Legislative, Regulatory & Legal

Washington, D.C. -- A Tuesday report from the Commerce Department showed that consumer spending dropped 0.2% in June, to $21.9 billion.

Personal income was virtually flat for the month, increasing 0.1% to $18.7 billion, which was in line with estimates.

WASHINGTON — Amazon and other online-only retailers have been dealt a major blow, as legislation introduced last week seeks to require such retailers to collect sales tax.

The Main Street Fairness Act would allow states that have adopted the Streamlined Sales and Use Tax Agreement to require out-of-state sellers to collect sales tax whether they have a physical presence in their state or not. The bill would cover all “remote sellers,” which include online retailers, catalog merchants and “1-800” offers on radio and television.

WASHINGTON — The National Retail Federation announced that it is urging Congress to reach an agreement and raise the debt ceiling in order to avoid default.

NRF president and CEO Matthew Shay issued the following statement:

ARLINGTON, Va. — The Food Marketing Institute on Wednesday named Heather Garlich as the association’s director of media and public relations. She will be responsible for managing communications outreach and information activities related to FMI’s strategic goals, including government relations, food safety, conferences and events, and industry relations.

Wal-Mart Stores president and CEO Mike Duke was on Capitol Hill this week making the case for modernizing the U.S. tax code even as Democratic and Republican lawmakers continued to engage in brinksmanship over what all agree is a disturbing level of national indebtedness. Duke testified before the United States Senate Committee on Finance, which was holding hearings on CEO perspectives on how the tax code affects hiring, businesses and economic growth. A transcript of his prepared remarks appears below:

Hartford, Conn. -- The State Attorney’s office in Connecticut said Thursday that Walgreen Co. has settled a civil lawsuit with state and federal officials who accused the retailer of double-billing the government for prescription drugs.

Walgreen has reimbursed the government for billing errors made between June 1, 2006, and Aug. 31, 2008, and admitted no wrongdoing in the settlement.
 

The existence of hunger in America and the concept of food deserts are hard for most Americans to grasp. Simple observations suggests that the majority of us are not missing many meals and grocery stores are so prevalent that profitably operating a food store is a perpetual challenge because of intense competition and the resulting pricing pressure.

Camp Hill, Pa. -- Rite Aid Corp. has agreed to pay $2.1 million to Massachusetts towns to settle alleged prescription drug overcharges under the workers’ compensation insurance system.

Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley said Wednesday that Rite Aid has overcharged state agencies and at least 100 cities and towns to fill prescriptions for people receiving workers' compensation since 2002.

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — Books-A-Million's efforts to secure the inventory, fixtures, equipment and leasehold interests for 30 Borders stores ended unsuccessfully because the company could not agree with Borders on terms and the going out of business sales at these locations commenced, the company announced Monday.

New Delhi, India -- A Monday report by Bloomberg said that an Indian governmental panel recommended easing market-entry restrictions, making Wal-Mart Stores’ and Carrefour SA’s path into the India retail market potentially much easier.

Citing a finance ministry official as its source, Bloomberg reported that a panel of New Delhi bureaucrats recommended on Friday that overseas companies be allowed to own up to 51% of stores that sell more than one brand if they invest a minimum of $100 million.