Scientists and agriculture-industry executives say using Crispr technology in plants could transform agriculture and help feed a growing global population. Organic farmers and natural-food companies say it may pose risks to human health and...
Before stepping down, Martin Sorrell faced a choice: endure an investigation into an allegation of personal misconduct, or leave the advertising giant he founded three decades ago, say people familiar with the board and Mr. Sorrell.
Xerox’s board told Chief Executive Jeff Jacobson in November to stop negotiations with Fujifilm Holdings because it was considering firing him. Instead, the executive raced to strike a complex deal.
In the week ahead, the U.S. will see data on retail sales and industrial production, while overseas, China will release its report on first-quarter GDP and the eurozone will get a consumer confidence reading.
A hallmark fear of the post-financial crisis era—a Japan-like drift downward in consumer prices—has disappeared. But a recession could bring back deflation worry at the Fed.
Colorado shop tries to rewrite the java script by tracing high-end beans from a Ugandan farm to the retail shelf.
While the U.S. and China threaten each other with new tariffs, small-business owners are taking steps to blunt the pain of higher prices or potential supply disruptions.
Dwayne Johnson’s “Rampage” this weekend became the latest big-budget Hollywood offering to underperform in the U.S. but make up lost ground in overseas markets like China.
Apparel chains are starting to deploy sales staff armed with technology that can allow them to video chat and send photos of shirts or ties—and get paid commissions for online orders the same way they do for ringing up items at the cash register.
Starbucks Corp. issued an apology following the arrest of two black men at a Starbucks store in Philadelphia and said it would launch an investigation into the incident.
A video shows two black men being arrested at a Starbucks for apparently no good reason. Then Twitter erupts.
Kevin Johnson says he plans to personally apologize.
Starbucks Corp. is facing pressure following the arrest Thursday of two black men at one of its locations in Philadelphia.

Hosted by the former “Saturday Night Live” writer John Mulaney, this week’s episode put President Trump’s longtime lawyer in its comedic cross hairs.
The two actors even had a callback to their roles in "Meet the Parents."

Health officials complain that pharmaceutical companies refuse to share samples needed to develop affordable generic versions of brand-name medicines.
Trump may lose more of his media allies ahead of November midterms.

Some accuse the militant Islamic group of hijacking the campaign in Gaza to serve its own purpose.
This week's Saturday Night Live cold open had two major cameos, with Ben Stiller playing President Trump’s personal lawyer Michael Cohen...

A video of two African-American men being arrested in a Philadelphia Starbucks for suspicion of trespassing drew quick outrage. The company’s chief executive called it “reprehensible.”
Onlookers asked police if the men were targeted because they were black.
Tesla’s public feud with a top safety investigator is highly unusual in business, but classic Elon Musk.
Caesars Entertainment, long known for its namesake Las Vegas gambling destination, is trying something new in the Persian Gulf tourism hub of Dubai: a Caesars Palace without slot machines or blackjack tables.
SoftBank Group and other big foreign investors are flooding into the venture market, where many tech startups are scoring hundreds of millions of dollars more than they initially sought.
Merck is making one of the biggest bets on a single drug in the pharmaceutical industry, a move that is risky but that could, if successful, pay off for the company and cancer patients.
Facebook Inc. Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg told Congress you have ‘full access’ to the information the social network gathers about you, but it keeps some personal data that you can’t control.
U.S. companies are scrambling to figure out how to sell more natural gas abroad. Tellurian Chief Executive Meg Gentle thinks she has a unique answer, but it is expected to cost $24 billion.
Martin Sorrell, chief executive of advertising giant WPP, has stepped down, effective immediately, following the conclusion of a company probe into a personal misconduct allegation.

Sir Martin Sorrell today resigned as CEO of WPP, the world’s largest advertising agency holding company, after an internal company investigation into his personal conduct. The 73-year-old Sorrell founded WPP 33 years ago, and grew it to more...

Mr. Sorrell had been facing an allegation of personal misconduct. The company said an investigation concluded the issue did not involve amounts that were “material.”
He spent decades building an advertising powerhouse.
The uproar over how Facebook Inc. allowed a Cambridge University researcher to improperly harvest data on 87 million users has prompted a public clash between the social network and the 800-year-old institution.
After the Sandy Hook school shooting, Silicon Valley set out to make safer, technologically advanced weapons that could only be fired by their owners.
Tronc Inc.’s largest shareholder, Michael Ferro, has agreed to sell his stake to a descendant of the McCormick family that built the company’s flagship newspaper, the Chicago Tribune, into a media powerhouse in the early 20th century.
President Donald Trump will replace his own appointee at the helm of a body that oversees union-employer disputes, elevating a seasoned corporate lawyer over a government attorney with ties to congressional Republicans.
President Donald Trump’s top economic adviser said he is optimistic the U.S. can avoid a broader trade fight with China and said the White House was close to securing a renegotiation of the North American Free Trade Agreement with Canada and...
Historic pact aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by half by 2050; the U.S. and Saudi Arabia offer only objections to otherwise unanimous agreement.
There is a reason why wages haven’t taken off in the tight labor market but it may not last much longer.
President Trump’s ordered review of the Postal Service’s finances will likely show that Amazon.com isn’t the only one getting a good deal on package deliveries: FedEx and UPS get comparable rates on so-called last-mile parcel delivery.
A day after being elevated to the top job at Volkswagen, Chief Executive Herbert Diess pledged to accelerate the pace of change at the company.
U.S. consumers’ confidence slipped this month, mainly due to concerns about the Trump administration’s trade policies on the U.S. economy.
Amid escalating trade tensions, China is holding up deal reviews that could clear the way for U.S. companies Qualcomm and Bain Capital to make multi-billion dollar acquisitions of semiconductor companies, people familiar with the matter say.
A billionaire toy maker said that he had submitted a bid for Toys “R” Us, even after his public crowdfunding campaign failed to gain much traction.
Many retirees put their money where their passions are—by collecting. But whether you are a neophyte or have been at it for years, it is important to avoid common pitfalls.
Comcast will begin bundling Netflix with plans for cable TV, phone and internet starting this month. The integration effectively allows customers to pay for both Netflix and Comcast services on one bill, through Comcast.
It may sound strange at first, but the latest option in Comcast's Xfinity cable bundle is... Netflix. Despite their differences, the two have forged a partnership lately, with the Netflix app included on Comcast's X1 platform since 2016...

Comcast has announced that later this month it will offer the ability to include a Netflix subscription to new and existing Xfinity cable packages. Comcast initially added Netflix to its set-top box, the Xfinity X1, in 2016, and then Netflix added...

The two companies are getting cozier, which could make it easier for more Comcast customers to stream Netflix and search its titles.

Netflix has been streaming on Comcast’s X1 cable boxes since late 2016, and now the companies are taking things a step further. Later this month, Comcast will start offering Netflix as part of its pay TV packages, though it’s unclear...
Rocketing demand and prices for lithium, coupled with China’s stranglehold on supply, are reviving interest in mining Europe’s reserves of the coveted metal some call white petroleum.
A Rhode Island dress rehearsal for the 2020 census is turning into an early battleground for the Trump administration’s recent decision to ask respondents if they are U.S. citizens
Chinese conglomerates including Fosun International Ltd. and Gansu Gangtai Holding are investing at premium prices in old European luxury brands like Lanvin—and often end up with a turnaround on their hands.
E-commerce is creating more big, bulky orders, but home delivery also brings oversize transportation and logistics costs.
Federal Reserve Bank of Boston President Eric Rosengren warned that recently passed tax cuts and spending increases are raising risks that authorities won’t have a full tool kit to counter the next downturn.
The Trump administration is hammering out a compromise on auto-industry rules at the center of the North American Free Trade Agreement, increasing the chances that the U.S., Mexico and Canada can reach a deal this spring to revise the pact.
The Italian design firm Pininfarina has spent nine decades designing Ferraris, Cadillacs, Alfa Romeos and Maseratis. It now plans to build its own electric “hyper car” that only a sliver of the world’s population can afford.
Overtime hours for manufacturing employees are at their highest since 2000, with many nonmanagement workers putting in 50 or 60 hours a week—but leading to diminishing benefits, some companies say.
President Donald Trump is talking again about getting the U.S. into a Pacific Rim trade agreement. But any serious effort to do so would be fraught with difficulty, not least because Mr. Trump is demanding a “substantially better” deal than...

Even longtime allies expressed skepticism after the American president’s comments, saying compromise would have to come from the United States.
Miners of cryptocurrencies may soon stop buying chips from Nvidia and Advanced Micro Devices. But businesses are more trouble than they are worth.
Online videogames allow teens and tweens to socialize while playing. “It’s better to hear him communicating than just dead silence,” one mother said.
The toy giants each had roughly $5 billion in revenue last year. But their median-worker pay is quite different.
Media conglomerate Hearst is becoming the sole owner of the Fitch Group, buying the remaining 20% stake in the credit-ratings information provider for $2.8 billion.
The Trump White House, confident that its hard-line strategy is succeeding, is planning to ratchet up the pressure on China by focusing on new tariffs and threatening to block Chinese technology investment in the U.S.
The real-estate listings company is getting into the business of buying and flipping homes, a risky and untested business model for the online service that could disrupt the traditional brokerage business.
Elizabeth Ann Pierce, former CEO of Quintillion Networks, has been arrested after federal prosecutors accused her of forging contracts to induce firms to make more than $250 million in investments.
Hostess Brands has named a veteran consumer packaged-goods leader as its next president and chief executive starting next month.