U.S. NEW HOME SALES CLIMBED 7.1% IN AUGUST
U.S. new home sales jumped 7.1% in August, as low mortgage rates pull buyers into the housing market.
The Commerce Department said Wednesday that new home sales increased to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 713,000, up from a revised 666,000 in July. So far this year, sales have risen a healthy 6.4%.
August’s average sales price rose 6.1% from a year ago to $404,200, a record level not adjusted for inflation. Economists say there was a shortage of affordable homes available for purchase.
Philip Morris, Altria end merger talks; Juul CEO steps down.
ORK» U.S. tobacco
NE WY giants Philip Morris and Altria are calling off merger talks and Juul’s CEO is stepping down with safety concerns over e-cigarettes intensifying.
The makers of Marlboro cigarettes said last month that they were in discussions to become a single company, more than a decade after splitting into two as lawsuits mounted.
Philip Morris International Inc. CEO André Calantzopoulos said Wednesday that the companies will instead focus on launching IQOS in the U.S. IQOS is a heat-notburn cigarette alternative made by Philip Morris.
Altria Group Inc. also announced that K.C. Crosthwaite will become JUUL’s new CEO, replacing Kevin Burns.
EBay CEO clashes with board, steps down.
ORK» Devin Wenig, the
Y
CEO of eBay, stepped down over differences with the company’s board of directors.
“In the past few weeks it became clear that I was not on the same page as my new board,” Wenig tweeted Wednesday, without elaborating on the disagreements.
Ebay said there wasn’t one factor leading to the change in leadership.
Wenig also stepped down as director of the board Wednesday. The company said that chief financial officer Scott Schenkel will become the interim chief executive as it seeks a permanent replacement for Wenig, who has been CEO since 2015.
Thomas Cook’s German, Polish units enter bankruptcy.
FR A NKFURT , G ER
» The German and
M A N Y
Polish units of collapsed tour operator Thomas Cook said Wednesday they were entering bankruptcy proceedings and shutting down normal business operations in the wake of the parent company entering liquidation in Britain.