Morgan Stanley

America’s biggest banks are boosting payouts to shareholders now that they have made it through last year’s Covid-19-induced economic troubles. After the Federal Reserve affirmed that they are healthy enough to do so, five of the six largest banks raised their dividends Monday. Morgan Stanley led the way, doubling its quarterly dividend to 70 cents a share and announcing plans to buy back up to $12 billion of its stock in the next 12 months. Morgan Stanley shares rose 3.4% Tuesday.

Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc.

Pharmacy sales are on the mend at Walgreens, thanks to Covid-19 shots. The drugstore chain posted net earnings of $1.2 billion in the latest quarter as vaccinations contributed to improving store traffic and to a recovery in Walgreens’s pharmacy and nonpharmacy sales. The drugstore chain said it has now given more than 25 million vaccinations for Covid-19. Walk-in appointments, employer partnerships and mobile clinics have contributed to those efforts, Walgreens said. The vaccination campaign in the U.S. has cooled in recent weeks, as Americans who were most eager to get the shots have largely been able to do so. Walgreens shares lost 7.4% Thursday.

Southwest Airlines Co.

The Fourth of July could spell staffing trouble for airlines. Southwest is increasing overtime pay, including an offer of double-time pay for flight attendants, to head off potential crunches during the holiday travel weekend. This is the latest challenge airlines are facing in keeping up with the rapid rise in travel demand this summer. Airline executives said they hoped the extra pay would encourage employees to pick up shifts or work additional trips in the first week of July. Southwest will also offer double-time pay to ground-operations agents and cargo agents who pick up extra shifts during the same period. Southwest shares fell 2.4% Monday.

Lordstown Motors Corp.

The Justice Department is looking into the electric-truck startup Lordstown Motors. The inquiry is the latest challenge for the company, which has been racked with months of bad news as it approaches a September target to start limited production of a full-size electric pickup truck called the Endurance. The probe is being handled by the U.S. attorney’s office in Manhattan, and the Securities and Exchange Commission is also looking at the company. The SEC first requested information from Lordstown Motors in February and has issued subpoenas regarding the company’s move last year to become a public company and its representations about preorders. A spokesman for Lordstown said the company is committed to cooperating with any investigations and inquiries. Lordstown Motors shares fell 11% Friday.

General Mills Inc.

Get ready to spend more on Cheerios and Betty Crocker cake mix. General Mills on Wednesday said it is raising prices across nearly all its grocery categories around the world, as the company faces its highest costs in a decade. More-expensive ingredients, packaging, trucking and labor will push General Mills’ overall costs about 7% higher over the next year or so, executives said. The food maker plans to offset the rising costs by making internal cuts and running its operations more efficiently, along with other moves such as price increases and fewer discounts. Meanwhile, the company said pandemic-fueled trends such as growth in online grocery shopping will have lasting effects that could benefit its brands. General Mills shares rose 1.5% Wednesday.

Facebook Inc.

Facebook scored wins in its court battles against the U.S. government and most states. U.S. District Judge James Boasberg ruled Monday that a Federal Trade Commission lawsuit was legally insufficient, saying the regulator didn’t show enough proof that the social-media company was a monopoly and that its practices harmed competition. The judge also dismissed the case brought against Facebook by 46 states on grounds that, among other things, the attorneys general waited too long to bring their claims. Meanwhile, lawmakers are considering the path forward after a bruising battle to advance bills aimed at strengthening tech antitrust enforcement. Facebook shares climbed 4.2% Monday.

Exxon Mobil Corp.

Exxon Chief Executive Darren Woods apologized and disavowed statements made by two of the company’s top Washington lobbyists. The move came after Greenpeace on Wednesday released a video recording of the lobbyists’ dismissing Exxon’s public positions on climate change. The environmental group had tricked the lobbyists into believing they were conducting video interviews with a recruiter, and in the recording Keith McCoy, Exxon’s senior director of federal relations, called the company’s support for a carbon tax to help address climate change an “easy talking point” because it is a policy unlikely to ever be implemented. Exxon shares added 0.3% Thursday.

Write to Francesca Fontana at francesca.fontana@wsj.com