Business News Roundup, June 25
Several independent music label groups, including those representing Adele, Arcade Fire and Radiohead, say they can now support Apple Music after Apple reversed a decision not to pay royalties during the 90-day free trial period and adjusted other terms.
The streaming service, set to begin Tuesday, had drawn the ire of Taylor Swift and other indie artists, who were preparing to withhold releases because of the royalty-free trial.
More recent data show that the weakness was largely temporary, with a rebound in the works for the April-June quarter.
The Commerce Department says the economy, as measured by the gross domestic product, shrank at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 0.2 percent from January through March.
Harsh winter weather slowed spending by keeping people away from shopping malls and auto dealerships.
The trade deficit ballooned, slicing growth by the most since 1985 as exports fell and imports rose.
Yet people stepped up their spending in May, and home sales climbed — signs that the economy is back on track.
Fiat Chrysler is recalling 164,000 Jeep Cherokee SUVs worldwide to install shields that stop water from getting into the power rear lift gate controls.
The company says the recall covers the 2014 and 2015 model years.
Fiat Chrysler says it learned of one fire and found that water can get into the lift gate control modules on some Cherokees and cause an electrical short.
In addition to the shields, Fiat Chrysler will replace control modules that have been exposed to water.
Fiat Chrysler says that until repairs are made, owners of Cherokees with power lift gates should check cargo areas to make sure they are dry.
The owner of Stop & Shop and Giant will tie up with the parent company of Food Lion, creating a $29 billion grocer that will be in a stronger position to compete with Walmart and other discount retailers.
The deal, which would create the fourth-largest grocer in the U.S., is the last in a series of buyouts and mergers that has major companies bulking up to carve out market share in an industry that has grown intensely competitive.
In addition to Stop & Shop and Giant, Royal Ahold owns the Martin’s supermarket chain and online grocer Peapod in the U.S. In Europe, it owns Albert Heijn stores.
Orthopedic device makers Zimmer Holdings and Biomet say they’ve completed their $13.35 billion cash-and-stock combination.
Couples are worrying more about their retirement savings.
When asked how much in savings they collectively have, or how much their partner makes in income, many couples get the answer to basic questions wrong, according to a survey for Fidelity Investments.
Google is converting an old coal-burning power plant in Alabama into a sleek data center running on renewable energy to fuel the additional computing capacity needed to process Internet search requests, show digital video, give directions, deliver e-mail and store photos.
The $600 million project announced Wednesday marks Google’s first commitment in eight years to build a U.S. data center.