Business briefs
Bayer proposes paying $ 8B to settle Roundup cancer claims
Bayer is proposing to pay as much as $ 8 billion to settle more than 18,000 U. S. lawsuits alleging its Roundup herbicide causes cancer, according to people familiar with the negotiations. An agreement would ease investor pressure over massive litigation exposure the German drug and chemical giant took on with its $ 63 billion purchase of the weedkiller’s maker, Monsanto Co. Bayer declined to comment.
EPA won’t OK warning labels for weed- killing chemical
The Trump administration has instructed companies not to warn customers about products that contain glyphosate. The U. S. Environmental Protection Agency says it will no longer approve labels warning glyphosate is known to cause cancer. The chemical is marketed as a weed killer by Monsanto under the brand Roundup. California requires the labels because the International Agency for Research on Cancer has said it is “probably carcinogenic.” The EPA says its own research shows no risks to public health.
U. S. producer- price index posts first drop in 2 years
A measure of underlying U. S. producer prices unexpectedly fell in July, with the first drop since early 2017 adding to signs of muted inflation that may reinforce the case for further Federal Reserve easing. Excluding food and energy, producer prices dropped 0.1% from the prior month, compared with projections for a 0.1% gain, a Labor Department report showed. The 2.1% annual increase was the slowest in two years.
‘ Fragile’ oil demand is the weakest since 2008
Oil demand, a closely watched sign of economic growth, has waned because of mounting trade tensions and slowing global growth, according to the International Energy Agency. The energy watchdog dimmed its forecast for worldwide oil demand for the rest of 2019 as well as for next year, and warned that the outlook is “fragile.”