Now that nearly 200 nations have reached a legally binding agreement to limit the use of hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) - a key contributor to greenhouse gases in the atmosphere - starting in 2019, the race is on for companies to provide alternatives. They are likely to increase the cost of air conditioners and refrigerators, but apparently not by much.

Honda did the "reveal" thing with its 2017 CR-V inside Shed 3 at Detroit's Eastern Market this week and the fifth-generation, perennially best-selling SUV seems, on first glance, to be "bigger, more powerful, more fuel efficient and potentially better in every way," "Detroit Free Press" auto critic Mark Phelan tells us in a video report. "You could almost feel a chill run through the competition" - namely the Toyota RAV4, Nissan Logue, Jeep Cherokee, Subaru Forester, Chevrolet Equino and Ford Escape.

After taking a beating in Congress, the press and social media over his leadership during the consumer banking scandal that led to Wells Fargo firing 5,300 low-level workers and paying $185 million in fines, Well Fargo chairman and CEO John Stumpf yesterday announced his retirement, effective immediately.

Amazon's intrusion into all civilized areas of commerce continues apace with the launch today of its on-demand streaming service, Amazon Music Unlimited, even as the "Wall Street Journal" reports that it is preparing to build small grocery stores that would stock perishable items as well as, possibly, convenience stores modeled on discounters such as Aldi.

Coca-Cola and PepsiCo provided funding to 96 health organizations from 2011 through 2015 at the same time that they were lobbying against 29 pieces of health-related legislation that could have reduced consumption of sugar-laden sodas or improved nutrition, according to research published in the "American Journal of Preventive Medicine." The study found fault with both the givers and the takers.

Samsung is suspending production of its Galaxy Note 7 "in order to take further steps to ensure quality and safety matters," it said this morning in Seoul as it continues to fumble its way though a mounting crisis steps behind social media posts of devices catching fire.

The buzz out of the Paris Motor Show this year is that electric cars are no longer just the eco-friendly but unsexy vehicles most major manufacturers grudgingly produced to keep up with the Teslas.

Samsung, which is under pressure from the activist investor Elliott Management Corp. to split up its "unnecessarily complex" structure, yesterday acquired Viv, the hot artificial intelligence platform from the developers of Apple's Siri.

Target is opening four small stores today including a 45,000-square-foot shop in Manhattan's Tribeca neighborhood, a short walk from the World Trade Center. They represent additional forays onto the smaller-footprint path that Walmart walked for a while before getting back on the well-trod boulevard of big boxes in the 'burbs and boonies.

In a merger that the companies say "could only have happened in America," Eastern-based Bass Pro Shops is acquiring Western-based retailer Cabela's - the self-styled "World's Foremost Outfitter" - in a $4.5 billion cash deal. Bass also started and operates White River Marine Group, which markets boat, motor and trailer packages.