FCC halts 9 firms offering Internet credit
WASHINGTON -- Regulators are telling nine companies that they won't be allowed to participate in a federal program meant to help them provide affordable Internet access to low-income consumers -- weeks after those companies had been given the green light.
The move, announced Friday by FCC Chairman Ajit Pai, reverses a decision by his Democratic predecessor, Tom Wheeler, and undercuts the companies' ability to provide low-cost Internet access to poorer Americans. In a statement, Pai called the initial decisions a form of "midnight regulation."
"These last-minute actions, which did not enjoy the support of the majority of commissioners at the time they were taken, should not bind us going forward," he said.
The program, known as Lifeline, provides registered households with a $9.25-a-month credit, which can then be used to buy home Internet service. As many as 13 million Americans may be eligible for Lifeline but do not have broadband service at home, the FCC has found.
For Kajeet Inc., one of the companies that was initially granted permission to provide service through Lifeline, the news comes as a blow.
"I'm most concerned about the children we serve," said Kajeet founder Daniel Neal. "We partner with school districts -- 41 states and the District of Columbia -- to provide educational broadband so that poor kids can do their homework."
-- The Washington Post
Vegetables rationed in Europe's markets
LONDON -- Europe is short of lettuce, broccoli and other vegetables because of bad weather, leading some supermarkets in Britain to start rationing produce.
A succession of droughts, floods and cold weather in southern European countries has hurt agricultural yields, creating a drop in supply felt mainly by importing countries to the north.
Stores in Britain on Friday were rationing the number of lettuces shoppers could buy, with some removing iceberg, sweet gem and romaine varieties from their online offerings. Similar shortages earlier affected zucchini, broccoli and cabbage.
Shoppers in Britain shared images of bare shelves under the hashtags #lettucecrisis and #courgettecrisis.
Analyst Rob Gregory of PlanetRetail posted a photo on Twitter of empty boxes in a Tesco supermarket. The picture showed a sign reading: "Due to continued weather problems in Spain, there is a shortage on Iceberg and other varied lettuce products. To protect the availability for all customers, we are limiting bulk purchases to three per person."
A spokesman for the British supermarket chain Asda said that, "Contrary to popular belief it seems the rain in Spain doesn't fall mainly on the plain and a run of unusually bad weather has resulted in availability issues on a small number of salad items and vegetables such as courgettes and aubergines."
-- The Associated Press
Report: Hudson's Bay to bid for Macy's
Trading of Macy's stock was briefly halted on Friday after its price shot up unusually quickly, a surge that appears to be fueled by a news report that the retailing giant is in preliminary talks to be acquired by Hudson's Bay, a Canadian department store empire.
The merger discussions, which were reported by the Wall Street Journal, come as each company is facing an identity crisis. The department store world has been pummeled by a host of major changes in shopping patterns with spending moving to online sites. Meanwhile, women are shifting in droves to buying their clothes at off-price stores such as T.J. Maxx or fast-fashion outposts such as H&M or Zara.
The companies might see joining forces as a way to strengthen their firepower in the fight to win over shoppers. Macy's saw dismal sales during the crucial Christmas season, and recently announced it would cut 10,000 jobs, the latest reminder of its need to adapt to a fast-changing shopping climate. At Hudson's Bay, a sprawling business that includes Saks Fifth Avenue and Lord & Taylor, things weren't quite as grim, but Christmas results suggested that the company is still facing some challenges in connecting with shoppers.
Macy's stock, traded on the New York Stock Exchange, rose $1.97, or 6.4 percent, to close Friday at $32.69.
In an email, a Macy's spokesman said, "We do not comment on rumors and speculation." A representative for Hudson's Bay declined comment.
-- The Washington Post
Skittles bound for cattle feed cover road
NEW YORK -- Mars said a miscommunication with a subcontractor led to a defective batch of its Skittles, reportedly on their way to becoming cattle feed, ending up scattered across a highway.
The spill captured widespread attention after a Facebook post by a Wisconsin sheriff showed a road covered in the colorful candy. The sheriff wrote that they had fallen off the truck of a farmer who was going to feed them to cattle. Selling food byproducts for use in animal feed is not uncommon, but Mars had said that the factory that made the spilled Skittles was not approved to do so.
The candy-maker also said that it only sells to third party processors that mix unused candy with other ingredients to make animal feed, not to individual farmers.
Mars said the mishap was the result of miscommunication between a vendor that handles its waste management and a subcontractor. The company said it doesn't believe there was "ill intent" and that "corrective action" is being taken. Mars said it can't say for certain whether the candy was given to the subcontractor to be turned into animal feed.
Messages left with a phone number for the farmer, provided by the Dodge County sheriff's office, were not returned.
Mars has said the Skittles were supposed to be destroyed because a power failure during the manufacturing process left the candies without the "S" on them.
-- The Associated Press
Firm apologizes to its millionaire clients
Vanguard investment firm apologizing to 17,000 millionaires
MALVERN, Pa. -- A Pennsylvania-based investment firm is apologizing to about 17,000 millionaire clients.
Philly.com reported that Vanguard Group of Malvern, Pa., is reaching out to clients who've invested $1 million or more because of a recent email it sent to them. In sending the email, the names of 100 or so financial advisers who handle the clients were replaced with a supervisor's name, who wouldn't know the clients on a first-name basis.
Vanguard said it considered recalling the email, but nearly half of the investors who received it had already opened it. The company's financial advisers are being asked to apologize to clients personally.
The email encouraged the clients to invest more money, saying that "hoopla" surrounding President Donald Trump's election and other factors should have "limited long-term impact" on investments.
-- The Associated Press
Business on 02/04/2017