Starbucks’ Schultz Mulling ‘Philanthropy to Public Service’

NEW YORK (AP) – Starbucks Corp. says Howard Schultz is stepping down as executive chairman of the coffee company he joined more than 30 years ago and helped transform into a global chain. Schultz, 64, said he was considering “a range of options for myself, from philanthropy to public service,” but wasn’t sure what the future would hold. Schultz, a Democrat, had endorsed Hillary Clinton for president last year, and didn’t rule out running for office himself.

Speculation has swirled for years that Schultz might run for president. While not addressing the question directly, he told The New York Times on Monday that “for some time now, I have been deeply concerned about our country — the growing division at home and our standing in the world.”

Last week, the company closed its U.S. stores for several hours for bias awareness training for its employees, one of the measures it promised after the men were arrested as they waited for an associate but hadn’t bought anything.

Feds: Skimping Can’t Save Seniors From Rising Med Cost

WASHINGTON (AP) – Rising manufacturer prices are squeezing seniors and taxpayers alike. A government report out Monday finds the number of prescriptions for branded drugs went down by 17 percent during a recent five-year period, but the share of costs paid by seniors for such medications went up 40 percent. The report by the Health and Human Services inspector general finds that Medicare recipients filled fewer prescriptions for pricey brand-name drugs — but spent more on such meds anyway.

Microsoft Embraces Collaboration In $7.5b Deal for GitHub

Microsoft is paying $7.5 billion for the popular coder hangout GitHub as the maker of Windows further embraces the types of open-source projects it used to shun. CEO Satya Nadella said the all-stock deal pairs Microsoft with the “world’s leading software development platform,” a destination where developers around the world go to share and review each other’s code.

Trump Says U.S. Farmers Will Be Treated Fairly in Trade Talks

WASHINGTON (AP) – President Donald Trump is defending his tough trade negotiations with China, Canada and Mexico, saying that U.S. farmers have been treated “unfairly.” The president says on Twitter that by the time he finishes his trade negotiations, “that will change” and big trade barriers “will finally be broken.” Mr. Trump has imposed tariffs on steel and aluminum imports from top U.S. trading partners and has threatened tariffs on Chinese imports, raising the potential for retaliation.

Societe Generale Paying $1.3b In Fines Over Bribery, Rates

WASHINGTON (AP) — A unit of one of France’s largest banks, Societe Generale, is pleading guilty in the U.S. and the bank is paying a $585 million fine for bribing Libyan officials to win government investments. The bank also is paying $750 million to settle U.S. authorities’ charges of manipulating a key global interest rate. Societe Generale will avoid criminal prosecution on charges of manipulating the London interbank offered rate, or LIBOR, and will pay a $275 million criminal fine.

To Read The Full Story

Are you already a subscriber?
Click to log in!