EpiPen shortage reported
A shortage of EpiPens is alarming patients across the country.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration added EpiPens and a similar epinephrine autoinjector made by Impax Laboratories to its drug shortage list this week, after weeks of complaints from patients who say they’ve had a tough time getting them. It’s a shortage the FDA expects will be short term but one that has patients scrambling and doctors turning to alternatives.
EpiPens, sold by Mylan and often used to save the lives of people with severe allergies, are in shorter supply than normal due to manufacturing delays from a Pfizer-owned company that makes the devices for Mylan, according to the FDA’s website.
Mylan is encouraging patients to call its customer relations number at 800-796-9526 to find pharmacies that have the device.
365 market will be second in Texas
Whole Foods Market 365 announced that Peli Peli Kitchen and Juice Society will open inside its new store in the Independence Heights neighborhood.
The 365 store, the second in Texas and the 10th in the nation, will open this summer at 101 North Loop West at Yale.
Some supporters of plant were paid
NEW ORLEANS — Some of the people who showed up at public hearings to express enthusiastic backing for a new power plant in New Orleans were phonies hired by a private firm for anywhere from $50 to $200 to bolster support, a major utility company acknowledged Thursday.
Entergy stressed in a Thursday news release that it did not authorize such payments and had no knowledge of them until it investigated allegations that paid actors were among supporters at public meetings in October and February.
The City Council voted 6-1 to approve the new power station in March. The project was opposed by some residents and environmentalists.
Entergy said many of the supporters of the planned New Orleans Power Station who packed City Council chambers were, indeed, sincere. They were recruited by Entergy personnel, the report said.
But the company alleges that the Hawthorn Group, a public relations firm it hired to round up supporters of the plant for public hearings, paid a subcontractor, Crowds on Demand, for help. They could not be reached for comment.
Anbang founder given 18 years
SHANGHAI — A Chinese court has sentenced the founder of the Chinese insurance company that owns New York City's Waldorf Hotel to 18 years in prison for fraudulently raising $10 billion from investors.
A Shanghai court handed down the sentence Thursday against Wu Xiaohui, the former chairman of Anbang Insurance Group. He founded the company in 2004 but was accused of misleading investors and diverting money.
Apple, Goldman plan credit card
One company has a devoted customer base teeming with wealthy, well-traveled young adults. The other is a financial powerhouse with few offerings for everyday consumers.
Now they are trying to join forces.
Apple and Goldman Sachs have been working for months on a new credit card product that would bear the Apple Pay brand, according to two people familiar with the companies’ talks. They spoke on the condition of anonymity because the talks were continuing.
The product would be Goldman’s first credit card offering and could help the bank’s effort to expand its consumer products. For Apple, the deal could help it extend its Apple Pay brand, the technology giant’s digital payment service.
Natural gas drives Total investment
French energy major Total is betting on natural gas over diesel as a fuel source in the U.S. with an investment in California-based Clean Energy Fuels.
Total will pay $83.4 million to become Clean Energy Fuels' largest shareholder with a 25 percent stake and with commitments to invest more in deploying thousands of additional natural gas-fueled heavy-duty fueling trucks.
Total and Clean Energy plan to create a leasing program for natural gas fuel trucks to replace their diesel counterparts, which don't burn fuel as efficiently for the environment.
30-year mortgage rates are flat
Mortgage buyer Freddie Mac said Thursday the average rate on 30-year fixed-rate mortgages was 4.55 percent, unchanged from last week.
The average rate on 15-year fixed-rate loans declined slightly to 4.01 percent from 4.03 percent last week.