WORKPLACE
Baker signs law prohibiting discrimination against pregnant workers
Governor Charlie Baker signed the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act into law Thursday, prohibiting pregnancy-related discrimination and guaranteeing expectant mothers the right to less strenuous duties, more frequent breaks, and temporary transfers, among other accommodations. Nursing mothers will also be protected under the bill. “This bipartisan legislation extends critical protections to women in the workplace and I thank the Legislature for their collaboration with advocates from both the women’s health and business communities,’’ Baker said in a statement. “These provisions are important to expectant and working moms supporting their families and raising healthy children.’’ Similar measures have been passed in 21 states, and Washington, D.C., and a comparable federal bill was reintroduced in Congress in May. “As a working mom, I know how important it is to balance job responsibilities and family life to support our kids,’’ Lieutenant Governor Karyn Polito said in a statement. “Ensuring women in the workplace raising their children have access to these protections is important to the strength and safety of our economy, families and communities.’’ — KATIE JOHNSTON
BREWING
Boston Beer Co. posts better-than-expected earnings
After a disastrous start to the year, Boston Beer Co. on Thursday posted better-than-expected second-quarter results. The company, which produces Sam Adams beer, Angry Orchard cider, and other alcoholic drinks, brought in $247.9 million in revenue during the period, 1 percent higher than in the second quarter of 2016 — and a big improvement over the first quarter of this year, when revenues were off 14 percent. Still, the pioneering beer firm is struggling to reverse falling sales amid a soft overall beer market and intense competition from smaller brewers. So far this year, shipments of Boston Beer products from wholesalers to retailers are 7 percent below 2016 levels. — DAN ADAMS
RIDE HAILING
Immelt on list of candidates to become CEO of Uber
Jeffrey Immelt, the outgoing chief executive at General Electric Co., is on a narrowing list of candidates to take over as head of Uber Technologies Inc., two people familiar with the matter said. There are fewer than six names on the ride-hailing company’s short list, Uber’s head of human resources told employees on Tuesday. Meg Whitman, CEO of Hewlett Packard Enterprise Co., is another candidate for the CEO job, Bloomberg reported this week. Uber and GE declined to comment. An HPE spokesman has said Whitman would stay at the company until her work is done. Uber is searching for seasoned executives to fill the leadership vacuum left by last month’s departure of cofounder Travis Kalanick and restore confidence in the business after months of controversy. Kalanick was ousted under pressure from some of the company’s major investors. Immelt said last month that he was stepping down as chairman and CEO of GE after a tumultuous 16-year tenure. John Flannery, a 30-year company veteran who oversees the health unit, will become CEO of the manufacturing giant. — BLOOMBERG NEWS
INDUSTRY
GE to cut 575 locomotive jobs in Pennsylvania
GE Transportation plans to end most locomotive production at its century-old plant in northwestern Pennsylvania, eliminating about 575 jobs. The work is being transferred by the end of 2018 to Fort Worth. ‘‘This move is necessary to drive efficiency, better compete in the increasingly competitive global rail market, and preserve US jobs,’’ GE said in a statement. The Lawrence Park Township plant, just outside Erie, currently employs more than 2,500 workers, and locomotive prototypes will still be produced at the site, which is GE Transportation’s largest plant. Earlier this year, GE announced it was cutting 250 positions at its Fort Worth plant, where workers aren’t unionized. About 225 employees at the Fort Worth plant would be recalled, and as many as 200 other jobs would be created at GE suppliers around the country. — ASSOCIATED PRESS
WEALTH
Bezos briefly world’s richest person, edging out Gates
Amazon.com founder and Washington Post owner Jeffrey P. Bezos on Thursday briefly became the richest person in the world, displacing Microsoft founder Bill Gates. Bezos’ rise to number one followed a surge in Amazon.com shares Thursday ahead of the online retailer’s earnings report due later in the day. The company’s shares have been on a tear over the past year, passing the $1,000 mark and hitting $1,082 around noon on Thursday, propelling Bezos, 53, to $90.6 billion, compared with Gates’s $90.1 billion. Gates, 61, who built his fortune through Microsoft, has long been among the world’s richest and had held the top spot since May 2013. By midday, however, Amazon shares gave up much of the gain, and Gates reclaimed the top spot on Forbes magazine’s real-time measure of the fortunes of the world’s wealthiest people. — WASHINGTON POST
SOCIAL MEDIA
Twitter lost 2 million monthly users
With the US political class glued to their Twitter feeds — or just one Twitter feed, in particular — it should be a great time for the social network. But after getting an election bump last quarter that many analysts tied to President Trump, the social network is actually losing American users, according to its monthly active user numbers. Twitter reported Thursday that it had an average of 68 million monthly active users in the United States this past quarter, down from 70 million in the previous quarter. Overall, Twitter just isn’t growing as much as investors would like to see. That’s the main takeaway from the social network’s latest quarterly earnings report, in which the company reported the same number of users worldwide as it had three months earlier. Twitter’s stock closed down 14 percent to $16.84 a share. — WASHINGTON POST
TELECOMMUNICATIONS
Verizon adds more than 350,000 phone subscribers
After posting surprising losses among cellphone subscribers earlier this year, Verizon is back. The wireless carrier said Thursday that it has added 358,000 phone subscribers over the past several months, blowing analyst expectations out of the water and showing that its unlimited data plans are helping to keep customers loyal. The increase highlights a big turnaround from Verizon’s last earnings report, which for the first time saw the company losing wireless customers faster than it could replace them. — WASHINGTON POST
MORTGAGES
Rates fall for second week
Long-term US mortgage rates fell this week for the second week in a row, despite the Federal Reserve’s efforts to lift borrowing costs. Mortgage buyer Freddie Mac says the rate on 30-year, fixed-rate mortgages slid to 3.92 percent from 3.96 percent the previous week. While historically low, that is still above last year’s average of 3.65 percent. The rate on 15-year, fixed-rate home loans, popular with homeowners who are refinancing their mortgages, eased to 3.2 percent from 3.23 percent last week. — ASSOCIATED PRESS
TECHNOLOGY
Apple to drop two of cheapest iPods
After years of being outsold by the iPhone, the venerable iPod has taken a big step toward eventual oblivion. Apple Inc. said Thursday it was discontinuing two of the cheapest iPod models: the nano and shuffle. The two products have been removed from the Apple online store and will vanish from retail locations, as well. — BLOOMBERG NEWS
JOBS
More people apply for unemployment benefits
More Americans applied for jobless aid last week, though the number of people seeking benefits remains near historic lows, pointing to a healthy job market. Weekly unemployment applications rose by 10,000 to 244,000, the Labor Department said Thursday. It was the largest weekly increase since late May. The less volatile four-week average was unchanged at 244,000. The number of people collecting unemployment benefits has fallen 8.3 percent over the past 12 months to 2 million. — ASSOCIATED PRESS
