Business Briefs – September 4, 2019

Democrats Propose Spending Trillions Fighting Climate Change

WASHINGTON (AP) – Five Democratic presidential candidates in the span of 24 hours have released sweeping plans to address climate change, ahead of a series of town halls devoted to the issue.

On Wednesday, California Sen. Kamala Harris and South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg each unveiled their climate plans. New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker, Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren and former Obama cabinet member Julián Castro each laid out theirs on Tuesday.

The flurry of plans comes ahead of a CNN town hall event on global warming, which 10 Democrats seeking the White House plan to attend.

Judge Orders Anheuser-Busch To Halt ‘Corn Syrup’ Labels

(AP) – A federal judge on Wednesday ordered Anheuser-Busch to stop using Bud Light packaging that implies rival brews made by MillerCoors contain corn syrup. The order extends an injunction issued in May that barred Anheuser-Busch from making those claims in advertising.

The cardboard packaging on Bud Light six-packs, 12-packs and 24-packs says “No Corn Syrup” in bold letters and invites customers to visit a web site where it lists its ingredients. Bud Light is brewed with water, barley, rice and hops.

MillerCoors uses corn syrup in the fermentation process for Miller Lite and Coors Lite, but the final product doesn’t contain corn syrup. It says Anheuser-Busch’s campaign is illegal and bad for the industry.

Ex-Fed Official Clarifies Comments on Trump

WASHINGTON (AP) – A former top Federal Reserve official has sought to clarify inflammatory comments he made last week that suggested the Fed should consider taking steps that would undermine President Donald Trump’s re-election prospects.

William Dudley, former president of the Fed’s New York regional bank, faced a barrage of criticism from economists across the political spectrum for a column published in Bloomberg Opinion Aug. 27. In it, he argued that the Fed shouldn’t “enable” Trump’s trade war by cutting interest rates.

On Wednesday, he specified in a second column that he does not think the Fed should attempt to influence the 2020 election. But he reiterated his criticism of Mr. Trump’s attacks on the Fed and said it should explicitly say that the president’s trade war is the “greatest risk” to the economy.

Lagarde Defends ECB’s Low Rates As She Prepares to Take Over

FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) – Incoming European Central Bank head Christine Lagarde is defending the bank’s record low rates and other stimulus measures as she prepares to take over with the economy facing trouble from trade wars and Brexit.

During hearings in the European parliament Wednesday, Lagarde said the job requires a commitment to the basic mandate to keep prices stable and the “agility” to come find new ways to meet unforeseen trouble.

Lagarde has been nominated by European governments to succeed Mario Draghi on Nov. 1.