Tribune News Service
Business Budget for Friday, December 7, 2018
Updated at 9 p.m. EST (0200 UTC)
This budget is now available at www.TribuneNewsService.com, with direct links to stories and art. See details at the end of the budget.
^TOP STORIES<
^She’s not buying a doll, she’s adopting a space baby — and choosing the store over the internet<
^LIFE-RETAIL-DISTROLLER:LA—<As Claire Talerico made a video of her daughter Mia finalizing baby adoption paperwork with a nurse, two things stood out.
For one thing, Mia is just 10 years old. For another, Mia’s baby resembled a pink lacrosse ball with a tiny body attached.
This wasn’t a real adoption. The fictional nurse was an employee of Distroller World, a boutique Mexican toy chain that is about to open its third U.S. store, in Glendale, Calif.
Distroller World is an elaborate example of experience-based retail — where shoppers get to do something rather than just buy something. It’s a style that merchants increasingly are trying out to recapture business lost to the internet.
1300 (with trims) by Ronald D. White. (Moved as a lifestyle story.) MOVED
^US hiring slows to 155,000 jobs in November<
JOBS:LA — Job growth slowed significantly in November but still was solid, indicating the economy remains in good shape but not expanding so quickly that it will lead to sharply higher interest rates.
U.S. employers added 155,000 jobs last month, well below analyst expectations and a steep decline from October’s strong 237,000 figure, the Labor Department reported Friday.
The unemployment remained at 3.7 percent, the lowest since 1969.
800 by Jim Puzzanghera in Washington. MOVED
^MORE BUSINESS NEWS<
^H-1B rule change unveiled: Proposal to benefit advanced degree holders<
^IMMIGRATION-H1B-VISA:SJ—<The Trump Administration has unveiled its proposed changes to the H-1B visa lottery, which would favor applicants with more advanced degrees and change the application process for companies seeking skilled foreign workers.
The rule change, published this week in the federal register, comes on the heels of President Donald Trump’s 2017 “Buy American and Hire American” executive order, which directed the Department of Homeland Security — which oversees visas and immigration — to “suggest reforms to help ensure that H-1B visas are awarded to the most-skilled or highest-paid petition beneficiaries.”
600 by Leonardo Castaneda. MOVED
^CBS paid millions to settle sexual assault allegation against ’60 Minutes’ creator<
^CBS-HEWITT:LA—<CBS is still being haunted by the past of “60 Minutes.”
The company has been paying a former female CBS News employee millions of dollars over the last 20 years to settle claims that she was sexually assaulted by “60 Minutes” creator Don Hewitt, according to an investigative report.
The incident happened in the late 1990s when Hewitt was still executive producer of the storied newsmagazine, according to a person familiar with the report who was not authorized to comment. The woman is said to have received more than $5 million since reaching a settlement with the company’s lawyers — an agreement that has stretched well past Hewitt’s death in 2009.
550 by Stephen Battaglio. MOVED
^Microsoft calls for regulations to control, restrict facial-recognition technology<
^MICROSOFT-FACIAL-RECOGNITION:SE—<Microsoft President Brad Smith paints an Orwellian picture of the future in his latest call for government regulation of facial-recognition technology.
Smart camera systems could follow us anywhere, tracking our whereabouts and activities for companies and governments to scrutinize.
800 by Rachel Lerman. MOVED
^On the edge of town, Walmart floats ‘Town Center’ retail concept<
^WALMART-TOWNCENTER:SE—<Big-box retail giant Walmart, long despised by Main Street small businesses for luring their customers to the superstore on the edge of town, is now attempting to bring town-center amenities to its sprawling parking lots in two Washington locations and elsewhere.
On a website devoted to its “Town Center” retail concept, Walmart lists four projects underway, including at stores in in the Washington cities of Shelton and Tumwater, and others in Texas and Colorado.
350 by Benjamin Romano. MOVED
^Double amputee war veteran pushes airlines to report on lost and damaged wheelchairs<
^AIRPORT-WHEELCHAIRS:LA—<U.S. Sen. Tammy Duckworth was serving in Iraq when the Black Hawk helicopter she was co-piloting was shot down in 2004. She sustained massive injuries in the crash, forcing doctors to amputate both legs.
Since then, Duckworth, D-Ill., has been peeved that airlines have broken two of her wheelchairs and lost numerous parts of other wheelchairs. As a lawmaker, Duckworth took action. A rule she added to a recently adopted FAA funding bill requires airlines to begin reporting to the U.S. Department of Transportation the number of wheelchairs and mobility scooters that airlines damage or lose each month.
300 by Hugo Martin. MOVED
^As wildfires drive insurance premiums up, will homeowners be able to keep up?<
^WILDFIRES-INSURANCE:SA—<More and more, insurance companies are casting a wary eye on Californians who live in wildfire-prone areas, choosing not to renew policies or drop some homeowners’ coverage altogether.
Researchers have found that as wildfires become less predictable and more potent, the industry that relies on spreading out risk is in retreat in some parts of California. Some homeowners now buy more expensive insurance products that offer fewer protections and less coverage in case of a catastrophe.
1200 by Michael Finch II. MOVED
^US move to restrict immigrants’ healthcare access would hit California’s economy, study says<
^HEALTHCARE-IMMIGRANTS:LA—<Rules that could give immigrants reason to avoid enrolling in health safety-net programs would deliver a blow to California’s economy, costing the state thousands of jobs and billions of dollars in economic output, a new study concluded.
Under the rules proposed by the U.S. Homeland Security Department, immigrants who enroll themselves or their children in Medicaid (the half-century-old government health insurance program for the poor), nutrition assistance programs such as CalFresh or federal housing assistance could jeopardize their chances of getting green cards.
700 by Johana Bhuiyan. MOVED
^Jury finds Monster Energy drink didn’t cause Texas man’s heart attack<
^MONSTER-ENERGY:LA—<A Riverside County jury has found that the maker of Monster Energy drinks was not responsible for a Texas teenager’s debilitating heart attack, the latest legal victory for the company, which has been the target of numerous product-liability lawsuits.
Cody Bledsoe sued Corona-based Monster Beverage Corp. in 2014, saying the company’s energy drink was responsible for a heart attack he suffered the year before when he was 18. The heart attack caused brain damage that Bledsoe’s attorneys said limit his ability to work and has led to high medical costs.
300 by James Rufus Koren. MOVED
^’Aggressive hiring’ and other changes ahead for Lowe’s, CEO says<
^LOWES-HIRING:CH—<It has been a year of transformation for Lowe’s, whose new CEO has taken major steps to improve the company’s financial health, from closing stores to replacing executives. Now Marvin Ellison, who took over the home-improvement retailer in July, says more change is coming, including growing its headquarters in Mooresville, N.C.
650 by Katherine Peralta. MOVED
^AUTO STORIES <
^Vehicle infotainment systems are awful. That’s why Volvo is handing the job to Google<
^AUTO-INFOTAINMENT-QA:LA—<Anyone who has driven a late-model car can attest that the current state of infotainment systems is abysmal — confusing, distracting, poorly thought out. Not wanting to give up control to the tech companies, most automakers patch together pieces from different vendors to design infotainment systems on their own.
Volvo, which admits its own infotainment efforts have hurt the brand’s rankings in owner-satisfaction surveys, is taking a different approach. Earlier this year, it announced a partnership with Google to become the first automaker to integrate its Android smartphone operating system into the vehicle itself — no phone necessary. The system will be incorporated into new Volvos gradually over the next three years.
600 by Russ Mitchell. MOVED
^Ford Shelby Mustang GT 500 will get 3D-printed brackets for brake lines<
^AUTO-3D-PRINTING:DE—<Small black brackets such as the one in Harold Sears’ hand on Tuesday will find their way onto the 2019 Ford Shelby Mustang GT 500.
The bracket, and how it was created, rather than the car itself, which will be shown in January at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit, was part of the reason Sears was talking to a group of reporters in Redford Township, Mich.
Sears, a technical expert in additive manufacturing technologies, was discussing the technologies — such as the 3D printed bracket — Ford is using to cut costs and the time it takes to make necessary improvements in the manufacturing process.
600 by Eric D. Lawrence. MOVED
^AUTO REVIEWS <
^Auto review: GMC Sierra AT4 pickup is loaded with premium features<
AUTO-SIERRA-AT4-REVIEW:DE — Brawny, lifted and loaded with premium features, the 2019 GMC Sierra AT4 pickup is a 4WD specialist and a peek into the future of General Motors’ upscale truck brand.
A fleet of AT4s easily negotiated an off-road course at Eaton Corp.’s challenging 600-acre proving ground 100 miles west of Detroit on a cold December morning, flaunting features ranging from 360-degree cameras to detect sharp boulders lurking on rugged trails to carefully detailed black leather seats with tasteful Kalahari brown inserts.
600 by Mark Phelan in Marshall, Mich. MOVED
^Auto review: 2019 Ford Mustang Bullitt: Better, faster, more<
^AUTO-BULLITT-REVIEW:TB—<Of the more than 100 new vehicles I’ve driven this year, the 2019 Ford Mustang Bullitt might be my favorite. I wish I could leave it at that, then channel some Steve McQueen icy blue stare and you’d just accept its greatness as truth and we could all do our own high-speed stunts while chasing two hit men in a Dodge Charger on the hills in and around San Francisco.
But that was then and that was questionable and this is now and this is certain: The 50th anniversary edition of the infamous Mustang with the legendary car chase from a movie that doesn’t quite stand the test of time is outstanding. And at just over $50,000, or about $3,000 more than a similarly equipped GT with Performance Package 1, the Bullitt with a planned two-year production run is kind of a deal.
1000 by Robert Duffer. MOVED
^DAILY MARKETS GRAPHIC <
Find here a daily Wall Street roundup graphic featuring Dow Jones Industrial Average, S&P 500 and Nasdaq data.
The 1-column x 4-inch graphic, Wall Street, will be posted by 6:30 p.m. EDT Monday through Friday.
Those with questions regarding the graphic should contact the graphics team at 312-222-4131 or tydavis@tribpub.com.
^Consumer Confidential: Corporations are not people too. Seriously, don’t kid yourself<
^CNS-CONFIDENTIAL:LA—<Corporations are not people too. They care first and foremost about making money (not that there’s anything wrong with that).
But perhaps I spoke too soon when I said recently that the notion of “corporate values” is little more than propaganda.
A report out this week from the consulting firm Accenture found that nearly two-thirds of about 30,000 consumers surveyed said they want companies “to take a stand on current and broadly relevant issues such as sustainability, transparency and fair employment practices.”
1050 by David Lazarus. MOVED
These features regularly move on Friday:
^The Week Ahead: Amid souring confidence, tough policy decisions lie ahead<
^WEEKAHEAD:MI—<From Beijing to London to Washington and Wall Street, suspicion is the new conviction.
Investors are wary after a brutal two months. They’re skeptical of presidential pronouncements regarding the trade war with China. They’re unconvinced the UK’s exit from the EU will be smooth and orderly. And they’re anxious over a Federal Reserve seemingly determined to continue to raise interest rates.
350 by Tom Hudson. MOVED
^Motormouth: Smacking the engine won’t fix that noise. For long, anyway<
^AUTO-MOTORMOUTH-QA:TB—<I have what you might call a classic vintage car, a 1988 Lincoln Town Car. When I was returning from the store about a month ago, I heard a loud screech from the engine. I turned the key off, but it kept screeching. About a quarter mile later, the noise stopped. I had it towed to a shop where they replaced the starter and solenoid and everything was fine for about two weeks, but the problem came back. I opened the hood and smacked the solenoid with the handle of a screwdriver and the noise quit. Do you think the repair shop left the old solenoid in the car?
650 by Bob Weber. MOVED
^Under the Hood: Fixing conductive stripes in defogger system<
^AUTO-HOOD:MCT—<My rear window has a strip of glass that doesn’t defrost like the rest of the window. It bugs me because it’s right in my view behind the car. What can be done to fix this?
650 by Brad Bergholdt. MOVED
^Larry Printz: Lexus looks to be at the forefront of cutting-edge car design<
^AUTO-PRINTZ-COLUMN-CORRECTION:MCT—<To walk the aisles of DesignMiami/, a global design forum for creators, curators, collectors and critics, is to be amazed.
It’s little surprise that Lexus is the event’s official automotive partner for the first time.
The marque is fielding cutting edge design that eschews the ersatz European aesthetic it followed for nearly 30 years. Lexus newfound design voice, as seen in the new LS sedan, LC coupe and LF-1 Limitless Concept crossover, features flowing knife-edged lines and large spindle grilles. It’s uniquely Japanese, not to mention very provocative to Western eyes.
900 by Larry Printz in Miami Beach, Fla. MOVED
^AUTO-PHELAN-COLUMN:DE—<Moving later.
^BEST OF BUSINESS: THE WEEK’S TOP FEATURES<
EDITORS: The following are among the best Tribune News Service business stories that moved this week and are still suitable for use this weekend and beyond.
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