Business Briefs – April 30, 2019

Apple’s Fiscal 2Q Revenue, Profit Sag Amid iPhone Slump

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Weak iPhone demand is still causing Apple’s overall sales to shrink, despite the company’s effort to emphasize services designed to bring in a steady flow of money from its 1.4 billion devices still in use. Revenue for the January-March quarter fell 5% from the same time in 2017 to $58 billion, the company said in its earnings report Tuesday. It’s the first time Apple has suffered two consecutive quarterly revenue declines in two and a half years.

Berkshire Steps Into Fight for Anadarko on Occidental’s Side

OMAHA, Nebraska (AP) — A rare bidding war in the energy sector is getting another twist. Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway entered the fray Tuesday by offering $10 billion in financing to Occidental Petroleum in its bid to acquire Anadarko. Occidental’s offer arrived after Chevron said earlier this month that it wanted to take over the company in a $50 billion deal.

U.S. Sales OK’d for Cigarette Alternative That Heats Tobacco

WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. Food and Drug Administration will allow Philip Morris International to sell a cigarette alternative that heats tobacco without burning it. But regulators who announced the approval Tuesday have not yet decided whether to allow the device to be advertised as less harmful than cigarettes. Without that key marketing pitch, analysts expect limited use of the penlike device.

Pfizer 1Q Profit Jumps 9% on Higher Drug Sales, Lower Costs

(AP) – Higher prescription drugs sales and restrained spending gave drugmaker Pfizer a 9% jump in first-quarter profit as it easily topped analysts’ profit expectations. The biggest U.S. drugmaker had several drug approvals during the quarter and expects more later this year.

EPA Reaffirms Glyphosate Safe For Users as Court Cases Grow

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Environmental Protection Agency reaffirmed Tuesday that a popular weed killer, Roundup, is “not likely to be carcinogenic to humans,” as legal claims mount from Americans who blame the herbicide for their cancer.

Two recent U.S. court verdicts have awarded multimillion-dollar claims to men who blame glyphosate for their lymphoma.

Bayer, which acquired Roundup-maker Monsanto last year, advised investors in mid-April that it faced U.S. lawsuits from 13,400 people over alleged exposure to the weed killer.