Business News

US sues to block merger of grocery giants Kroger and Albertsons, saying it could push prices higher

The Federal Trade Commission is suing to block a proposed merger between grocery giants Kroger and Albertsons. The FTC says the $24.6 billion deal would eliminate competition and lead to higher prices for millions of Americans. The FTC filed a lawsuit Monday in U.S. District Court in Oregon. It was joined in the suit by the attorneys general of eight states and the District of Columbia. Kroger and Albertsons, two of the nation’s largest grocers, agreed to merge in October 2022. The companies said a merger would help them better compete with Walmart, Amazon, Costco and other big rivals.

What recession? Professional forecasters raise expectations for US economy in 2024

NEW YORK (AP) — This year looks to be a much better one for the U.S. economy than business economists were forecasting just a few months ago. That’s according to a survey released Monday by the National Association for Business Economics. The economy looks set to grow 2.2% this year after adjusting for inflation. That’s up from an earlier forecast of 1.3%. It’s the latest signal of strength for an economy that’s blasted through predictions of a recession. High interest rates were supposed to drag the economy down eventually. But the job market and household spending have remained remarkably resilient.

Stock market today: Wall Street drifts near its record levels as markets remain calm

NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stocks are drifting near record levels as they head for the final stretch of what looks to be their latest winning month. The S&P 500 slipped 0.3% in afternoon trading Monday after closing last week at an all-time high. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 72 points, and the Nasdaq composite was mostly unchanged. Bond yields rose. Homebuilder stocks mixed after a report showed sales of new homes strengthened last month by less than economists expected. Domino’s Pizza jumped to one of the market’s biggest gains after reporting stronger profit than expected. Japanese stocks set more records.

Ohio commission awards bids to frack oil and gas under state parks, wildlife areas

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — An Ohio commission has awarded bids to frack oil and gas under state parks despite statewide backlash and an ongoing investigation into possibly fraudulent support. The Ohio Oil and Gas Land Management Commission granted the mineral rights to several out-of-state oil and gas companies. This allows them to frack for oil and gas under land parcels owned by the Ohio Department of Natural Resources and the Ohio Department of Transportation, including state parks and designated wildlife areas. Fracking opponents decry the commission for lack of transparency, as there have been no public hearings, and say the commission is giving in to corporate greed. Commission chair Ryan Richardson did not make herself available for comment Monday.

Financier and philanthropist Jacob Rothschild dies at 87

LONDON (AP) — Financier and philanthropist Jacob Rothschild, of the renowned Rothschild banking dynasty, has died at 87, his family said Monday. Rothschild began his career in the family bank, NM Rothschild & Sons, in 1963, before he broke away to start businesses and charitable organizations. His family described him as a “towering presence,” “a passionate supporter of charitable causes in Israel and Jewish culture” and a “keen environmentalist.” The Rothschild family has an estimated fortune of about 825 million pounds ($1 billion) according to last year’s Sunday Times Rich List. It reportedly gives away millions of pounds to Jewish causes, education and art. Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair was among political and cultural leaders who paid tribute to Rothschild.

‘Burn Book’ torches tech titans in veteran reporter’s tale of love and loathing in Silicon Valley

Technology is so pervasive and invasive that it’s polarizing people, producing feelings of love and loathing for its devices, online services and the would-be visionaries behind them. Longtime Silicon Valley reporter Kara Swisher unwraps how we got to this point in her incendiary memoir, “Burn Book,” coming out Tuesday, an exposé that also seeks to avert technological calamity on the perilous road still ahead. Swisher skewers many of the tech moguls that promised to change the world in idealistic ways when she met them as entrepreneurs decades ago, but instead chose a path of destructive disruption while amassing fortunes have disconnected them from reality.

Amazon joins 29 other ‘blue chip’ companies in the Dow Jones Industrial Average

Amazon.com is joining the ranks of one of Wall Street’s oldest and most exclusive stock indexes: The Dow Jones Industrial Average. The e-commerce pioneer will officially take its position in the Dow before the open of trading Monday, replacing drugstore operator Walgreens Boots Alliance. S&P Dow Jones Indices opened the door to Amazon’s inclusion in the Dow and Walgreens’ exit to rebalance the index in light of a 3-to-1 stock split by another Dow company, Walmart. The Dow is a measure of 30 stocks of established, well-known companies sometimes known as “blue chips,” which are supposed to be steadier and safer investments.

Consumers are increasingly pushing back against price increases — and winning

WASHINGTON (AP) — Inflation has changed the way many Americans shop. Now, those changes in consumer habits are helping bring down inflation. Fed up with prices that remain about 19%, on average, above where they were before the pandemic, consumers are fighting back. In grocery stores, they’re shifting away from name brands to store-brand items, switching to discount stores or simply buying fewer items like snacks or gourmet foods. More Americans are buying used cars, too, rather than new, forcing some dealers to provide discounts on new cars again. But the growing consumer pushback to what critics condemn as price-gouging has been most pronounced with food as well as with consumer goods like paper towels and napkins.

AT&T will give $5 to customers hit by cellphone network outage

DALLAS (AP) — AT&T says it will give affected customers $5 each to compensate for last week’s network outage. Many customers were left many without cellphone service for hours on Thursday. The company now says on its website that customers will get a $5 credit on their account within two billing cycles. The credit doesn’t apply to AT&T Business, prepaid service or Cricket, its low-cost wireless service. AT&T said prepaid customers will have options available to them if they were impacted, although it did not elaborate on what those options might be. AT&T blamed the outage on an error in coding, without elaborating, and says it was not the result of a cyberattack.

Experts say Boeing’s steps to improve safety culture have helped but don’t go far enough

Government and aviation-industry experts say Boeing has made some strides toward improving its safety culture, but employees could still be subject to retaliation for reporting issues. That’s one of the findings in a report presented Monday to the Federal Aviation Administration. The experts say that when it comes to safety, there is a “disconnect” between Boeing’s senior management and workers. The experts say that safety training and procedures at Boeing change so frequently that it leads to confusion among employees. Safety at Boeing is being re-examined after last month’s blowout of an emergency door panel on an Alaska Airlines jet.