Business

#BoycottGoya Trends After CEO Slobbers Over Trump

NBC News reports: Goya, which says it’s the nation’s largest Hispanic-owned food brand, is facing a backlash after its chief executive met with and heaped praise on President Donald Trump at the White House on Thursday. On Twitter, #BoycottGoya and #GoyaFoods were trending and some Latinos were also using the hashtag #goyaway. Trump hosted a group of Hispanic supporters — …

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Federal Reserve Says Coin Shortage Is Due To COVID

NBC News reports: About two weeks ago, Jake Devney started having a hard time getting quarters at the bank. Devney owns Coin Clean Laundry in Minneapolis and usually keeps about five to seven days worth of quarters in their coin vault. “Right now, pretty much every other day we have to go and exchange the quarters. So take them out …

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United May Furlough Half Of US Workforce In October

The Chicago Tribune reports: United Airlines is warning 36,000 employees — nearly half its U.S. workforce — they could be furloughed in October, the clearest signal yet of how deeply the coronavirus outbreak is hurting the airline industry. The outlook for a recovery in air travel has dimmed in just the past two weeks, as infection rates rise in much …

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Iconic Clothier Brooks Brothers Files For Bankruptcy

CNBC reports: The coronavirus pandemic has now claimed one of the country’s oldest and most prestigious retailers. Brooks Brothers — pioneer of the polo and uniform of the polished prepster — filed for bankruptcy on Wednesday, as it continues to search for a buyer. The retailer, which is more than two centuries old, boasts of having dressed 40 U.S. presidents …

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Oxycontin Kingpin Jonathan Sackler Dies At Age 65

The Associated Press reports: Jonathan Sackler, one of the owners of OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma, has died, the company confirmed. Sackler died June 30, according to a court filing. He was 65 and the cause of death was cancer. He was the son of Raymond Sackler, one the brothers who bought drug company Purdue Frederick in 1952, and served as …

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Walmart To Turn Parking Lots Into Drive-In Theaters

USA Today reports: Movie-goers who miss the experience of heading to theaters have a new option for the summer. Walmart will turn 160 of its parking lots into drive-in movie theaters to offer contactless film premieres, the company announced Wednesday. The Tribeca Drive-in team will program the movies, which will run starting in August until October. “Walmart will roll out …

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NYC Closes Dozens Of Blocks For Outside Dining

The New York Daily News reports: More restaurants will be able to serve customers on streets from Chinatown to the Bronx and beyond, under expanded outdoor dining plans announced Thursday. Streets will close on weekends to allow for outdoor dining at 22 locations, according to Mayor de Blasio. The street closures will take place from 5 to 11 p.m. on …

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Apple To Re-Close Stores In Seven More States

Reuters reports: Apple said it would re-close more than two dozen stores in seven states starting Thursday, including its home state of California, bringing total closures to 77 as coronavirus cases continue to rise. The stores will close in Alabama, Georgia, Idaho, Louisiana, Nevada and Oklahoma, it said on Wednesday, when additional stores had already closed in Florida, Mississippi, Texas …

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Major Clients Ditch Matt Schlapp After Attacks On BLM

Popular Information reports: Comcast, the parent company of NBCUniversal, had ignored repeated inquiries about its relationship with right-wing lobbyist Matt Schlapp. For weeks, Schlapp has attacked and denigrated the Black Lives Matter movement. Meanwhile, Comcast and NBCUniversal were publicly declaring their support for Black Lives Matter. Why was Comcast still paying Schlapp, who has an ugly racial history, $120,000 per …

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SCOTUS: Generic Dot-Com Names Deserve Trademarks

Courthouse News reports: The Supreme Court ruled 8-1 Tuesday that companies with “.com” in their names are eligible for federal trademark protection, even if their monikers are otherwise generic. “The appellate court also rejected the PTO’s contention that, as a rule, combining a generic term like ‘booking’ with ‘.com’ yields a generic composite,” Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg wrote for the …

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ATM Use Plunges As People Fear Handling Cash

Axios reports: People have suddenly stopped using money — of the bill-and-coin variety — for fear it may spread the virus. Some worried shopkeepers have stopped accepting it, too. The coronavirus may have changed our buying and payment habits forever. Online shopping is through the roof, and consumers are rushing to get “contactless” credit and debit cards, which are tapped …

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Fracking Pioneer Chesapeake Energy Goes Bankrupt

The Guardian reports: Chesapeake Energy, the shale gas drilling pioneer that helped to turn the United States into a global energy powerhouse, has filed for bankruptcy protection. The Oklahoma City-based company said on Sunday that it had been forced to enter chapter 11 protection because its debts of $9bn were unmanageable. It has entered a plan with lenders to cut …

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Starbucks Joins Facebook Ad Boycott Over Hate Speech

Market Watch reports: Starbucks announced Sunday in an online statement that it is “pausing” ads on all social media platforms, two days after consumer-products conglomerate Unilever said it was halting U.S. advertising on Facebook and Twitter through year-end over ineffective policing of hate speech, leading to a sharp Friday selloff in both stocks. The coffee giant said it would “continue …

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Facebook Reverses, Will Ban “Hate Speech” Ads After Consumer Goods Giant Unilever Joins Growing Boycott

CNBC reports: Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg on Friday said the company will change its policies to prohibit hate speech in its advertisements. Under its new policies, Facebook will ban ads that claim people from a specific race, ethnicity, nationality, caste, gender, sexual orientation or immigration origin are a threat to the physical safety or health of anyone else, Zuckerberg said. …

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Plexiglass Becomes The Latest Hot COVID Commodity

Bloomberg BusinessWeek reports: Orders are pouring in from retailers, offices, hospitals, and public transport companies, which are eager to get their hands on protective shields to separate employees from a coughing and sneezing public spreading the coronavirus. Like face masks and disinfectant, Plexiglas became omnipresent almost overnight, a translucent guard between cashiers, bus drivers, and receptionists on one side and …

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Chuck E. Cheese Parent Files Chapter 11 Bankruptcy

The Dallas Business Journal reports: As hundreds of Chuck E. Cheese and Peter Piper Pizza locations work to reopen across the country, parent company CEC Entertainment Inc. has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. The Irving-based arcade and pizza restaurant chain filed for bankruptcy Thursday in the Southern District of Texas. The company claimed more than $1 billion in liabilities …

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Disneyland Postpones Reopening Due To COVID Spikes

Los Angeles’s ABC News affiliate reports: Disney on Wednesday announced it is postponing next month’s phased reopening of Disneyland and Disney California Adventure. The Anaheim theme parks, which have been closed since mid-March because of the coronavirus pandemic, had planned to welcome back visitors on July 17, with enhanced health and safety measures in place. However, the company decided to …

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Segway Ends Production Of Its Namesake Vehicle

USA Today reports: Segway, which boldly claimed its two-wheeled personal transporter would revolutionize the way people get around, is ending production of its namesake vehicle. The Segway PT, popular with tourists and police officers but perhaps better known for its high-profile crashes, will be retired on July 15, the company said in a statement. The transportation revolution that inventor Dean …

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Walmart No Longer Displaying State Flag In MS Stores

The Commercial Appeal reports: “We know the design of the Mississippi state flag is being discussed by various stakeholders,” Walmart spokesperson Anne Hatfield said in an emailed statement. “While the issue continues to be discussed, we’ve made the decision to remove the Mississippi state flag from display in its current form from our stores.” Hatfield said stores displaying state flags …

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Disney World Employees Petition To Delay Reopening

CBS News reports: Walt Disney World employees are urging park executives and state and local officials to reconsider delaying the reopening of the parks due to concern over the recent surge of coronavirus cases in Florida in a petition posted to moveon.org. “This virus is not gone, unfortunately, it’s only become worse in this state,” cast members wrote. “While theme …

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