Thursday’s business headlines

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) – Here’s a look at Thursday’s business headlines.

Spotify

Spotify experienced a widespread outage affecting song playback Wednesday. The problems started around 8 a.m. and prevented a large number of Spotify users from playing songs properly for more than an hour.

It appears to be related to the company forgetting to renew an important certificate that allows for encryption of data and gives consumers reason to trust a website.

It’s all fixed now.

Lowe’s

Now you can nail your next home improvement project without investing in too many tools.

Lowe’s Home Improvement stores will now let customers rent out tools, joining other competitors like Home Depot in the equipment rental business as DIY projections continue to surge with more people working from home.

Meatpackers

A pro-vegan physicians group is suing the U.S. Department of Argiculture, alleging it is “ignoring concerns” about the possibility of coronavirus spreading through meat products and packaging.

The Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine said it sued after the USDA denied its petition to require meat plants to test their products for coronavirus before selling them.

The CDC said the risk of contracting COVID-19 from food or food packing is “very low.”

Purdue Athletics

Due to the upcoming financial shortfall following the postponement of the Big Ten football season, the Purdue Atheltic Deparmtent is undergoing layoffs, pay cuts and other budget issues that will affect every full-time employee.

The Lafayette Journal and Courier reports Purdue is projected to lose around $50 million in media rights income, ticket sales and other revenue. Other conference schools are facing similar situations.