Business News at a Glance

Walmart Says It Will Pay for Its Workers to Earn College Degrees

Walmart announced plans Wednesday to offer subsidized college tuition for its 1.4 million U.S. workers, joining a growing list of companies that are helping employees pay for higher education as a perk in a tight labor market. The giant retailer said it will pay tuition for its workers to enroll in college courses — online or on campus — to earn degrees in either supply chain management or business. Full- and part-time Walmart workers can use the subsidy to take courses at the University of Florida; Brandman University in Irvine, California; and Bellevue University in Bellevue, Nebraska.

Big Banks to Get Reprieve from Volcker Rule

Federal bank regulators unveiled a sweeping plan to soften the Volcker Rule, a cornerstone of the 2010 law that was enacted after the financial crisis to rein in risky trading. The rule, which took five agencies three years to write, was put in place to prevent banks from making risky bets with depositors’ money — activities that can be highly profitable but also leave them more vulnerable to losses. On Wednesday, the Federal Reserve proposed easing several parts of the rule and other regulators are expected to soon follow suit, kicking off a public comment period.

Disney Made Quick Work of ‘Roseanne.’ It’s Not Always So Easy.

The toppling of Roseanne Barr — from her racist late-night tweet to the early-morning backlash and ABC’s axing of her highly rated show — took less than 12 hours. That is hyperspeed for businesses and brands that are accustomed to taking their time when it comes to high-stakes decisions about key employees who land in hot water. But the intensity and immediacy of the social media age has turned corporate crisis management into an exercise where minutes, and sometimes seconds, count. And the praise that ABC executives received for their swift response will likely serve as an example to other businesses facing public relations disasters.

With Trade Talks at an Impasse, Tariffs on Allies Loom

The Trump administration is poised to impose steel and aluminum tariffs on the European Union, and possibly on Canada and Mexico, this week when a temporary exemption expires as trade talks remain at an impasse, according to a person familiar with the White House discussions. The threat of tariffs was supposed to force trading partners into quickly agreeing to U.S. concessions, including limiting imports of steel and aluminum and other trade terms that favor U.S. companies and workers. President Donald Trump also threatened to impose levies on imported automobiles.

Tesla Fixes Model 3 Flaw, Getting Consumer Reports to Change Review

When Consumer Reports reviewed Tesla’s first mass-market electric car, the Model 3, it concluded it couldn’t recommend the car because of “big flaws,” including long stopping distances when braking at high speed. Within days, Tesla beamed a wireless software update to the Model 3s on the road that improved their braking, and the impact was swift. After testing the car again, Consumer Reports reversed the verdict Wednesday, only nine days after its original report was published, and gave the car a “recommended” rating. “To see something updated that quickly is quite remarkable,” said Jake Fisher, the magazine’s director of auto testing.

A Pentagon Contract has Became an Identity Crisis for Google

Google’s first major artificial intelligence contract with the Pentagon has touched off an existential crisis, according to emails and documents reviewed by The Times as well as interviews with about a dozen current and former Google employees. This has happened since Google won a share of the contract for the Defense Department's Maven program, which uses AI to interpret video images and could be used to improve the targeting of drone strikes. The military project has fractured Google’s workforce, fueled heated staff meetings and internal exchanges, and prompted some employees to resign.

Free Cash to Fight Income Inequality? California City Is First in U.S. to Try

Stockton, California — which plunged into bankruptcy and became a foreclosure disaster during the housing bust — is readying plans to deliver $500 a month in donated cash to perhaps 100 local families, no strings attached. It would mark the first U.S. city to test universal basic income, in which the government distributes cash universally — to rich and poor, the employed and the jobless — thereby removing the stigma of traditional welfare schemes while ensuring sustenance for all. The concept is being embraced by social thinkers and technologists seeking to reimagine capitalism to more justly distribute its gains.

Date Set for 21st Century Fox Shareholders to Vote on Disney Deal

Fox on Wednesday set July 10 as the date for shareholders to vote on its $52.4 billion plan to sell most of its assets to the Walt Disney Co. The special meeting is scheduled to take place at the New York Hilton Midtown in Manhattan. Disney shareholders will simultaneously vote on the plan 12 blocks away at the New Amsterdam Theater. That puts pressure on Comcast, which said last week it is considering making a counteroffer; but it has been waiting until a judge decides whether AT&T’s $85.4 billion purchase of Time Warner can move forward.

Bill Gross, Revered Fund Manager, Is Having a Year to Forget

William H. Gross, one of the world’s best-known investors, is getting pummeled in the markets this year. On Tuesday, the mutual fund that he runs at Janus dropped 3 percent — an extraordinary one-day decline for a bond fund. Gross had been betting that interest rates on German and U.S. government bonds would rise, but fears that Italy could leave the eurozone have prompted investors to seek safety in those bonds, increasing their prices and pushing down their yields. That left his fund, the Janus Henderson Global Unconstrained Bond Fund, down 6 percent for the year, at the bottom of its category.