HOSPITALS
Large health system hit by cyberattack
Ascension, one of the largest Catholic health systems in the United States with 140 hospitals, was struck by a cyberattack that affected computer systems across the country and impacted patient care, the system said in a statement Thursday. The nonprofit chain said it detected the hack Wednesday and took immediate steps. News reports from Florida, Kansas, and elsewhere said ambulances were told to take emergency patients to alternative hospitals. Patient record systems and medication prescribing systems were among systems affected, requiring doctors and staff to use paper records, according to the local reports. — WASHINGTON POST
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A business newsletter from Globe Columnist Larry Edelman covering the trends shaping business and the economy in Boston and beyond.
AUTOMOTIVE
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Say goodbye to the Chevy Malibu
The Chevrolet Malibu, the last midsize car made by a Detroit automaker, is heading for the junkyard. General Motors confirmed Thursday that it will stop making the car introduced in 1964 as the company focuses more on electric vehicles. The midsize sedan was once the top-selling segment in the United States, a stalwart of family garages nationwide. But its sales started to decline in the early 2000s as the SUV became more prominent and pickup truck sales grew. Now the US auto market is dominated by SUVs and trucks. Full-size pickups from Ford, Chevrolet, and Ram are the top selling vehicles in America, and the top-selling non pickup is Toyota’s RAV4 small SUV. Last year midsize cars made up only 8 percent of US new vehicle sales, but it was 22 percent as recently as 2007, according to Motorintelligence.com. Still, Americans bought 1.3 million of the cars last year in a segment dominated by the Toyota Camry and the Honda Accord. — ASSOCIATED PRESS
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PUBLIC TRANSIT
NYC’s MTA short of $25 blllion to update system
The New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority, the nation’s largest mass-transit provider, faces a potential $25 billion funding shortfall on future infrastructure upgrades to improve subway service and strengthen its system against extreme weather events, according to New York’s comptroller. The MTA, a state agency that operates New York City’s subways, buses, and two commuter railroads, is set to release its 2025 — 2029 capital program by Oct. 1. If that spending plan is the same size as the MTA’s current $51.5 billion capital budget — and the agency has said it most likely will — it will need to deal with a $25 billion gap as certain revenue sources are already committed, Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli said Thursday in his annual update on MTA’s debt profile. The MTA needs to upgrade a more than 100-year-old system to help attract more riders and provide an essential service for New York City’s 8.3 million residents. — BLOOMBERG NEWS
COMMODITIES
Weather and war could harm wheat crop
Bad weather and war are threatening to keep the world’s wheat supplies under strain and reviving the specter of rising food costs. From soggy fields in western Europe to parched soil in Australia, and Moscow’s invasion holding back Ukrainian supplies, farmers face setbacks. That means global stockpiles will remain the smallest in almost a decade, according to analysts surveyed ahead of the US government’s first forecast for next season. — BLOOMBERG NEWS
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AUTOMOTIVE
Nissan profit soars 92 percent
Nissan’s profit for the fiscal year through March jumped 92 percent to 426.6 billion yen ($2.7 billion) as sales grew in all major global markets except China, the Japanese automaker said Thursday. Annual sales surged nearly 20 percent to 12.7 trillion yen ($81.5 billion), Nissan Motor Co. said. Chief executive Makoto Uchida said Nissan was aiming for further growth under a strategy called “The Arc,” which began last month and focuses on electric vehicles to boost sales. — ASSOCIATED PRESS
VIDEO GAMES
Hall of Fame inducts new group
The World Video Game Hall of Fame inducted its 10th class of honorees Thursday, recognizing Asteroids, Myst, Resident Evil, SimCity, and Ultima for their impacts on the video game industry and popular culture. The inductees debuted across decades, advancing technologies along the way and expanding not only the number of players, but the ages and interests of those at the controls, Hall of Fame authorities said in revealing the winners. The Hall of Fame recognizes electronic games of all types — arcade, console, computer, handheld, and mobile. The Class of 2024 was selected by experts from among a field of 12 finalists that also included Elite, Guitar Hero, Metroid, Neopets, Tokimeki Memorial, Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater, and You Don’t Know Jack. — ASSOCIATED PRESS
RAILROADS
Activist investor wins three seats on Norfolk Southern board
Norfolk Southern’s CEO will be under more pressure to improve profits after the railroad’s shareholders voted Thursday to elect three of the board members an activist investor nominated, but he won’t be fired right away. Ancora Holdings had nominated seven directors as part of a bid to take control of the railroad’s 13-member board and overhaul its operations. The key support Ancora picked up from major investors, two major rail unions, and proxy advisory firms wasn’t enough to persuade shareholders to elect Ancora’s entire slate. Ancora’s Jim Chadwick blamed passive investors for failing to support the investors’ nominees. Chadwick promised to hold CEO Alan Shaw accountable and keep fighting to improve the railroad. — ASSOCIATED PRESS
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INTERNATIONAL
Shopping tourists switch to France and Italy after UK halts tax-free shopping
Thousands of tourists who used to come to Britain for tax-free shopping are now visiting stores in Paris, Milan, and Madrid after the UK scrapped the incentive in the wake of Brexit. New analysis shows that 162,000 tourists from outside the European Union sought refunds on VAT — a sales tax — exclusively in Britain in 2019. One fifth of those tourists are now claiming rebates in other parts of the EU, where the tax break still applies. The UK ended the tax incentive in 2021 and has resisted strong lobbying from retailers and other companies linked to the tourism sector. The 34,000 tourists who have shifted their tax-free shopping from Britain have also ramped up their spending from an average of €2,900 ($3,622) per person in 2019 to €3,800 in 2023, according to Global Blue, a Switzerland-based tax rebate provider that tracks passport numbers. France and Italy are benefiting the most, attracting more than two-thirds of these travelers, with Spain’s retail sector also getting a boost. — BLOOMBERG NEWS
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