Business Highlights: Antitrust case against Google; Gas prices propel inflation higher
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Justice Department pushes ahead with antitrust case against Google, questions ex-employee on deals
WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. Justice Department is pressing ahead with its antitrust case against Google. On Wednesday, that included questioning a former employee of the search engine giant about deals he helped negotiate with phone companies in the 2000s. Chris Barton worked for Google from 2004 to 2011 and testified that he made it a priority to negotiate for Google to be the default search engine on mobile devices. In exchange, he offered phone service providers or manufacturers a share of the revenue generated by clicks. In the biggest antitrust case in a quarter century, the government argues Google rigs the market by locking in its search engine as the default choice.
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High gas prices push up inflation, but prices overall are slowly moving in the right direction
WASHINGTON (AP) — Inflation jumped last month largely because of a spike in gas prices, while other costs rose more slowly, suggesting price pressures are easing at a gradual pace. In a set of conflicting data released Wednesday, the Labor Department said the consumer price index rose 3.7% in August from a year ago, up from a 3.2% annual pace in July. Yet excluding the volatile food and energy categories, so-called core prices rose 4.3%, a step back from 4.7% in July and the smallest increase in nearly two years. That is still far from the Federal Reserve’s 2% target.
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AP Sources: UAW may strike at small number of factories if it can’t reach deals with automakers
DETROIT (AP) — Leaders of the United Auto Workers union are considering targeted strikes at a small number of factories run by each of Detroit’s three automakers if they can’t reach contract agreements by a Thursday night deadline. The union’s leadership discussed smaller-scale strikes at a meeting on Friday, and local union leaders were told about the strategy on Tuesday afternoon, two people with knowledge of the moves said. The people didn’t want to be identified because they weren’t authorized to disclose details until President Shawn Fain updates workers Wednesday afternoon in a Facebook Live appearance. At the Tuesday meeting, Fain didn’t say whether the union would target vehicle assembly plants or component factories, one of the people said. The UAW wouldn’t comment Tuesday on its strategy.
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The iPhone 12 emits too much radiation and Apple must take it off the market, French agency says
PARIS (AP) — French regulators have ordered Apple to stop selling the iPhone 12, saying it emits electromagnetic radiation levels that are above European Union standards for exposure. The company disputed the findings and said the device complies with regulations. The National Frequency Agency on Tuesday called on Apple to “implement all available means to rapidly fix this malfunction” for phones already in use and said it would monitor device updates. If they don’t work, “Apple will have to recall” phones that have already been sold, it said. A French government agency issued the order after the iPhone 12 recently failed one of two types of tests for electromagnetic waves capable of being absorbed by the body.
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What is USB-C, the charging socket that replaced Apple’s Lightning cable?
LONDON (AP) — Apple is ditching its in-house iPhone charging plug and falling in line with the rest of the tech industry by adopting USB-C, a more widely used connection standard. A big part of the reason is a European Union common charging rule that’s coming soon for the 27-nation bloc. The USB-C’s slim and elongated oval shape is symmetrical and reversible, eliminating one of the common gripes about previous USB versions because there’s no wrong way to plug it in. It also enables faster data transfer speeds, while at the same time supplying power to connected accessories and pumping out a video signal to a monitor.
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Longtime Starbucks leader Howard Schultz steps down from the coffee chain’s board
NEW YORK (AP) — Longtime Starbucks leader Howard Schultz is stepping down from the company’s board of directors. Schultz is credited for transforming the Seattle-based business into the coffee giant it’s known as today. Starbucks said Wednesday his departure from the board is is part of a planned transition. After purchasing Starbucks in 1987, Schultz headed the company as CEO until 2000 and again between 2008 and 2017. He later came out of retirement to return as interim CEO while the company searched for a new chief executive last year — but bid farewell to that title after Laxman Narasimhan officially took the reins in March.
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3 officials sworn in at Federal Reserve, as governing board reaches full strength
WASHINGTON (AP) — Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell swore in three members of the central bank’s governing board Wednesday, including Philip Jefferson as vice chair and Adriana Kugler to fill a vacant seat as the central bank’s first Latina governor. The officials, all appointed by President Joe Biden, aren’t expected to alter the Fed’s policies in the near term, as most economists expect the Fed to keep its key interest rate unchanged at its next meeting Sept. 19-20. Yet the Fed could lift its rate one more time this year if inflation doesn’t cool fast enough. A report Wednesday showed inflation slowing but only gradually.
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BP leader is the latest to resign over questions about personal conduct
LONDON (AP) — Global energy giant BP is scurrying to find a new chief executive after CEO Bernard Looney became the latest corporate leader to step down amid questions about his personal conduct. Among the most crucial questions facing the board of one of Britain’s biggest and most recognizable companies is whether to recruit a leader who will maintain BP’s goal of eliminating net carbon emissions by 2050 as the oil industry struggles to meet climate commitments. Looney resigned Tuesday after he accepted that he was not “fully transparent” in his disclosures about past relationships with colleagues.
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EU boosts green fuels for aviation: 70% of fuels at EU airports will have to be sustainable by 2050
BRUSSELS (AP) — EU lawmakers have approved new rules requiring airlines to use more sustainable fuels across the bloc in a bid to help decarbonize the sector. Under the new standards, 2% of jet fuel must be sustainable as of 2025, with this share increasing every five years to reach 70% by 2050. The Parliament says that sustainable fuels will include “synthetic fuels, certain biofuels produced from agricultural or forestry residues, algae, bio-waste, used cooking oil or certain animal fats.” Recycled jet fuels produced from waste gases and waste plastic, as well as renewable hydrogen, will be considered green, while food crop-based fuels and fuels derived from palm and soy materials won’t.
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The S&P 500 rose 5.54 points, or 0.1%, to 4,467.44. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 70.46 points, or 0.2%, to 34,575.53. The Nasdaq composite rose 39.97 points, or 0.3%, to 13,813.59. The Russell 2000 index of smaller companies fell 14.48 points, or 0.8% to 1,840.84.