Washington | Reuters — Ford Motor Co. said on Thursday it would recall two million F-150 pickup trucks in North America to address fire concerns relating to seat belts that have been linked to three serious incidents but no injuries. The second-largest U.S. automaker said it was aware of 17 reports of smoke or fire […] Read more

Ford recalls two million trucks over seat-belt fire concerns

Trump to offer U.S. farmers billions to ease trade pain
Washington/Kansas City | Reuters — The Trump administration on Tuesday said it would provide up to US$12 billion in aid for U.S. farmers to shield them from the repercussions felt by trade spats between the United States and China, the European Union and others. China has targeted U.S. agricultural exports with tariffs in retaliation to […] Read more

Smucker drops bid to buy Wesson Oil after U.S. objects
Washington | Reuters — J.M. Smucker Co. said on Tuesday it will abandon its plan to acquire Conagra Brands’ Wesson Oil brand after the U.S. Federal Trade Commission had moved to block the deal arguing it would likely lessen competition and violate anti-trust law. Mark Smucker, CEO of J.M. Smucker, said “it is not in […] Read more

Amazon to cut Whole Foods prices amid intense grocery turf war
Reuters — Amazon.com said Thursday it will cut prices on a range of popular goods as it completes its acquisition of Whole Foods Market, sending shares of rival grocers tumbling over fears of even more brutal market share battles. Amazon’s $13.7 billion purchase of Whole Foods, which won antitrust approval from U.S. regulators on Wednesday, […] Read more

U.S. FTC clears Amazon acquisition of Whole Foods
Washington | Reuters — The U.S. Federal Trade Commission said on Wednesday it has cleared Amazon.com’s planned US$13.7 billion acquisition of Whole Foods Market. The FTC said in a statement that it had reviewed whether the deal would substantially lessen competition or constituted an unfair method of competition and opted not to pursue its investigation […] Read more

U.S. proposes cutting biofuels requirements due to ‘market realities’
New York | Reuters — The U.S. government on Wednesday proposed reducing the volumes of biofuel required to be used in gasoline and diesel in 2018, in a move that could mark the first step towards a broader overhaul to the controversial energy policy. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) proposal marked a slight decline […] Read more