President Trump set up a new clash with an independent agency Monday with his call for the Tennessee Valley Authority to keep open an aging coal plant that buys much of its coal from a company chaired by Robert Murray, one of the president’s supporters. The TVA board will meet Thursday to consider whether to close the 49-year-old plant in Kentucky, which ran only intermittently last year because it was no longer needed to supply the steady uninterrupted power known as baseload. The board also is considering shutting down a 52-year-old coal unit at Bull Run near Oak Ridge, Tenn. The report says that both have high projected maintenance and environmental compliance costs and are a poor fit for the TVA’s future power demands, which are better met by natural gas, nuclear, and renewable energy. — WASHINGTON POST


AUTOMOTIVE

Nissan lowers Profit forecast after allegedly false report

Nissan lowered its profit forecast for the full year on Tuesday, partly due to special charges related to allegedly false financial reporting by its former chairman, Carlos Ghosn. Nissan Motor Co.’s profit in the October-December quarter was 70.4 billion yen ($637 million), down from 301.6 billion yen the previous year. Quarterly sales grew 6 percent to 3.05 trillion yen ($27.5 billion). The main factor behind the sharp weakening in profit for the fiscal third quarter was the absence of a lift from US tax cuts that sharply boosted Nissan’s earnings in late 2017. — ASSOCIATED PRESS

GAMBLING

You can now bet on the Oscars in New Jersey

New Jersey sportsbooks have become the first in the United States to accept wagers on the Oscars after earning state regulatory approval. The casinos see it as an opportunity to widen their pool of customers. Mattias Stetz is chief operating officer of Rush Street Interactive, which operates PlaySugarHouse.com in New Jersey. He said the company believes fans of the Oscars may be a new audience of gamblers more used to playing things like bingo or roulette. Sportsbooks in Nevada have never taken wagers on the event. ‘‘Roma’’ is the favorite to win in the best-picture category at the William Hill and SugarHouse books. The ceremony is scheduled for Feb. 24. — ASSOCIATED PRESS


RETAIL

Katy Perry’s fashion line pulls shoes after comparison to blackface

Katy Perry’s fashion line has pulled two types of shoes after some people compared them to blackface. The Ora Face Block Heel and Rue Face Slip-On Loafers were released last summer in nine colors. They included protruding eyes, a nose, and red lips. In a statement released Tuesday by the singer and company, they said the shoes were ‘‘envisioned as a nod to modern art and surrealism.’’ The singer says she was saddened when she learned they were being compared to blackface and they were ‘‘immediately removed’’ from the company’s website. Perry’s is the latest company to withdraw products after they were compared to blackface. Gucci took a sweater off the market last week, and Prada removed a series of accessories that resembled black monkeys with red lips in December. — ASSOCIATED PRESS

EMPLOYMENT

Dec. Job postings at nearly 20-year high

US employers posted the most open jobs in December in the nearly two decades that records have been kept, evidence that the job market is strong, despite several challenges facing the economy. The Labor Department reported that job openings jumped 2.4 percent in December, reaching 7.3 million. That was the most since records began in December 2000. It was also far greater than the number of unemployed, which stood at 6.3 million that month. — ASSOCIATED PRESS


AUTOMOTIVE

40 countries to require automatic braking in cars

Forty countries led by Japan and the European Union — but not the United States or China — have agreed to require new cars and light commercial vehicles to be equipped with automated braking systems starting next year, a UN agency said. The United Nations Economic Commission for Europe, a key UN standards agency, said the draft agreement was reached Feb. 1. It was announced Tuesday after the finishing touches were put on the deal, spokesman Jean Rodriguez said. The regulation will require all vehicles sold to come equipped with the technology by which sensors monitor how close a pedestrian or object might be. It can trigger the brakes automatically if a collision is deemed imminent and if the driver doesn’t appear set to respond in time. — ASSOCIATED PRESS

FINANCE

EU banks target clients for more scrutiny

European Union banks will face higher hurdles in dealing with clients from countries including Saudi Arabia as the bloc moves to tighten controls on illicit financial flows. Panama and the US Virgin Islands will also be put alongside Iran and North Korea on a new EU roll call of 23 countries outside the bloc identified as posing higher risks for terrorist financing and money laundering, according to people familiar with its content.

— BLOOMBERG NEWS

INTERNATIONAL

Widows of Nigerian activists sue Shell over their husbands’ deaths

The widows of four Nigerian activists have opened a civil court case against oil company Shell, alleging it was complicit in the deaths of their husbands more than two decades ago. Esther Kiobel, Victoria Bera, Blessing Eawo, and Charity Levula are seeking an apology and compensation in the case, which opened Tuesday in The Hague in the Netherlands. Their husbands were among nine activists from the Ogoni tribe, led by writer Ken Saro-Wiwa, who were hanged in 1995 for the murder of four political rivals. Supporters say they were targeted because of their involvement in protests against environmental damage by Shell’s Nigerian subsidiary. In a written statement, Shell’s Nigerian arm, Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria Ltd., denied responsibility. The company says it ‘‘had no role in the arrest, trial and execution of these men.’’ — ASSOCIATED PRESS


MEDIA

At least five French journalists suspended for online harassment

At least five French journalists have been suspended from their jobs for allegedly harassing people online with sexist, homophobic, and racist insults that were coordinated through a private Facebook group. France’s Liberation newspaper and cultural magazine Les Inrockuptibles said this week that they suspended four of their journalists, including the creator of the Facebook group. Called ‘‘League of LOL’’, its members included publicists and communication designers, as well as journalists, in Paris. French media have dubbed it a ‘‘boys club,’’ a reference to male-dominated groups that demean others to prove strength. One more journalist and two other group members also were suspended by their employers. — ASSOCIATED PRESS

SOCIAL MEDIA

Reddit raises $300m, half from Chinese tech company

The social media service Reddit Inc. said that it has raised $300 million in a financing round led by the Chinese Internet giant Tencent. Reddit’s CEO, Steve Huffman, told CNBC on Monday that the privately held company is now valued at $3 billion. Half of the new money came from Tencent, Asia’s most valuable tech company. Other investors included Sequoia, Fidelity, Andreessen Horowitz, Quiet Capital, VY, and Snoop Dogg. The announcement prompted criticism of Reddit for linking itself with a company from China, where the ruling Communist Party enforces extensive online censorship. Access to Reddit is blocked in China. — ASSOCIATED PRESS