In a comprehensive report on how financial regulatory reform affects community banks and credit unions, the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) found that these financial institutions have benefitted since the reform of debit swipe fees went into effect on October 1, 2011. Banks with less than $10 billion in assets are exempt from debit swipe…
DetailsLast week, U.S. Senator Roy Blunt (R-MO) introduced S. 3574, the Common Sense Nutrition Disclosure Act of 2012, which calls for a less burdensome approach to unnecessary federal menu-labeling regulations outlined in the health-care law. Blunt was joined by fellow Senators John Barrasso (R-WY), John Boozman (R-AR), Scott Brown (R-MA), Tom Coburn (R-OK), Thad Cochran…
DetailsIn a letter to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) earlier this month, Science, Space & Technology Committee vice chairman James Sensenbrenner (R-Wis.) and committee member, Representative Chip Cravaack (R-Minn.), questioned the EPA’s recent decision to mandate that consumers purchase at least four gallons of fuel from blender pumps that dispense both E15 and E10…
DetailsThe U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has increased its 2013 biofuel targets, requiring refiners to blend 1.28 billion gallons of biodiesel into traditional transportation fuel next year, vs. a 1-billion gallon requirement for 2012. According to EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson, the new biofuel blending requirement meets goals set forth by Congress and is “another step…
DetailsEmployers will be able to use an online federal database to confirm new hires are eligible to work in the United States for three more years, the National Restaurant Association reports. The federal E-Verify program has been approved by Congress until Sept. 30, 2015, and President Barack Obama will likely sign the bill soon. The…
DetailsIn a victory for QuikTrip, 7-Eleven and Kum & Go, selling “hot fuel”—gasoline that is not adjusted for its temperature—does not violate the Kansas Consumer Protection Act, a federal jury in Kansas City, Kansas, said last week, according to a report by The Kansas City Star. The case was the first to come to a…
DetailsThe FDA has issued a one-page fact sheet titled “Overview: Tobacco Retailer Warning Letters” to explain why warning letters are issued to tobacco retailers, what a retailer needs to do if a warning letter is received, and what FDA tobacco regulations apply to retailers. According to the FDA’s website, as of this past August 31,…
DetailsEfforts by dollar stores to increase trip frequency and grow basket size has them pushing into categories that introduce a considerable degree of complexity, as well as competition with convenience stores. Family Dollar is rolling out a four-foot tobacco set to 6,000 sites by the end of 2012. In a second-quarter 2012 earnings call, CEO…
DetailsThe availability of E15 is off to a slow start, and some retailers say it will stay that way, even though ethanol groups are pushing for wider usage, the Wall Street Journal reports. The blend is available at several stations in Kansas and Iowa, while Illinois, Nebraska, and South Dakota have said it could be…
DetailsThe morning after the first presidential debate, the National Retail Federation (NRF) launched a grassroots get-out-the-vote initiative. Named Retail Means Votes, the non-partisan effort is intended to educate and engage America’s retail industry, which supports 42 million American jobs. In addition, Retail Means Votes was created to encourage retailers to become active participants in next…
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