Martha Stewart meal kits going on market

NEW YORK >> Cooking like Martha Stewart is about to get easier.

The home goods mogul and cookbook author is getting into the fast-growing meal kit business. Subscribers will get a box shipped to their door with Stewart’s recipes and all the ingredients needed to cook up the dishes at home, including pre-measured raw meat, fish, vegetables and spices.

The new venture is a licensing deal with existing meal kit company Marley Spoon and brand management company Sequential Brands Group Inc., which bought Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia last year. Financial details of the new partnership were not disclosed.

Inventories are up and so are sales

WASHINGTON >> Stockpiles held by U.S. businesses edged up slightly in April, while sales jumped by the largest amount in two months.

Business inventories increased 0.1 percent in April following a 0.3 percent gain in March, the Commerce Department reported Tuesday. Total business sales rose 0.9 percent in April, the best showing since February.

A slowdown in restocking empty store shelves has been a drag on overall economic growth over the past two quarters. But analysts are hoping that stronger sales will give businesses more confidence to replenish their inventories in coming months, helping to boost economic growth.

Americans spend money despite job scene

WASHINGTON >> Despite a hiring slump, American consumers remain confident about spending.

A federal report released Tuesday shows that U.S. shoppers boosted retail sales in May by a seasonally adjusted 0.5 percent. It was the second straight increase, after an even more robust 1.3 percent increase in April.

A resilient consumer suggests that the economy remains sure-footed even as job growth has slowed, construction spending has weakened and corporate profits have declined. Consumer spending is the leading driver of the U.S. economy.

SUVs recalled over bad child seat anchors

DETROIT >> BMW is recalling 622,000 SUVs worldwide because the child seat anchors could become damaged and not hold the seat properly.

The recall covers certain X3 SUVs from the 2011 to 2017 model years, as well as some X4s from 2015 through 2017. It includes nearly 189,000 vehicles in the U.S.

BMW says that the SUVs have anchor bars for child seats that can be damaged when people use European-style child seats. BMW said most child seats in the U.S. have flexible Latch connectors and do not cause the problem.

New credit card works at Cuban businesses

HAVANA >> A small Florida bank will issue the first U.S. credit card intended for use in Cuba and make it easier for Americans to travel and work on an island largely cut off from the U.S. financial system.

Stonegate Bank said its MasterCard, available today, will let U.S. travelers charge purchases at state-run businesses and a handful of private ones, mostly high-end private restaurants equipped with point-of-sale devices. Until now Americans have generally had to bring cash to Cuba and change it either at state institutions that impose a fee or in informal exchanges with locals.

On the Move

Honolulu Federal Credit Union has hired Kelsey Young as its Moiliili branch manager. He has more than 10 years of experience in finance and management and previously served as a service manager for HawaiiUSA Federal Credit Union.

Hawaiian Telcom has hired Ted Jung Jr. as its video content director. He has more than 30 years’ experience in the video and broadcast industry including as producer for Simple Media Hawai’i, as former managing partner and general manager of Liquid Planet Studios, as a location technician for KITV and as a location and production manager for numerous national networks including ESPN, Discovery Channel and HARPO Productions.