Costco sets limits on toilet paper buys
Costco is once again setting limits on the purchase of popular brands of toilet paper and cleaning products, as the pandemic continues to put strains on shipping products from suppliers.
Costco's Chief Financial Officer Richard Galanti said the company was putting temporary purchase limits on toilet paper, paper towels, the company's Kirkland Signature bottled water and high-demand cleaning products because of "the uptick in delta-related demand."
The store also is limiting bulk purchases of popular items like Clorox wipes, according to an administrative staff person.
Like many retailers, Costco also has had trouble stocking liquid hand soap.
A year ago, there was a shortage of antibacterial wipes and other cleaning supplies as suppliers struggled to keep up with panic purchasing, Galanti said.
"Now they've got plenty of merchandise, but there's two- or three-week delays on getting it delivered because there's a limit on short-term changes to trucking and delivery needs," Galanti said. "So, it really is all over the board."
Fed officials resign over trade questions
Robert Kaplan will step down as president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas early next month, the Dallas Fed announced Monday.
Kaplan, 64, will become the second senior Fed official to resign after ethics questions were raised this month over their trading activity in the financial markets. Kaplan's planned resignation follows a similar announcement earlier Monday by Eric Rosengren, president of the Boston Fed.
The two officials' financial disclosures sparked criticism from government watchdogs after they revealed extensive stock trading in 2020, when the Fed was spending trillions of dollars stabilizing financial markets and boosting the economy. Because of their trading, the two officials could potentially have profited from the Fed's actions.
Plant-based foods join chicken market
Beyond Meat and Impossible Foods are getting into the fast-growing market for plant-based chicken.
Beyond Meat said Monday that its new tenders, made from fava beans, will go on sale in U.S. groceries in October. Impossible Foods began selling its new soy-based nuggets at U.S. groceries this month.
Beyond and Impossible made their names with plant-based burgers sold in the meat aisle. But this time, they have more competition, with more than 50 plant-based chicken brands already in the U.S.
UK seeks to calm gas pump shortages
Lines of cars formed at British gas stations for a fourth day, as the government mulled bringing in the army to help ease supply disruption triggered by a shortage of truck drivers.
Brian Madderson, chairman of the Petrol Retailers Association, said training has been taking place for military personnel to drive tankers. The government says it has "no plans at the moment" to deploy troops.
The haulage industry says the U.K. is short as many as 100,000 truckers, due to the coronavirus pandemic and an exodus of foreign workers following Brexit. The end result is empty supermarket shelves, shuttered gas pumps, panic buying and short tempers as some drivers wait for hours to get gas.
Vegan hotel sells for $5.6 billion
The owner of The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas is selling the 3,000-room Las Vegas Strip hotel in a $5.65 billion deal.
New York private equity firm Blackstone said Monday that the new owners will be the Cherng Family Trust, headed by Panda Express billionaires Andrew and Peggy Cherng; real estate investment firm Stonepeak Partners; and a Blackstone real estate fund. MGM Resorts will take over operations in a side deal.
The transaction needs regulatory approval and is projected to close in the first half of 2022. Blackstone says it has agreements with unions for about 3,000 employees to keep their jobs.
Global Citizen Live generates $1.1 billion
Global Citizen Live, a 24-hour concert that featured performances from Stevie Wonder, Jennifer Lopez, BTS and Elton John and dozens of other stars, raised $1.1 billion in commitments and pledges over the weekend to fight extreme poverty.
Broadcasting from sites on six continents, including New York's Central Park and in front of the Eiffel Tower in Paris, Global Citizen also secured pledges from France for 60 million COVID-19 vaccine doses for developing countries and corporate pledges for planting 157 million trees around the world.
Vaccine pledges, which also came from the governments of Croatia and Ireland, followed numerous pleas, including from Prince Harry and Meghan, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, onstage at Central Park on Saturday.
- Compiled by Dave Flessner