The daily business briefing: January 19, 2024

1. Macy's to cut 2,350 jobs in streamlining effort

Macy's said Thursday it plans to close five stores and cut about 2,350 jobs, or 3.5% of its workforce, as it tries to streamline operations to better compete in an online shopping era. "As we prepare to deploy a new strategy to meet the needs of an ever-changing consumer and marketplace, we made the difficult decision to reduce our workforce by 3.5% to become a more streamlined company," a Macy's spokesperson told CNN. Major retailers often cut back in January if they didn't have a blockbuster holiday shopping season. Macy's, which opened its first department store in 1858, now operates 500 Macy's branded stores and 55 more upscale Bloomingdale's outlets. CNN, Axios

2. Congress averts a government shutdown

Congress on Thursday approved a stopgap measure to keep the federal government funded into March, sending it to President Joe Biden for his signature just before a deadline to avoid a partial government shutdown. The legislation — the third short-term spending deal since October — extends the deadlines to March 1 and March 8, giving lawmakers time to pass a dozen spending bills totaling $1.66 trillion to fund government agencies through the fall. The shutdown would have affected about 20% of the federal government, including the Transportation Department and food and drug safety programs. The House passed the bill in a 314-108 vote over the strong objections of far-right Republicans, who had demanded deeper spending cuts and a hardline border crackdown. The New York Times, The Washington Post

3. Drugmakers hiked prices in first 2 weeks of 2024

Pharmaceutical companies raised prices for their medicines by a median 4.5% at the start of 2024, The Wall Street Journal reported Thursday, citing an analysis by 46brooklyn Research, a nonprofit drug-pricing analytics group. The list prices for widely used drugs, including Ozempic and Mounjaro, were among those hiked. Ozempic maker Novo Nordisk, Mounjaro maker Eli Lilly and other companies raised prices on 775 brand-name drugs in the first two weeks of January, according to the Journal. The increases were not as big as hikes in previous years, but still higher than inflation — which hit 3.4% in December — so they could increase scrutiny from the Biden administration as it works to reduce federal drug spending. The Wall Street Journal

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4. Stock futures rise after Thursday's Apple-fueled tech gains

U.S. stock futures edged higher early Friday after Thursday's tech-led rally. Futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500 were up 0.3% and 0.5%, respectively, at 7 a.m. ET. Futures for the tech-heavy Nasdaq were up 0.8%. The Dow snapped a three-day losing streak on Thursday, rising 0.5%. The S&P 500 gained 0.9% and the Nasdaq jumped 1.4%. The rally was fueled by big gains for major technology companies after Bank of America upgraded Apple's stock based on artificial-intelligence-fueled optimism and upcoming iPhone models; Apple's shares jumped 3.3%, notching their best day since May 5, 2023. The gains were enough to nearly erase Wall Street's losses for the week, and put the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq into positive territory for 2024. CNBC, The Associated Press

5. iRobot shares drop after report of EU opposition to acquisition by Amazon

IRobot Shares dropped nearly 40% in premarket trading Friday after The Wall Street Journal reported that the European Union intends to block Amazon's planned acquisition of the Roomba maker. The proposed all-cash deal values iRobot at $1.7 billion. Amazon announced its plan to acquire the company in 2022 as part of the online retail giant's expansion in smart-home devices. The European Commission, the EU's top antitrust enforcer, launched an investigation into the purchase last July, warning that the deal could threaten competition if Amazon favors iRobot over rivals on its online marketplace. The Journal reported that European Commission officials said commission leaders would probably reject the acquisition. Reuters, The Wall Street Journal