Business and Economic News

Fairview, Sanford health care systems plan to merge
The regional care giants say they are in discussions now and intend to combine next year. Public criticism in Minnesota scuttled a similar proposal in 2013.
Walmart offers to pay $3.1 billion to settle opioid lawsuits
The retail giant become the latest major player in the drug industry to announce a plan to settle lawsuits filed by state and local governments over the toll of opioids sold at its pharmacies.
It's the end of the boom times in tech, as layoffs keep mounting
Amazon will reportedly lay off 10,000 employees as soon as this week. That follows job cuts at Meta, Twitter, and Stripe, with CEOs citing economic uncertainty and a slowdown in online ad buying.
From science fiction to reality, 'no kill' meat may be coming soon
The meat of the future may be cultured directly from animal cells without slaughtering livestock. It's not yet sold in the U.S., but NPR got a tour of a leading start-up and a taste of their chicken.
Farmers and immigrant advocates hold out hope for compromise in lame duck session
Big plans to overhaul the immigration system have stalled yet again. So farmers and other groups are looking to the lame duck session and hoping that more modest proposals can find bipartisan support.
Elon Musk says Twitter bankruptcy is possible, but is that likely?
Twitter regularly loses money. But Elon Musk took on billions in debt to buy the company at a time when online advertising is slumping. Could bankruptcy be next?