OKLAHOMA AG CASTS BLAME IN OPIOID CRISIS
» Consumer , products giant Johnson & Johnson was a “kingpin” company that helped fuel the most devastating public health crisis in Oklahoma history, the state attorney general argued Monday during the close of his case against the opioid drug manufacturer.
Mike Hunter said the New Jersey-based company and its subsidiaries, including Janssen Pharmaceuticals, created a public nuisance by launching a “cunning, cynical and deceitful” marketing campaign that overstated the benefits of opioid drugs for treating chronic pain and understated the risk of addiction.
“There was a simple reason for the crisis: greed,” he said.
After closing arguments, Cleveland County District Judge Thad Balkman asked both sides to present written summaries of their cases by July 31 and said that he would then take about a month to issue his ruling.
Cloud Peak Energy hires laid-off miners from Blackjewel.
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» Dozens of coal miners WY O . who were put out of work by Blackjewel’s bankruptcy have been hired by another bankrupt mining company in Wyoming, company officials said.
Cloud Peak Energy officials said about 60 former Blackjewel LLC employees will start work Tuesday at its Cordero Rojo and Antelope mines in northeastern Wyoming.
In the company’s announcement Friday, Cloud Peak Energy senior vice president Amy Clemetson said the company contacted Wyoming Workforce Services after hearing of the sudden layoffs at Blackjewel earlier this month.
Citigroup profits rise, helped by higher interest rates.
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ORK» Banking conglomerate Citigroup said its second quarter profits rose by 7 percent from a year ago, helped by higher interest rates, a lower tax rate and a strong economy.
Citigroup is the first of the big Wall Street banks to report results this week. All the major banks are expected to report a higher profit from a year ago, but investors are expected to focus on each of the bank’s outlook, especially with the global economy slowing down and the Federal Reserve considering lowering interest rates.
Citi said Monday it earned a profit of $4.8 billion, or $1.95 a share. That’s up from $4.49 billion, or $1.63 per share, in the same period a year earlier. That’s better than the $1.81 per share that analysts were forecasting for the bank, according to FactSet.