The Daily Money: FTC drafts retailers for supply-chain probe

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Tuesday, November 30

Happy Tuesday, Daily Money readers. Jayme Deerwester back with you, trying to hold on to that Thanksgiving vacation zen for just a little while longer.

Are you getting fed up with empty shelves and higher prices at the grocery store? So is the Federal Trade Commission, which on Monday ordered Walmart, Amazon and Kroger to turn over information to aid the agency's investigation of ongoing supply-chain issues.

Along with understanding the reasons behind the supply chain disruptions, the FTC's study will examine "whether supply chain disruptions are leading to specific bottlenecks, shortages, anticompetitive practices, or contributing to rising consumer prices."

"Supply chain disruptions are upending the provision and delivery of a wide array of goods, ranging from computer chips and medicines to meat and lumber," FTC Chair Lina M. Khan said in a statement.

Those retailers, along with other large wholesalers and suppliers including Procter & Gamble Co., Tyson Foods and Kraft Heinz Co., have 45 days to provide the requested documents.

Let's shift to our:

💡 INSIGHT OF THE DAY: It will take a few weeks to get a sense of how the new omicron variant of the coronavirus will affect economic growth. But it's unlikely to prompt another wave of lockdowns, predicts Mark Zandi, chief economist of Moody's Analytics.

"We are broadly assuming that there will be new waves of infections, but that each wave will be less disruptive to the health care system and economy than the previous one," Zandi says.

But while omicron's economic toll is expected to be less painful than previous waves, it is likely to further intensify worker shortages, supply-chain snags and inflation.

Other stories you won't want to miss:

1. Vaccination mandates: A survey finds the majority of U.S. employers will require employees to get COVID-19 vaccinations; few workers are quitting over the mandate.

2. Santa's deadline: FedEx, UPS and USPS say these are the last days to ship gifts.

3. Speaking of packages: Here's why we're obsessed with tracking them.

4. Amazon union battle: Workers in Alabama will hold a new vote after claims of "illegal misconduct."

5. More stimulus payments? Here are 3 reasons Congress should keep the money coming until the pandemic is over.

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Mood music

Today's lyrical snippet comes from Fugazi and goes out to anyone waiting for a package to arrive and hoping it didn't wind up in that Alabama ravine: "I am a patient boy. I wait, I wait, I wait, I wait. My time is like water down a drain."

Customers at the northside Muncie Walmart peruse empty aisles Tuesday morning. Employees at the store were busy keeping shelves stocked as people prepared for possible quarantine.

FTC orders Walmart, Amazon to turn over information on high prices

The FTC is ordering Walmart, Amazon, Kroger "to turn over information to help study causes of empty shelves and sky-high prices" for an investigation.