The Justice Department on Wednesday announced an $8.3 billion settlement with Purdue Pharma as part of a deal in which the company will plead guilty to criminal charges “related to its marketing of the addictive painkiller” OxyContin. Purdue’s owners, the Sackler family, will pay a separate $225 million civil penalty. Notably, the settlement “does not end all of the extensive litigation against Purdue, but it does represent significant advance in the long legal march by states, tribes, cities and counties to hold the most prominent opioid maker accountable” – NYTimes and WSJ and Law360
Well-financed but never-popularly embraced short-video platform Quibi is “shutting down” a mere six months after going live—a “crash landing for a once-highflying entertainment startup that attracted some of the biggest names in Hollywood and had looked to revolutionize how people consumer entertainment” – WSJ and Bloomberg and MarketWatch and NYTimes
Despite apparent progress from White House and House negotiators, a vote on a next round of Covid stimulus funding may not come until after the Nov. 3 presidential election—a date that “would likely imperil its passage for months” – WSJ and Bloomberg
Meanwhile, the economic outlook for millions of Americans grows ever dimmer – Bloomberg and MarketWatch
Tesla reported its 5th straight quarter of profit on Wednesday, though its trend lines appear to point to slowing growth thanks to “growing competition from traditional automakers” – NYTimes and Bloomberg and MarketWatch and Marketplace
Former Google CEO Eric Schmidt had a few thoughts about yesterday’s DOJ antitrust filing in remarks at the Journals Tech Live conference – WSJ
IPG chief exec Michael Roth announced that he’s stepping aside from helming one of the world’s largest advertising companies at the end of the year. IPG has named COO Philippe Krakowsky as Roth’s replacement – NYTimes
A largely hands-off OSHA during the coronavirus pandemic—especially in the health care and meat-packing arenas—has critics (including many workers’ unions) decrying a “regulatory vacuum” that they “worry will lead to another round of outbreaks as cases spike again this fall” – NYTimes
Boeing is reportedly floating to customers and suppliers an entirely new commercial aircraft as a means of navigating its “way through the 737 MAX crisis and the coronavirus pandemic,” a single-aisle craft “with improved engines that could carry between 200 and 250 passengers” – WSJ
The EU’s pandemic relief efforts have led it to “issue[] debt in a big way for the first time this week” in a move that generated “huge demand from investors eager for an alternative to the United States Treasuries that dominate the government bond market.” Though the EU has issued some debt before, it’s never done so on this scale—generally preferring to leave financing to its national governments – NYTimes
A Better Categorization, Deceptively Easy, For Getting Help In Just Keeping Loose Materials Neatly Organized. [Whew.] Yep, it’s your history of alphabetization. You’re welcome – NYTimes
Stay safe.
