The daily business briefing: August 18, 2016

1. Fed says improving economy could soon justify rate hike

Federal Reserve officials said in their July meeting that economic conditions could soon justify an interest rate hike, according to minutes of the meeting released Wednesday. Fed policy makers said that June's strong job growth, and market stabilization following brief turmoil over Britain's vote to exit the European Union, had reduced immediate threats to the economy. With those clouds clearing, Fed officials said a rate hike "was or would soon be warranted," although they did not agree on a target date. Global stocks rose Thursday on the Fed's signs of confidence and restraint.

Time Reuters

2. Cisco to cut 5,500 jobs

Cisco Systems, the world's biggest maker of networking equipment, reported a two percent drop in quarterly revenue on Wednesday, and said it would cut up to 5,500 jobs as it faces weak demand for its routers and other bread-and-butter products. The job cuts will amount to nearly seven percent of Cisco's work force — significantly below the staff reductions of up to 20 percent reported by technology news site CRN a day earlier, citing sources close to the company.

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3. Walmart shares rise on better-than-expected quarterly profit

Walmart reported quarterly profit that beat expectations on Thursday, sending its shares rising by more than three percent. The giant retailer said sales at U.S. stores open at least a year had increased by 1.6 percent — excluding fuel price fluctuations — marking its eighth straight quarter of improving established-store sales in the U.S. The news came after several competitors reported weak results. Target, for example, cut its yearly forecast after seeing weak quarterly sales of electronics and groceries.

MarketWatch

4. Aetna CEO warned Justice Department of ObamaCare pullout

More than a month before Aetna this week announced it would stop selling insurance in some ObamaCare state markets, the health insurer's CEO, Mark Bertolini, sent the Justice Department a letter warning it would pull out of some state exchanges if the federal government opposed its proposed merger with rival Humana. The Justice Department moved in July to block the deal — and another proposed merger between Anthem and Cigna — on the grounds that the deals would hurt consumers by reducing competition. Bertolini warned in his letter that the company would have to drop ObamaCare expansion plans to focus its resources on a legal battle to defend the merger.

NPR

5. 3 new Harry Potter e-books coming out

Author J.K. Rowling is releasing three new Harry Potter spin-off e-books in September, according to the official Harry Potter website Pottermore. The book series, called Pottermore Presents, aim to supplement the original Potter books, and include Short Stories from Hogwarts of Power, Politics and Pesky Poltergeists; Short Stories from Hogwarts of Heroism, Hardship and Dangerous Hobbies; and Hogwarts: An Incomplete and Unreliable Guide. The spin-off play Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, published earlier this year, has set 2016 book sale records.

The Independent People