Media

6 Most Important Things in Business Today

Douglas A. McIntyre

Published: October 10, 2017 5:02 am

Last Updated: March 13, 2020 3:53 pm

The chief of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) wants to end credits for wind power in an attempt to help the coal industry. According to Bloomberg:

Tax incentives for the wind industry should be eliminated, Environmental Protection Agency administrator Scott Pruitt said Monday.

“I would do away with these incentives that we give to the wind industry,” Pruitt said, responding to a question about the effectiveness of renewable energy at an event held at the Kentucky Farm Bureau on Monday. “I’d let them stand on their own and compete against coal and natural gas and other sources.”

One of the largest proxy battles in history will end today as Nelson Peltz tries to get a seat on the Procter & Gamble Co. (NYSE: PG) board. According to CNBC:

In the the culmination of the largest-ever proxy fight, Procter & Gamble will find out Tuesday if shareholders want to give Nelson Peltz a seat on the board of the owner of Bounty and Tide.

It’s a fight that has cost millions and at times turned personal, pitting former colleagues against each other.

P&G, which has a market capitalization of about $235 billion, has enlisted the help of four banks: Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, Centerview and Lazard, as well as its former chief executive, A.G. Lafley, to support its cause. One estimate says it has spent $60 million to that end.

Newspaper publisher Tronc Inc. (NASDAQ: TRNC) has named Forbes executive Lewis DVorkin as the editor in chief of its flagship L.A. Times.

Amazon.com Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN) may launch video-related products to chase Alphabet Inc.’s (NASDAQ: GOOGL) YouTube and its huge video advertising base.

Google discovered Russian ads posted during the 2016 presidential election. According to CNNMoney:

Google has identified tens of thousands of dollars in ad buys by Russian accounts that used YouTube or Google advertising to try to spread misinformation and sow discord in American politics, sources familiar with the company’s investigation told CNN.

These accounts used YouTube, Google search advertising, Gmail advertising and Google’s DoubleClick ad platform to push divisive campaigns based on issues ranging from race to immigration to gun rights at times leading up to the 2016 election.

American International Group Inc. (NYSE: AIG) could lose over $3 billion because of recent natural disasters. According to the New York Post:

Insurance giant AIG warned Wall Street on Monday of what could be its largest-ever quarterly catastrophe loss — as much as $3.1 billion following hurricanes in the Gulf of Mexico and earthquakes in Mexico.

AIG is set to lose as much as $1.2 billion from Hurricane Harvey, which devastated Houston and surrounding cities. That’s about as much as it paid out for Hurricane Katrina, according to AIG’s own estimates.