Business Highlights

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Facebook’s voting labels on candidate posts sow confusion

OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — Facebook has started labeling all posts about voting by federal elected officials and candidates in the U.S. But the move appears to be sowing confusion rather than dispelling it. On Tuesday, the labels appeared on posts by President Donald Trump and by Joe Biden, the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, among others. The labels simply read “get official voting info” and direct people information from authoritative voting information sources. Facebook’s intention was to provide links to unbiased information about when and how to vote on election-related posts. Instead, though, they’re being misinterpreted — in some cases as an endorsement of misleading or false claims.

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Biden unveils caregiver plan, says Trump ‘quit’ on country

NEW CASTLE, Del. (AP) — Joe Biden is accusing President Donald Trump of quitting on the country amid the coronavirus and says the White House has no real plans to rebuild the post-pandemic economy. Those comments came Tuesday as Biden unveiled a plan to create 3 million new jobs by dramatically improving care for children and the elderly. He promised to spend $775 billion over 10 years to increase tax credits for low-income families, bolster caregiver services for seniors and provide preschool for all 3- and 4-year-olds.

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Senate panel approves Trump’s controversial Fed nominee

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Senate Banking Committee approved President Donald Trump’s choice of Judy Shelton for the Federal Reserve board of governors on a party-line vote, overcoming widespread questions about her qualifications for the Fed. Committee Chairman Sen. Mike Crapo said Shelton had reassured him and other GOP senators that she recognizes the Federal Reserve’s independence from the rest of the government and also supports insuring bank deposits — widely accepted policies that she had previously questioned. Crapo also noted Shelton’s comments that she does not support returning to the gold standard, in which the value of the dollar is tied to gold, even though she had advocated doing so in the past.

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EU agrees on $2.1 trillion deal after marathon summit

BRUSSELS (AP) — After four days and nights of wrangling, exhausted European Union leaders have finally reached agreement on an unprecedented $2.1 trillion budget and coronavirus recovery fund. They somehow found unity early Tuesday after one of their longest summits ever. To confront the biggest recession in its history, the EU reached a consensus on a 750 billion-euro coronavirus fund to be sent as loans and grants to the countries hit hardest by the virus. That comes on top of the seven-year, 1 trillion-euro EU budget. At first, the grants were to total 500 billion euros, but the figure was lowered to 390 billion euros.

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Tesla’s spent a year terrifying, electrifying Wall Street

DETROIT (AP) — Tesla’s losses were mounting last summer, massive debt payments loomed, and both Wall Street and federal regulators had run out of patience with the erratic behaviour of CEO Elon Musk. A year ago this week, shares plunged 14% after Tesla posted another quarterly loss, this one for $408 million, wiping out about $6 billion of the company’s worth. Since then, the stock has blasted off like at rocket at SpaceX, another Musk-led company. Tesla’s market market value today is three times that of Ford, General Motors and Fiat Chrysler, combined. A day ahead of its second-quarter earnings report, many question if Tesla has come too far, too fast.

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United Airlines posts $1.6 billion loss in virus-scarred 2Q

CHICAGO (AP) — United Airlines says it lost $1.63 billion in the second quarter as the coronavirus caused air travel to plunge. United plans to operate barely over one-third of its normal capacity through September. The Chicago-based airline is borrowing billions to build a huge pile of cash that it hopes will let it hang on until air travel recovers. United has already mortgaged its MileagePlus frequent-flyer program and it might draw on a $4.5 billion loan from the U.S. government. That’s on top of $5 billion United is getting to keep workers on the payroll through September.

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CEO of parent company of Coach and Kate Spade resigns

NEW YORK (AP) — The CEO of the parent company of Kate Spade, Stuart Weitzman and Coach fashion brands resigned Tuesday citing allegations of misconduct by a woman with whom he had a relationship more than a decade ago. Jide Zeitlin had been Tapestry Inc.’s chairman since November 2014 and took over as CEO in September 2019 after the company ousted its then-CEO Victor Luis. The Nigerian-born executive was one of only four Black CEOs in the Fortune 500. Joanne Crevoiserat, Tapestry’s chief financial officer, has been appointed interim CEO while the company searches for a successor. The company said it will look at both internal and external candidates.

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With stadiums, theatres closed, Coke 2Q revenue plunges 28%

ATLANTA (AP) — Coca-Cola’s revenue plunged 28% in the second quarter, but the company says things are improving as lockdowns ease globally. Coke Chairman and CEO James Quincey says sales improved sequentially in May, June and July despite surging cases in key markets like the U.S., Iran and Australia. While the path forward is unclear, Quincey said it’s unlikely that the world will see another global lockdown as it did earlier this spring. April case volumes fell 25% worldwide, but by June, that decline narrowed to 10%. Coke reported a profit of $1.8 billion for the April-June period, down 32% from the same period a year ago.

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The S&P 500 gained 5.46 points, or 0.2%, to 3,257.30. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 159.53 points, or 0.6%, to 26,840.40. The Nasdaq dropped 86.73 points, or 0.8%, to 10,680.36. The Russell 2000 index of smaller-company stocks rose 19.56 points, or 1.3%, to 1,487.51.

The Associated Press