Roundup: Whole Foods owns up to overcharging of packaged goods; Ford recalls 432K cars because of software problem; more
Whole Foods owns up to overcharging at some New York City stores
Whole Foods Market Inc. admitted that there were pricing issues at its New York City stores, a week after the NY Department of Consumer Affairs said the supermarket chain was overstating the weight of prepackaged meat, dairy and other goods.
Chief Executives Walter Robb and John Mackey apologized in a YouTube video and said the mistakes were inadvertent.
“We made some mistakes, we want to own that and tell you what we are doing about it,” Robb said, adding that the mistakes were unintentional and sometimes favored customers.
The overcharging ranged from 80 cents for a package of pecan panko to $14.84 for a package of coconut shrimp, the agency said on June 24.
The agency tested 80 types of food and found all of them to have mislabeled weight.
Whole Foods said it would give any item in the fresh section for free if it is found to be overweighed.
Factory orders fell 1% in May
Orders to American factories fell in May by the largest amount in three months, while a key category that signals business investment plans dropped for a second month.
Factory orders declined 1 percent in May from April, when orders retreated 0.7 percent, the Commerce Department reported Thursday. Orders in a category that serves as a proxy for business investment were down 0.4 percent.
Much of the weakness in May reflected a 35.3 percent fall in demand for commercial aircraft. But even outside of the volatile transportation category, orders were up only a tiny 0.1 percent. The lackluster showing suggests that manufacturing is struggling with challenges such as lower energy prices and a strong dollar, which dampens exports.
Ford recalls 432K vehicles because of software problem
Ford is recalling 432,000 Focus, C-Max and Escape vehicles because of a software problem that could keep their engines running after drivers try to shut them down.
Ford Motor Co. says no injuries or accidents have been associated with the problem. Ford says dealers will update the software at no cost to consumers.
The recall covers some model 2015 Focus cars, C-Max hybrids and Escape sport utility vehicles. The Focus vehicles were made in Michigan as far back as June 2014, while the C-Maxes were made in Michigan starting in April 2014 and the Escapes were built in Louisville starting in April 2014.
About 375,000 of the cars were sold in the United States, 52,000 in Canada and 5,000 in Mexico.
FTC approves Dollar Tree's takeover of Family Dollar
Dollar Tree Inc. was given the go-ahead to buy Family Dollar Stores Inc. by the U.S. Federal Trade Commission on condition that they sell 330 Family Dollar stores, putting to rest a year-long merger saga.
Dollar Tree said it expects the deal to close Monday. The stores spread across 35 states, which Dollar Tree has offered to sell to private equity firm Sycamore Partners, have to be sold within 150 days of the deal closing, the agency said. They include five stores in the Pittsburgh area: Olympia Shopping Center, McKeesport; East Warrington Avenue, Pittsburgh; Brighton Road, Pittsburgh; North Sheridan Avenue, East Liberty; and Swissvale Shopping Center, Swissvale. The FTC put the value of the Family Dollar acquisition at $9.2 billion.
Intel President Renee James to leave chipmaker
Intel said Thursday that President Renee James, who has worked at the chipmaker for 28 years, plans to leave the company early next year to seek a CEO role elsewhere.
James has agreed to stay with Intel until January to oversee the transition of her responsibilities and will be paid $4 million to do so, according to a filling with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Intel did not disclose which CEO role James is pursuing. James was named president of Intel two years ago.
The Santa Clara, Calif.-company announced several other personnel and organizational changes.
Arvind Sodhani, president of Intel's venture capital unit, will retire in January after 35 years at the company. Vice Presidents Hermann Eula and Michael Bell will also leave the company, Intel said.
Barnes & Noble enlists Sears Canada CEO
Barnes & Noble, which is splitting into two companies next month, named Sears Canada CEO Ronald Boire to lead its retail operations and said company CEO Michael Huseby will become executive chairman of its educational wing.
Boire will join the company in September as CEO of Barnes & Noble Inc., overseeing its nearly 650 stores and its Nook e-book business.
Max Roberts, the CEO of the college textbook business, will continue in that role when the unit is spun off into the publicly traded Barnes & Noble Education Inc., which operates more than 720 stores at colleges and universities around the country.
Before becoming CEO of Sears Canada, Boire held leadership positions at Brookstone, Toys R Us and Best Buy Inc.
Barnes & Noble first said it would break the company apart in February, upon scrapping plans to spin off its digital Nook business.
