The daily business briefing: September 14, 2016

1. Bayer sweetens its offer for Monsanto

Bayer AG reportedly has raised its takeover offer for Monsanto to about $129 per share from $127.50, making the bid worth about $65 billion. Monsanto's board reportedly backed the sweetened offer in a meeting Tuesday, and Bayer's board is expected to give the deal final approval on Wednesday. The bid amounts to a 22 percent premium over Monsanto's Tuesday closing price of $106.10. Combining Bayer, a German pharmaceuticals giant, and Monsanto would create a world leader in seeds and pesticides.

Bloomberg

2. Census Bureau: Household income rises by most in decades

The Census Bureau reported Tuesday that median household income jumped by 5.2 percent last year — from $53,700 in 2014 to $56,500 in 2015. That is the biggest one-year percentage increase recorded since the agency started median U.S. income statistics a half century ago. The poverty rate dropped by 1.2 percentage points, the sharpest drop since 1968. Jason Furman, chairman of President Obama's Council of Economic Advisers, said the numbers were all "what you'd want to see or better." Stephen Moore, an economic adviser to Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump, said the average American is "still poorer" than 15 years ago.

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The Washington Post

3. Oil prices drop on reduced demand forecast

Oil prices plunged by 3 percent on Tuesday after the International Energy Agency and OPEC cut their demand projections, suggesting that the global glut that has driven down crude oil prices could continue longer than expected. Just last month, the IEA said the oversupply problem was fading, but its latest monthly oil-market report reduced its forecasts by 200,000 barrels per day in 2017, putting consumption around 1.2 million barrels a day. Prices bounced back by a fraction of a percent in Asia on Wednesday, although the gloomy forecast was expected to continue to weigh on the sector.

Reuters MarketWatch

4. California bans killer whale shows

California Gov. Jerry Brown (D) on Tuesday signed legislation banning killer whale shows and captive breeding in the state, outlawing practices SeaWorld this year said it was ending. The approval of the new law, which takes effect in June, came six months after SeaWorld announced that it was ending its orca captive breeding program, and replacing its shows with educational programs. Attendance at SeaWorld parks — in San Diego, Orlando, and San Antonio — has dropped and its stock price has dropped by 62 percent since the 2013 documentary Blackfish spotlighted SeaWorld's killer whale program.

MarketWatch

5. EpiPen maker Mylan gave top executives huge paydays

Drugmaker Mylan, which has faced an angry backlash over steep price hikes on its lifesaving EpiPen, had the second highest compensation for its top five executives among U.S. drug and biotech firms over the last five years, according to a Wall Street Journal analysis. The company's top five managers collectively made $291.2 million over the period, beating out much larger companies such as Johnson & Johnson, Pfizer, Bristol-Myers Squibb, and Eli Lilly & Co. Mylan ranks No. 11 in the drug industry by revenue, and No. 16 by market capitalization.

The Wall Street Journal Reuters