The Washington PostDemocracy Dies in Darkness

Fed’s Beige Book cites modest growth in U.S. economy

June 1, 2016 at 5:20 p.m. EDT
Coca-Cola will buy Unilever’s AdeS soy-based beverage business for about $575 million (Ronaldo Schemidt/AFP/Getty Images)
ECONOMY

Fed’s ‘beige book’ shows modest growth

The U.S. economy expanded at a modest pace across most of the country since mid-April, causing the labor market to tighten as employers continued adding jobs and nudging wages higher, a Federal Reserve report showed.

“Employment grew modestly since the last report, but tight labor markets were widely noted,” according to the Fed’s latest “beige book,” an economic survey published eight times a year. “Wages grew modestly, and price pressures grew slightly in most districts.”

Among the Fed’s 12 districts, Chicago and Kansas City reported slowing growth, while Dallas said the economy grew “marginally.” New York reported activity as “generally flat.” Other districts reported modest or moderate growth.

Several districts reported rising demand for high-skilled workers. Atlanta and Richmond noted that low-skilled positions were also getting harder to fill.

— Bloomberg News

COURT BATTLE

Redstone grandchild joins Viacom fight

A granddaughter of Sumner Redstone has hired the lawyer who represented the media mogul’s former girlfriend and said she plans to join Viacom’s directors in their legal battle for control of the media company.

The legal fight started with a dispute between Redstone, 93, and his former girlfriend Manuela Herzer. It has since turned into a battle between Redstone; his daughter, Shari Redstone, and members of Viacom’s board. Last month, Sumner Redstone removed Viacom chief executive Philippe Dauman and board member George Abrams from their roles in his trust and family company National Amusements.

“My experience is the same as the Viacom directors,” Keryn Redstone, Shari’s niece, said Wednesday through her lawyer, Pierce O’Donnell. “Shari will not let us see Sumner.”

She said she last saw her grandfather for 15 minutes on Valentine’s Day, when he sat “lifeless and flanked by his nurses and caretaker, [and] he seemed unaware of his surroundings.”

— Bloomberg News

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The Giving Pledge

Dell shareholders who thought they were fleeced by the deal that took the computer maker private in 2013 have scored a rare legal victory. Investors in Dell deserved almost $4 a share more than they received from the management-led buyout, a Delaware judge ruled Tuesday. The impact will be limited, however, because he disqualified about 29 million of the 34 million shares in the suit on procedural grounds. Disgruntled shareholders had sought as much as $28 a share, more than double the $13.88 that company founder Michael Dell and buyout firm Silver Lake Partners paid out in the deal. Delaware Chancery Court Judge Travis Laster settled instead on $17.62 for the stock.

— From news services

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