BIOPROCESSING
Thermo Fisher opens manufacturing facility in Tennessee
Thermo Fisher Scientific this week opened a $105 million, 400,000-square-foot manufacturing site in Tennessee to make bioprocessing materials for vaccine production and disease therapies. Waltham-based Thermo Fisher said this factory, in Lebanon near Nashville, is its largest single-use manufacturing site, and should help the lab equipment maker’s life sciences customers get medicines to patients at a faster pace. In particular, the factory will make single-use bioprocessing containers, as well as fluid transfer assembly systems. Thermo Fisher employs about 300 people at the factory now, and plans to create at least 1,400 jobs at the site over time. The project is part of the company’s broader $650 million, multiyear plan to expand its bioprocessing production capabilities. — JON CHESTO
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GASOLINE
Prices at the pump continue downward drop
Gasoline prices in the United States have fallen for 70 days straight, the longest down streak since January 2015. Pump prices are averaging $3.892 a gallon after reaching a record high of $5.016 a gallon in mid-June, according to auto club AAA. The price drop is a welcome relief for consumers after fuel costs earlier this summer forced many to forgo driving vacations and change their lifestyles. Lower gasoline prices also are expected to slow historic inflation, which has become a major challenge to President Biden and Democrats in November’s midterm elections. Prices have fallen along with those of crude oil, the major component of the cost of gasoline. — BLOOMBERG NEWS
REAL ESTATE
Home sales fell again in July
Sales of new US homes fell in July for the sixth time this year to the slowest pace since early 2016, extending a months-long deterioration in the housing market fueled by high borrowing costs and a pullback in demand. Purchases of new single-family homes decreased 12.6 percent to a 511,000 annualized pace from a revised 585,000 in June, government data showed Tuesday. The July sales slump is the latest example of how the housing market is buckling under the weight of high prices and elevated borrowing costs. Construction has slowed, home purchase applications are falling, and more buyers are backing away from deals. — BLOOMBERG NEWS
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ABORTION
Yelp to put disclaimers on crisis pregnancy centers
People who come across crisis pregnancy centers on Yelp will now be met with a disclaimer that explains what the center doesn’t provide: abortion services. Yelp’s policy change means it now flags the centers, which often try to deter patients from getting abortions, as places that “provide limited medical services and may not have licensed medical professionals onsite.” The rule will apply to religious and secular facilities. The crisis centers, known as CPCs, vastly outnumber abortion providers in the United States and often set up shop near existing abortion clinics. According to a 2015 report by abortion rights group NARAL Pro-Choice America, there were around 2,500 CPCs in the United States, and at least 23 states have laws that support CPCs. By contrast, the number of open abortion clinics has been dwindling in recent years, due to restrictions and bans at the state level. The US Supreme Court’s decision in June to overturn Roe v. Wade has accelerated that trend: 43 clinics in seven states have stopped providing abortion care due to trigger laws and bans, the Guttmacher Institute, a pro-abortion rights research group, reported in July. — BLOOMBERG NEWS
AUTOMOTIVE
Owners of SUVs told to park them outside because of fire risk
Hyundai and Kia are telling owners of some of their large SUVs to park them outdoors and away from buildings after a series of fires involving trailer hitch wiring. The Korean automakers are recalling more than 281,000 vehicles in the United States because of the problem, but they haven’t figured out how to fix it yet. The automakers reported 25 fires or melting incidents in the United States and Canada caused by the problem, but no crashes or injuries. The recalls cover more than 245,000 Hyundai Palisade and over 36,000 Kia Telluride SUVs from the 2020 through 2022 model years. — ASSOCIATED PRESS
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REMOTE WORK
Lyft to cut office space in biggest markets
Lyft plans to reduce its physical office space in its biggest US markets as the ride-hailing company adapts to a largely remote workforce. The San Francisco-based company will sublease a portion of its corporate offices in San Francisco, New York City, Seattle, and Nashville, according to a person familiar with the matter, who requested anonymity because the plan is private. About 44 percent of the combined 615,000 square feet in office space will be rented out to other businesses. The move follows Lyft’s decision to implement a permanent “fully flexible” policy in March, letting employees choose where to work and live. — BLOOMBERG NEWS
RETAIL
Macy’s stuck with stuff that didn’t sell
Excess inventory weighed less on Macy’s balance sheet last quarter than it did for other retailers, but the glut of unpurchased goods throughout the retail sector is still having an effect on the way the department store chain does business. Macy’s slightly lowered its outlook for the rest of the year Tuesday, saying it expected to see net sales of $24.3 billion to $24.6 billion, compared with the $24.5 billion to $24.7 billion it previously forecast. It said the lower expectations came, in part, from the “level of inventory within the industry.” Inventory has increased 7 percent compared with this time last year, Macy’s said in its earnings report, adding that in July it had become more difficult to sell all of its merchandise as shoppers pulled back on discretionary spending. Other retailers have been experiencing double-digit merchandise increases. Last week, Kohl’s said inventory was up 48 percent and Target said its inventory increased 36 percent. — NEW YORK TIMES
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ACCOUNTING
PwC auditor sues after getting hurt at drunken company event
An auditor at PricewaterhouseCoopers sued his employer over a serious head injury he suffered during a work event that “encouraged excessive consumption of alcohol.” Michael Brockie alleges in a London suit that PwC failed to ensure his safety by allowing the outing to take place several years in a row until the 2019 incident. Brockie said in court filings that there was “very heavy pressure” to attend the event organized by his manager to celebrate the end of the “busy season.” During a game called “pub golf,” PwC staff were expected to consume a different alcoholic drink at each of the nine venues on the “course” in as few mouthfuls as possible. Brockie was so intoxicated that he has no recollection of events after 10 p.m. but was found later lying in a street in a town to the west of London, Reading, with the injury, his lawyer said. Brockie, 28, was only able to return to work full time more than seven months after he sustained the injury and fears he may develop epilepsy as a result. — BLOOMBERG NEWS
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AIRLINES
ExpressJet files for bankruptcy
ExpressJet Airlines, a small regional carrier that was once among the world’s biggest by fleet size, has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in Delaware. The airline suspended operations in 2020 when it lost a contract to fly for United Airlines but has since resumed flying. United owned almost half of ExpressJet before quietly divesting the stake earlier this year, Bloomberg News reported. — BLOOMBERG NEWS