BuSINESS
T HURSDAY, AUGUST 1, 2019::L ATIMES.COM/BUSINESS
C
DOW26,864.27▼333.75 S&P 5002,980.38 32.80▼ NASDAQ8,175.42 98.19▼ GOLD$1,426.10 3.60▼ OIL$58.58 0.53▲ EURO$1.1085▼ .0071 U.S. T-NOTE(10-yr.)2.02% 0.04▼Steve Hasker, a top exe-
cutive at Creative Artists
Agency, is leaving the storied
Hollywood talent firm after
atenure of less than two
years, according to three
people familiar with the
matter who were not author-
ized to comment.
Hasker was named chief
executive of CAA Global,
then a newly formed group
within the company, in No-
vember 2017, a move orches-
trated by CAA’s majority
shareholder, the Fort Worth-
and San Francisco-based
private equity giant TPG
Capital. He started in Janu-
ary 2018.
As head of CAA Global,
Hasker was tasked withoverseeing and growing
units including joint venture
CAA China, boutique invest-
ment bank Evolution Media
Capital and investment and
innovation arms CAA Ven-
tures and CAA Labs. He was
also given responsibility for
overseeing the company’s
strategic planning, acquisi-
tions, investment activities
and data strategy.
The units Hasker over-
saw mostly exist outside the
company’s traditional tal-
ent representation business.
CAA— which represents A-
listers including Tom
Hanks, Tom Cruise and
Natalie Portman — is led by
its president, Richard Lov-
ett, along with talent agency
veterans including Bryan
Lourd and Kevin Huvane.
Hasker came to CAA as a
seasoned media business
executivebut was consid-
ered an outsider in the close-
knit world of talent agencies.
Before arriving at CAA,
Hasker served as presidentTop CAA executive leaves after short stint
Steve Hasker was an
outsider to the talent
agency culture and
lasted 18 months.By Ryan FaughnderSTEVE HASKER, shown in 2015, is leaving his role at Creative Artists Agency,
but will become a senior advisor to TPG, CAA’s majority shareholder.Dia DipasupilGetty Images[SeeCAA, C8]WASHINGTON — The
Trump administration —
under mounting pressure to
lower prescription drug
prices ahead of next year’s
elections — announced
plans Wednesday to con-
sider allowing states to im-
port lower-priced medica-
tions from Canada.
The move, long advo-
cated by consumer groups
and opposed by the pharma-
ceutical industry, will not
immediately clear the way
for widespread importation.
Nor is it clear when con-
sumers would be able to ac-
cess cheaper prescriptions.
But the announcement
by Health and Human Serv-
ices Secretary Alex Azar sig-
naled a new urgency by the
administration to show
progress on one of the presi-
dent’s signature 2016 cam-
paign promises.
Despite lofty rhetoric and
claims he was getting tough
on drugmakers, President
Trump has thus far been un-
able to deliver meaningful
relief to patients, with
Americans continuing to
pay the world’s highest
prices for medicines.
In July, the administra-
tion was forced to withdraw
a proposal to impose new re-
strictions on the rebates
that drug companies pay to
pharmacy benefit managers
in Medicare. Critics say
these rebates inflate drug
prices.
Previous administra-
tions have resisted calls to
import drugs from abroad,
echoing warnings from the
pharmaceutical industry
that it could expose patients
to risks from counterfeit or
substandard medicines.
But Azar, a former drug
industry executive who once
dismissed drug importation
as a gimmick, said Wednes-
day that U.S. patients will be
able to import medications
safely and effectively, with
oversight from the Food and
Drug Administration.
“For too long American
patients have been paying
exorbitantly high prices for
prescription drugs that are
made available to other
countries at lower prices,”
Azar said in a statement
that credited Trump forSTATES
MAY GET
OK TO
IMPORT
DRUGS
Cheaper medicines
would be brought in
from Canada under
administration’s plan.
By Noam N. Levey[SeeMedicines,C7]The Federal Reserve’s in-
terest-rate cut Wednesday
—its first since the Great
Recession— is intended to
shore up the U.S. economy,
and it will have different ef-
fects on different Ameri-
cans. The change will prob-
ably benefit people with
credit card debt and short-
term car loans, for example,
but people with certain
types of savings may feel a
drop in their returns.
The quarter-point cut, to
a range of 2% to 2.25%, be-
gins reversing the interest-
rate increases that began in
late 2015. The cut comes dur-
ing the U.S. economy’s long-
est expansion in history.
Some experts say that al-
though the economy is likely
to remain strong for the rest
of this year, Americans
should take steps now to
protect themselves from a
downturn that could be on
the horizon.
Good news for
borrowers
People looking to take
out loans — and those with
loans linked to shorter-term
interest rates such as some
car loans, small-business
loans and credit card debt —
will probably benefit from
the Fed interest-rate cuts,
said Stephen Stanley, chief
economist at Amherst Pier-
pont Securities.
“The more the Fed cuts,
the lower borrowing rates
will go,” Stanley said.
“You’re talking about poten-
tially lower rates across the
board.”
Those making long-term
investments such as buying
a home and those consider-
ing a new mortgage could
also benefit from the cuts,
said Lynn Franco, senior di-
rector of economic indica-
tors at the Conference
Board, a business research
group. She said lower inter-
est rates would enable con-
sumers to lock in more favor-
able terms on these long-
term contracts and avoid
higher interest payments
that could result from future
rate increases.
Consumer confidence
rose to its highest point this
year in July, according to a
reportpublished Tuesday
by Franco’s group. Expecta-
tions of the announced rate
cuts played a significant role
in the recent jump, Franco
said.
“The Fed has been signal-
ing that they would do this
for some time,” she said, “so
to a large extent that’s al-
ready baked into these im-
provements.”
People with variable-rate
loans are likely to benefit
most from the cuts, said Gus
Faucher, senior vice presi-
dent and chief economist at
PNC, a financial services
group. “Generally, variable-
What to
make of
the Fed’s
rate cut
Change should be a
break for borrowers
but hurt savers. It’s
also a reminder to
plan for recessions.
By James B. Cutchin
[SeeRates,C6]The Impossible Burger, so far available
only at restaurants, could finally be making
its way to U.S. grocery store shelves, giving
chief rival Beyond Meat Inc. a new competi-
tor inside retail. Its maker also announced
on Wednesday plans to produce more of the
meat-free patties through a new collabora-
tion.
In response to a petition submitted by
Impossible Foods, the Silicon Valley maker
of the eponymous burger, the U.S. Food and
Drug Administration has amended its rules
to call the use of soy leghemoglobin safe as a
color additive in imitation beef, clearing a
key hurdle in the company’s push to sell raw
product in grocery stores.
The rule change is effective Sept. 4,
though petitioners still have a chance to file
objections.
Separately, the company said it had
signed a deal with global food producer OSI
Group to expandAMENDEDFDA rules will allow Impossible Foods to clear a hurdle to selling raw product in grocery stores.Christian K. LeeLos Angeles TimesImpossible Burger could
soon be on store shelves
FDA clears way for faux meat to make leap from restaurants to homes
PATTIES FROMEl Segundo-based Beyond Meat, which is Impos-
sible Foods’ chief rival, are already available in grocery stores.Drew AngererGetty ImagesBy Deena Shanker[SeeImpossible,C8]Google’s parent
topples Apple as
the king of cash
Alphabet takes over
as the company with
the biggest financial
reserves, the first
change in a decade. C2PG&E disputes
critical report
Utility disagrees with
an article suggesting
it neglected necessary
upgrades in the area
of the Camp fire. C3Markets ...................C3