The daily business briefing: April 7, 2016

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1. Fed leaders discussed April rate hike, minutes show
2. McDonald's Chairman Andrew McKenna retiring from board
3. Former coal executive sentenced to 1 year for dodging mine safety rules
4. Fiat Chrysler cutting jobs due to weak demand for mid-sized Chrysler 200
5. Venezuela declares all Fridays to be holidays in bid to save energy

published 7 April 2016

1. Fed leaders discussed April rate hike, minutes show

Federal Reserve policy makers discussed raising interest rates in April during their last meeting, but most appeared to think that global economic troubles called for taking a slower approach, according to minutes of the March meeting released Wednesday. Fed leaders are forecasting two small rate hikes this year, but they have not said when they would make the increases. The minutes suggested the central bank is unlikely to raise rates again before June.

McDonald's Corp. Chairman Andrew McKenna, who has led the fast-food giant for the last 12 years, is retiring from the board after 25 years. McKenna, 86, will become chairman emeritus instead of standing for reelection at the company's May 26 shareholders' meeting. Another member of the current board will be chosen to succeed him. McDonald's shares have gained 32.5 percent over the last year as the S&P 500 has fallen by 0.7 percent, with the rollout of all-day breakfasts helping spur growth as the company competes with more modern chains.

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Ex-coal baron Donald Blankenship was sentenced to a year in prison and a $250,000 fine for conspiring to evade mine-safety rules. The scheme was uncovered in an investigation of an explosion that killed 29 miners at Massey Energy Corp.'s Upper Big Branch mine in West Virginia six years ago. U.S. District Judge Irene Berger denied the former mining executive's request to remain free pending appeals of his misdemeanor conviction. Blankenship denied scheming to dodge regulations and speed up coal production.

Fiat Chrysler announced Wednesday that it would lay off 1,300 workers at a plant in Sterling Heights, Michigan, where it makes the mid-sized Chrysler 200 sedan. The car has been selling poorly as low gas prices boost demand for crossovers and SUVs. The jobs are being cut because the company is eliminating one shift at the plant. The layoffs were not unexpected, even though they come after five years of record sales for U.S. automakers.

The cash-strapped government of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro has declared every Friday in April and May to be holidays, aiming to conserve energy. The unorthodox move comes as a drought blamed on the El Nino weather system has reduced power available from the South American country's hydroelectric plants. Under the energy conservation plan, the government also is asking big power users, such as shopping malls, to generate their own electricity for nine hours per day.

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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.