Going small: In an interview with USA Today to mark National Small Business Week, U.S. Small Business Administration head and small business owner Maria Contreras-Sweet urges customers to spend more at local stores and small businesses. “When you shop at a small business, 64 cents of that dollar stays right in your neighborhood,” she says. In turn, Contreras-Sweet adds, those stores could become a “destination” for more consumers, leading to more job creation in the community. “Small businesses should be respected for the role they play: Two out of three net new jobs are created by small businesses,” she says. “This is the time to celebrate small businesses.” National Small Business Week began Sunday and runs through Saturday. Read the full Q&A.
Falling through: Oil services giants Halliburton and Baker Hughes have abandoned a previously-announced $34 billion merger late Sunday, bowing to Justice Department complaints that the deal would lead to decreased competition and higher prices, The Washington Post reports. “The companies’ decision to abandon this transaction—which would have left many oilfield service markets in the hands of a duopoly—is a victory for the U.S. economy and for all Americans,” Attorney General Loretta E. Lynch says in a statement. “This case serves as a stark reminder that no merger is too big or too complex to be challenged.” The deal would have combined two of the three largest oilfield services companies in the world. But last month, the Justice Department sued to block the deal. Read the full story.
Motion denied: The U.S. Supreme Court this morning declined a request from shareholders seeking to revive their class action lawsuit against BP, claiming the British oil company misrepresented its safety procedures prior to the 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill. Reuters reports the court left in place a September 2015 ruling by the New Orleans-based 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals that refused to certify the lawsuit filed by investors who bought shares in the 2-1/2 years before the spill. BP’s share price plummeted after the disaster that has cost the company more than $55 billion. BP says in court papers the lawsuit should not be allowed to proceed because the plaintiffs were improperly seeking damages for the entire decline in stock price as a result of the spill. Read the full story.
