Tuesday’s business headlines

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

Lilly

Eli Lilly & Company said its rheumatoid arthritis drug Barcicitinib shortened the time taken to recover from COVID-19 in hospitalized patients when taken in combination with Gilead Sciences’ antiviral remdesivir.

The drug, which is branded as Olumiant, in combination with remdesivir showed a roughly one-day reduction in median recovery time versus patients treated with remdesivir alone.

Lilly said it plans to discuss the potential for an emergency use authorization with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

Simon

Indianapolis-based Simon Property said its malls will be closed on Thanksgiving, though they will open the following day for Black Friday.

The announcement marks a major shift in strategy for the biggest shopping weekend of the year – which had been getting longer and longer, with more stores opening on Thanksgiving and promotions extending to Cyber Monday and into December. Simon is the largest mall operator in the United States.

Apple

Apple will hold an event Tuesday where it’s expected the company will unveil a new watch and iPad.

However, new iPhones are not expected to debut Tuesday. Those will likely come in October.

Grocery

The height of the boom is over for America’s largest grocers. Food and beverage sales at U.S. retail stores grew 11.5% in August compared with last year, according to Nielsen. That compares with 31.2% year-over-year growth.

Sales growth of most grocery categories has slowed, with prepared meals, meats and cookies posting the biggest drops from earlier in the pandemic, according to the market research firm IRI.