Deere steps back from

diversity, inclusion

Farm equipment maker John Deere says it will no longer sponsor “social or cultural awareness” events, making the agricultural machinery manufacturer one of the latest U.S. companies to distance itself from diversity and inclusion measures after being targeted by conservative backlash. Deere’s move arrives just weeks after rural retailer Tractor Supply ended an array of its corporate diversity and climate efforts. While the companies’ responses differed, both arrive amid a wider backdrop of conservative backlash that has been targeting companies across industries.

As inflation drops,

rates will follow

Loretta Mester, having worked in the Federal Reserve system her entire career, rose to become president of the Cleveland Fed for a decade until her retirement on June 30. During most of her years on the Fed’s interest-rate-setting committee, Mester was likely to favor relatively higher interest rates to contain inflation. This stance earned her the label of “hawk,” which describes officials who typically worry most about controlling inflation. Yet in a recent interview Mester reiterated that should inflation keep cooling, as she and other Fed officials expect, the central bank should cut rates this year.

Multifamily construction

starts increase

New U.S. home construction picked up in June, though a decline in single-family housing starts to an eight-month low underscored a real estate market challenged by high interest rates. Total housing starts increased 3% to a 1.35 million annualized rate last month, driven by a 19.6% surge in multifamily construction, according to government data released Wednesday. Starts of one-family homes fell for a fourth straight month. Building permits, a proxy of future construction activity, rose 3.4% to a 1.45 million annual rate, also driven by a pickup in applications for multifamily projects. Authorizations for single-family homes decreased 2.3% to the slowest pace in more than a year.

Darden Restaurants

buys Tex-Mex chain

The parent company of Olive Garden, LongHorn Steakhouse, Yard House and other chains says it’s buying the Tex-Mex chain Chuy’s as it seeks to expand its dining options. Darden Restaurants said Wednesday that it will spend approximately $605 million on the deal. Darden will acquire all outstanding shares of Chuy’s for $37.50 per share. Chuy’s Holdings Inc. was founded in Austin, Texas, in 1982. It now operates 101 restaurants in 15 states and has 7,400 employees. Darden, based in Orlando, Florida, operates more than 1,900 restaurants and has 190,000 employees.

— Bulletin wire reports