A free drug experiment circumvents the US healthcare system’s secret fees

SEMICONDUCTOR

Hurricane Helene shuts down quartz mines needed for chip manufacturing

Hurricane Helene has brought to a halt North Carolina mining operations that produce high-purity quartz used to make silicon wafers for semiconductor manufacturing. The operators Sibelco and Quartz Corp. Both closed their facilities on September 26, the companies said in separate statements. It is too early to say when production can resume, they said. The storm has hit the community hard, which is struggling with flooding and power and communications outages, and resuming operations is a secondary priority for now, the companies said. — BLOOMBERG NEWS

FINANCIALLY

Heywood Healthcare emerges from bankruptcy

Heywood Healthcare, a health system based in central Massachusetts, has emerged from bankruptcy almost exactly a year after it filed for Chapter 11 protection to restructure its debts. “It is important to note that we have successfully turned the tide,” said Rozanna Penney, president and chief executive officer. Heywood filed for bankruptcy protection on October 1 last year after the company failed to pay its bills, including $30 million in suppliers, $51 million in long-term debt and $60 million in leases. Although the company said it had consolidated some services, it now employs 1,755 people, about 100 more than last October. The health system includes Heywood Hospital, a 134-bed acute care hospital in Gardner, Athol Hospital, Heywood Medical Group and eight satellite facilities in the state. –JONATHAN SALTZMAN

WORK

Hotel workers in Boston threaten a general strike

Hotel workers in Boston are preparing to strike indefinitely if hotel companies don’t meet their demands by the end of Friday, Unite Here Local 26 said Wednesday. Last month, three waves of more than 2,500 housekeepers, banquet servers, front desk clerks, cooks and dishwashers walked off their jobs during three-day work tours at 12 properties. But with talks going nowhere, workers are preparing for an all-out strike, according to Local 26, the union that represents 4,500 workers at 36 plants where strikes have been authorized. In their first contract negotiations since the pandemic, workers are fighting for higher wages, a manageable workload and a stable workforce. – KATIE JOHNSTON

AUTOMOBILES

Auto sales are expected to rise as interest rates fall and political uncertainty eases

Sluggish auto sales are expected to pick up later this year once the U.S. presidential election is over and the Fed’s latest interest rate shift begins to lower financing costs. Many car buyers remained cautious last quarter despite more discounts being offered and showroom selection improving. According to automotive research firm Edmunds.com Inc. – BLOOMBERG NEWS – Americans bought an estimated 3.9 million cars and trucks in the third quarter, down 2.3 percent from a year ago and down 4.7 percent from the second quarter

BUSINESS

Morgan Stanley warns of 70,000 monthly US jobs affected by Trump tariffs

Economists at Morgan Stanley expect that implementing Republican proposals to increase tariffs would drive up inflation and hurt U.S. economic growth, which in turn undermines employment. “If the proposed tariffs are fully implemented, we expect a near-term acceleration in inflation and a delayed decline in GDP growth,” Morgan Stanley economists led by Seth Carpenter wrote in a note on Monday. The bank’s economists and strategists have modeled a scenario in which Donald Trump wins the White House and quickly imposes an additional flat 10 percent tariff on global imports and an additional 60 percentage point tariff on inbound shipments from China. That would mean tariffs would average 25 to 35 percent for about half of U.S. industries, the team estimated. — BLOOMBERG NEWS

RETAIL

US shoppers are seen increasing their holiday spending by 7% this year

U.S. shoppers are expected to increase their holiday spending this year – but the increase masks growing stress among lower-income consumers, according to PwC. The average shopper is expected to spend $1,638 this year, up 7 percent from 2023, PwC said in its annual holiday outlook. This growth is a sign that consumers remain resilient despite years of rising prices that have weakened purchasing power. Still, companies should prepare for increased price sensitivity, according to PwC, and 85 percent of consumers want to cut corners, especially in non-essential categories like dining out and luxury items. — BLOOMBERG NEWS

LUXURY GOODS

Mulberry wants to go it alone, rejects Fraser’s takeover offer

Mulberry Group Plc has rejected a takeover bid from Mike Ashley’s Frasers Group Plc, expressing confidence that its new CEO can turn around the British handbag maker. Mulberry said Frasers’ 130 pence per share offer undervalued the company and lacked the support of Singapore’s Ong family, Mulberry’s majority shareholder, laying the groundwork for a potentially heated takeover battle. Shares of the company fell more than 3 percent early Tuesday, down about 40 percent in the last 12 months. Mulberry has been hit hard by the global collapse in luxury spending, reporting a decline in sales for its last financial year. – BLOOMBERG

MEDIA

Chronicler of digital culture starts its own newsletter

Taylor Lorenz, the Washington Post’s top tech columnist, said Tuesday that she was leaving the publication to start her own subscription newsletter on Substack. Her newsletter, “User Mag,” will continue her coverage of internet culture and the creator economy, exploring “who has power on the internet and how that power is exercised,” she said in an introductory post. Lorenz said in an interview that she will continue to host the Vox Media podcast “Power User” and will now have the freedom to collaborate with other content creators and pursue opportunities that were not available to her at the Post. “I want to be able to publish whatever I want, whenever I want, and I want to be on top of breaking news,” she said. – NEW YORK TIMES