Business news in brief

 In this July 27, 2018 file photo, the logo for Amazon is displayed on a screen at the Nasdaq MarketSite in New York. (AP Photo/Richard Drew, File)
In this July 27, 2018 file photo, the logo for Amazon is displayed on a screen at the Nasdaq MarketSite in New York. (AP Photo/Richard Drew, File)

Walmart promotes 2 e-commerce execs

Two senior executives who helped Walmart Inc. expand its online grocery business have been promoted to lead roles in e-commerce and digital operations.

Kieran Shanahan, formerly the Bentonville retailer's vice president of online grocery, was named senior vice president of e-commerce retail for everyday living. Tom Ward was promoted to senior vice president of digital operations. He was previously vice president of digital operations for Walmart's e-commerce, online grocery and delivery or "last mile" segments.

Both began their careers at Asda, Walmart's U.K. subsidiary.

Walmart reported in August that its grocery segment had the best same-store sales in nine years during the second quarter. It has invested heavily in e-commerce in recent years, and focused on growing its online grocery business since Amazon acquired Whole Foods in 2017.

In another move, Andrea Albright was named senior vice president of snacks, beverages and impulse. Previously vice president of human resources for Walmart's Bentonville headquarters, Albright has held numerous posts as a brand merchandiser and category director in apparel.

-- Serenah McKay

Bills signed to bar drug-price 'gag rules'

WASHINGTON -- Insurers will no longer be able to bar pharmacists from telling consumers when paying cash would be cheaper than using insurance for their prescriptions, as a result of bills signed Wednesday by President Donald Trump.

The two bills had broad bipartisan support as a consumer-friendly move to correct "gag rules" that many viewed as an egregious business practice. One bill applies to private health insurance and the other to Medicare.

The measures bar health plans or middlemen that manage pharmacy benefits from getting between pharmacists and their customers. No longer can pharmacists be contractually prohibited from telling consumers when they would actually save money by not using their insurance plans.

Such head-scratching situations can arise because of convoluted deals between drug companies, insurers, middlemen and pharmacies.

Trump complained that drug prices are "way out of whack" and "way too high." But a recent Associated Press analysis of brand-name prescription drug prices suggests repeated strong criticism from the president hasn't had much impact. The analysis found it's been business as usual for drugmakers, with far more price increases than cuts.

Under pharmacy "gag" rules, pharmacists have been prohibited from proactively telling consumers when their prescription would cost less if they paid for it out-of-pocket rather than using their insurance plans. Pharmacists who disobeyed risked penalties that could impact their businesses.

-- The Associated Press

Amazon's longtime hands get larger raise

NEW YORK -- Amazon, facing a backlash from longtime warehouse employees who say its $15 hourly minimum wage wouldn't benefit them, will provide a bigger raise to those workers.

The company said Wednesday that some adjustments are being made this week, and workers who already made $15 an hour will get more than the $1-an-hour raise promised last week. The amount will differ by warehouse and affect a small number of employees, but Amazon declined to say how many.

When Amazon announced last week that it would boost its hourly minimum wage to $15, it also cut two benefits: monthly bonuses and a chance to own Amazon's skyrocketing stock, currently worth nearly $1,800 a share. Several employees told The Associated Press last week that they expected to earn less because of the cut in benefits.

A worker at a Maryland warehouse, who spoke on the condition of anonymity for fear of being fired, said employees were told Tuesday that they would get a raise of $1.25 an hour after Nov. 1. That's 25 cents more an hour than what they were told last week.

-- The Associated Press

Google appeals $5B EU antitrust case

BRUSSELS -- Google is appealing a record $5 billion antitrust fine by European Union authorities, who say the tech giant abused the dominance of its Android operating system to stifle competitors.

A company spokesman, Al Verney, confirmed Wednesday that the company has filed its legal challenge with the General Court of the EU, the bloc's second-highest court.

The EU's executive commission issued the fine in July after it found Google forced smartphone makers using Android to install the company's search and browser apps. The company also paid big phone makers to exclusively pre-install the Google Search app. The bloc's competition commissioner, Margrethe Vestager, said at the time of the ruling that "companies must compete on their merits."

Under the ruling, Google must take measures to fix the problem by the end of October or risk further fines.

-- The Associated Press

IBM protesting Pentagon competition

IBM Corp. said it has filed a protest against the Pentagon's planned winner-take-all cloud computing contract because it restricts the field of competition.

"Throughout the year-long JEDI saga, countless concerns have been raised that this solicitation is aimed at a specific vendor," Sam Gordy, general manager of IBM U.S. Federal wrote on a company blog on Wednesday. "At no point have steps been taken to alleviate those concerns."

IBM follows Oracle Corp. as the second technology company to challenge the Pentagon's Joint Enterprise Defense Infrastructure contract valued at as much as $10 billion, which is widely seen as favoring Amazon.com Inc.

Companies including IBM, Oracle and Microsoft Corp. have opposed a winner-take-all award, arguing it will stifle innovation and raise security risks for the Pentagon.

-- Bloomberg News

Business on 10/11/2018

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