Business News at a Glance

Starbucks’ Tall Order: Tackle Systemic Racism in 4 Hours

For Starbucks, the scope of companywide anti-bias training Tuesday was easy to measure. Roughly 175,000 employees at 8,000 locations pored over nearly 23,000 iPads, learning about the processing power of unconscious brains and the roots of unconscious bias. The training — part social justice crash course and part self-reflection exercise — is at the core of a well-choreographed effort by Starbucks to improve its image after a backlash over the arrests of two African-American men in a Starbucks in Philadelphia last month. The training “is a transformational moment in the history of Starbucks,” said Howard Schultz, the company’s executive chairman.

Trump Pushes Ahead on Tariffs

President Donald Trump, stung by criticism that he has gone soft on China and less worried about Beijing’s ability to disrupt a potential summit meeting with North Korea, reversed course Tuesday and declared that the United States would impose tariffs and other punitive measures on China. Barely a week after Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said that the trade war was “on hold” and that tariffs would be suspended, the White House issued a statement saying the U.S. would move ahead with its plan to impose 25 percent tariffs on $50 billion worth of imported Chinese goods within the next month.

Lowe’s Drops Paint Strippers Blamed in Dozens of Deaths

Lowe’s, the large home improvement retailer, announced Tuesday that it would no longer sell paint strippers that contain the chemicals methylene chloride and NMP, which have been blamed in dozens of accidental deaths. The Obama administration, in its final days, concluded that the two chemicals represented “unreasonable risks” and moved to ban them for use as paint strippers. But the Environmental Protection Agency has not enacted the ban. For now, Lowe’s says it will voluntarily remove from its shelves 19 products that contain either of the chemicals, which go by such brand names as Klean Strip, Goof Off and Jasco.

Worries over Italy and China Drag Down the Markets

Stock markets in the United States dropped Tuesday amid concerns that growing political uncertainty in Italy and simmering tensions over Chinese trade could weigh on global economic growth. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index fell 1.2 percent, marking its third straight decline. Financial shares were among the worst performers as developments in the European markets seemed to reawaken fears of a debt crisis among investors. Italy is Europe’s fourth-largest economy and a founding member of the eurozone, and it has not had a new government since it held elections in March.

Pret A Manger, U.K. Sandwich Chain, Is Sold to Food Giant JAB

JAB Holding Co., the deal-hungry conglomerate, has bought dozens of coffee brands and begun branching out to doughnuts. Now, it has set its sights on sandwiches. The company said Tuesday that it would buy a controlling stake of Pret A Manger, the British sandwich chain that is a mainstay of London office workers, from an investment firm to expand its food-and-beverage empire. The deal was valued at about 1.5 billion pounds ($2 billion), including the assumption of debt, according to two people briefed on the transaction, who were not authorized to speak publicly.

Redstone Fires Fresh Volley in Legal Battle for Control of CBS

Shari Redstone, the CBS Corp.'s main shareholder, moved Tuesday to quell a rebellion at the media company, filing a lawsuit that accused the CBS board of directors of improperly trying to strip her of control. Lawyers for National Amusements, CBS’ parent company, argued in its suit that Redstone had not tried to undermine CBS or Les Moonves, CBS’ chief executive, as she pressed the company to consider a merger with its corporate sibling, Viacom. Although Moonves may at one point have been open to the possibility of exploring a reunification of the two companies, he has resisted the idea lately.