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☆ Planet Fitness races against rate hikes
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-18 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

View of the Planet Fitness logo at the their location in Clifton, New Jersey, U.S., January 6, 2023. REUTERS/Jennifer Saba Acquire Licensing RightsNEW YORK, Sept 18 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Planet Fitness (PLNT.N) is struggling to adapt to a high-interest-rate diet. Under Rondeau, Planet Fitness benefited from a post-pandemic exercise rebound, notching annual sales growth of over 40% in the last two years as location count expanded by 13%. Its stock is up 32% this year, while Planet Fitness’s is down by roughly the same amount. Life Time boss Bahram Akradi said his old approach of keeping prices low was a “mistake.” Planet Fitness can fix the same error.

Persons: Jennifer Saba, Chris Rondeau, Rondeau, Fitness’s, Bahram Akradi, Anita Ramaswamy, Jonathan Guilford, Sharon Lam, Aditya Sriwatsav Organizations: REUTERS, Reuters, Planet, X, Thomson Locations: Clifton , New Jersey, U.S

REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsBEIJING, Sept 15 (Reuters) - China will impose sanctions against U.S. aerospace and defence firms Northrop Grumman (NOC.N) and Lockheed Martin (LMT.N) for providing weapons to Taiwan, the Chinese foreign ministry said on Friday. The sanctions are being enacted under China's Anti-Foreign Sanctions Law, ministry spokesperson Mao Ning told a regular press briefing. Mao named Lockheed Martin Corp's branch in Missouri as the prime contractor that was directly involved in an arms sale to Taiwan on Aug. 24 and said Northrop Grumman has repeatedly participated in the sale of weapons to Taiwan. Taiwan has also reported dozens of Chinese fighters, bombers and other aircraft flying into its air defence zone this week. China's wide-ranging law to counter foreign sanctions came into force in 2021 in an apparent move to legalise tit-for-tat retaliation against punitive actions taken by foreign countries.

Persons: Kim Kyung, Northrop, Lockheed Martin, Mao Ning, Mao, Northrop Grumman, Joe Biden, Joe Cash, Liz Lee, Kim Coghill, Christian Organizations: Lockheed, Japan Aerospace, REUTERS, Rights, U.S, Northrop Grumman, China's, Foreign, Thomson Locations: Japan, Tokyo, Rights BEIJING, China, Taiwan, U.S, Missouri, China . U.S, Shandong, Taiwan's, Beijing

An illuminated Google logo is seen inside an office building in Zurich, Switzerland December 5, 2018. Rangel discussed how consumers were likely to stick with browsers on computers and mobile phones that were pre-installed as the default application. John Schmidtlein, a lawyer for Google, during cross-examination of Rangel, pointed out that a significant number of user search queries went to Google even when another search engine was the default. Google's clout in search, the government alleges, has helped Google build monopolies in some aspects of online search advertising. Search is free, so Google makes money through advertising.

Persons: Arnd, Antonio Rangel, Rangel, John Schmidtlein, Judge Amit Mehta, Diane Bartz, Mark Potter, Richard Chang Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, Justice Department, California Institute of Technology, Apple, Mozilla, Google, Big Tech, Microsoft, Thomson Locations: Zurich, Switzerland, U.S

☆ Amazon opens its biggest last-mile delivery center in Latin America
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-14 | by ( Daina Beth Solomon | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

MEXICO CITY, Sept 14 (Reuters) - Amazon (AMZN.O) on Thursday inaugurated its largest last-mile delivery center in Latin America, a warehouse in Mexico's capital, as it seeks to offer faster deliveries in one of the region's most populous cities. The new Mexico City site, measuring 30,000 square meters (more than 322,000 square feet), is the largest Latin America "delivery station" for Amazon, referring to warehouses that specialize in last-mile deliveries to consumers. Amazon also operates larger warehouses known as "fulfillment centers," which can be over 92,900 sq meters (a million square feet). Altogether Amazon operates about 40 warehouses throughout Mexico, employing more than 8,000 people directly and another 32,000 indirectly. Some 22 million people live in and around Mexico City, one of the biggest urban centers in Latin America.

Persons: Mercado, Diana Frances, Ken Salazar, Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, Daina Beth Solomon, Sandra Maler Organizations: MEXICO CITY, Mercado Libre, Walmart, Amazon, Thomson Locations: MEXICO, Latin America, Mexico, Argentina, America, Mexico City

Walmart's logo is seen outside one of the stores ahead of the Thanksgiving holiday in Chicago, Illinois, U.S. November 27, 2019. The merchandise mix Walmart (WMT.N) will carry rests not purely on retail executives' judgment but rather on software it developed around 2019. Its machine-learning algorithm relies on weather patterns and each store's past sales data to predict inventory needs of its more than 4,700 U.S. locations, a Walmart tech executive told Reuters. Walmart executives say it is aided by its large tech team in India, spanning three cities and employing 11,500. Software directs Walmart workers to use the quickest route while assembling online orders for pickup and delivery, Vasudev said.

Persons: Kamil Krzaczynski, D.A, Davidson, Michael Baker, Doug McMillon, Thomas Hayes, Hari Vasudev, Vasudev, David Klink, Huntington, Nandan Mandayam, Siddharth Cavale, Mark Porter Organizations: REUTERS, Walmart, Reuters, Target, Shoppers, Amazon, New, Great, U.S, Walmart's India, Software, Workers, Hunting Private Bank, Thomson Locations: Chicago , Illinois, U.S, United States, Bentonville , Arkansas, New York, India, Bengaluru, Target's, Walmart's

☆ Apollo Global among suitors for IGT's global gaming division- Bloomberg News
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-13 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

REUTERS/Brendan McDermid/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsSept 13 (Reuters) - Private equity giant Apollo Global Management (APO.N) is among the potential suitors seeking to acquire International Game Technology's (IGT.N) global gaming division, Bloomberg News reported on Wednesday. IGT's gaming unit could fetch $4 billion to $5 billion in a sale, including debt, the report said, citing people with knowledge of the matter. Apollo Global did not immediately respond to a Reuters' request for comment and IGT could not be reached for comment. UK-based IGT said in June that it was exploring strategic alternatives for its global gaming and PlayDigital segments, which includes, but is not limited to, a sale. Reporting by Jose Joseph in Bengaluru; Editing by Shailesh Kuber and Subhranshu SahuOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Brendan McDermid, IGT, Jose Joseph, Shailesh Kuber, Subhranshu Organizations: Game Technology PLC, New York Stock Exchange, REUTERS, Apollo Global Management, Bloomberg, Apollo, Thomson Locations: Bengaluru

First out of the gate, the government questioned a former Google executive, Chris Barton, about billion-dollar deals with mobile carriers and others that helped make Google the default search engine. Google's clout in search, the government argues, has helped Google build monopolies in some aspects of online search advertising. In revenue-sharing deals with mobile carriers and Android smartphone makers, Google pressed for its search to be the default and exclusive. If Microsoft's search engine Bing was the default on an Android phone, Barton said, then users would have a "difficult time finding or changing to Google." Barton said on his LinkedIn profile that he was responsible for leading Google's partnerships with mobile carriers like Verizon (VZ.N) and AT&T, estimating that the deals "drive hundreds of millions in revenue."

Persons: Chris Barton, Barton, Bing, Hal Varian, John Schmidtlein, Judge Amit Mehta, Mehta, Diane Bartz, Nick Zieminski, Richard Chang, Howard Goller Organizations: Justice, Google, Inc, Apple, Mozilla, Verizon, Big Tech, Microsoft, Thomson Locations: U.S

☆ Moderna flu shot succeeds in late-stage study
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-13 | by ( Patrick Wingrove | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

The effectiveness of Moderna's flu vaccine was demonstrated across all age groups, including older people, and was found to be safe and tolerable, according to the company. Moderna also said it had found that its shot was equal or superior to Sanofi's high-dose flu vaccine in a separate early head-to-head study. Following the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's authorization on Monday, Moderna said it would start shipping COVID vaccine doses across the United States. "The vaccine's manufacturing runs from June to October and we are already producing it. All the purchase orders are being fulfilled," a Rovi spokesperson said, referring to the COVID vaccine.

Persons: Dado Ruvic, Moderna, Jefferies, Michael Yee, Stephen Hoge, Hoge, we've, We've, COVID, Spain's, Patrick Wingrove, Will Dunham, Mark Porter Organizations: REUTERS, Moderna, U.S . Centers for Disease Control, U.S . Food, Sanofi, Thomson Locations: United States, Moderna, Massachusetts, Britain, Canada, Japan, China, New York, Bengaluru

Chris Barton, who was at Google from 2004 to 2011, said that the company was quick to see the advantage of people using Google search on Palm devices and early versions of smartphones. "As we recognized the opportunity for search on mobile phones we began to build a product team," he said. Dintzer also said that Google manipulated auctions for internet ads in order to raise prices for advertisers. Since search is free, Google makes its money via advertising. He may decide simply to order Google to stop practices he has found to be illegal or he may order Google to sell assets.

Persons: Chris Barton, Barton, Department's Kenneth Dintzer, Dintzer, John Schmidtlein, Hal Varian, Amit Mehta, Diane Bartz, Nick Zieminski Organizations: Justice Department, Google, Verizon, AT, DOJ, Justice, Apple, Mozilla, Big Tech, Microsoft, Thomson

Reliance Retail is India's largest retailer and is led by Asia's richest person Mukesh Ambani. Of that, QIA last month announced a $1 billion investment and KKR & Co (KKR.N) this week $250 million. Reliance sold a 10.09% stake in its retail unit in 2020, valuing it at 4.68 trillion rupees ($56.4 billion). When ADIA invested in Reliance Retail in 2020, it said it was part of its strategy of targeting market leading businesses in Asia linked to the region's consumption-driven growth. Reliance Retail reported a consolidated net profit of 91.81 billion rupees ($1.11 billion) for the financial year that ended in March 2023, on revenue of 2.6 trillion rupees.

Persons: Singapore's GIC, Mukesh Ambani, QIA, ADIA, PIF, Marks, Spencer, Ambani, Sriram, Aditya Kalra, Yantoultra Ngui, Alexander Smith Organizations: Reliance, Asia's, Reuters, KKR, Co, Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund, Reliance Industries, Reliance Retail, Unilever, Thomson Locations: MUMBAI, DELHI, DUBAI, Singapore, Abu Dhabi, Saudi Arabia, GIC, Asia

☆ US pharmacy chains gear up to administer updated COVID shots
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-13 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

REUTERS/Kamil Krzaczynski/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsSept 13 (Reuters) - Drugstore chains CVS Health (CVS.N) and Walgreens Boots Alliance (WBA.O) said on Wednesday that updated COVID-19 vaccines would be available at their stores as soon as this week. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) director on Tuesday signed off on broad use of updated COVID-19 vaccines, arming a push to align the next round of shots more closely with the circulating variant of the virus, much like annual flu shots are designed. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved an updated vaccine made by Pfizer (PFE.N) and its German partner BioNTech (22UAy.DE) as well as one by Moderna (MRNA.O) for people ages 12 and above. The agency has also authorized the shots for emergency use in children ages 6 months through 11 years. Walgreens said it would start taking appointments for the updated vaccines from Monday, but could begin earlier appointments as stores receive vaccines this week.

Persons: Luis S, Solano, Victor Walchirk, Kamil Krzaczynski, BioNTech, Christy Santhosh, Devika Organizations: Pfizer, Victor, REUTERS, Walgreens Boots Alliance, U.S . Centers for Disease Control, Prevention, U.S . Food, Drug Administration, Moderna, Walgreens, Rite, CVS, Retail, Walmart, Thomson Locations: Evanston , Illinois, U.S, Bengaluru

☆ Moderna to scale down manufacturing of COVID vaccine
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-13 | by ( Patrick Wingrove | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

The downsizing, Hoge added, will help Moderna adjust to the endemic phase of the disease, which had led to falling demand for COVID vaccines as payers scale back orders for the shots. Moderna predicted in August that U.S. demand for the vaccine would reach 50 to 100 million doses in the fall season. Following the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's authorization on Monday, Moderna said it would start shipping COVID vaccine doses across the United States. The effectiveness of Moderna's flu vaccine was demonstrated across all age groups, including older patients, and was found to be safe and tolerable, according to the company. Moderna also said it had found that its shot was equal or superior to Sanofi's high-dose flu vaccine in a separate early head-to-head study.

Persons: Stephen Hoge, Hoge, Moderna, we've, We've, COVID, Patrick Wingrove, Bhanvi, Will Dunham Organizations: Moderna, Sanofi, Wednesday, U.S . Centers for Disease Control, U.S . Food, Thomson Locations: Moderna, Massachusetts, United States, Britain, Canada, Japan, China, New York, Bengaluru

Consumers, Google's lawyers will argue, can delete the Google app from their devices or simply type Microsoft's Bing, Yahoo or DuckDuckGo into a browser to use an alternative search engine. They will argue that consumers stick with Google because they rely on it to answer questions and are not disappointed. In the first, Judge Amit Mehta will decide if Google has broken antitrust law in how it manages search and search advertising. If Google is found to have broken the law, Judge Mehta will then decide how best to resolve it. He may decide simply to order Google to stop practices he has found to be illegal or he may order Google to sell assets.

Persons: Bing, Amit Mehta, Judge Mehta, Diane Bartz, Jamie Freed Organizations: Google, The U.S . Justice, Apple Inc, Mozilla, Yahoo, Big Tech, Microsoft, Thomson Locations: United States, Washington, The

Flexport CEO Ryan Petersen takes part at the panel discussion "Trade: Now what?" Revolution connects more than 20 Flexport services including freight services, supply chain financing, customs paperwork and product storage, fulfillment and replenishment in a single place. Petersen credited Clark with creating the products for Flexport, but said the company lost focus on customers and expenses during his year as CEO. Flexport released several of Clark's hires but said Parisa Sadrzadeh, who helped build Amazon's delivery network, remains at Flexport overseeing small business products. Flexport bought Shopify's logistics business, including e-commerce fulfillment provider Deliverr, earlier this year.

Persons: Ryan Petersen, Arnd, Sellers, Petersen, Dave Clark, Clark, Flexport, Parisa Sadrzadeh, Shopify, Lisa Baertlein, Lincoln Organizations: REUTERS, Logistics, Walmart, HK, Thomson Locations: Davos, Switzerland, San Francisco, China, Flexport, Los Angeles

☆ Britain faces 'epidemic' of shoplifting as Primark profits hit
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-12 | by ( James Davey | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Sadly, in the last year we've seen twice as many offences," Sharon White, chair of the John Lewis Partnership that owns department stores and Waitrose supermarkets, told BBC Radio. Weston said some of the theft was "quite organised" and Primark was also seeing higher levels of anti-social behaviour. His comments echo those of Tesco (TSCO.L) CEO Ken Murphy, who earlier this month said Britain's biggest supermarket chain was offering body-cams to staff who need them. Murphy also called for a change in the law to make abuse and violence towards retail workers a specific offence in Britain. Target (TGT.N), Foot Locker (FL.N) and Dick's Sporting Goods (DKS.N) have all warned that profits have been under pressure from loss of inventory due to theft at their stores.

Persons: John Lewis, It's, we've, Sharon White, White, shoplifters, George Weston, Weston, Primark, Ken Murphy, Murphy, James Davey, Mark Potter Organizations: Police, Foods, John Lewis Partnership, Waitrose, BBC Radio, British Foods, Crown Prosecution Service, Reuters, Tesco, Dick's Sporting, Thomson Locations: Britain, United States

Like many financial institutions in the current high interest rate environment, Northern Trust is confronting growing financing costs as tries to hold onto deposits. Northern Trust shares sank to $69.81, down more than 9%, to their lowest level since mid-July after Tyler's comments. A Northern Trust spokesperson did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for further comment. Asset and wealth managers, including Northern Trust and peer State Street Corp (STT.N), are seeing a decline in NII as customers move deposits to higher yielding alternatives. In July, Northern Trust reported that its deposits fell by 10% to $91.9 billion in the second quarter, although Tyler said on Tuesday deposits have generally stabilized.

Persons: Jason Tyler, That's, it's, Tyler, Tyler's, Chibuike Oguh, Michelle Price, Mark Potter Organizations: Northern Trust Corp, Barclays, Northern Trust, State Street Corp, Trust, Thomson Locations: New York

☆ Exclusive: Ukraine could get long-range missiles armed with US cluster bombs - officials
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-11 | by ( Mike Stone | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

Ukraine is currently equipped with 155 mm artillery with a maximum range of 18 miles carrying up to 48 bomblets. The GMLRS rocket system, a version of which Ukraine has had in its arsenal for months, would be able to disperse up to 404 cluster munitions. At present Ukraine has only one U.S.-furnished cluster munitions, the 155 mm rounds that were announced in July. Cluster munitions are prohibited by more than 100 countries. Russia, Ukraine and the United States have not signed onto the Convention on Cluster Munitions, which bans production, stockpiling, use and transfer of the weapons.

Persons: Biden, Dmytro Kuleba, Antony Blinken, Lockheed Martin, ATACMS, Joe Biden, Mike Stone, Chris Sanders, Lisa Shumaker Organizations: Korean, Army Tactical Missile, United States Army, REUTERS, Rights, Army Tactical Missile Systems, Russian, Reuters, Russia, U.S . Army, Lockheed, High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems, Ukraine Defense Contact, Ramstein Air Base, Cluster Munitions, Thomson Locations: United States, South Korea, Ukraine, U.S, Kyiv, Orikhiv, Germany, Russia, Washington

DuckDuckGo, Microsoft (MSFT.O) and Yahoo are among a long list of Google competitors who will be watching the trial closely. “It would be difficult to overstate the importance of this case, particularly for monopolies and companies with significant market share,” antitrust lawyer Luke Hasskamp told Reuters. The lawsuit that goes to trial was brought by former President Donald Trump's Justice Department. read moreJudge Mehta will decide if Google has broken antitrust law in this first trial, and, if so, what should be done. Reporting by Diane Bartz; additional reporting by Mike Scarcella; editing by Diane CraftOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Toby Melville, DuckDuckGo, Kamyl Bazbaz, Luke Hasskamp, ”, Amit Mehta, Barack Obama, Donald Trump's, Joe Biden's, Mehta, Daniel McCuaig, Cohen Milstein, Diane Bartz, Mike Scarcella, Diane Craft Organizations: Google, REUTERS, U.S . Justice, Apple Inc, Mozilla, Microsoft, Yahoo, Big Tech, Facebook, Reuters, Apple, Twitter, Big, U.S, District of Columbia, Department, Android, U.S . Justice Department's Antitrust, Thomson Locations: London, Britain, WASHINGTON, United States, “

The private equity firm's follow-on investment translates into an additional equity stake of 0.25% in Reliance Retail on a fully-diluted basis, taking KKR's total equity stake in the Indian company to 1.42%, the retailer said in a statement on Monday. That year, KKR had invested 55.5 billion rupees ($669.65 million) in Reliance Retail. Morgan Stanley acted as financial adviser to Reliance Retail. Ambani said in 2019 that the group planned to list the retail business in five years. Reliance Retail reported a consolidated net profit of 91.81 billion rupees ($1.11 billion) for the financial year that ended in March 2023, on revenue of 2.6 trillion rupees.

Persons: Maggi, Niharika Kulkarni, Mukesh Ambani's, Jimmy Choo, Spencer, Pret, Ambani, Morgan Stanley, Aditya Kalra, Toby Chopra, Tomasz Janowski, Deepa Babington Organizations: REUTERS, KKR, Co Inc, Retail Ventures, Reliance, Reliance Retail, Saudi Public Investment Fund, General Atlantic, United Arab, Asian, IV, Reuters, Qatar Investment Authority, Unilever, Thomson Locations: Mumbai, India, DELHI, United Arab Emirates

☆ Sweden's NATO accession and Turkey's bid to buy F-16 jets should be kept separate -Erdogan
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-10 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Biden made a connection between the supply of F-16s and Turkish action in ratifying Sweden's application to join NATO, Erdogan said. After months of objections, Erdogan agreed at a NATO summit in July to forward Sweden's NATO bid to the Turkish parliament for ratification. "It is not possible for me to say 'yes' (to Sweden's NATO membership bid) alone unless such a decision is approved by (our) parliament." Stockholm recently voiced hope that Turkish lawmakers would ratify its NATO bid when they reconvene in October, as agreed at the NATO summit in July. While Finnish membership was sealed in April, Sweden's bid remains held up by Turkey and Hungary.

Persons: Tayyip Erdogan, Adnan Abidi, Joe Biden's, Erdogan, Biden, Lockheed Martin Corp's, Jake Sullivan, extraditing, Sweden's, Krishn Kaushik, Aftab Ahmed, Huseyin Hayatsever, Mark Heinrich Our Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, NATO, Lockheed, U.S . National, Kurdistan Workers Party, European Union, Turkish, Thomson Locations: New Delhi, India, Rights ANKARA, Turkey, Ankara, U.S, Washington, Turkish, Sweden, United States, Stockholm, Finland, Russia, Ukraine, Hungary, Budapest

☆ Walmart to explore buying majority stake in ChenMed, Bloomberg reports
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-09 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

A shopper is seen without a mask after leaving a Walmart store in Bradford, Pennsylvania, U.S. July 20, 2020. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid Acquire Licensing RightsSept 8 (Reuters) - Walmart Inc (WMT.N) is exploring buying a majority stake in ChenMed, a closely held operator of primary care clinics for seniors, Bloomberg News reported on Friday. The companies are in talks for a deal that would value ChenMed at several billion dollars, Bloomberg reported, citing people familiar with the matter. A deal could still be weeks away, the report said, adding that the terms are not finalized and talks could still fall apart. Walmart and ChenMed did not immediately respond to Reuters requests for comment.

Persons: Brendan McDermid, ChenMed, Nilutpal, Will Dunham Organizations: Walmart, REUTERS, Walmart Inc, Bloomberg, Thomson Locations: Bradford , Pennsylvania, U.S, ChenMed, Bengaluru

☆ Kroger settles opioid case, posts net loss on related charge
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-08 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Kroger logo is displayed in this illustration taken September 5, 2022. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration Acquire Licensing RightsSept 8 (Reuters) - Kroger (KR.N) reported a quarterly net loss on Friday as the U.S. retailer took a $1.4 billion charge related to a nationwide opioid settlement, sending its shares down as much as 3% in premarket trading. Shares of the supermarket chain, which is merging with smaller rival Albertsons (ACI.N) in a $25-billion deal, were down 1.8% in premarket trade, after its quarterly same-store sales missed market expectations. The Cincinnati, Ohio-based company posted a 1% rise in same-store sales for the second quarter. Reporting by Juveria Tabassum and Savyata Mishra; Editing by Pooja DesaiOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Dado Ruvic, Juveria Tabassum, Savyata Mishra, Pooja Desai Organizations: Kroger, REUTERS, Albertsons, Walmart, Thomson Locations: U.S, Cincinnati , Ohio

☆ Walmart changes starting pay structure for entry-level store workers
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-07 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

REUTERS/Kamil Krzaczynski Acquire Licensing RightsCompanies Walmart Inc FollowSept 7 (Reuters) - Walmart (WMT.N) is changing the hourly starting wage structure for entry-level store workers, as companies seek to reduce costs in a slowing job market. Deli, auto center and bakery workers will continue to receive higher starting wages as they are higher-skilled roles, she added. The Wall Street Journal, which was the first to report the wage structure changes that went into effect in mid-July, said the changes mean paying some new store workers less than it would have three months ago, citing documents seen by the Journal and store workers. Walmart pays its employees different starting wages based on where the store is based. The new wage structure will not change Walmart's minimum hourly wage of $14 or result in any pay cuts for existing employees, the spokesperson said.

Persons: Kamil Krzaczynski, Anne Hatfield, Hatfield, Walmart's, Ananya Mariam Rajesh, Siddharth Cavale, Maju Samuel, Frances Kerry Organizations: REUTERS, Walmart, Street, Journal, Midwest, Reuters, Thomson Locations: Chicago , Illinois, U.S, United States, Bengaluru, New York

A shopper looks at displayed food at a supermarket ahead of the Thanksgiving holiday in Chicago, Illinois, U.S. November 22, 2022. "It feels like our consumers are asking for sustainability but they are not looking to compromise on price or quality." Scope 1 refers to a company's direct emissions, Scope 2 to indirect emissions from purchased energy while Scope 3 refers to all other indirect emissions, for example from a company's third-party suppliers. A joint study by consultant McKinsey and data firm NielsenIQ earlier this year found that 78% of U.S. consumers say a sustainable lifestyle is important to them. "We will go our own course as a company, but we have to communicate (with shoppers)."

Persons: Jim Vondruska, Clark, Oriol Margo, Kimberly, Frans Muller, Ahold, Albert Heijn, Richa Naidu, Elaine Hardcastle Organizations: REUTERS, Consumer, Shareholders, Nestle, Walmart, Reuters IMPACT, McKinsey, Thomson Locations: Chicago , Illinois, U.S, Kimberly, London, Netherlands, United States

The prospect of higher rates put particular pressure on growth stocks with the S&P 500 growth index (.IGX) underperforming the benchmark throughout the session. "Growth stocks have been pricing in the idea that inflation has been well anchored and that the Fed's going to cut. The S&P 500 showed little reaction to the Fed's "Beige Book" snapshot of the U.S. economy a week ahead of the keenly awaited August inflation data and the Fed's rate decision on Sept. 20. The report showed "modest" U.S. economic growth in recent weeks while job growth was "subdued," and inflation slowed in most parts of the country. The S&P 500 posted six new 52-week highs and 25 new lows; the Nasdaq Composite recorded 34 new highs and 174 new lows.

Persons: Lockheed Martin, Carol Schleif, Schleif, Susan Collins, Patrick Kaser, Mike Segar, advancers, Sinéad Carew, Shristi, Vinay Dwivedi, Richard Chang Organizations: Dow, Nasdaq, Institute for Supply Management, Traders, Federal Reserve, Boston, Equity, Brandywine Global, Apple Inc, Wall, New York Stock Exchange, REUTERS, Dow Jones, Energy, Lockheed, NYSE, Thomson Locations: China, Minneapolis, Manhattan, New York City , New York, U.S, New York, Bengaluru

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