The daily business briefing: July 31, 2023

Trucking giant Yellow Corporation shut down on Sunday after 99 years in business

(Image credit: Joe Raedle / Getty Images)

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1. Yellow shuts down ahead of bankruptcy filing
2. 'Barbenheimer' leads box office in 2nd blockbuster week
3. Eurozone inflation falls to 5.3%
4. Stock futures inch up as July ends with gains
5. Walmart boosts its control of Flipkart

By Harold Maass, The Week US

published 31 July 2023

1. Yellow shuts down ahead of bankruptcy filing

Trucking giant Yellow Corporation shut down on Sunday after 99 years in business, The Wall Street Journal reported. The company, which received a controversial $700 million COVID rescue loan, has been struggling with massive debt from a string of mergers, as well as a contract dispute with the Teamsters union that represents Yellow's 22,000 drivers. Yellow laid off hundreds of non-union employees Friday. The Nashville, Tennessee, company notified customers and workers it was halting operations Sunday as it prepares to file for bankruptcy protection. Yellow also is in talks to sell some or all of the company. Disruptions should be limited because many customers, which include Walmart and Home Depot, shifted their cargoes to other companies, which accelerated Yellow's demise.

"Barbenheimer" dominated the domestic box office for the second straight weekend, giving a boost to the film industry in the key summer season as it contends with strikes by writers and actors. Greta Gerwig's "Barbie," starring Margot Robbie as the iconic doll and Ryan Gosling as Ken, held onto the top spot with a huge $93 million haul in a second blockbuster weekend, bringing its total in North America to $351.4 million. Christopher Nolan's "Oppenheimer," starring Cillian Murphy as the atomic-bomb physicist, followed at No. 2 with a strong $46.2 million. Both movies had far smaller week-two drops than normal — 43% for "Barbie" and 44% for "Oppenheimer." "Barbie" also made $122.2 million internationally to bring its global total to $775 million.

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Eurozone inflation fell to an annual rate of 5.3% in July, down from 5.5% in June and 6.1% in May, European Union statistics agency Eurostat reported Monday. The decline, in line with expectations, was mostly due to a 6.1% drop in energy prices. Core inflation, which excludes volatile energy and food prices, remained unchanged at 5.5%. Eurostat also reported 0.3% economic growth in the second quarter, compared to zero growth in the first quarter. The growth lifted hopes of a soft landing for the 20-nation bloc. The European Central Bank last week hiked interest rates for the ninth straight time to fight inflation. The rate is now at a 22-year high, but the ECB said it might soon pause its year-long campaign.

U.S. stock futures were little changed early Monday, leaving Wall Street poised to end July with big gains. Futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500 were up 0.1% at 6:45 a.m. ET. Nasdaq futures were down 0.1%. The Dow and the S&P 500 are up 3.1% and 3%, respectively, this month. The Dow is coming off a 13-day winning streak, its longest since 1987. The S&P 500 is wrapping up its fifth straight month with gains as falling inflation and rising consumer confidence boost stocks. Investors will be watching the July jobs report coming Friday, hoping for fresh signs of the economy's resilience after the Federal Reserve lifted interest rates to the highest level in more than 22 years.

Walmart has increased its control of Flipkart by purchasing the stake of major investor Tiger Global for $1.4 billion, The Wall Street Journal reported Sunday night, citing a letter the New York hedge-fund sent investors. The deal valued the Indian e-commerce giant at $35 billion, down from nearly $38 billion in 2021, when it sold shares to Walmart, Japan's SoftBank, and other investors, the Journal said. Walmart paid $16 billion for a 77% stake in Flipkart in 2018. Flipkart, started in 2007, is one India's biggest e-commerce companies, with more than 450 million customers, and more than 150 million products available on its marketplace. India's The Economic Times reported that venture capital fund Accel also has sold its 1% Flipkart stake to Walmart.

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Harold Maass is a contributing editor at The Week. He has been writing for The Week since the 2001 debut of the U.S. print edition and served as editor of TheWeek.com when it launched in 2008. Harold started his career as a newspaper reporter in South Florida and Haiti. He has previously worked for a variety of news outlets, including The Miami Herald, ABC News and Fox News, and for several years wrote a daily roundup of financial news for The Week and Yahoo Finance.