Business News Roundup, July 21

A little more than a month ago, Volkswagen CEO Matthias Mueller said the German carmaker had set aside enough money to cover the financial fallout from its emissions deception.

The company warned that scandal-related costs would consume a big chunk of profit in the second quarter, cutting into its operating earnings by about $2.4 billion.

The company is scrambling to contain the damage after admitting late last year to installing software to cheat emissions tests on 600,000 diesel cars in the United States, and on 11 million worldwide.

Volkswagen appeared to address a major piece of the financial uncertainty when it settled with U.S. regulators and car owners last month for about $15 billion, a record.

[...] attorneys general in three states are now going after Volkswagen for fraud, seeking additional fines.

The suits by Maryland, Massachusetts and New York allege that knowledge of the cheating reached deep into the Volkswagen boardroom, and that Mueller was, at the very least, aware of the engineering problems that had prompted the company to take illegal shortcuts.

There was no sign Wednesday that the company planned any management changes in response to the new accusations.

Shareholders for agriculture and chemicals companies DuPont and Dow Chemical have approved their merger.

DuPont said 98 percent of shareholders who participated in its meeting voted in favor of the combination, while Dow Chemical said 97 percent did the same.

France adopted a deeply divisive labor bill Wednesday after the government used a special measure to force it through Parliament without a vote, ending months of often violent protests and damaging political division.

Prime Minister Manuel Valls argued to the lower house of Parliament that the bill — which weakens union powers, makes layoffs easier and extends the work week — is necessary to create jobs and make the economy more globally competitive.

The bill led to months of violent clashes between police and leftist protesters who accuse the Socialist government of trampling on democracy and dismantling hard-won worker protections.

In a bid to reduce long airport security lines, United Airlines says it will work with federal officials to install automated screening checkpoints this fall at its hub in Newark, N.J., and later this year in Chicago and Los Angeles.

Carriers say passengers have missed flights while stuck in long lines at Transportation Security Administration checkpoints.