The daily business briefing: June 30, 2023

1. Supreme Court says devout postal worker can demand Sundays off

The Supreme Court on Thursday ruled in favor of an evangelical Christian postal worker, Gerald Groff, who wanted to take Sundays off for church and rest but was told he had to work. The government argued Groff's demands caused scheduling conflicts and burdened his colleagues after the Postal Service started delivering Amazon packages on Sundays. The unanimous ruling could have broad impact on U.S. workplaces. Groff's lawyers wanted the court to throw out a 1977 precedent that made it easier for employers to deny such requests. Instead, the court defined "the contours" of the law in a way more favorable to employees, saying employers had to show "granting an accommodation would result in substantial increased costs."

USA Today

2. Virgin Galactic sends its first paying customers to edge of space

Virgin Galactic launched a rocket plane with three Italian passengers to the edge of space, more than 50 miles above the New Mexico desert on Thursday. It was the first flight with paying customers by British billionaire Richard Branson's company, which he founded in 2004. The passengers on the flight were two Italian air force officers and an aerospace engineer from the National Research Council of Italy. Three Virgin Galactic crew members, including two pilots, were also on board the brief sub-orbital flight on the VSS Unity, which launched at high altitude from the belly of a carrier plane. Virgin joins Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin and Elon Musk's SpaceX in a growing space tourism industry catering to wealthy adventurers.

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Reuters

3. Women asked sexually explicit questions by firm screening Gates Ventures job applicants

Some female job candidates at billionaire Bill Gates' private office said a security firm, Concentric Advisors, asked them about their sexual histories and other parts of their private lives to assess their vulnerability to blackmail, The Wall Street Journal reported Thursday, citing job candidates and others familiar with the matter. The Journal said it couldn't confirm that no men were asked the same questions — which included whether they ever had extramarital affairs or had nude pictures of themselves on their phones — but none it interviewed had. A spokesperson for Gates Ventures wasn't aware third-party contractors conducting background checks had asked any such questions, which she said "would be unacceptable." Concentric said it complied with all applicable laws.

The Wall Street Journal

4. Stock futures rise as strong quarter ends

U.S. stock futures rose slightly early Friday ahead of the final day of trading in what has been a strong first half of the year, as investors awaited key inflation data. Futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500 were up 0.3% and 0.4% at 6:30 a.m. ET. Nasdaq futures were up 0.5%. The Dow and the S&P 500 gained 0.8% and 0.5%, respectively, on Thursday. The tech-heavy Nasdaq was flat. The S&P 500 is up 5.1% in June — its best month since January — and 7% in the second quarter. The Dow has gained 3.7% in June, the most since November.

CNBC

5. Nike shares slip after mixed earnings report

Nike shares fell 3% in after-hours trading Thursday after the sports apparel giant reported strong sales but weaker-than-expected earnings. Nike posted adjusted earnings per share of $0.66, just under the $0.67 expected. The company said gross margins fell to 43.6%, down from 45% in the same quarter last year but just ahead of the 43.5% expected by analysts surveyed by Bloomberg. Nike said the drop was "primarily due to higher product input costs and elevated freight and logistics costs." It said higher markdowns and ongoing foreign-exchange rate changes also were factors. The company said it was able to partially offset the problems with "strategic pricing actions."

Yahoo Finance