The White House and GOP congressional leaders have issued a joint statement outlining principles for tax reform. Their plan, which omits the border adjustment tax, is expected to be in legislative format after the August recess.
⋅ McKinsey
CEOs should be helping HR to adopt a strategic role that focuses on becoming a business partner, using people analytics to identify talent and making HR operations more efficient, write Frank Bafaro, Diana Ellsworth and Neel Gandhi. "Companies that take these steps will move toward a next generation of HR that's data driven, not experience driven; systematic, not ad hoc; and consistent, not hit and miss," they write.
Instead of focusing on the prestige of a business school, prospective students might do better to determine the return on investment of other programs, say MBA admissions consultants. They note that strong candidates with high GMAT scores may find schools that are willing to provide scholarships.
⋅ The Washington Post (tiered subscription model)⋅The New York Times (free-article access for SmartBrief readers)
A plan to repeal portions of the Affordable Care Act has failed in the Senate in a 49-51 vote. The "skinny repeal" bill called for several changes, including repealing a mandate that people get insurance or pay a penalty.
Chipotle will test a "vehicular pickup window" at one of its Ohio locations this fall, the first time the company has offered a drive-thru at any of its restaurants. "We need to evolve the Chipotle experience," said CMO Mark Crumpacker.
Men who consumed 14 alcoholic beverages each week and women who had nine had significantly lower risks of type 2 diabetes, compared with people who did not drink at all or who had greater amounts, according to a study in Diabetologia. The benefit was limited to beer and wine and was greatest among people who spread the drinks out during the week.
Facebook has unveiled Messenger Platform 2.1, which includes built-in natural language processing, payment capabilities and a beta handover feature that makes it easier to transfer conversations from bots to humans. The update also enables marketers to display a wider range of buttons on their page, such as Shop Now and Get Started.
Walmart has announced 10 policy plans to boost US manufacturing jobs and recapture as much as $300 billion in imported goods and create 1.5 million jobs in the country. The strategy has many moving pieces, including building vocational schools, creating flexible compliance guidelines for small business, increasing tax deductions that promote manufacturing investment and reducing costs for training workers.
⋅ Nextgov
Senate appropriators have forwarded a cybersecurity bill that appropriates $28.6 million for upper chamber security protections and training; the bill will move to the Senate floor. Another bill also was outlined; it cuts National Institute of Standards and Technology funding by $8 million.
Chipotle executives revealed in an SEC filing they were served with another federal subpoena on July 19 asking for information related to a norovirus outbreak at a Chipotle in Sterling, Va. The subpoena was a follow-up to one issued Jan. 28 asking for "the production of documents and information related to company-wide food safety matters dating back to January 1, 2013."
Turner Broadcasting has partnered with Nielsen to use the company's Out-of-Home Reporting service. CNN will be the first news network to use the service, and Turner Sports is part of the deal too.
American Electric Power will invest $4.5 billion in a two-prong plan to bring more wind power to customers of two of its utilities, Public Service Co. of Oklahoma and Southwestern Electric Power. Pending regulatory approval, AEP said it plans to purchase Invenergy's 2,000-megawatt, 800-turbine Wind Catcher project in Oklahoma and then build a 350-mile transmission line that will carry the project's output throughout Oklahoma and into Arkansas, Louisiana and Texas.
TransCanada has launched an open season seeking 225,000 barrels per day in additional commitments from shippers for its long-delayed Keystone XL pipeline. The pipeline company will take bids for transportation capacity on the 830,000-barrels-per-day system until Sept. 28.
⋅ Reuters
Next spring United Airlines will launch daily nonstop service between Denver International Airport and London's Heathrow Airport. The seasonal service will be offered through the end of October 2018.
If you have a business bank account in a foreign country, depending on the balance you may have to file Form 8938, Statement of Specified Foreign Financial Assets, with your federal tax return, Mark Pestronk writes. You may also have to file FinCEN Form 114 with the Treasury Department.