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[ad_1] In this photo illustration, a container of Johnson and Johnson baby powder is displayed on April 05, 2023 in San Anselmo, California. Justin Sullivan | Getty Images A federal bankruptcy judge on Thursday halted roughly 40,000 lawsuits that allege Johnson & Johnson 's baby powder and other talc products caused cancer . The decision is part of J&J's second attempt to settle thousands of talc cases in bankruptcy proceedings. J&J in 2021 spun off its subsidiary, LTL Management, to carry its talc-related liabilities and file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protections.  Judge Michael Kaplan during a hearing Thursday in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Trenton, New Jersey, put a temporary hold on the suits that will last through mid-June, The Wall Street Journal reported . J&J won't have to go to trial over any other talc claims during the pause, but new lawsuits can still be filed against the company, The Journal reported. Kaplan said during the hearing that J&a

[ad_1] Food-delivery company Wonder Group has gotten a cash infusion from Nestle , as the startup looks to sell high-tech kitchen equipment and prepared ingredients to businesses such as hotels, hospitals and sports arenas. The deal includes a $100 million investment from Nestle, along with a strategic partnership, according to sources familiar with the matter who asked not to be named because financial terms of the deal are not public. Nestle and Wonder confirmed the deal but declined to reveal transaction details. The funding could get Wonder a step closer to its ambitions of making it easier, faster and cheaper for busy families to have high-quality meals at home. The startup, which was valued at about $3.5 billion when it closed a $350 million funding round in June, was founded in 2018 by serial entrepreneur and former Walmart e-commerce chief Marc Lore. Wonder recently struck a deal to acquire meal-kit company Blue Apron for $103 million. It has also developed kitchen equ

[ad_1] Clothes displayed at the Shein headquarters in Singapore on June 19, 2023. Ore Huiying | Bloomberg | Getty Images Shein has bought British fast fashion brand Missguided from the Frasers Group as the company looks to expand its market share and global reach ahead of a rumored U.S. initial public offering , the companies announced Monday.  The acquisition will see Shein manufacture Missguided's products and sell them on both companies' websites as an independent brand, while Frasers will retain Missguided's real estate and employees, according to news releases.  As part of the deal, Shein will license Missguided's intellectual property to Sumwon Studios, a joint venture between Shein and Missguided founder Nitin Passi. Sumwon will manage and operate the Missguided brand. The terms of the deal were not disclosed.  The acquisition comes just over a year after the Frasers Group bought Missguided out of administration, or the British version of bankruptcy, for £

[ad_1] Juul Labs signage is seen in the window of a store in San Francisco, June 25, 2019. David Paul Morris | Bloomberg | Getty Images Juul Labs said Wednesday it's planning to cut about 30% of its workforce as it looks to cut costs and boost profits. The layoffs will affect about 250 people, reducing the company's headcount to about 650, a company spokesperson said. This will reduce operating expenses by $225 million, the Juul spokesperson added. Juul, which is seeking federal authorization to keep its e-cigarette products on the market, said the cuts will improve its margins and free up cash for litigation settlements. "Today, Juul Labs is announcing a company restructuring aimed at reducing our operating costs and positioning us to continue to advance our mission during a period of regulatory and marketplace uncertainty," the company said in a news release . Last year, the vaping giant had its products ordered off the market by the Food and Drug Administrati

[ad_1] Pedestrians walk past Yum! Brands Inc. Pizza Hut and KFC restaurants in Shanghai, China. Qilai Shen | Bloomberg | Getty Images China is leaving behind pandemic lockdowns, and U.S. companies like Procter & Gamble , Starbucks and MGM Resorts International say the country's recovery is boosting their overall sales as consumers in their home markets watch their wallets. With its large population and swelling middle class, China is a desirable market for many multinational companies that have seen their U.S. businesses mature. But its zero- Covid policy, which imposed harsh restrictions to stop the spread of the virus, hurt the country's economy — and revenue for the many U.S. companies that sell their goods or services there. After rolling back the policy in December, China's economy grew 4.5% in the first quarter. U.S. companies are reporting that demand in China is returning, boosting their sales at a time when many U.S. consumers are pulling back their spe

[ad_1] The Paramount logo is displayed at Columbia Square along Sunset Blvd in Hollywood, California on March 9, 2023. Patrick T. Fallon | AFP | Getty Images Paramount Global shares jumped more than 5% on Friday after an investor known as Warren Buffett's favorite banker piled into the media company's controlling shareholder. National Amusements, Paramount's majority voting shareholder, announced Thursday afternoon that it has entered into an agreement for a $125 million preferred equity investment by BDT Capital Partners. Stock Chart Icon Stock chart icon Paramount Some Buffett watchers noticed a curious connection with the news. BDT Capital's chairman and co-CEO is Byron Trott, who has long been known as Buffett's preferred and trusted banker. It was Trott who suggested that Buffett put a $5 billion lifeline in Goldman Sachs during the 2008 financial crisis. The connection didn't end there. Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway is actually Paramount's b

[ad_1] DETROIT — Strikes by the United Auto Workers union against General Motors , Ford Motor and Stellantis will get the presidential treatment this week in Michigan. Twice, in fact. President Joe Biden visited a picket line Tuesday at a GM parts facility in Belleville following a public invitation Friday from UAW President Shawn Fain, who joined Biden for the visit. Former President Donald Trump, the front-runner among Republicans in the 2024 presidential race, is scheduled to hold a rally Wednesday night at an auto supplier in Clinton Township, Michigan. Biden and Trump are effectively tied in the polls over a year out from the election. Each 2024 presidential candidate is trying to win over blue-collar voters such as Darius Collier, one of about 18,300 autoworkers currently on strike , who says he's "indifferent" about the candidates. President Joe Biden speaks next to Shawn Fain, president of the United Auto Workers, as he joins striking members of the union

[ad_1] A shopper goes through shirts in the kids section at Old Navy in Denver, Colorado. Brent Lewis | Denver Post | Getty Images By striking down student debt forgiveness Friday, the U.S. Supreme Court not only added a hefty expense back into millions of Americans' budgets. It also created the latest challenge for retailers already struggling to predict how consumers may spend in the coming months. The court's decision squashed President Joe Biden 's plan to forgive up to $20,000 per borrower in federal student loan debt . Student loans will already take a bigger bite out of budgets this fall as payments and interest accruals resume after a more than three-year pandemic-related pause . Biden announced steps Friday to make the transition to resuming payments easier and create a path to forgiveness of some loans. The opinion means outstanding loan balances will be higher as those payments resume than they would have been if the court had ruled in favor of Biden. The

[ad_1] A software and robotics machine called mGripAI from Massachusetts-based Soft Robotics sorts artifical pieces of chicken into trays for packaging at an automation conference held by the Association for Advancing Automation in Detroit. Michael Wayland / CNBC DETROIT — The automotive and logistics industries are no strangers to robots. They're among the most heavily invested businesses in automation in the U.S. economy , using robots to sort packages, transport goods and assist in building vehicles. But other industries where robotics haven't yet taken hold may be potential investment opportunities and expansion areas for automation companies in the coming years. Those emerging areas intrigue Jeff Burnstein, an automation-industry guru and president of the Association for Advancing Automation. His trade group represents more than 1,000 global companies involved in robotics, machine vision, motion control, and motors and related technologies. Burnstein, who recently rec

[ad_1] SportsCenter at ESPN Headquarters. The Washington Post | The Washington Post | Getty Images The blackout fight between cable giant Charter Communications and Disney appears to be coming to a close. Hours ahead of "Monday Night Football," which airs on Disney's ESPN, the companies are expected to reach a deal that would allow millions of Charter cable customers to watch the game, CNBC's David Faber reported Monday, citing sources. Charter and Disney's stocks, as well as media peers including Warner Bros. Discovery and Paramount Global traded higher on Monday morning. Representatives for Disney and Charter didn't immediately respond to requests for comment. Terms of what the deal would entail were unclear Monday morning. The dispute has been ongoing since late August when carriage renewal negotiations broke down between the two companies and left millions of customers without Disney TV channels, including ESPN, FX and Disney Channel. At the time