RETAIL
Walmart investigating Indian company over bedsheets
Walmart Stores said it’s reviewing Welspun India’s cotton certification records, joining Target to scrutinize the supplier over cheaper bedsheets being passed off as premium Egyptian cotton and sending the Indian company’s stock down. Walmart is Welspun’s third-largest customer, behind Target, which said late last week it had pulled sheets and pillowcases off its shelves after discovering they were mislabeled as Egyptian cotton. It also terminated all business with the supplier. Welspun said it manufactures every fifth towel sold in the United States and counts J.C. Penney Co. and Macy’s Inc. among its customers. — BLOOMBERG NEWS
ENERGY
Windy weather causes too much electricity
Scottish wind farms received a record $7.2 million to shut down this month after hurricane-force gusts produced more electricity than could be consumed. Unusually strong summer winds blowing as high as 115 miles an hour swept the Scottish Highlands on Aug. 7, prompting National Grid Plc to ask energy generators to curtail production, according to the London-based company’s commercial-operations manager Claire Spedding. Rapid growth in renewables has caused power congestion on particularly windy or sunny days across the world. National Grid sometimes pays operators to switch off in order to balance its network. — BLOOMBERG NEWS
PETS
Fanciful tastes take a bite out of sales for Kibbles ‘n Bits
Americans’ increasingly picky tastes are affecting not just the bowls on their tables, but those on the floor: Kibbles ‘n Bits sales are suffering. J.M. Smucker Co., which makes pet food in addition to its namesake jams and other products, said Tuesday sales for its US pet food division fell 6 percent as Kibbles ‘n Bits was hurt by growing popularity of more-premium brands. The company has conceded that people are looking for pet foods with better ingredients, reflecting trends in what pet owners are feeding themselves. Kibbles ‘n Bits sales posted a double-digit percentage decline for the three months ended July 31, the company said. Meow Mix saw a mid-single digit percentage decline. — ASSOCIATED PRESS
transportation
Uber is the most used ride-hailing app in 108 nations
As the battle for the world’s ride-hailing customers heats up, here’s one statistic to consider: Uber is now the most used ride-hailing app in 108 countries. That’s according to analytics provider SimilarWeb, which tracked the reach and usage of ride-hailing apps in 171 countries on Android devices. Uber is the most dominant player in broad swaths of the globe, including all of North America and much of Europe, Africa, and South America. — BLOOMBERG NEWS
BEER
Small investors given a say in big deal
A British court has ruled that two groups of shareholders in brewing company SABMiller should vote separately on the $104 million takeover offer made by rival Anheuser-Busch InBev, effectively giving smaller investors an outside chance to derail the deal. The decision Tuesday is seen as a concession to smaller shareholders who complained that their payout plummeted in relation to larger investors after the pound fell following Britain’s vote to leave the European Union. While smaller shareholders will receive cash for their stakes, SABMiller’s two biggest investors will get cash and euro-denominated shares that have appreciated since the deal was announced in November. SABMiller’s board has in principle accepted the deal, which would create a company controlling nearly a third of the global beer market. — ASSOCIATED PRESS
INTERNATIONAL
The Irish are returning to the old sod
Ireland bounced back to net migration for the first time in seven years, as the nation’s recovery from the worst economic crash in Western Europe continues. Some 79,300 people moved to Ireland in the year to the end of April 2016, the government statistics agency said in Dublin on Tuesday. That was a 14 percent increase from a year earlier. The number of people leaving the country fell 6 percent to 76,200. Irish emigration rose to the highest since the 19th century during the nation’s financial crisis, peaking in 2013. Some of those who left are now returning, as companies ranging from Apple Inc. to Credit Suisse Group AG expand in Ireland. — BLOOMBERG NEWS
CONSUMERS
Americans are dropping bars of soap for bottles
When it comes to soap, fewer Americans are picking up a bar. More than half of consumers — 55 percent — say bar soap is inconvenient when compared to liquid varieties, according to a new report by research firm Mintel. Among their chief complaints: Bar soaps leave residue in the shower, require a dish for storage, and aren’t as long-lasting as liquid options. As a result, sales of what was once a shower mainstay have been slipping for years. Bar soap sales dipped 2.2 percent between 2014 and 2015, while overall sales of bath and shower products grew 2.7 percent during the same period, according to Mintel. Today, roughly 64 percent of US consumers use bar soap in some capacity, although men and older Americans are more likely to do so. — WASHINGTON POST
RETAIL
Best Buy gets better
Best Buy’s profit jumped 21 percent as the nation’s largest consumer electronics retailer increased sales online and tried to create a better shopping experience in the stores while it also cut costs. Its shares soared 19 percent after the company said online sales rose 24 percent to $835 million, a beacon for investors who have watched Amazon.com eat away at the sales of almost every traditional retailer. The stock surge marked the largest daily percentage increase since mid-December 2008. — ASSOCIATED PRESS
FAST FOOD
McDonald’s recalling fitness bands in Happy Meals
McDonald’s is recalling millions of fitness bands that had been given away in Happy Meals because they might cause skin irritation or burns to children. The fast-food chain said last week that it would stop distributing the bands in Happy Meals. Now it’s recalling 29 million of them in the United States, and 3.6 million in Canada. The company, based in Oak Brook, Ill., received more than 70 reports of incidents after children wore the bands, including seven reports of blisters, according to the Consumer Product Safety Commission. The Step-It Fitness plastic wristbands, in blue, green, purple, orange, and red, look like watches and are supposed to track physical activity. — ASSOCIATED PRESS
AVIATION
American Airlines retires 80 MD-80 aircraft
As summer draws to a close, American Airlines Group Inc. is hastening the pace at which it sends aged McDonnell Douglas MD-80s to the aircraft boneyard. Five years into a revamp of its fleet, the world’s largest carrier on Tuesday will retire 20 MD-80-family aircraft, “one of the largest single-day aircraft retirements in airline history,’’ according to American. The planes being sent to the Roswell International Air Center in New Mexico are, on average, 28 years old, about five years older than the carrier’s overall MD-80 fleet. Two other US MD-80 operators, Delta Air Lines Inc. and Allegiant Travel Co., both plan to mothball the jet in the next few years. — BLOOMBERG NEWS
