The daily business briefing: August 23, 2023

1. Teamsters ratify UPS contract, averting strike

UPS workers represented by the Teamsters union have ratified a tentative contract negotiated last month, ending a labor dispute that had threatened to disrupt package deliveries and business supply chains, the union announced Tuesday. The union said 86% of workers casting votes favored ratifying the agreement, the most overwhelming support for a contract in the Teamsters' history at UPS. The union represent 340,000 UPS delivery drivers and package sorters. The agreement calls for UPS to pay new part-time workers $21 an hour, up from $16.20. Existing workers will get a $2.75 hourly pay increase this year, and a $7.50 bump over the life of the five-year agreement. Teamsters leaders called it their "most lucrative" contract ever at UPS.

The Associated Press The Wall Street Journal

2. Dick's Sporting Goods blames retail theft for rough quarter

Dick's Sporting Goods on Tuesday reported a sharp drop in quarterly profit, saying increased retail theft was largely to blame. The company lowered its earnings outlook for the full year. Dick's said it expected to make $11.33 to $12.13 per diluted share this year. It's previous outlook projected $12.90 to $13.80 per share. The company said its quarterly net income was $244 million, a 23% drop from the same period last year even though sales rose 3.6%. Dick's shares plunged by more than 24% on Tuesday. President and CEO Lauren Hobart said during an earnings call that the results reflected fallout from "higher inventory shrink, organized retail crime and theft in general, an increasingly serious issue impacting many retailers."

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USA Today

3. Conservative activist sues 2 law firms over diversity fellowships

Edward Blum, the conservative activist whose lawsuit resulted in the Supreme Court ending affirmative action in college admissions, is suing two law firms that offer diversity fellowships, arguing they result in illegal racial discrimination against white candidates. Blum and his American Alliance for Equal Rights anti–affirmative action organization asked the courts to bar the firms, which have offices in Texas and Florida, from considering race. In June, U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission Chair Charlotte Burrows said the Supreme Court decision banning racial preferences in college admission didn't apply to employer diversity programs. The firms — Perkins Coie, being sued in Texas, and Morrison & Foerster, in Florida — were not immediately available for comment, The Wall Street Journal reported.

The Wall Street Journal

4. Stock futures up after rising Treasury yields drag down S&P, Dow

U.S. stock futures rose early Wednesday after concerns about rising Treasury yields dragged down the S&P 500 on Tuesday. Futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500 were up 0.3% and 0.4%, respectively, at 6:30 a.m. ET. Nasdaq futures were up 0.6%. The Dow and the S&P 500 fell 0.5% and 0.3%, respectively, on Tuesday. The tech-heavy Nasdaq edged up by less than 0.1%. Several banks fell after S&P Global cut credit ratings for a handful of U.S. banks due to "tough" conditions. Dick's Sporting Goods and Macy's dropped 24% and 14%, respectively, after the retailers released disappointing full-year forecasts.

CNBC

5. Study: Youngest baby boomers' earnings flatlined at age 45

The youngest baby boomers — those born from 1957 to 1964 — have struggled with flatlining earnings since they reached age 45, according to a Bureau of Labor Statistics report published Tuesday. For those without a college degree, earnings have fallen in their later years. Baby boomers, those born from 1946 to 1964, are the second largest chunk of the U.S. population after millennials. The new study is the most extensive yet on boomers aged 55 to 64, who were as young as 14 when first interviewed in 1979. The study found that their earnings surged until age 24 but their wage growth slowed through age 44, when it hit a wall, setting them up for big challenges as they approach retirement.

Bloomberg