StemCell Therapy

GOVERNMENT

Baker names Judy Chang undersecretary of energy

Governor Charlie Baker has a new undersecretary of energy: Judy Chang, formerly an energy economist with the Brattle Group consultancy. Changs main job in state government will be to advise Energy and Environmental Affairs Secretary Katie Theoharides on developing and implementing energy policies. Chang replaces Patrick Woodcock, who was promoted to be commissioner of the Department of Energy Resources in February. JON CHESTO

JOBS

Companies cut 2.8 milion jobs in May, far less than expected

US businesses shed 2.8 million jobs in May, significantly less than the 9.3 million job losses that were expected. The payroll company ADP reported Wednesday that businesses have let go of a combined 22.6 million jobs since March, with the bulk of the layoffs occurring in April. The virus forced employers to shutter offices, factories, gyms, and schools, while demand for gasoline, clothing, airline tickets, hotel rooms, and restaurant meals quickly vanished. The damage was concentrated in two sectors. Manufacturers cut 719,000 jobs in May. The trade, transportation, and utilities sector let go of 826,000. Other sectors that suffered as part of Aprils 19.6 million job losses saw their layoffs slow sharply. The leisure and hospitality industry which includes hotels and restaurants shed 105,000 jobs last month, down from a revised 7.7 million losses in April. The private industry report comes two days ahead of the official monthly job figures from the US Labor Department. Economists expect the Friday report will show 8 million job losses in May as the unemployment rate approaches 20 percent. ASSOCIATED PRESS

FINANCE

N.Y. regulators probe Deutsche Banks ties to Jeffrey Epstein

New York state regulators are investigating Deutsche Banks relationship with the disgraced late financier Jeffrey Epstein, adding another compliance issue to a growing list for chief executive Christian Sewing. The New York Department of Financial Services has been looking into the banks dealings with Epstein as part of a broader look into the German lenders compliance and controls, according to a person familiar with the matter. Epstein was arrested last year on federal sex-trafficking charges more than a decade after he pleaded guilty to Florida state charges of soliciting an underage girl for sex. His death in a New York City jail was ruled a suicide. BLOOMBERG NEWS

ENERGY

Germany wants major boost to offshore wind power

The German government wants to increase offshore wind power capacity fivefold by 2040 as part of its plan to wean the country off fossil fuels. The Cabinet on Wednesday agreed on a bill that would set a goal of 40 gigawatts of installed offshore wind power capacity in 20 years, from about 7.5 gigawatts at present. It also raised the target for 2030 from 15 gigawatts to 20. Economy Minister Peter Altmaier said the new offshore wind target for 2030 would help Germany achieve its goal of meeting 65 percent of its gross electricity consumption with renewable energy in a decade. ASSOCIATED PRESS

INTERNATIONAL

France blasts US probe into digital taxes

France slammed the United States over its probe into digital taxes that are being considered by a number of countries, saying it contradicts Washingtons call for unity among leading economies. There is a real contradiction between the US demanding unity within the Group of Seven which we support and the possiblity of new trade sanctions, French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire said after a G-7 telephone conference Wednesday. The French and US government agreed a truce earlier this year in a dispute over Frances digital services tax, according to which Washington is holding back on sanctions and Paris is suspending the collection of its levy. France will resume collecting the tax at the end of the year unless there is an agreement in talks at the OECD on new global tax rules. On Tuesday, the Trump administration started investigations into digital services taxes considered by several trading partners from the European Union to India. A similar investigation into Frances tax led to the threat of tariffs. BLOOMBERG NEWS

VIDEO CONFERENCING

Zoom sales climb as virtual meetings become the norm

Zoom Video Communications Inc. demonstrated that paying customers have flocked to its virtual-meeting software, transforming the once-niche appmaker into a popular communications service and positioning it to benefit as the nature of work, school, and life is upended. Zoom reported that sales soared in the three months ending April 30, when the coronavirus pandemic spurred a wave of stay-at-home orders for millions of people worldwide. The company expects the trend to continue the rest of the year, and projected that revenue and profit will leapfrog investors earlier expectations. While security and privacy issues plagued the system early in the quarantine, Zoom has become an essential service, attracting more than 300 million participants some days, up from 10 million in December. The software maker allows gatherings of as long as 40 minutes for no charge. While Zoom has attracted more buzz than corporate rivals, the results Tuesday suggested it can attract the paying clients needed to compete against services from Microsoft, Cisco Systems, and Google. BLOOMBERG NEWS

COSMETICS

Coty wants Kim as well as Kylie

Coty Inc. cant seem to get enough of the Kardashians. The cosmetics company is in talks with Kim Kardashian West for a possible collaboration with respect to certain beauty products, according to a regulatory filing. The possible partnership comes just months after Coty closed a $600 million deal with the reality TV stars sister, Kylie Jenner. Coty agreed last month to sell Clairol and other brands for $4.3 billion in part to prioritize investment in Kylie Cosmetics. BLOOMBERG NEWS

POULTRY

CEO of 2nd largest US chicken producer charged with price fixing

The chief executive officer of Pilgrims Pride Corp., Americas second-biggest chicken producer, was charged by US prosecutors with conspiring to fix prices as part of an antitrust investigation of chicken-processing companies. Jayson Penn was indicted by a grand jury in Colorado along with Roger Austin, a former vice president of the company, the Justice Department said Wednesday. They face a statutory maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a $1 million fine. The allegations against the leader of a top American poultry producer were the latest bombshell to hit the meat industry thats been reeling from thousands of workers sickened by COVID-19, forcing shutdowns at processing plants. The US government is also probing potential market manipulation at beef processors, who were turning big profits while farmers suffered from plant outages. BLOOMBERG NEWS

Excerpt from:
Sarepta to expand in Ohio - The Boston Globe

This entry was posted on June 4, 2020 at 10:47 am and is filed under Genetic medicine. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed. |