Capitol Hill: Top executives from ExxonMobil, BP, Chevron and Shell will face a reckoning on Capitol Hill Thursday, as they’re grilled on evidence that their companies knew for years that their products were driving climate change but chose to downplay or deny it, Axios reports. The hearing before the House Oversight Committee will be the first time these executives have been brought together to provide sworn testimony regarding what they knew about the ties between their company’s products and climate change, and when they knew it. Read more.
Holiday season: The National Retail Federation, the nation’s largest retail trade group, expects that holiday sales could shatter last year’s record-breaking season even as a snarled global supply chain slows the flow of goods and results in higher prices for a broad range of items. The trade group said today that it predicts that sales for the November and December period will grow between 8.5% and 10.5% to $843.4 billion and $859 billion. Holiday sales increased 8.2% in 2020 compared with the previous year when shoppers, locked down during the early part of the pandemic, splurged on pajamas and home goods, mostly online. Read the full story.
Up in smoke: Americans purchased more cigarettes last year, the first uptick in two decades, according to a new report released by the Federal Trade Commission. As The Wall Street Journal reports, the number of cigarettes purchased by wholesalers and retailers rose slightly, 0.4%, to 203.7 billion from 202.9 billion in 2019. Altria Group, maker of Marlboro cigarettes, previously pointed to the pandemic as a reason people are lighting up more. Chief Executive Billy Gifford said Americans spent less money on travel, gas and entertainment last year and that fewer social engagements led to more “tobacco-use occasions.” Read the full story.
