Business Briefs – September 27, 2016

‘Dramatic Slowing’ Seen in Global Trade, as Rhetoric Rises

GENEVA (AP) – The World Trade Organization dramatically slashed its forecast for trade growth this year by about a third to its lowest rate since 2009, when the global economy was mired in recession in the wake of the financial crisis.

In an update to its forecasts Tuesday, the world’s leading trade body said the groundswell in anti-globalization sentiment could make matters worse, especially if policymakers respond to that in a “misguided” manner.

The Geneva-based WTO, perhaps best known for dealing with trade disputes, predicted that global trade will rise only 1.7 percent this year, way down from its April prediction for 2.8 percent.

Unhappy Target Customers Send Strong Message on Pill Bottles

NEW YORK (AP) – Target’s pharmacy customers are finding a change in pill bottle design hard to swallow.

After CVS began operating Target’s drugstores earlier this year, distraught customers have been asking — in some cases begging — the drugstore chain to bring back the retailer’s red prescription bottles, which came with color-coded rings, labeling on the top and prescription information that was easier to read.

CVS says it is working on designing a new system for dispensing prescriptions and helping people stay on their medications, but declined to share details or say whether that might involve an updated bottle design.

This article appeared in print on page 64 of the September 28th, 2016 edition of Hamodia.