conditions and skilled labor shortages at shipyards around the world.
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Joseph N DiStefano @phillyjoed.bsky.social · 03/09/2026
Swarthmore Group: New owner tries to rebrand pioneer Black-owned stock-picking firm post-bankruptcy as a private-company investor, to match pension and endowment shift. My story: www.inquirer.com/business/swa...
inquirer.com
New owner for bankrupt Swarthmore Group plans shift to venture capital
Gerald Jones says the Philadelphia area needs venture capital for small industrial and retail companies, and he has a plan to raise some.
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Joseph N DiStefano @phillyjoed.bsky.social · 31/08/2026
U.S. takes Bronx-based, made-in-Philly training ship for six-month 'strategic' mission: Pentagon needs to beef up remote supply after Iran missile attacks crippled our Arab bases www.inquirer.com/business/ts-...
inquirer.com
U.S. grabs made-in-Philly training ship as Navy seeks to beef up bases after Iran hits
TS Empire State is expected to support U.S. forces stationed in the Indian Ocean after Iran bombed U.S. bases in the Persian Gulf.
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Joseph N DiStefano @phillyjoed.bsky.social · 20/08/2026
CEO-Chairman at Philly-based mine and military drone systems maker $EXYN is Out after credit card investigation. My story: www.inquirer.com/business/exy...
inquirer.com
CEO of robot tech company Exyn is out after unauthorized credit card spending
Exyn Technologies CEO Brandon Torres Declet resigned after an investigation found $287,000 in personal expenses.
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Joseph N DiStefano @phillyjoed.bsky.social · 18/08/2026
Contractors pivot to Trump priorities: As college, healthcare, housing projects slow, these builders + bankers hope AI data centers, Pentagon build-up will keep construction going. My story: www.inquirer.com/real-estate/...
inquirer.com
As Philly-area construction has slowed, builders are shifting to data centers and military projects
Philly bankers and builders are seeing a switch this year away from "eds and meds" and apartment construction toward heavy industry.
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Joseph N DiStefano @phillyjoed.bsky.social · 17/08/2026
Ex- Philadelphia Fed, UDel presidentm Wharton dean Patrick Harker back @Wharton warning on US and global financial risk, and what not to worry about so much: www.inquirer.com/business/pat...
inquirer.com
Ex-Philly Fed chair is back at Wharton and on a quest to save the world financial system
"I’m where the vast majority of Americans are: They’re sick of ideology. It gets us nowhere," Patrick Harker says. "We are a pragmatic people. Let’s do reasonable stuff."
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Joseph N DiStefano @phillyjoed.bsky.social · 11/08/2026
Hanwha Philly Shipyard owner offers to buy money-losing Austal Alabama shipyard, nuclear-submarine fabricator, and California ship-repair for over $1 billion, after pulling out of NJ deal. My latest: www.inquirer.com/business/han...
inquirer.com
Philly shipyard owner Hanwha is shifting its investment focus to the South and West
Hanwha, which wants to expand in the United States, tried to buy facilities in Paulsboro, N.J., but couldn't reach a deal with Holt Logistics.
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Joseph N DiStefano @phillyjoed.bsky.social · 10/08/2026
QVC's new hedge-fund owners name a post-John Malone board with retail/tech muscle, bring back ex-CEO John George as caretaker boss, and chart a future for the faded Pa.-based TV shopping giant. My story: www.inquirer.com/business/qvc...
inquirer.com
QVC brings in old boss and digital-minded board members as it comes out of bankruptcy
West Chester-based QVC cut its debt and shed its CEO in reorganization.
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Joseph N DiStefano @phillyjoed.bsky.social · 07/08/2026
Remote-shopping pioneer QVC's new hedge-fund masters replace media-billionaire John Malone's board with digital execs, and brings back an old CEO, for now: www.inquirer.com/business/qvc...
inquirer.com
QVC brings in old boss and digital-minded board members as it comes out of bankruptcy
West Chester-based QVC cut its debt and shed its CEO in reorganization.
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Joseph N DiStefano @phillyjoed.bsky.social · 07/08/2026
Custom Mobile Food Equipment has grown a hot dog cart factory on the edge of the Jersey Pine Barrens into a provider of hand-built mobile steel kitchens to Disney, Carnival Cruise and many more, over three generations. Now coping with tariffs. My story: www.inquirer.com/business/cus...
inquirer.com
Meet the South Jersey business making food carts for Jersey Shore vendors and Disney World
For Custom Mobile’s hand-made stainless-steel food wagons and trucks, competition is cheap foreign carts and Wawa.
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Joseph N DiStefano @phillyjoed.bsky.social · 04/08/2026
Hanwha vs Holt: How New Jersey lost a shipyard. My latest: www.inquirer.com/business/han...
inquirer.com
Hanwha vs. Holt: How New Jersey lost a shipyard
Hanwha is now looking in southern states for a place to invest a chunk of the $5 billion it has pledged for U.S. shipbuilding.
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Joseph N DiStefano @phillyjoed.bsky.social · 04/08/2026
@PhillyShipyard vs @PhillyPortHolt : How New Jersey lost a shipyard. My latest: www.inquirer.com/business/han...
inquirer.com
Hanwha vs. Holt: How New Jersey lost a shipyard
Hanwha is now looking in southern states for a place to invest a chunk of the $5 billion it has pledged for U.S. shipbuilding.
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Joseph N DiStefano @phillyjoed.bsky.social · 03/08/2026
Philly area construction slowdown? Jake Blumgart has been chronicling project delays and cancellations. Post Bros. has faced a dozen lawsuits from contractors who say they are owed, we review the suits, and the cofounder's response www.inquirer.com/real-estate/...
inquirer.com
Philly developer Post Brothers faces contractor lawsuits and a union campaign
The Post Brothers face 12 lawsuits from a variety of union-affiliated contractors over their Broad and Washington project.
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Joseph N DiStefano @phillyjoed.bsky.social · 31/07/2026
Made-in-USA ships need Asian parts. My story about Hanwha Philly Shipyard's brand-new shipload of China and Korea built content for Jones Act container ships: www.inquirer.com/business/han...
inquirer.com
Hanwha is importing parts for made-in-America ships
American-made ships at the Philly Shipyard are built with Chinese fuel tanks and Korean steel.
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Joseph N DiStefano @phillyjoed.bsky.social · 29/07/2026
Both Wawa + Swiss Farms started Delco, Pa, '60s. Now Wood family-run Wawa has 1,000 USA stores, most w/gas; Swiss Farm, after failed PE + chain growth plans, just 10 drive-ups. New owner Arsh Pola to add gas at 25+ new Philly area stores, he tells me: www.inquirer.com/business/swi...
inquirer.com
Like rival Wawa, Delco’s Swiss Farms plans to add gas pumps under its latest owner
Arsh Pola, who owns gas stations, plans steady, incremental, gas-fueled growth for drive-up Swiss Farm Stores.
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Joseph N DiStefano @phillyjoed.bsky.social · 29/07/2026
Both @Wawa + @SwissFarms started Delco, Pa, '60s. Now Wood family-run Wawa has 1,000 USA stores, most w/gas; Swiss Farm, after failed PE + chain growth plans, just 10 drive-ups. New owner Arsh Pola to add gas at 25+ new Philly area stores, he tells me: www.inquirer.com/business/swi...
inquirer.com
Like rival Wawa, Delco’s Swiss Farms plans to add gas pumps under its latest owner
Arsh Pola, who owns gas stations, plans steady, incremental, gas-fueled growth for drive-up Swiss Farm Stores.
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Joseph N DiStefano @phillyjoed.bsky.social · 29/07/2026
Mushroom wars: As U.S. production plunges + farms shut in anti-immigrant labor crisis, family-owned Pa. growers cheer @CommerceGov finding: PE-backed Canada growers dumped fungi below cost. Higher prices could be next. My story: www.inquirer.com/business/ken...
inquirer.com
Pa. mushroom growers are divided over cheap, grocery-store fungi
Canadians are claiming more mushroom sales as Kennett Square growers grapple with labor concerns.
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Joseph N DiStefano @phillyjoed.bsky.social · 23/07/2026
This Philadelphia suburb just cancelled Citizens Bank for funding private prisons that handle U.S. immigration deportees + have been the focus of human rights complaints: inquirer.com/news/chelten... Even though Citizens Bank says it doesn't fund them anymore: www.inquirer.com/business/cit...
inquirer.com
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Joseph N DiStefano @phillyjoed.bsky.social · 18/07/2026
Hahahahaha
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Joseph N DiStefano @phillyjoed.bsky.social · 15/07/2026
USA will keep making NSMV training/emergency ships at Hanwha Philly Shipyard, and Columbia Navy nuclear submarine modules at General Dynamics' Philly contractor Rhoads, Sen. McCormick says. I parse details: www.inquirer.com/business/shi...
inquirer.com
U.S. pledges to buy more Philly-made ships and nuclear sub parts
Hanwha's multipurpose ships and Rhoads' nuclear submarine modules will anchor waterfront investment, say Sen. Dave McCormick and JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon.
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Joseph N DiStefano @phillyjoed.bsky.social · 15/07/2026
Attalon: This PE-owned death-ray maker for the US Army has relocated to Philly, plans $30M suburban factory. My story: www.inquirer.com/business/att...
inquirer.com
Army laser weapon maker plans 100 hires at a new $30 million Bucks County factory
The defense technology company Attalon plans to hire in engineering, technical, and management jobs in Trevose.
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Joseph N DiStefano @phillyjoed.bsky.social · 14/07/2026
Robot dogs! Norristown, Pa. maker's flying and marching robots get new USAF Air Force deal. My story: www.inquirer.com/business/asy...
inquirer.com
Pa. robot maker wins Air Force deal for DroneDogs and other automated inspectors
The goal of the robot system is to improve the speed and reliability of plane checks by Air Force maintenance crews, the company says.
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Joseph N DiStefano @phillyjoed.bsky.social · 10/07/2026
Delta Air Lines: As oil prices soared, Pa. refinery leak and fire boosted jet fuel 5 cents a gallon; production there still 25% below target; expects fuel has peaked at $3.93/2q and is headed lower in 3q. My story: www.inquirer.com/business/del...
inquirer.com
Delta Air Lines customers are paying more after the recent leak and fire at its Delco refinery
Delta’s fuel costs averaged $3.93 a gallon — the highest ever, the company says — in the three months ending June 30. That’s up from $2.25 a gallon a year earlier.
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Joseph N DiStefano @phillyjoed.bsky.social · 10/07/2026
Delta Air Lines: As oil prices soared, Pa. refinery leak and fire boosted jet fuel 5 cents a gallon; production there still 25% below target; expects fuel has peaked at $3.93/2q and is headed lower in 3q. My story: www.inquirer.com/business/del...
inquirer.com
Delta Air Lines customers are paying more after the recent leak and fire at its Delco refinery
Delta’s fuel costs averaged $3.93 a gallon — the highest ever, the company says — in the three months ending June 30. That’s up from $2.25 a gallon a year earlier.
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pork, cheese, broccoli rabe @garlicbuffalo.gobirds.biz · 09/07/2026
I’ve always said that *well-regulated* sports gambling should be legal, and one of those regulations should be that active athletes (and bryce certainly isn’t the first, though this crosses a new line) cannot touch this stuff with a 39 1/2 foot pole
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@CoffeeShopRabbi.com @rruth.bsky.social · 07/07/2026
Public education and better rules and enforcement are desperately needed. Aging lithium ion batteries are dangerous. Dispose of them properly— no, not in the garbage!
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Joseph N DiStefano @phillyjoed.bsky.social · 07/07/2026
America’s scrapyards are burning with lithium-ion battery fires from discarded tools and appliances. Recyclers have a solution, manufacturers are blocking it, and metal is piling up. My story: www.inquirer.com/business/scr...
inquirer.com
Exploding lithium-ion batteries are blamed for fires in area junkyards and drop in port traffic
Scrap iron, one of the Philadelphia area's biggest exports, is plagued by battery fires, yard operators say.
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Joseph N DiStefano @phillyjoed.bsky.social · 06/07/2026
China securities regulators, or their trader friends, used inside information to rip off Susquehanna SIG for $71 million, Pa. billionaire trader and China investor Jeff Yass' firm says in a federal lawsuit: www.inquirer.com/business/jef...
inquirer.com
How unknown Chinese ‘insider traders’ cost Jeff Yass’ firm more than $70 million
Susquehanna Investment Group won an injunction against a "John Doe" gang.
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Joseph N DiStefano @phillyjoed.bsky.social · 01/07/2026
Still relevant, 215 years after Thomas Jefferson killed it: As First Bank of the United States museum opens in Philly, U.S. Supreme Court's Roberts cites its independence in refusing Trump's Fed firing; Thomas protests 'short-lived' precedent. My story: From inquirer.com
inquirer.com
Inquirer.com: Philadelphia local news, sports, jobs, cars, homes
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Joseph N DiStefano @phillyjoed.bsky.social · 01/07/2026
No sale: FMC lands a $400MM investment from Belgium's Tessenderlo, boss Pierre Brondeau's board ends 'strategic process.' My story: www.inquirer.com/business/fmc...
inquirer.com
With a new $400M investor, FMC says it can remain independent and boost pesticide sales
FMC had lost value as sales growth slowed worldwide and a key insecticide patent expired.
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Joseph N DiStefano @phillyjoed.bsky.social · 01/07/2026
Still relevant 215 years after shutdown: As First Bank of the United States museum opens in Philly, US Supreme Court Chief Justice Roberts cites its independence in refusing Trump's Fed firing; Justice Thomas protests 'short-lived' precedent. My story: www.inquirer.com/business/fed...
inquirer.com
Philadelphia’s First Bank cited in Supreme Court ruling limiting Trump’s power
The court's ruling confirms the Federal Reserve's vital independence — by one vote, says Glenmede's Michael Reynolds.
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Joseph N DiStefano @phillyjoed.bsky.social · 29/06/2026
After leak and fire knock Delta Air's Monroe refinery offline, we gotta ask: Could wartime profits pushed back maintenance, sparking accidents? And, how long til this Pa. refinery is back up - could airlines run short of fuel? www.inquirer.com/business/ref...
inquirer.com
U.S. refinery accidents, including in Pa., raise questions about cost impact as fuel demand rises
Delaware County's Monroe Energy refinery and three other U.S. plants have experienced unplanned shutdowns as fuel companies cope with shifting supply and demand.
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Joseph N DiStefano @phillyjoed.bsky.social · 29/06/2026
Triple revenues, or one big sale? Incyte CEO Bill Meury, who's sold a string of biotechs for billions, says his job at the $5B/year DE-based is growing cancer, blood, immune treatments. He tells me how: www.inquirer.com/business/inc...
inquirer.com
Incyte is built to grow, says the company’s CEO, who sold previous biotechs for billions
Bill Meury says his company now has blood, cancer, and immune treatments to replace sales from its top-selling drug, Jakafi, when its patent expires.
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Joseph N DiStefano @phillyjoed.bsky.social · 24/06/2026
An engineer who was part of Constellation Energy's NRC licensing team is accused of collecting $1.5 million in illegal options profits by insider-trading inside information on the Three Mile Island nuclear re-start. My story: www.inquirer.com/business/thr...
inquirer.com
Engineer accused of using insider information on Three Mile Island nuclear plans to make $1.5 million
Veteran nuclear engineer Casey Muggleston faces criminal and civil insider trading changes.
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Joseph N DiStefano @phillyjoed.bsky.social · 23/06/2026
Pa. teachers PSERS outsource $20 BILLION in stock investments, cash out of trailer parks, pause private credit to probe murky value. My story: www.inquirer.com/business/pse...
inquirer.com
PSERS outsources $20 billion in investments
The pension giant also cashed in on $700 million of trailer parks and slowed private credit deals.
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Joseph N DiStefano @phillyjoed.bsky.social · 23/06/2026
Philadelphia's port is the fastest (tho far from the busiest) in North America, says a report backed by S&P and World Bank. Union and port leaders and top operator Leo Holt tell me why @Inquirer: www.inquirer.com/business/por...
inquirer.com
Why Philly longshoremen say the city’s ports are the fastest in North America
For the third year in a row, an annual survey gave Philadelphia the highest ranking of more than 50 ports in the U.S., Canada and Central America.
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Joseph N DiStefano @phillyjoed.bsky.social · 22/06/2026
The late Alan Greenspan, who led the Fed and was humbled by his misplaced faith in bankers to do the right thing, was more candid when he was out of power and had books to sell, then he ever was in Congress. Our interview: www.inquirer.com/philly/blogs...
inquirer.com
Greenspan on Obama's recession, bubbles and rates, Makers and Takers, Philly
And his new book, The Map and the Territory
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Joseph N DiStefano @phillyjoed.bsky.social · 18/06/2026
Confirmed: Delta Airlines' 200,000 bbl/day Monroe Energy oil refinery is offline, at least a few days, to fix an inside leak. Parking lot's full, plant employs 500+ USW and bosses, hundreds of trades contractors. My quick story: www.inquirer.com/business/air...
inquirer.com
Delta’s Monroe Energy refinery in Delco shut down due to internal leak
The incident could stop daily production of up to 200,000 barrels of jet fuel and other products for at least a few days.
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Joseph N DiStefano @phillyjoed.bsky.social · 17/06/2026
Philly based stainless steel and alloys maker Carpenter Technology (Nasdaq: CRS), with $3 billion in yearly sales, is worth $30 billion, one of the USA metal stocks surging on hopes of war and SpaceX orders. My story: www.inquirer.com/business/car...
inquirer.com
This Philly-based steel stock has rocketed as SpaceX shot up
Carpenter Technology and other Pennsylvania aerospace stocks have zoomed alongside Spacex as military, aerospace spending surge.
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Jonathan Tannenwald @jtannenwald.bsky.social · 15/06/2026
Philadelphia, you look amazing. www.inquirer.com/soccer/live/... via @phillysport.bsky.social @inquirer.com
inquirer.com
Philadelphia finally gets its big World Cup moment, and looks amazing
Ecuador is taking on Ivory Coast in the first-ever World Cup game played at Lincoln Financial Field (renamed Philadelphia Stadium).
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