Business News at a Glance

Trump Targets Federal Workers in Executive Orders Curbing Protections

President Donald Trump Friday overhauled rules affecting at least 2 million federal workers, making it easier to fire them and rolling back the workplace role of their unions. Trump signed a series of executive orders affecting disciplinary procedures and contract negotiations and limiting the conduct of union business on government time. Andrew Bremberg, head of the White House Domestic Policy Council, said the president was “fulfilling his promise to promote more efficient government by reforming our Civil Service rules.” Unions representing government workers were quick to denounce the actions, which follow growing acrimony between Trump supporters and the federal bureaucracy.

Oil Prices Reverse Their Rise, and Drivers May See Relief

Oil prices are suddenly slumping again, just as U.S. motorists were feeling the bite.The price of crude has dropped almost 7 percent since a recent high Tuesday, a result of seemingly coordinated signals from Russian and Saudi officials that they are ready to increase production. Energy experts had predicted motorists might head into the summer driving season facing an average gasoline price of $3 a gallon for the first time since 2014. Now, with oil falling below $70 a barrel in the United States, a lower gas price is possible.

Ireland’s Abortion Vote Becomes a Test for Facebook and Google

Facebook and Google took aggressive steps this month to prevent foreign meddling before Ireland’s abortion referendum Friday. Facebook blocked ads related to the abortion campaign from groups outside Ireland, while Google banned all referendum-related spots. For months, online ads on Ireland’s vote on whether to lift a constitutional ban on abortion became increasingly common from international groups. The companies want to show they have improved since the 2016 U.S. presidential election, when Russian agents manipulated Google's YouTube and Facebook to spread divisive messages to voters. Ireland has turned into a test case of whether Facebook and Google can thwart foreign groups from influencing elections and spreading misinformation.

Trump Administration Plans to Revive ZTE, Prompting Backlash

The Trump administration told lawmakers it had reached a deal that would keep Chinese telecom firm ZTE alive, a person familiar with the matter said, a move that could provoke a backlash in Congress. Under the agreement, ZTE would pay a substantial fine, hire U.S. compliance officers and make changes to its management team. In return, the Commerce Department would lift a denial order that is preventing ZTE from buying U.S. products as punishment for violating U.S. sanctions against Iran and North Korea. But lawmakers have rolled out measures aimed at clipping the administration’s authority to ease the penalties on ZTE.

U.S. News Outlets Block European Readers Over New Privacy Rules

U.S. news outlets including The Chicago Tribune, The Los Angeles Times and The Arizona Daily Star abruptly blocked access to their websites from Europe on Friday, choosing to black out readers rather than comply with a strict new data privacy law in the European Union that limits what information can be collected online. The new rules strike at a core element of businesses that offer free content online but make money by collecting and sharing user data to sell targeted advertising. The shutdowns came as a surprise to readers because companies had two years to prepare for the regulations.

PepsiCo to Acquire the Fruit and Veggie Snack Maker Bare Foods

Continuing to bet that consumers want to crunch on healthier snack items, PepsiCo announced Friday that it was acquiring Bare Foods, a maker of baked fruit and vegetable snacks. For PepsiCo, which did not make public the financial terms of the deal, the purchase of a company that makes products like salt-and-vinegar beet chips and Granny Smith apple chips is its latest effort to diversify its food and beverage portfolio and move toward the more natural, less-processed foods that are now in favor by an increasingly health-conscious public.

Alexa, No! Amazon Explains How an Echo Shared a Couple’s Private Conversation

Privacy advocates have long warned that digital assistants could share our private conversations without our consent. Now it has. A woman in Portland, Oregon, told a TV station in Washington state, that her Amazon Echo device had recorded a conversation then shared it with one of her husband’s employees in Seattle. Amazon says it knows what happened: As the woman, identified only as Danielle, chatted away with her husband, the device’s virtual assistant, Alexa, mistakenly heard a series of requests and commands to send the recording as a voice message to one of the husband’s employees. The family disconnected the devices and contacted Amazon. Danielle is asking for a refund.