Business News at a Glance

Bill Easing Banking Rules Clears Senate but Faces Hurdles in House

A decade after the federal government rescued the first of many faltering financial firms, the Senate voted Wednesday to pass legislation that would relax restrictions on large parts of the banking industry. The Senate voted 67-31 to pass the bill, which is intended to help small- and medium-size banks but which critics say is a dangerous rollback of financial regulations intended to prevent another meltdown. The legislation faces an uncertain fate going forward, as House Republicans are expected to push for a much more expansive rollback of the 2010 Dodd-Frank Act.

Toys R Us to End Run as Fixture of U.S. Malls

Toys R Us, the iconic retail chain that has sold toys and games to millions of children for generations, is closing shop in the United States. After filing for bankruptcy protection in September and suffering through a brutal holiday shopping season, the company decided Wednesday to close or sell all of its remaining stores, after executives met with creditors throughout the day, according to three people briefed on the discussions. More than 30,000 American jobs are at risk as the company winds down. Liquidation sales will take place over the next few months, as the company clears shelves at its roughly 880 stores.

Knock Knock. Walmart’s at the Door, With Food.

The country’s largest retailers are all rushing to be the first to dominate online grocery service, convinced that it will lead to a lucrative and largely untapped market. Walmart escalated the competition Wednesday by announcing plans to expand its online grocery delivery service to 100 metropolitan areas by the end of the year. Orders will be fulfilled at more than 800 stores nationwide and shuttled to shoppers by drivers contracted through Uber, Deliv and other ride and delivery platforms. Customers must order at least $30 worth of goods and pay an additional delivery fee of $9.95.

Former Equifax Executive Charged With Insider Trading in 2017 Breach

A former top Equifax executive was charged Wednesday with insider trading for selling nearly $1 million in company stock after he learned about a major data breach in 2017 but before it was publicly announced. Jun Ying, the former chief information officer of Equifax’s core U.S. consumer reporting division, sold the shares a little more than a week before Equifax announced that hackers had broken into its systems. Ying avoided $117,000 in losses because of the timing of his sale, the Securities and Exchange Commission said in a civil complaint. The U.S. attorney’s office in Atlanta announced parallel criminal charges against Ying on Wednesday.

Eyewear Seller Raises $75 Million

The eyewear retailer Warby Parker announced on Wednesday that it had raised $75 million in a new round of financing led by T. Rowe Price, the mutual fund company, and including Baillie Gifford, the asset manager. It also disclosed that it had added Youngme Moon, a professor at Harvard Business School who sits on the board of Unilever, as a new director. The latest financing round values Warby Parker at about $1.7 billion, excluding the new investment, according to a person briefed on the matter. The round comes as the company has hit profitability and raises questions about an eventual initial public offering.

Google Plans to Ban Cryptocurrency Ads

Google, the largest provider of digital advertising on the internet, announced this week that it plans to change its advertising policy for certain financial services, including cryptocurrencies, starting in June. The new restriction would apply both to space on Google’s platforms, like YouTube, and to third-party websites where Google sells advertising space. Facebook announced in January that it would ban all ads for bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies in order to stop misleading and deceptive promotions. Together, Google and Facebook account for the majority of advertising on the internet in terms of revenue.

As U.S. Ties Sour, China Sells Stake in Blackstone

At a time when deals between American and Chinese companies are on the rocks, an early example that united a major Wall Street deal maker with the Chinese government has come to an end. China Investment Corp., China’s sovereign wealth fund, has sold its stake in Blackstone Group, the U.S. private equity giant, the latter said in a recent filing. The fund, known as CIC, did not disclose a reason for the sale, and neither side disclosed how big it was. The sale ends an investment that seemed to presage a new era of economic relations between the two countries, an era that seems very much over.

Lyft to Share Driverless Advances in Deal

The ride-hailing service Lyft’s latest partnership aims to make its autonomous vehicle technology available to any car manufacturer. Lyft said Wednesday that it had reached a deal with Magna International, one of the world’s biggest auto suppliers, to jointly develop and manufacture self-driving car systems. The companies said they will work together to introduce autonomous vehicles to Lyft’s ride-hailing network. At the same time, Magna can sell the driverless-car technology to any customer — including other technology companies. Magna also said it would invest $200 million in Lyft’s latest fundraising round, lifting the San Francisco-based company’s valuation to $11.7 billion.

Complying With Trump, Broadcom Drops Takeover Bid for Qualcomm

Broadcom officially withdrew a $117 billion takeover bid for its rival chip maker Qualcomm on Wednesday, two days after President Donald Trump issued an extraordinary order to block the acquisition effort. In a statement, Broadcom said that it would comply with Trump’s order, formally abandoning what would have been the biggest takeover in the history of the technology industry. Broadcom has nevertheless said it will continue with plans to move its legal headquarters from Singapore to the United States. Trump issued his order after a government panel tasked with reviewing the national security implications for business deals disclosed serious concerns about the bid.

Holmes, Theranos CEO and Silicon Valley Star, Accused of Fraud

Elizabeth Holmes, a Stanford University dropout who founded her company, Theranos, at age 19, captivated investors and the public with her invention: a technology cheaply done at a local drugstore that could detect a range of illnesses, from diabetes to cancer. Her fall — and the near-collapse of Theranos — has been equally dramatic in the last few years. On Wednesday, the Securities and Exchange Commission charged Holmes, now 34, with widespread fraud, accusing her of exaggerating — even lying — about her technology while raising $700 million from investors. Theranos, whose valuation was once estimated at $9 billion, has skirted bankruptcy and is now barely afloat.