WEEK IN REVIEW
MONDAY Ag chief Miller tackles ticks
Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller incited a controversy during a visit to a ranch near Raymondville, where he shut down 16 fever tick spray box operations, saying producers were complaining of cattle deaths from overuse of Co-Ral, a Texas Department of Agriculture-regulated pesticide manufactured by Bayer-Monsanto.
Harley goes down a different road
Milwaukee-based HarleyDavidson, facing dwindling sales in its home market, said it hopes to broaden its appeal and invigorate sales with smaller bikes, electric engines and urban storefronts. Among its new products next year will be its first electronic motorcycle, called LiveWire. The company said LiveWire will have no clutch and no gears with the goal of making motorcycles accessible to more people.
TUESDAY Big monthly loss hits crude futures
Crude posted the biggest monthly loss since July 2016 as a slew of factors from threats of weaker demand to key OPEC producers boosting output weighed on the market. Futures in New York lost 7.3 percent in July as some large producers, such as Saudi Arabia, are seen raising supply levels.
Lopez Obrador vows to squelch fracking
Mexico’s president-elect, Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, said he would end hydraulic fracturing, which has just begun to take root in areas of the country’s north. Asked at a news conference about the risks of fracking, he said, “We will no longer use that method to extract petroleum.”
Tax time to bring extra pain for many
Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., called a GAO report on tax withholding “an alarm bell for the nearly 30 million households that are expected to owe more money come tax time this spring.” Congressional auditors say 21 percent of U.S. taxpayers will have to come up with more money to pay their taxes next year because their employers withheld too little from their paychecks under government tables keyed to the new tax law.
Huntsman profit zooms upward
Huntsman Corp. said its second-quarter profit tripled from the previous year, helped by strong product demand across most of its business segments and revenue from a recent acquisition. The company, based in The Woodlands, said it earned $623 million in three months from April to June, up from $183 million during the same period in 2017.
WEDNESDAY Refiners have fuel in their tanks
Phillips 66, Valero and Marathon Petroleum Corp. each beat Wall Street expectations with second-quarter results that rekindled optimism for an industry that has for years been banking on petrochemicals and pipelines to drive earnings as traditional refining growth plateaus. The earnings momentum began building last year after hurricanes drove up gasoline production and prices.
New EPA chief looks to slash regulations
The acting administrator of the EPA, Andrew Wheeler, told the Senate that he was working to implement President Donald Trump’s plans to cut environmental regulation “posthaste.”
Wells Fargo to pay $2.1 billion fine
Ten years after faulty mortgages upended the global financial system, Wells Fargo & Co. agreed to pay $2.1 billion to settle a U.S. probe into its creation and sale of loans that contributed to the disaster.
THURSDAY Apple’s value: $1 trillion
Apple became the world’s first publicly traded company to be valued at $1 trillion. It’s the latest triumph of a trendsetting company that two mavericks named Steve started in a garage 42 years ago.
FRIDAY Economy posts solid job gains
The U.S. labor market remained in solid shape last month, adding 157,000 jobs and wage growth improved — although workers are still waiting for significant gains in their purchasing power because prices are also rising.