Business Briefs – August 22, 2017

A Coal Country Dispute Over an Alleged Trump Promise Unmet

WASHINGTON (AP) – The Trump administration has rejected a coal industry push to issue a rarely used emergency order protecting coal-fired power plants. One executive says the decision is contrary to what he says President Donald Trump personally told him. Companies say plants are overburdened by environmental regulations and market stresses, and were seeking relief through the executive order. But the Energy Department has decided the order is unnecessary, and the White House agrees.

President Trump’s Path to Boosting Infrastructure Full of Potholes

WASHINGTON (AP) – President Donald Trump’s road to getting legislation through Congress this year to restore the nation’s crumbling infrastructure appears increasingly precarious. Trump has yet to release a plan despite his campaign pledge to create jobs by building bigger and better transportation, water, power and other types of infrastructure projects.

McDonald’s to Close 169 Outlets In India in Franchise Battle

NEW DELHI (AP) – McDonald’s India has announced that it will close nearly 170 McDonald’s outlets in northern and eastern India after the American fast food giant decided to terminate a franchise agreement with its Indian partner. McDonald’s said its partner Connaught Plaza Restaurants violated the terms of the franchise agreement, including reneging on payment of royalties.

Appeals Court: Energy Officials Missed in Pipeline Review

WASHINGTON (AP) – A federal appeals court in Washington says energy regulators fell short in evaluating the environmental impact of a natural gas pipeline that is carrying gas through Alabama, Georgia and Florida. The court on Tuesday agreed with the Sierra Club in ruling that officials fell short in their environmental study of the Southeast Market Pipelines Project. Sierra Club attorney Elly Benson says the group is discussing its next steps.

France’s Macron Heads East to Tame Flow of Cheaper Workers

WARSAW, Poland (AP) – French President Emmanuel Macron is pushing for tighter European rules to protect workers in France and other prosperous countries in Western Europe from cheaper labor primarily stemming from the continent’s eastern members. Macron is set to raise concerns over so-called “posted workers” and “social dumping” with leaders across Central Europe as he makes his first visit to the region this week.

Wisconsin Governor Touts Foxconn Plant at Wisconsin Hospital

MADISON, Wisconsin (AP) – Gov. Scott Walker’s top aides offered legislators another round of assurances Tuesday that a Foxconn Technology Group plant in southeastern Wisconsin would transform the state’s economy and said the company would lose out on state incentives if it doesn’t deliver.