The Week in Business: Wall Street Is Thankful

Opioid Admission

Purdue Pharma, the maker of the highly addictive painkiller OxyContin, pleaded guilty to its role in the deadly opioid crisis as part of a multibillion-dollar settlement with the Justice Department. The company admitted to paying illegal kickbacks to doctors who prescribed OxyContin and marketing the drug to doctors who were suspected of illegally prescribing it. Now, Purdue Pharma’s owners (the wealthy Sackler family) will pay $225 million in civil penalties, but they do not face criminal charges — yet. The fine is peanuts compared with the fortune that OxyContin helped the Sacklers build, which is estimated to be at least $13 billion.

What’s Next? (Nov. 29-Dec. 5)

General Motors Sees the Future

The largest car manufacturer in the United States, abruptly dropped its support for President Trump’s crusade to strip California of the power to set stricter fuel economy standards than the rest of the country. Instead of backing Mr. Trump, General Motors announced that it would dedicate itself to electric vehicles and other green energy initiatives championed by Mr. Biden. The about-face was no doubt driven by the election outcome, and it signals that the auto industry (and perhaps corporate America more generally) may be willing to work with Mr. Biden as he tries to institute stronger climate change regulations.

The Holidays, Delivered

The holiday shopping season is officially in full swing — and has been for weeks already, from people’s couches. As the pandemic has pushed more people to do their shopping online, retailers are adjusting their business models and encouraging customers to place orders earlier if they want their stuff on time. Macy’s turned two of its brick-and-mortar locations into shipping fulfillment centers. And Amazon has recruited 100,000 temporary workers for the holiday season, on top of the more than 427,300 workers it hired from January to October this year. Analysts are expecting online holiday spending to surge by over 35 percent compared with last year.

The Rubber Hits the Road

Brexit negotiations are as messy as ever, and the deadline for Britain’s trade deal with the European Union is just weeks away. To prepare for the inevitable, French border police tested out post-Brexit procedures at the Eurotunnel, which connects Britain to France. The result: a five-mile traffic jam in southern England. Officials are warning that the gridlock could become permanent starting Jan. 1, when Britain officially leaves the European Union’s customs bloc and French and English officials will begin conducting checks on both sides of the tunnel. But that could be the least of the region’s problems if they can’t reach an agreement and a no-deal Brexit occurs.

Article source: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/11/29/business/the-week-in-business-wall-street-record.html