Lowe's has completed its $8.8 billion purchase of Foundation Building Materials and its more than 370 locations in the US and Canada, less than two months after the deal was announced. The acquisition is expected to expand Lowe's market reach and position it to benefit from a projected housing recovery. The deal is intended to help Lowe's better serve professional customers by expanding product assortment, speeding up fulfillment, improving digital tools and strengthening the trade credit platform.

The ongoing US government shutdown is disrupting business operations across the country, as companies face halted contract payments, delayed regulatory processes and postponed inspections. Both large and small businesses are experiencing immediate financial strain, with some resorting to layoffs and others struggling to cover costs due to delayed government-backed lending and stalled projects. Economists warn that the cumulative impact could further slow economic growth and exacerbate business uncertainty if the shutdown persists.

US Foods and Performance Food Group are moving closer to a potential merger that would create a company valued at over $30 billion and present a formidable competitor to industry giant Sysco. Performance Food was initially hesitant to discuss a merger, but has more recently shown openness to a deal by signing a clean team agreement and adding a board member from activist investor Sachem Head Capital Management. Such a deal has potential antitrust concerns, but the looser regulatory environment under President Donald Trump makes approval more likely.

Oracle NetSuite has unveiled NetSuite Next, a next-generation ERP platform set for release in late 2026. The system features AI capabilities such as agentic workflows, conversational intelligence and Ask Oracle, a natural language assistant. NetSuite Next is designed to offer seamless upgrades, allowing customers to switch to the new platform without disrupting existing customizations.

According to the 30th annual Third-Party Logistics Study presented at CSCMP's Edge 2025 conference, both shippers and third-party logistics providers generally express confidence in adapting to U.S. tariff shifts. The study suggests that this optimism is partly due to lessons learned during the COVID-19 pandemic, which highlighted the need for resilient supply chains.

Brands must update their backend infrastructure to remain discoverable as shoppers increasingly use AI tools such as ChatGPT, Perplexity and Google AI Overviews, writes Adam Behrens of New Generation. Behrens offers four ways brands can become discoverable for today's shoppers, including testing conversational commerce and prioritizing machine-readable catalogs.

US District Judge Jed Rakoff dismissed a National Retail Federation lawsuit challenging a New York law requiring retailers to disclose when personal data is used for algorithmic pricing, ruling that the law does not violate the First Amendment and serves to inform consumers. The law, the first of its kind in the US, was scheduled to take effect July 8 but was put on hold because of the lawsuit.

Federal Reserve officials acknowledged increased risks to the job market at their September meeting, prompting a quarter-point rate cut, but officials remain divided on the pace of further cuts as persistent inflation remains a significant concern. Meeting minutes showed that most officials supported additional easing this year, but the "dot plot" reveals a nearly even split among individual members over whether there will be two or three more cuts in 2025.

Leaders should take the time to clearly outline changes that AI will bring to their workforce, experts said in a webinar hosted by Gartner that showed that 27% of companies have already redesigned roles due to AI. "Effective leadership today is change leadership," said Mark Whittle, vice president of advisory at Gartner. "Navigating change and transformation is a leader's most important responsibility."

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In observance of the federal holiday, SmartBrief will not publish on Monday, Oct. 13.