Business Briefs – April 24, 2018

Sears’ Biggest Shareholder Offers to Buy Kenmore Brand

NEW YORK (AP) – Sears’ biggest shareholder has suggested the company sell its well-known Kenmore brand and some real estate holdings, offering itself as a potential buyer. The ailing company has sold off other major brands as it struggles to stay afloat, with Kenmore a notable remainder of the powerhouse retailer that survived two world wars and the Great Depression.

Sears has been closing stores, cutting costs and selling brands as its sales fall. Its stock rose 7.6 percent to $3.24.

U.S. Brands Suffer Collateral Damage in Chinese Corporate War

SHANGHAI (AP) – Five major consumer brands tell The Associated Press that after they refused exclusive partnerships with Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba, traffic to their products fell, hurting sales. Three are U.S. companies with billions in revenue. Alibaba says it offers perks for exclusivity but has never punished anyone.

Trump Likes Coal, But That Doesn’t Mean He’s Hostile to Wind

BOSTON (AP) – President Donald Trump has courted coal miners, but his administration is also vowing to help develop offshore wind energy projects. Using federal offshore leases, wind power projects along the East Coast are pressing ahead with the goal of transforming the electric grid and providing energy to power millions of homes. They include projects off Massachusetts, New Jersey, Connecticut, Virginia and New York.

Survey: Economists’ Outlook Is Sunny but Not Due to Tax Cuts

WASHINGTON (AP) – America’s business economists are sketching a bright picture for the coming months, with a survey finding that more of their companies foresee rising sales and expect to continue hiring and raising pay. At the same time, nearly two-thirds of respondents in the latest survey by the National Association for Business Economics say President Donald Trump’s tax cuts, which were promoted as a way to spur hiring and investment, haven’t affected their plans.

Supreme Court Wrestles With Administrative Law Judge Case

WASHINGTON (AP) – The Supreme Court is wrestling with a case brought by a former financial adviser known for his “Buckets of Money” strategy. Raymond Lucia is challenging the appointment of the administrative law judge who ruled against him. The case involves the Securities and Exchange Commission’s administrative law judges, but it has the potential to have a broader impact because administrative law judges are employed throughout the federal government.

In Denver, Trying to Put a Price On the Value of a Newspaper

DENVER (AP) – The Denver Post’s cry for help in the form of an editorial pleading for new ownership resonated nationally. As Colorado’s civic community tries to mount a journalistic rescue mission to a paper that’s been deeply cut, what happens in Denver could be a signal to a battered newspaper industry, reeling from dwindling ad revenues, of what the future looks like.