Talking Biz News Today — Aug. 19, 2020

Some of Wednesday’s top business news stories:

Associated Press

Virus-induced spending spurs sales at Home Depot, Walmart, by Anne D’Innocenzio

US home construction surges 22.6%, third monthly increase, by Paul Wiseman

CNN

The war between Fortnite’s maker and Apple is escalating, by Brian Fung

World’s largest miner backs away from coal projects, by Julia Horowitz

The Wall Street Journal

Amazon Bets on Office-Based Work With Expansion in Major Cities, by Sebastian Herrera

FedEx Adds Peak Fees on Shipments During Holiday Season, by Paul Ziobro

CNBC

California declares state of emergency as it fights fires, extreme weather, by Doha Madani

Wall Street pushes for GM to spin off its electric vehicle business, by Michael Wayland

Reuters

Oracle joins bid for TikTok’s U.S. operations, sources say, by Echo Wang, Joshua Franklin

New York charges Teva, Allergan with insurance fraud over opioid claims, by Jonathan Stempel, Mrinalika Roy

News about business journalism

Chief content officer Casey talks CoinDesk and its plans

ViacomCBS in talks to sell CNET for $500 million

NerdWallet hires French to cover travel and loyalty reward programs

WSJ’s Zweig to receive Bell Award

CNN Money Switzerland files for bankruptcy

Janofsky joins Recorded Future to launch new cybersecurity publication

Vogue Business to launch membership

Financial Post biz journalist McLeod set to depart

CNBC reporter Schulze hired by ABC