Technology
Samsung has replacement Galaxy Note 7 smartphones en route
Samsung says new Galaxy Note 7 smartphones will be available in US stores starting Wednesday to replace some of the estimated 1 million devices that are being recalled because their batteries can catch fire. The South Korean company had previously offered US consumers a choice between a replacement or a refund for the device, which sells for about $850. That offer was jointly announced with officials at the US Consumer Product Safety Commission after Samsung was criticized for not coordinating more closely with the commission. Samsung also said it’s pushing out two software updates through wireless carriers. One will show a green battery icon to confirm that a Note 7 device is a new one that doesn’t have the battery problem. The other will display a short notice to owners of older phones covered by the recall, telling them to turn off their device and take it in for a replacement. — ASSOCIATED PRESS
Finance
Candidates surface in Harvard endowment search
Harvard University’s search for the new leader of its $37.6 billion endowment, the biggest in higher education, is considering at least two candidates. One is N.P. “Narv’’ Narvekar, who runs Columbia University’s $9.6 billion endowment, according to a person familiar with the matter; another is Amy Falls, the chief investment officer of Rockefeller University and a member of Harvard’s endowment investment committee, according to The Wall Street Journal. The board overseeing Harvard Management Co., which manages the endowment, meets on Thursday and is expected to make a recommendation, according to a person familiar with the matter. The search began after Stephen Blyth, who was promoted to the top spot in January last year, resigned for personal reasons in July. HMC has seen a succession of CEOs and has struggled to match the performance of its rivals. In the decade through June 2015, the university’s annual average return was 7.6 percent, compared with 10 percent at Yale University. — BLOOMBERG NEWS
Retail
Cargo line bankruptcy hurting retailers
The National Retail Federation and other trade groups are urging the US and South Korean governments resolve the Hanjin Shipping Co. crisis, which has stranded an estimated $14 billion of goods at sea. Last month’s bankruptcy of Hanjin, which moves huge containers of products to the United States from Asia, has roiled supply chains and delayed shipments of everything from T-shirts to televisions. Companies are concerned their goods may be stranded at overseas ports or even seized by Hanjin’s creditors, the organizations wrote in a letter to Commerce Department Secretary Penny Pritzker. Hanjin’s bankruptcy idled container ships just as US retailers were gathering supplies for the crucial holiday shopping season. Companies are facing increasing freight charges as they seek alternative transportation options. — BLOOMBERG NEWS
AVIATION
Sikorsky reportedly vows to keep quarters in Conn.
The office of Connecticut’s governor says Sikorsky Aircraft has committed to keeping its headquarters in the state and adding jobs in an agreement that involves $220 million in state incentives. The agreement was announced Tuesday by Democratic Governor Dannel P. Malloy and Maryland-based Lockheed Martin. It remains subject to approval from the Sikorsky workers’ union and the state Legislature. The deal calls for Sikorsky to build nearly 200 CH-53K King Stallion helicopters in Connecticut for the US Navy until at least 2032. The incentives pledged by Malloy’s office include grants and tax exemptions. A news conference to provide additional details of the agreement is scheduled for Wednesday. Lockheed Martin purchased the Stratford-based helicopter maker from United Technologies in November. — ASSOCIATED PRESS
Retail
Whole Foods reaches $3.5m environmental waste settlement
Whole Foods Market Inc. has reached a $3.5 million settlement with regulators over its improper identification or mishandling of hazardous waste at stores. The Environmental Protection Agency announced the fine and an agreement Tuesday for Austin, Texas-based Whole Foods to comply with waste regulations and better train workers. Whole Foods Market Inc. said the matter often involves products — such as nail polish remover, vitamins, liquor and cleaning items — that are purchased, opened, returned and then can no longer be sold and are declared waste. The EPA says the grocer’s violations were at stores in Texas, Arkansas, Louisiana, New Mexico, and Oklahoma. Whole Foods said there was no allegation or finding by the EPA that it improperly disposed of hazardous wastes, but that it addressed ‘‘record keeping’’ with regard to hazardous waste in its stores. — ASSOCIATED PRESS
Travel
Marriott receives final approval needed for Starwood buyout
Chinese antitrust regulators have approved Marriott’s buyout of Starwood, marking the final approval needed for the deal to close. Marriott International Inc. and Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc. expect to close the deal before the market opens on Friday. Shareholders from both companies approved the deal in April. At closing Starwood stockholders will receive 0.8 shares of Marriott common stock plus $21 in cash for each share of Starwood common stock. The deal had been valued at more than $14 billion when it was announced in April. Last year, Starwood — the owner of Sheraton, Westin, and St. Regis brands — put itself on the market. The company has struggled to grow as fast as its rivals, particularly in ‘‘limited service hotels,’’ smaller properties which don’t have restaurants or meeting space. — ASSOCIATED PRESS
Agriculture
Maine wild blueberry crop bigger than expected amid drought
Maine’s wild blueberry crop was better than expected this year despite a drought that has hit some sectors of New England agriculture hard. The executive director of the Wild Blueberry Commission of Maine says the state most likely hit its five-year average of about 93 million pounds. Nancy McBrady says irrigation and a strong year for pollination buoyed Maine’s crop this year. Maine produces far more wild blueberries than any other state in the United States. Wild blueberry prices have been somewhat low in recent years. The industry has struggled recently with oversupply and competition from Canada, where the dollar is weak. Prices of wild blueberries produced in some eastern Canada provinces have been lower than those from US growers recently. — ASSOCIATED PRESS
Technology
Microsoft in another big buyback
Microsoft Corp. said its board authorized the buyback of an additional $40 billion of stock, on top of an existing $40 billion repurchase program it plans to finish by year’s end. The Redmond, Wash.-based software maker also raised its quarterly dividend by 8 percent to 39 cents a share, according to a statement Tuesday. The company’s stock has jumped 31 percent in the past year. — BLOOMBERG NEWS
Technology
Comcast to debut wireless service
Comcast Corp. will introduce a Wi-Fi-based wireless service by the middle of next year, entering a market dominated by Verizon Communications Inc. and AT&T Inc. The plan involves a hybrid cellular and Wi-Fi service using Verizon’s network and millions of the cable company’s Wi-Fi hot spots in peoples’ homes, chief executive Brian Roberts said at a conference Tuesday. Comcast, which has tried and failed before to join the wireless fray, this time plans to take advantage of some 15 million Wi-Fi hot spots to challenge the big phone companies. Now the company is testing technology that would let customers switch between Wi-Fi hot spots and cellular networks without losing connectivity. Over the past several years, Comcast has been replacing its cable customers’ routers with new ones doubling as public Wi-Fi hot spots. — BLOOMBERG NEWS
