Business

STAT News reports: For years, so-called influencers — celebrities, former reality television contestants and sometimes, former lawyers or other professionals — have hawked diet teas and hair products everywhere from Facebook to Snapchat. And now, pharma is catching on. An entire industry has cropped up to link drug makers with the industry’s own version of an influencer — people, usually …

The New York Times reports: Facing mounting government pressure and a public backlash over the epidemic of teenage vaping, Juul Labs announced on Tuesday that it would stop selling most of its flavored e-cigarette pods in retail stores and would discontinue its social media promotions. The decision by the San Francisco-based company, which has more than 70 percent of the …

The New York Daily News reports: Amazon will get $1.5 billion in tax breaks and grants from New York to host half its new headquarters in Long Island City. The company announced Tuesday, after weeks of speculation, that it will open new headquarters in Queens, and Arlington, Virginia. Each location is expected to be home to more than 25,000 employees, …

Forbes reports: Today Petco announces it will stop selling pet food and treats containing artificial colors, flavors and preservatives. After May 2019 customers will no longer find brands containing such ingredients on their shelves. More than 40 artificial ingredients are on its banned list. The private San Diego-based company is rated #100 in Forbes’ America’s Largest Private Company list with …

Reuters reports: Amazon.com Inc will on Tuesday announce it has selected New York and Northern Virginia for its second headquarters, a source told Reuters, ending a more than year-long contest that has seen frenzied bidding from locales across North America. Amazon’s plan to split its second headquarters, dubbed “HQ2”, evenly between two cities will boost its presence around New York …

The Wall Street Journal reports: Google is gearing up for an expansion of its New York City real estate that could add space for more than 12,000 new workers, an amount nearly double the search giant’s current staffing in the city, according to people familiar with the matter. The plan, which hasn’t been previously disclosed, would give Google room for …

Reuters reports: Motel 6 will pay up to $7.6 million to Hispanic guests to settle a proposed class-action lawsuit claiming that it violated their privacy by regularly providing guest lists to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents. Terms of the preliminary settlement with eight Hispanic plaintiffs – seven from Arizona and one from Washington state – were disclosed in …

The Washington Post reports: Amazon.com has held advanced discussions about the possibility of opening its highly sought-after second headquarters in Crystal City, including how quickly it would move employees there, which buildings it would occupy and how an announcement about the move would be made to the public, according to people close to the process. The discussions were more detailed …

CNN Money reports: Four years ago, Tim Cook became the first CEO of a major company to come out as gay. He says he’s happy about that distinction — and his decision. “I’m very proud of it,” the Apple CEO told Christiane Amanpour on Wednesday in an exclusive interview for her program on CNN International and PBS. Being gay is …

The Hill reports: Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey on Friday sounded off against a San Francisco measure to increase corporate taxes that would give the city more funding to tackle its homeless crisis. Dorsey said he was opposed to San Francisco’s Proposition C because he believes one of companies he leads as CEO, Square, will be taxed at unfair rates compared …

WWD reports: Behind Pride Media are the stepbrothers Adam Levin and Maxx Abramowitz, the founders and operators of Oreva Capital, which last September acquired Out and The Advocate, along with related brands and intellectual property. They are also, respectively, the chief executive officer and lead investor of High Times magazine parent High Times Holdings. However, a new owner that not …

The New York Times reports: Sears, which more than a century ago pioneered the strategy of selling everything to everyone, filed for bankruptcy protection early on Monday. The company had long ago given up its mantle as a retail innovator. It was overtaken first by big box retailers like Walmart and Home Depot and then, by Amazon as the go-to …

Axios reports: Sale of the one millionth electric vehicle in the U.S. is likely to occur this month, according to an estimate by the group Securing America’s Future Energy (SAFE) that’s based on data compiled by Inside EVs. It’s a symbolic threshold that signals growing adoption of the technology, even though it remains a small part of the overall U.S. …

NBC News reports: Wall Street had another rough day on Thursday, with the tech-heavy Nasdaq index dipping into correction territory and the Dow Jones closing 548 points down after another day of market convulsions. Thursday’s market mayhem followed a global ricochet triggered the previous day when the Dow Jones tumbled by more than 800 points to its lowest level since …

Business Insider reports: Aphria, a Canadian-based cannabis producer, rallied more than 16% Wednesday after a report said that Altria, the maker of Marlboro cigarettes, was in talks to buy a minority stake in the company, the Globe & Mail reported, citing unidentified people familiar with the matter. According to the Globe & Mail, Altria has expressed an interest in acquiring …

Retail Dive reports: After years of speculation and financial losses, Sears is contacting banks to arrange the financing for a possible Chapter 11 filing, which might come as soon as this week, according to reports in The Wall Street Journal, which broke the story, and CNBC, that both cited unnamed sources. The report comes as Sears faces a $134 million …

CNBC reports: The Department of Justice gave conditional approval Wednesday for CVS Health’s acquisition of insurer Aetna, cementing a deal that could transform how U.S. consumers access health care. The two companies cleared their path to approval when Aetna announced Sept. 27 that it reached an agreement to sell its Medicare Part D drug plan business to WellCare Health Plans …

NBC News reports: Ford will be making cuts to its 70,000-strong white-collar workforce in a move it calls a “redesign” of its staff to be leaner, have fewer layers, and offer more decision-making power to employees, the company announced. The number of jobs that will be axed is unknown at this point. “A lot of the (reorganization) is about making …

The BBC reports: A stencil spray painting by elusive artist Banksy shredded itself after it was sold for more than £1m. The framed “Girl With Balloon”, one of the artist’s best known works, was auctioned by Sotheby’s in London. The piece which shows a girl reaching towards a heart-shaped balloon was the final work sold at the auction. However, moments …

The Associated Press reports: Mattress Firm, Inc., the nation’s largest mattress retailer, filed for bankruptcy protection on Friday, saying its rapid expansion of stores in recent years — with locations often very close to each other — resulted in “cannibalization” of sales. The Houston-based company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in federal court in Delaware, saying it plans to …