In brief: Revised figures show state pot sales increased in July

Marijuana sales actually increased in Washington last month,  contrary to initial numbers released by the Washington Liquor and Cannabis Board, officials said Thursday.

Sales numbers previously reported for July did not include taxes, though revenue figures during fiscal year 2014 did, said Brian Smith, spokesman for the board. When officials revised the totals to include taxes like in previous reports, sales figures actually increased from June to July.

“We wanted to compare apples to apples,” Smith said.

In its weekly marijuana report, the board reports statewide sales increased from $45.9 million in June to $57.1 million in July, an increase of roughly 25 percent.

Numbers for individual shops had not changed from original reports as of Thursday afternoon.

Planned layoffs highest in four years across U.S.

WASHINGTON – Employers announced more layoffs in July than any month in nearly four years and the pace of planned job cuts this year is the most since the recession, career counseling firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas Inc. said Thursday.

More than half of the cuts announced last month were from the U.S. Army, which plans to eliminate 57,000 positions over the next two years, Challenger said.

Employers last month announced plans to lay off 105,696 workers, up sharply from 44,842 in June, Challenger said. The July figure was the most since September 2011.

SeaWorld shares rise amid spotty attendance

SeaWorld said its theme park attendance is still falling as animal activists protest the company’s treatment of whales, but the company said some of its parks are doing better as it prepares to launch a pair of new roller coasters.

The company also maintained its annual outlook, and its shares rose more than 4 percent.

SeaWorld has been trying to recover from the 2013 documentary film “Blackfish” that suggested its treatment of captive orcas provokes violent behavior. Park attendance dropped after the release of the documentary and the company’s stock has fallen 50 percent over the last two years.

Mondelez in line for company shake-up

NEW YORK – The maker of Oreo cookies may again be the target for a shake-up as “Big Food” companies scramble to transform amid changing tastes.

Activist investor Bill Ackman’s Pershing Square said it took a 7.5 percent stake in snack maker Mondelez International Inc. that was worth about $5.5 billion. The disclosure comes as Mondelez, which also makes Ritz crackers, Cadbury chocolates and Trident gum, had already been slashing costs to offset weak growth.

Starbucks CEO says he won’t run for president

SEATTLE – After days of rumors that he might make a bid for the White House, Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz said he’ll stick with the coffee business.

But that doesn’t mean he doesn’t have a few ideas on how to run the country.

In a New York Times op-ed published Thursday, the executive wrote that “despite the encouragement of others, I have no intention of entering the presidential fray. I’m not done serving at Starbucks.”

But he criticized aspirants to the nomination for being “unable to rise above petty politics.”

Speculation about Schultz jumping into the race surfaces occasionally, in part because the Democratic-leaning executive is vocal about social and policy issues.

But rumors took a more urgent tone this week after New York Times columnist Maureen Dowd wrote that powerful friends of the coffee titan were encouraging him to run.