ECONOMY
Two Fed officials endorse raising key rate to 5 percent or more
Two Federal Reserve officials said Monday that they favor raising the Fed’s key rate to roughly 5 percent or more and keeping it at its peak through next year — longer than many on Wall Street have expected. John Williams, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, who is among a core group of officials around Chair Jerome Powell, said in a speech to the Economic Club of New York that the central bank has “more work to do” to reduce inflation closer to its 2 percent target. And James Bullard, president of the St. Louis Fed, suggested that financial markets are underestimating the likelihood the Fed will have to be more aggressive in its fight against the worst inflation bout in four decades. — ASSOCIATED PRESS
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CHARITABLE GIVING
Fidelity Charitable raffling off NFTs
Fidelity Charitable is getting into NFTs, the digital images that are registered on the blockchain, despite a torrent of bad news from the adjacent world of cryptocurrencies. The nation’s largest grantmaker is sponsoring a raffle that ends Tuesday, where participants can claim one of the NFTs, which stands for non fungible tokens, and 50 will win $1,000 to donate through a donor-advised fund at Fidelity. “The reason we’re doing this is we really believe there’s a whole new generation of givers and philanthropists out there,” said Amy Pirozzolo, head of donor engagement for Fidelity Charitable. “We want to be where they are and the channels they use and the formats they use and further encourage their generosity.” Around 16 percent of Americans say they invested in cryptocurrencies, according to a poll from Pew Research Center last year. The demographic most likely to invest were men between the ages of 18 and 29, with 43 percent reporting that they had invested. — ASSOCIATED PRESS
RECALLS
Baby bottles and cups recalled over lead poisoning concerns
A company has recalled about 10,500 bottles and cups for toddlers over lead poisoning concerns to children if a part of the product breaks off, the US Consumer Product Safety Commission said. The base of these bottles and cups, manufactured by Green Sprouts, can come off and expose a solder dot that contains lead, posing a potential poison hazard to children, the commission said in a post dated last Wednesday. No injuries have been reported, the commission said, but the company is aware of seven incidents in which the base broke. — NEW YORK TIMES
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GROCERY STORES
Heads of Kroger and Albertsons to testify about their merger
The chief executives of Kroger and Albertsons will testify before the Senate on Tuesday about their companies’ proposed $24.6 billion merger. The hearing will focus on Kroger’s planned takeover of Albertsons, a significant merger that skeptical lawmakers say could reduce competition among supermarkets. Albertsons chief executive Vivek Sankaran and Kroger chief executive Rodney McMullen will argue in favor of the merger before the Senate Judiciary Committee, which has been scrutinizing the negative effects of consolidation in the economy. Albertsons and Kroger are two of the largest grocery store chains in the United States. The proposed merger would create a grocery company with an annual revenue of about $200 billion and nearly 5,000 stores. — BLOOMBERG NEWS
INTERNATIONAL
Huawei, ZTE banned from selling electronics in US
Huawei Technologies and ZTE were banned from selling electronics in the United States by regulators who say they pose a security risk, continuing a years-long effort to limit the reach of Chinese telecommunications companies into US networks. The Federal Communications Commission, in an order released Friday, also named connected-camera providers Hangzhou Hikvision Digital Technology Co. and Dahua Technology Co., as well as two-way radio maker Hytera Communications Corp. In the 4-0 vote, the FCC concluded the products pose a risk to data security. Past efforts to curb Chinese access include export controls to cut off key, sophisticated equipment and software. Recently US officials have weighed restrictions on TikTok over fears Chinese authorities could access US user data via the video-sharing app. — BLOOMBERG NEWS
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E-COMMERCE
Amazon reducing operations in India
Amazon will wind down parts of its Indian operations, showing that even the crucial growth market with 1.4 billion consumers isn’t immune to chief executive Andy Jassy’s cost-reduction campaign. The company said it is exiting meal deliveries as well as a service providing bulk doorstep deliveries of packaged consumer goods to small businesses. The exits will involve layoffs of several hundred out of a workforce of thousands, leaving Amazon relying on its core offerings such as online retail in the country, according to a person familiar with the matter. — BLOOMBERG NEWS
E-COMMERCE
Etsy bucks the trend
Etsy is proving to be something of a breakout star among e-commerce stocks in the second half of the year, as the company’s business model helps it dodge much of the inflation that has pushed up costs at online merchants such as Amazon. Shares of the Brooklyn-based retailer have surged 78 percent from their 2022 low in mid-June, far outpacing Amazon, Shopify, and eBay. Etsy serves as a platform for artisans to sell their wares, meaning the company doesn’t have to spend big on warehouses or inventory as a traditional retailer does. — BLOOMBERG NEWS
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SOCIAL MEDIA
EU privacy watchdog worried that Musk will not follow EU laws
Twitter’s main European Union privacy watchdog said it’s “very concerned” about the ability of Elon Musk’s social media giant to abide by EU laws following an exodus of staff and news last week that a senior executive in Dublin had to go to court to avoid losing her job. Twitter’s top data watchdog in the EU said it contacted Twitter on Monday, seeking answers to several questions and assurances about its continued compliance with EU law. — BLOOMBERG NEWS
CELLPHONES
Unrest at China plant means far fewer iPhones produced this year
Turmoil at Apple’s key manufacturing hub of Zhengzhou is likely to result in a production shortfall of close to 6 million iPhone Pro units this year, according to a person familiar with assembly operations. The situation remains fluid at the plant and the estimate of lost production could change, the person said, asking not to be named discussing private information. Much will depend on how quickly Foxconn Technology Group, the Taiwanese company that operates the facility, can get people back to assembly lines after violent protests against COVID restrictions. If lockdowns continue in the weeks ahead, production could be set further back. The Zhengzhou campus has been wracked by lockdowns and worker unrest for weeks after COVID infections left Foxconn and the local government struggling to contain the outbreak. Thousands of staff fled in October after chronic food shortages, only to be replaced by new employees who rebelled against pay and quarantine practices. The Foxconn facility produces the vast majority of iPhone 14 Pro and Pro Max devices, Apple’s most in-demand handsets this year. — BLOOMBERG NEWS
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