Business news in brief

By The Associated Press

China’s economy slowed in the last quarter

BANGKOK | China says its economy expanded at a slower-than-forecast 4.7% annual rate in the last quarter. That was sharply below the 5.3% annual pace of growth seen in the first quarter of the year.

Economists say weak consumer demand and reduced government spending are dragging on growth. The economy grew at a 5% pace in the first half of the year, at the government’s target of around 5%.

The update Monday on the state of the economy came as leaders of the ruling Communist Party gathered for a once-a-decade conclave to set economic policy that was expected to focus on self-sufficient strategies for growth in an era of tensions over trade and technology.

Macy’s ends takeover talks with Arkhouse and Brigade

Macy’s is cutting off buyout talks with Arkhouse and Brigade, citing the lack of certain financing.

In March, Arkhouse Management and Brigade Capital Management raised their offer to acquire Macy’s in a deal then valued at $6.6 billion, or $24 per share cash, up from a earlier offer of $21 per share. Macy’s said Monday it will focus on its own turnaround efforts that includes closing 150 namesake stores over the next three years including and upgrading its remaining 350 stores.

Macy’s shares tumbled almost 12% to close Monday at $16.85.

Expert calls NRA’s spending policies a ‘dumpster fire’

NEW YORK | The second phase of the trial in a civil lawsuit against the National Rifle Association began Monday in Manhattan, with New York Attorney General Letitia James seeking an independent monitor to oversee the powerful gun rights group’s finances.

In addition, the Democrat wants Wayne LaPierre, the organization’s former CEO, banned from returning to the NRA. She is also asking for other restrictions on John Frazer, the NRA’s corporate secretary and former general counsel. James had previously asked that LaPierre be banned from holding leadership positions or collecting funds for charitable organizations conducting business in New York, but that is no longer the case.

In the trial’s first phase, a jury in February found LaPierre misspent millions of dollars of NRA money to fund an extravagant lifestyle that included exotic getaways and trips on private planes and superyachts.

—From AP reports