Walgreens to raise wages for hourly workers to $15 by November 2022

Drugstore chain Walgreens Boots Alliance announced on Tuesday that it will raise its wages for hourly workers in phases, with the goal of reaching $15 per hour by November 2022.

Initial pay hikes will take place in October. The move comes as retailers compete for workers in a tight labor market.

Earlier this month, competitor CVS Health raised its minimum wage and took away its education requirements for workers.

This is breaking news. Please check back for updates.

European Economics Preview: German Unemployment Data Due

Unemployment from Germany and flash consumer prices from euro area are due on Tuesday, headlining a busy day for the European economic news.

At 2.00 am ET, Destatis releases Germany’s import prices and unemployment reports. Economists forecast import prices to gain 13.6 percent annually in July after rising 12.9 percent in June.

At 2.45 am ET, France Insee publishes GDP, flash consumer prices and household spending data. Consumer price inflation is seen rising to 1.7 percent in August from 1.2 percent in July.

At 3.55 am ET, Germany’s unemployment data is due. The jobless rate is forecast to fall to 5.6 percent in August from 5.7 percent in July.

At 4.00 am ET, GDP data is due from Italy and Poland. Italy’s final GDP is expected to grow 2.7 percent sequentially in the second quarter.

Half an hour later, the Bank of England publishes mortgage approvals data for July. The number of mortgages approved in July is seen at 79,000 versus 81,340 in June.

At 5.00 am ET, Eurostat publishes euro area flash consumer prices. Inflation is expected to rise to 2.7 percent in August from 2.2 percent in July.

Transcat Enters Life Sciences Servicing, Ireland Market With $22.5 Mln NEXA Buy

New York-headquartered Transcat, Inc. (TRNS), on Tuesday said it has purchased all the shares of Ireland-based privately held Cal Opex Limited (d/b/a NEXA Enterprise Asset Management), effective August 31 for $22.5 million.

Transcat is a provider of accredited calibration, repair, inspection and laboratory instrument services in United States, Puerto Rico and Canada. Cal Opex, provides calibration optimization and other technical solutions to improve asset and reliability management programs to pharmaceutical, biotechnology, and medical device companies.

NEXA has $7.5 million in annual revenue, with approximately 70% based in the United States and 30% in Ireland. The purchase price of $22.5 million consisted of $20.25 million in cash and $2.25 million in Transcat common stock. The deal also envisages potential earn-out payments of up to $7.5 million in common stock over the next four years provided NEXA achieves certain annual revenue and EBITDA goals.

NEXA’s profitability profile with EBITDA margins in the mid-thirties, is expected to add to Transcat’s service segment profitability.

TRNS closed Monday’s trade at $66.57, down $0.08 or 0.12 percent over previous close.

Wendy’s Launches Big Bacon Cheddar Cheeseburger

Restaurant chain Wendy’s announced the launch of new Big Bacon Cheddar Cheeseburger, as the newest addition to its Made to Crave lineup.

The new Big Bacon Cheddar Cheeseburger comes with Wendy’s fresh, never frozen beef topped with its signature Applewood smoked bacon cooked fresh daily. It also adds a custom bacon sauce with a hint of sweetness, crispy onions, American cheese and a creamy, tangy cheddar cheese spread. All these are housed in a first-of-its-kind cheddar bun.

The new Cheeseburger is the third addition to the Made to Crave lineup this year.

Customers can purchase the new Big Bacon Cheddar Cheeseburger through Wendy’s drive-thru, contactless pickup via mobile order or through delivery with the Wendy’s app, DoorDash, GrubHub, Postmates, and Uber Eats.

John Li, Vice President of Culinary Innovation at Wendy’s, said, “As the home of the number one bacon cheeseburger, we had a desire to dial-up what we do best and create a flavorful, pub-fare style sandwich featuring more bacon, more cheddar and more innovation. The result is an unexpected, melt-in-your-mouth sandwich with huge craft flavors that deliver on our promise of always being craveable and affordable.”

Wendy’s operates more than 6,800 restaurants worldwide, and is best known for its made-to-order square hamburgers.

PHOTOS: Memorial service for Former Colorado Gov. Dick Lamm

Family and former colleagues gathered Tuesday to remember former three-term Colorado Gov. Richard “Dick” Lamm at his memorial service at the Wings Over the Rockies Air and Space Museum.

A couple hundred people gathered to commemorate the life of the 38th governor, who died in July at the age of 85. Lamm served as a Democratic governor from 1975 to 1987.

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258532 New COVID Cases, 1172 Deaths In US

With 258532 new cases of coronavirus infections reporting in the United States on Monday, the national total has increased to 39,058,688, as per the latest data from Johns Hopkins University.

1172 additional casualties took the national COVID death toll to 638,843.

Florida reported the most number of cases – 31,164 – and most COVID-related deaths – 574. The massive increase in numbers is attributed to backlog due to reporting delays at the weekend.

California is the worst affected state in terms of both the COVID metrics, with 4,346,741 cases and 65,814 deaths.

The number of people hospitalized due to the infection in the country has crossed the 100,000 mark. The toll has risen to 100,663, marking 22 percent increase in a fortnight, according to data compiled by New York Times.

30,944,465 people have so far recovered from the disease in the country.

As per the latest data published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, a total of 173,832,202 people in the United States have been fully vaccinated against the coronavirus. This includes 81.7 percent of people above 65.

204,742,648 people, or 61.7 percent of the population, have received at least one dose.

A total of 369,556,911 vaccine doses have been administered so far nationally.