Author: News Room

Robert B. Shapiro, a brash former law professor turned corporate executive who performed a marketing miracle by branding aspartame as the sugar substitute NutraSweet and making it a household name that consumers demanded in thousands of products, died on May 2 at his home in Chicago. He was 86.The cause was pancreatic cancer, his son James Shapiro said.Aspartame was invented by chemists at the pharmaceutical company G.D. Searle in Illinois in 1965 and approved by the Food and Drug Administration for use in soft drinks in 1983, a year after Mr. Shapiro became chief executive and chairman of what the…

A 90-day pause Stocks, the dollar and oil are soaring on Monday after President Trump’s top negotiators outlined the specifics of a major — though temporary — de-escalation in the U.S.-China trade fight.Expectations were sky-high for some kind of breakthrough. The market reaction suggests mission accomplished in terms of reaching an important détente, though significant trade barriers remain and plenty still needs to be worked out.“The consensus from both delegations is that neither side wanted a decoupling,” Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, who was a point person in the U.S.-China talks in Geneva over the weekend, said on Monday. “Now we…

The rule, which was scheduled to take effect May 15, permitted unlimited A.I. chip sales to 18 allies like Britain, Germany and Japan, and blocked sales to China, Iran and other adversaries. All other countries, including Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, India, Israel and Poland, faced caps on the number of chips they could purchase, and many were not happy about it.Jim Secreto, a former deputy chief of staff for the Commerce Department, said that the rule aimed to preserve national security and shape the future of a critical technology. Without regulation, the availability of cheap energy and…

Deal or no deal? That’s what financial markets and businesses are waiting to learn.A weekend of productive trade talks in Geneva between the United States and China resulted in a “deal,” said Jamieson Greer, the United States Trade Representative and one of the main negotiators for the Trump administration. His Chinese counterpart expressed optimism, but with a less emphatic take.He Lifeng, China’s vice premier for economic policy, who led the talks for the Chinese, said the discussions had been constructive and that an “important consensus” had been reached. Without providing details, he said the two sides had agreed to establish…

On a wet Wednesday morning in April, Ashley Holroyd had a steady but slow stream of customers into his coffee shop in Barrow-in-Furness, an industrial town in northwest England. The cafe, Coffee D’Ash, had been open for only about six months, and it barely filled the cavernous space.Despite the empty storefronts on the same street, Mr. Holroyd is certain he has a prime location. BAE Systems, Britain’s largest defense company, is planning to open a training facility for hundreds of workers right next door.Mr. Holroyd, 33, jumped at the chance to expand his coffee business from a trailer into a…

President Trump will sign an executive order on Monday aimed at lowering some drug prices in the United States by aligning them with what other wealthy countries pay, he said on Truth Social on Sunday evening.The proposal he described, which alone cannot shift federal policy, is what he calls a “most favored nation” pricing model. Mr. Trump did not provide details about which type of insurance the plan would apply to or how many drugs it would target, but he indicated that the United States should pay the lowest price among its peer countries.“Our Country will finally be treated fairly,…

Stocks in Asia gained on Monday after weekend talks signaled that progress had been made in easing trade tensions between the United States and China.Benchmark indexes in Japan and South Korea edged higher in early trading on Monday morning. Futures pointed to the S&P 500 gaining more than 1 percent when trading begins in New York.Meetings in Geneva between U.S. and Chinese officials concluded on Sunday with Scott Bessent, the U.S. Treasury secretary, saying that “substantial progress” had been made. China’s vice premier, He Lifeng, called the talks “candid, in-depth and constructive.” Details are expected to be released on Monday,…

Policy changes often take years to show results. Even then, you may have to squint to see them.And then there is congestion pricing in New York.Almost immediately after the tolls went into effect Jan. 5 — charging most vehicles $9 to enter Manhattan from 60th Street south to the Battery — they began to alter traffic patterns, commuter behavior, transit service, even the sound of gridlock and the on-time arrival of school buses. Peak commute times Faster stillLocal buses Faster, less delayedTraffic outside the zone Not worseNew Jersey commutes FasterTransit ridership Up, up, upCiti Bike trips Up in and out…

Tens of thousands of Americans will soon be forced by their heath insurance to switch from one popular obesity drug to another that produces less weight loss.It is the latest example of the consequences of secret deals between drugmakers and middlemen, known as pharmacy benefit managers, that are hired by employers to oversee prescription coverage for Americans. Employers pay lower drug prices but their workers are blocked from getting competing treatments, a type of insurance denial that has grown much more common in the past decade.One of the largest benefit managers, CVS Health’s Caremark, made the decision to exclude Zepbound…

About 130,000 Igloo coolers were recalled on Thursday after consumers reported 78 fingertip injuries from the cooler’s tow handle, 26 of which led to fingertip amputations, bone fractures or cuts, according to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission.This warning expands an initial recall issued in February of more than one million 90-quart Igloo Flip & Tow Rolling Coolers because the tow handle was crushing and seriously injuring people’s fingertips.“The tow handle can pinch consumers’ fingertips against the cooler, posing fingertip amputation and crushing hazard,” the recall said.In the February recall, the safety commission said that Igloo had received 12 reports…