Asian Stocks Slip as Oracle Earnings Miss Sparks AI Profitability Concerns 
Wall Street Futures Dip as Broadcom Slides, Tech Weighed Down Despite Dovish Fed Signals 
Evercore Reaffirms Alphabet’s Search Dominance as AI Competition Intensifies 
Asian Stocks Rally as Tech Rebounds, China Lags on Nvidia Competition Concerns 
Apple App Store Injunction Largely Upheld as Appeals Court Rules on Epic Games Case 
Brazil Holds Selic Rate at 15% as Inflation Expectations Stay Elevated 
EssilorLuxottica Bets on AI-Powered Smart Glasses as Competition Intensifies 
Asian Currencies Steady as Fed Delivers Hawkish Rate Cut; Aussie and Rupee Under Pressure 
China Adds Domestic AI Chips to Government Procurement List as U.S. Considers Easing Nvidia Export Curbs 
S&P 500 Slides as AI Chip Stocks Tumble, Cooling Tech Rally 
Gold Prices Slip Slightly in Asia as Silver Nears Record Highs on Dovish Fed Outlook 
Microsoft Unveils Massive Global AI Investments, Prioritizing India’s Rapidly Growing Digital Market 
Trump’s Approval of AI Chip Sales to China Triggers Bipartisan National Security Concerns 
SoftBank Shares Slide as Oracle’s AI Spending Plans Fuel Market Jitters 
Trello Outage Disrupts Users as Access Issues Hit Atlassian’s Work Management Platform 
Gold Prices Hold Firm as Markets Await Fed Rate Cut; Silver Surges to Record High 
ADB Approves $400 Million Loan to Boost Ease of Doing Business in the Philippines 
The Kroger Company will settle its opioids lawsuit in West Virginia by paying $68 million. In this case, the retailer was accused of contributing to the oversupply of the said drugs that are legally available with a prescription.
The state of West Virginia also alleged that Kroger failed to control the sale of opioids which is a type of drug that includes heroin which is illegal. Synthetic opioids like fentanyl and pain relievers are being sold to patients with prescriptions so they can be purchased in leading drug stores.
Patrick Morrisey, the West Virginia Attorney General, confirmed on Thursday, May 3, that Kroger has settled the lawsuit. The Cincinnati, Ohio-headquartered retail chain is the last defendant in the case, which also involves other major drug stores in the United States, including Rite Aid, Walgreens, CVS, and Walmart.
“Although the hundreds of millions of dollars we secured from these companies will not bring back the lives lost from the opioid menace, our hope is that the money would provide significant help to those affected the most by this crisis in the state,” the attorney general said in a statement.
On the other hand, Kroger’s spokesman also commented that while the company “continues to believe that the allegations made against Kroger in this and other opioid lawsuits are without merit, we have decided that a settlement is the best path forward to resolve this litigation.”
At any rate, CNN Business reported that despite the hefty payment to resolve the opioid suit, the financial impact on Kroger will remain minimal. This is because it reported $4.1 billion in earnings in 2022.
Walgreens also settled with the state of West Virginia in January this year and paid $83 million, while CVS and Walmart resolved the suit with settlements of $82.5 million and $65 million, respectively, in late 2022. In the case of Rite Aid, it paid up to $30 million in August of last year.
Photo by: Mike Kalasnik/Flickr (CC BY-SA 2.0)
