Business

NBC News reports: Facebook’s mounting image problems hit a whole other orbit on Friday. Tech icon Elon Musk appeared to delete the official Facebook pages for two of his companies, SpaceX and Tesla, Inc. Musk’s moves come days after a whistleblower revealed that a data analysis firm tied to President Donald Trump’s campaign had harvested data off Facebook, resulting in …

CNBC reports: The world’s second-largest economy has responded to President Donald Trump’s controversial trade tariffs. China’s commerce ministry proposed a list of 128 U.S. products as potential retaliation targets, according to a statement on its website posted Friday morning. Beijing will take measures against the 128 U.S. goods in two stages if it cannot reach an agreement with Washington, the …

MarketWatch reports: The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished sharply lower as losses gathered steam Thursday, producing the worst loss in a single-session for the blue-chip gauge since Feb.8. Back then in early February, the Dow DJIA, -2.93% fell 1,033 points, or 4.2%, as inflation fears perked up. Thursday’s downtrend, which was broad based, came as investors fretted about the effect …

NPR reports: The Trump administration is preparing to impose at least $50 billion worth of tariffs on Chinese imports, in a major escalation of the president’s “America First” trade policy. President Trump is also calling for new limits on Chinese investment in U.S. technology, in an effort to protect what the administration calls America’s “economic seed corn.” Trump signed a …

Variety reports: Phil Anschutz, chairman of the live music giant Anschutz Entertainment Group (AEG), has taken no small amount of criticism since it was revealed that his private family foundation had donated to organizations with anti-LGBT agendas. But today the Elton John AIDS Foundation announced that Anschutz has donated $1 million dollars to support its LGBT Fund. According to Freedom …

Bloomberg reports: Claire’s Stores Inc., known for tween jewelry and ear piercing, has become the latest victim of the retail apocalypse. The company filed for bankruptcy Monday and said it reached an agreement with creditors including its private-equity backer, Apollo Global Management LLC, to restructure around $1.9 billion in debt. Its plan to survive rests on its reputation for trendy …

USA Today reports: Kroger said it will stop selling magazines that feature assault rifles as part of a tightening of its policies in the wake of the Parkland mass shooting and growing national anger over gun violence. The Cincinnati-based supermarket retailer said the new policy is being phased in now across its national chain. Kroger didn’t name specific titles, but …

NPR reports: The “substantial doubt” that iHeartMedia’s corporate leaders expressed around the company’s likelihood of surviving another year, mentioned in its quarterly financial report last November, has been put to rest. iHeartMedia, the country’s largest radio broadcaster with around 850 stations and a leading outdoor advertising company, is filing for bankruptcy after spending years trying to manage its $20 billion …

Yesterday it was reported that Toy R Us will close down all their stores in the US and Britain, prompting several of you to write with a reminder. From the New York Post last fall: Bain Capital has a knack for throwing big toy retailers into bankruptcy. The buyout firm founded by Mitt Romney — which got slammed this week …

The Washington Post reports: Toy store chain Toys R Us is planning to sell or close all 800 of its U.S. stores, affecting as many as 33,000 jobs as the company winds down its operations after six decades, according to a source familiar with the matter. The news comes six months after the retailer filed for bankruptcy. The company has …

Bloomberg reports: Toys “R” Us Inc. is making preparations for a liquidation of its bankrupt U.S. operations after so far failing to find a buyer or reach a debt restructuring deal with lenders, according to people familiar with the matter. While the situation is still fluid, a shutdown of the U.S. division has become increasingly likely in recent days, said …

Politico reports: Gun-rights Republicans in the Florida House are starting to punish Enterprise Rent-A-Car and Delta Airlines after the corporations severed ties with the National Rifle Association. Over the past 24 hours, Florida lawmakers, borrowing from counterparts in Georgia, have targeted an aviation fuel tax reduction benefiting Delta and proposed late night budget language to rebid a state rental car …

CNBC reports: Sweden’s Electrolux, Europe’s largest home appliance maker, said on Friday it would delay a planned $250 million investment in Tennessee, after U.S. President Donald Trump announced tariffs on imported aluminum and steel. On Thursday, Trump said the duties — 25 percent on steel imports and 10 percent on aluminum — would be formally announced next week, although White …

The New York Times reports: President Trump said on Thursday that he will impose stiff and sweeping tariffs on imports of steel and aluminum as he moved to fulfill a key campaign promise to get tough on foreign competitors. Mr. Trump said he would formally sign the trade measures next week and promised they would be in effect “for a …

The New York Times report: One of the nation’s largest sports retailers, Dick’s Sporting Goods, said Wednesday morning it was immediately ending sales of all assault-style rifles in its stores. The retailer also said that it would no longer sell high-capacity magazines and that it would not sell any gun to anyone under 21 years of age, regardless of local …

The New York Daily News reports: Papa John’s and the NFL are splitting up. In a joint statement released on Tuesday, the two announced the pizza franchise will no longer be the official pizza of the NFL. “The NFL and Papa John’s have made a mutual decision to shift from their official league sponsorship to a focus on partnerships with …

CNN reports: Georgia Republicans are threatening to withhold a hefty tax break for the airline because it ended a travel discount for the NRA. Lieutenant Governor Casey Cagle said corporations “cannot attack conservatives and expect us not to fight back.” Democrats in other states responded Tuesday by publicly wooing Delta. “Virginia is for lovers and airline hubs,” Virginia Governor Ralph …

The Hill reports: United Airlines announced Saturday that it would eliminate a discount program for the National Rifle Association, following in the footsteps of competitor Delta Airlines and a host of other companies that have cut ties with the gun group in recent days. In a statement posted to its Twitter account, United said it would no longer offer a …

Atlanta’s Fox affiliate reports: Delta has announced that it is ending a discount for NRA members that made it cheaper for them to fly to the group’s annual convention. In a tweet sent early Saturday morning, the airline said that it will be ending its contract that provided discounted rates for NRA members “through our group travel program.” Prior to …

The Hill reports: Advertising revenue on cable news grew a prodigious 25 percent year-over-year, with MSNBC seeing the biggest jump, according a Friday report from Adweek. New data from the Standard Media Index, which tracks 70 percent of national advertising spending “fresh from the invoicing source” according to its website, shows that MSNBC grew its revenue from from January 2017 …