Business News Roundup, July 1
A $7.25 billion settlement between merchants and Visa and MasterCard over credit card transaction fees was rejected Thursday by a federal appeals court, a ruling praised by a retail trade association as a victory for consumers.
The Second U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan said the 12 million merchants covered by the antitrust class action were inadequately represented by law firms that gave merchants who stood to gain little or nothing no opportunity to opt out of the deal, approved by a judge in December 2013.
The decision written by Judge Dennis Jacobs noted that what was described as the largest cash settlement in an antitrust class action could have paid lawyers over a half billion dollars in fees.
Mallory Duncan, senior vice president and general counsel for the National Retail Federation, praised the ruling, saying the appeals court had nullified a “seriously, seriously flawed settlement.”
The federation is the world’s largest retail trade association, representing 9,000 retailers in the U.S. and 45 countries.
Long-term mortgage rates fell to new lows for the year this week amid market upheaval stoked by Britain’s vote to leave the European Union.
Stock prices plunged in the U.S. and worldwide Friday, when results of the British vote became known.
Investors fled to the relative safety of U.S. Treasury bonds, driving prices up and yields lower.
Long-term mortgage rates track the yield on the 10-year Treasury note.
The European Union opened an investigation Thursday into global beer giant AB InBev to determine whether it has abused its dominant position in Belgium by hindering cheaper imports of its products from neighboring countries.
EU officials said there are suspicions that the company, based in Belgium, may be pursuing a deliberate strategy to block imports of its beer from less expensive countries to the pricier Belgian market.
“AB InBev’s strong position on the Belgian beer market is not a problem,” EU Competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager said as she announced the probe.
[...] she said, “keeping out cheaper imports of its beer from neighboring countries would be both against the interests of consumers and anticompetitive.”
Hershey says it has rejected a takeover offer from Oreo maker Mondelez that would bring some of the world’s best-known cookies and chocolates under one company.
The company confirmed it received a preliminary offer from Mondelez for a mix of cash and stock totaling $107 for each share of Hershey common stock.
Any deal would be subject to the approval by the Hershey Trust, a controlling shareholder.
The Wall Street Journal, citing sources it did not name, had reported that Mondelez told Hershey it would take the chocolate maker’s name and move its global headquarters to Hershey, Pa.
In addition to Oreos, Mondelez owns Cadbury chocolates, Trident gum, Nabisco cookies and Ritz crackers.
Knight started Nike by selling shoes out of the back of his car and built it into the world’s largest athletic shoe and clothing company.