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A business newsletter from Globe Columnist Larry Edelman covering the trends shaping business and the economy in Boston and beyond.
SOCIAL MEDIA
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Meta’s subscription model runs foul of EU regulators
When Meta introduced a subscription option last year that would allow users in the European Union to pay for an advertising-free experience of Instagram and Facebook, it was meant to fix regulatory problems the company faced in the region. The plan created new legal headaches instead. On Monday, European Union regulators said Meta’s subscription, which costs up to 12.99 euros a month, amounted to a “pay or consent” scheme that required users to choose between paying a fee or handing over more personal data to Meta to use for targeted advertising. — NEW YORK TIMES
MEDIA
Editor of USA Today leaves with no explanation
Terence Samuel, editor in chief of USA Today, is leaving the role after a year, the newsroom was told Monday. Samuel, a veteran journalist, joined USA Today last July from National Public Radio, where he was a top executive in charge of all news gathering across the broadcaster. Neither Samuel nor the publication gave a reason for his departure. In an email to the newsroom viewed by The New York Times, Monica Richardson, senior vice president of USA Today, said Samuel would leave his job “effective today.” Caren Bohan, executive editor of politics, will serve as interim editor-in-chief while the publication conducts “a national search for our newsroom leader,” Richardson wrote in the email. Samuel said in an interview Monday that his departure was “sudden” but that he could not talk about why he was leaving the newspaper. — NEW YORK TIMES
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FARM EQUIPMENT
Deere to lay off almost 600 as demand for farm equipment wanes
Deere & Co. is laying off nearly 600 workers as the farm equipment manufacturer deals with declining demand. Deere confirmed Monday that the production positions being cut are concentrated at two factories in Iowa and one at its home base in Moline, Ill., where 280 employees will be laid off effective Aug. 30. A combined 310 workers will be let go at the Iowa locations. In its second-quarter earnings release in May, Deere reported a more than 15 percent decline in revenue, the third straight quarter of year-over-year sales declines. Company executives said at the time that they expected further sales declines in the second half of the fiscal year. — ASSOCIATED PRESS
AUTOMOTIVE
Mercedes turns to combustion engines as EV sales fall short
Mercedes-Benz is gearing up to unveil a near-record slew of new models after its first generation of battery cars fell short. The product offensive over the next two to three years will also see the S-Class maker pivot to spending more on its lucrative lineup of fuel-burning vehicles. Top-level buyers in particular “keep reaching for our high-tech combustion-engine cars,” chief executive Ola Källenius said in an interview. “We need flexibility for longer, until deep into the 2030s,” Källenius said, keeping intact the company’s goal of being carbon-neutral by 2039. — BLOOMBERG NEWS
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AUTOMOTIVE
Software provider to car dealers says it will be back online by the Fourth
CDK Global, the software provider to roughly 15,000 car dealerships across North America, including 500 in Massachusetts, that was hacked nearly two weeks ago, said it expects the systems of all dealers to be restored by early July 4. CDK suffered two cyberattacks that forced its systems offline for days, slowing down everything from scheduling, service repairs, parts deliveries, and car purchases at auto dealerships in both the United States and Canada. On June 24, the company signaled to customers that the disruptions could persist until the end of the month. — BLOOMBERG NEWS
FOOD WASTE
AI-powered trash bins could cut down on waste
Restaurants, buffets, and caterers looking to cut down on food waste have a new tool at their disposal: AI-powered waste bins. Leanpath Inc., Winnow Solutions Ltd., and Orbisk B.V. are among the companies offering high-tech trash cans equipped with smart cameras, scales, and sometimes touchscreens. The systems gather granular details about items being discarded down to the type of food and whether it was cooked or chopped. The aim is to help the industry stop billions of dollars worth of food from just being thrown out, reducing a significant source of greenhouse gasses. — BLOOMBERG NEWS
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FINANCE
Robinhood buys AI research platform
Robinhood Markets Inc. agreed to buy the artificial intelligence research platform Pluto Capital Inc. to bring more tailored investment strategies and analysis to the retail brokerage’s users. Founded by Jacob Sansbury, 24, Pluto is best known for AI-driven personalized investment advice and real-time analytics. Terms of the deal weren’t made public. Robinhood has expanded in recent years into services including cryptocurrency, retirement products, and credit cards. — BLOOMBERG NEWS
INTERNATIONAL
Sweden extends parental leave benefits to grandparents
Sweden launched a groundbreaking new law on Monday, allowing grandparents to step in and get paid parental leave while taking care of their grandchildren for up to three months of a child’s first year. The development comes after the Swedish parliament, the 349-seat Riksdag, approved last December the government’s proposal on transfer of parental allowance. This comes 50 years after the Scandinavian country became the first in the world to introduce paid parental leave for fathers and not just mothers. Under the law, parents can transfer some of their generous parental leave allowance to the child’s grandparents. A parent couple can transfer a maximum of 45 days to others while a single parent can transfer 90 days, according to the Social Insurance Agency, a government agency that administers the social insurance system. — ASSOCIATED PRESS
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