Business

Fast Company reports: After spending much of 2024 closing stores and recent months trying to solidify a sale of the company to keep its doors open, discount retail chain Big Lots has announced that it now plans to close all stores and go out of business. Big Lots had been working with the investment firm on a deal that would …

The Associated Press reports: Workers at Starbucks stores plan to go on a five-day strike starting Friday to protest lack of progress in contract negotiations with the company. The strikes are scheduled to begin in Los Angeles, Chicago and Seattle and could spread to hundreds of stores across the country by Christmas Eve. Starbucks Workers United, the union that has …

The Washington Post reports: The Teamsters are launching strikes against seven Amazon warehouses Thursday, in the union’s biggest provocation yet against the nation’s second-largest private employer, threatening to delay some package delivery during the busy Christmas season. The strikes will take place at sites in New York City, Atlanta, San Francisco, Skokie, Ill., and Southern California. Roughly 9,000 Amazon workers …

Axios reports: Grubhub will pay a $25 million settlement after an investigation by the Federal Trade Commission alleged deceptive and unlawful business practices. The settlement will require the company to make major changes and is a part of the FTC’s ongoing targeting of junk fees. The complaint alleges that Grubhub deceived users about delivery costs, deceived workers about how much …

The Guardian reports: America’s political divide is likely to get even wider thanks to a new real-estate platform that lets potential buyers see the political affiliations of their future neighbors, as well as other social data and local demographics. Oyssey, a tech startup launching this month in south Florida and New York City, allows buyers access neighborhood political affiliations based …

CNN Business reports: Honda and Nissan are discussing a possible merger, potentially bringing together two Japanese automaking titans that have recently fallen on hard times. The companies said in statement that they have been in talks, but they offered no details or timeframe for when a deal – if one should develop – may be completed. It’s also not clear …

Gothamist reports: More than 8,300 delivery workers allegedly cheated out of tip money by defunct alcohol-delivery platform Drizly will share a $4 million payout – or about $500 apiece – under a restitution agreement announced Monday by the New York attorney general’s office. The funds will go to former delivery workers across the state, including 1,375 in New York City, …

CBS News reports: Ever booked a hotel room for $200 only to be surprised by an extra $40 “resort fee” at checkout? A new Federal Trade Commission rule aims to put a stop to such surprise charges by banning so-called junk fees on short-term lodging as well as on tickets to live events. The rule bans businesses from using such …

NBC News reports: The Dow fell 267 points Tuesday, closing 0.6% lower after nine straight days of declines — its longest losing streak since 1978. The downturn has coincided with a steep drop in the shares of UnitedHealthcare’s parent company since CEO Brian Thompson was shot and killed in New York City on Dec. 4. UnitedHealth Group’s stock has tumbled …

CNBC reports: Walmart has started giving store-level associates body cameras to wear as part of a pilot program at some of its U.S. locations, CNBC has learned. Body cameras and the footage they gather are commonly advertised as a way to prevent shoplifting, but Walmart intends to use the tech for worker safety — not as a loss prevention tool. …

From New York City’s Department of Health: As of December 15, pet stores in New York are banned from selling cats and dogs, as a 2022 state law takes effect. The New York City Health Department will be enforcing the ban and has communicated with all 24 permitted NYC pet stores to remind them of the deadline. Intro 1018, which …

CNN reports: The office of New York Gov. Kathy Hochul is convening business leaders and law enforcement to discuss safety this week. Kathryn Garcia, Hochul’s director of operations and infrastructure, will hold a call with several business leaders and law enforcement on Tuesday, a spokesperson for the governor’s office told CNN. Kathryn Wylde, president and CEO of the Partnership for …

The Texas Tribune reports: SpaceX’s goal is to colonize Mars. But first, it wants to create an official city in Texas. Employees living on the site of SpaceX’s operations in South Texas are requesting a special election to determine whether the site can be incorporated into a city. Current residents of Starbase, the company’s South Texas headquarters and launch site, …

The Associated Press reports: Donald Trump hosted Apple CEO Tim Cook for a Friday evening dinner at the president-elect’s Mar-a-Lago resort, according to a person familiar with the matter who was not authorized to comment publicly. Cook is the latest in a string of big tech leaders — including OpenAI’s Sam Altman, Meta’s Mark Zuckerberg and Amazon’s Jeff Bezos — …

Via press release from the FDA: Riverside Natural Foods Inc. is voluntarily recalling certain batches of MadeGood granola bars due to the potential presence of a piece of metal in the product, which, if consumed, may result in a safety hazard. The health and safety of our consumers is our highest priority. This recall is being initiated as a precautionary …

UnitedHealth Group’s CEO writes for the New York Times: We greatly appreciate the enormous outpouring of support for Brian Thompson, who ran our health insurance business, UnitedHealthcare, as well as for our wider company, which I lead. Yet we also are struggling to make sense of this unconscionable act and the vitriol that has been directed at our colleagues who …

CNN reports: Amazon is planning to donate $1 million to President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration. Amazon founder Jeff Bezos is expected to visit with Trump in person in the coming days, as he and other tech founders seek closer relationships with the incoming president. Bezos and Trump spoke over the summer after the first assassination attempt. Bezos publicly praised Trump at …

Via press release from Amazon: Starting today, vehicle shoppers in 48 U.S. cities can browse, order, finance, and schedule pickup of a new Hyundai vehicle from their local participating dealer directly on Amazon. Amazon Autos offers online automotive shopping from Hyundai dealers across major metropolitan areas nationwide. We continue to add more Hyundai dealerships, and next year, we will roll …

Axios reports: Meta donated $1 million to President-elect Trump’s inaugural fund, the social media giant confirmed to Axios late Wednesday. Big Tech CEOs have been working to gain access and influence with Trump since he won the election last month, “Neither Zuckerberg nor Meta donated to Trump’s inaugural fund in 2017 or to President Biden’s fund in 2021,” per the …

The New York Times reports: The grocery chain Albertsons said on Wednesday that it had backed out of its $25 billion merger with Kroger and sued its rival for failing to adequately push for regulatory approval, after both a federal and state judge blocked the deal on Tuesday. The deal, which would have been the biggest grocery store merger in …