Joe Biden’s hopes of securing legislation that would allow the US government to negotiate lower drug prices for seniors was dealt a blow yesterday. Three moderate members of the president’s party on the House energy and commerce committee voted against the measure, scuppering the bill and handing a significant victory to pharmaceutical companies.

Goldman Sachs has agreed to buy specialty lender GreenSky. The investment bank has agreed to pay $2.2bn GreenSky as it continues to build its presence in consumer lending. It is Goldman’s second multibillion-dollar acquisition in under a month and highlights chief executive David Solomon’s intention to transform the investment bank into a more consumer-focused financial institution.

Retail sales posted a surprise gain in August despite fears that escalating Covid cases and supply chain issues would hold back consumers, the Census Bureau reported Thursday.  Sales increased 0.7% for the month against the Dow Jones estimate of a decline of 0.8%.  A separate economic report showed that weekly jobless claims increased to 332,000 for the week ended Sept. 11, according to the Labor Department.