Business Briefs – October 23, 2017

New Flight Paths Lead to Airplane Noise Complaints Across U.S.

PHOENIX (AP) – The Federal Aviation Administration is redesigning flight procedures at airports around the U.S. under a program known as “NextGen” to streamline routes for fuel efficiency. But the new airplane routes have prompted noise complaints from San Diego to New York. A U.S. circuit court agreed that the FAA was “arbitrary and capricious” in applying the procedures in Phoenix. And aviation experts say the agency may be forced to be more responsive to communities on the ground.

Millions Return to Poverty In Brazil, Eroding ‘Boom’ Decade

RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) – Brazil’s “boom” decade is eroding, with millions of its people returning to poverty amid fallout from the country’s worst recession in decades, corruption scandals that have shaken several industries and cuts to social welfare programs. That confluence of factors is raising the specter that the continent-sized nation with one of the world’s largest economies has lost its way in addressing vast inequalities that go back to colonial times.

U.S., California Approve Fix for 38,000 Volkswagen Diesels

DETROIT (AP) – Federal and state officials said Monday they have approved a fix for 38,000 Volkswagen, Audi and Porsche sport utility vehicles with diesel engines that were cheating on emissions tests.

The approval brings German automaker Volkswagen AG closer to resolving a costly and embarrassing scandal that began two years ago, when the company admitted that more than 550,000 vehicles in the U.S. — and 11 million worldwide — were designed to cheat on emissions tests. The vehicles have software that turns on emissions controls during testing but turns them off in everyday driving.

World Mayors Pledge Emissions-Free Cities by 2030

PARIS (AP) – The mayors of London, Los Angeles, Paris and several other major world cities are pledging to ban gasoline and diesel vehicles from “large parts” of their cities by 2030. Some cities are moving even faster to reduce emissions, and the announcement Monday by leading metropolitan areas is a bid to encourage others to do the same.

Cisco Systems Buying BroadSoft For $1.9 Billion Cash

NEW YORK (AP) – Cisco Systems Inc. will pay about $1.9 billion cash to buy BroadSoft Inc. in a move aimed at expanding its communications software offerings.

The networking technology giant is paying $55 per share, marking a 2 percent premium to Broadsoft’s closing price on Friday.

Gaithersburg, Maryland-based BroadSoft provides telecommunications technology for businesses, including phone services, audio and video conferencing and virtual meetings.