The daily business briefing: August 4, 2022

1. Walmart cuts 200 corporate jobs

Walmart is cutting about 200 jobs at its Bentonville, Arkansas, headquarters and other corporate offices, The Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday, citing people familiar with the matter. The move will affect employees in several departments, including merchandising, global technology, and real estate. The retail giant last week warned that its profits would fall this quarter and in the full year as shoppers tightened their belts to deal with high inflation, forcing Walmart to mark down apparel, electronics, and other inventory piling up in stores. It said the staff reductions at its corporate offices were part of a restructuring that would include some hiring in other departments.

The Wall Street Journal

2. 11 golfers sue PGA Tour over suspension for playing in rival series

Eleven golfers playing in the fledgling LIV Golf Invitational Series filed a federal antitrust lawsuit Wednesday against the PGA Tour for suspending them as punishment for joining the Saudi-backed breakaway events. The lawsuit — filed by Phil Mickelson, Bryson DeChambeau, Talor Gooch, Hudson Swafford, Matt Jones, Ian Poulter, Abraham Ancer, Carlos Ortiz, Pat Perez, Jason Kokrak, and Peter Uihlein — argues that the PGA Tour is unfairly slapping anticompetitive restraints on them to protect its monopoly on high-level professional golf. The PGA Tour's commissioner, Jay Monahan, said the organization is just trying to protect the players who have stuck with it. "Fundamentally, these suspended players — who are now Saudi Golf League employees — have walked away form the tour and now want back in," Monahan said.

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The New York Times The Washington Post

3. CVS beats expectations as prescriptions rise

CVS Health on Wednesday beat second-quarter expectations and raised its guidance for the full year thanks largely to rising prescription revenue. The pharmacy chain also said COVID-19 test kit sales had offset a decline in vaccinations. CVS Health administered 6 million vaccinations in the quarter, down from nearly 17 million in the same period last year. But the company said sales at its drugstores jumped more than 7 percent. The company's overall revenue increased 11 percent. CVS has nearly 10,000 retail stores, making it one of the biggest U.S. drugstore chains. It also operates prescription drug plans for insurers, employers, and other large clients, and provides health insurance to 24 million people through its Aetna division.

The Associated Press

4. Chile investigates sinkhole near copper mine

Chilean authorities are investigating a 105-foot-wide sinkhole that opened last weekend on land where Canada's Lundin Mining operates a copper mine. The National Service of Geology and Mining dispatched specialists to inspect the site, which is just over 400 miles north of the South American nation's capital, Santiago. Lundin Mining released a statement saying the sinkhole hadn't affected any workers, or the surrounding community. The company said it alerted authorities as soon as the problem appeared. The sinkhole "has remained stable," Lundin Mining said, and "no movement has been detected related to the surficial sinkhole" in the mine, where work has been suspended.

Reuters USA Today

5. Stock futures edge higher after Wednesday's rally

U.S. stock futures rose slightly early Thursday after big gains on Wednesday snapped a two-day losing streak. Futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500 were up 0.2 percent and 0.3 percent, respectively, at 6:30 a.m. ET. Nasdaq futures were up 0.4 percent. The Dow rose 1.3 percent on Wednesday. The S&P 500 and the tech-heavy Nasdaq jumped 1.6 percent and 2.6 percent, respectively. Tech shares got a lift from St. Louis Federal Reserve President James Bullard, who said job gains and low unemployment indicate the U.S. probably isn't in a recession. "U.S.-China tensions remain high and the Fed continues to talk tough on inflation, but earnings were enough to catalyze the next leg of the rebound," Barclays said.

CNBC