ENERGY

SJC hears arguments over pipeline tariff

Attorney General Maura Healey’s office normally would be defending Governor Charlie Baker’s state agencies in a court battle — but not this time. Instead, when the state Supreme Judicial Court heard arguments about the Baker administration’s proposed pipeline tariff on Thursday, a lawyer from Healey’s office was opposing the administration, not supporting it. The issue involves an unusual tariff that the Department of Public Utilities could allow utility companies — namely Eversource Energy and National Grid — to impose on electric ratepayers to help pay for natural gas pipeline construction. The DPU approved the rules last fall to address the region’s pipeline constraints. The proponents argue that the cost of new or expanded pipelines would be more than offset by cheaper gas as more flows into the region. But Healey, acting in her role as a ratepayer advocate, isn’t buying it. Her office has filed a friend-of-the-court brief siding with the Conservation Law Foundation’s challenge. One of her staff lawyers made a brief argument alongside attorneys for the foundation and liquefied natural gas shipper Engie before the state’s highest court on Thursday. The AG’s office argues that existing electricity market rules address some of these issues, making this unprecedented requirement for electric ratepayers to shoulder pipeline construction costs unnecessary. The plan, her office argues, would expose ratepayers to risks that the Legislature sought to avoid by restructuring the electric industry in the late 1990s. — JON CHESTO

MORTGAGES

Rates fall after Fed decision

WASHINGTON — Long-term US mortgage rates fell this week, following the Federal Reserve’s decision not to raise its benchmark interest rate. The decline put long-term mortgage rates near their low levels for the year, offering an inducement to prospective home buyers during the spring. Mortgage buyer Freddie Mac said Thursday the average 30-year fixed-rate mortgage declined to 3.61 percent from 3.66 percent last week. It’s far below its level a year ago of 3.80 percent. The average rate on 15-year fixed-rate mortgages slipped to 2.86 percent from 2.89 percent last week. — ASSOCIATED PRESS

CURRENCY

Identity of bitcoin creator still a mystery

The mystery behind who created the online currency bitcoin deepened Thursday. Craig Steven Wright, an Australian entrepreneur and computer programmer who earlier this week said he was that person, on Thursday withdrew an offer to prove his assertion, removing the contents of his blog and replacing it with a post simply titled, “I’m sorry.’’ “I believed that I could do this,’’ Wright wrote on his blog. “I believed that I could put the years of anonymity and hiding behind me. But, as the events of this week unfolded and I prepared to publish the proof of access to the earliest keys, I broke. I do not have the courage. I cannot.’’ — NEW YORK TIMES

UNEMPLOYMENT

Claims rise to a five-week high

Filings for US unemployment benefits increased to a five-week high, a sign that progress in the strongest part of the economy may be moderating. Jobless claims rose by 17,000 to 274,000 in the week ended April 30, a Labor Department report showed Thursday. The median forecast in a Bloomberg survey was 260,000. The jump was the largest in more than a year. Focus turns to payroll data due Friday from the Labor Department, and forecasts call for another steady employment gain in April. — BLOOMBERG NEWS

MEDIA

New newspaper lasts less than three months

“Life is short,’’ read the slogan of The New Day, Britain’s youngest national newspaper. “Let’s live it well.’’ Unfortunately for the publication, the first half of its slogan proved prophetic. Barely 10 weeks after its start as a counterintuitive print-only experiment, The New Day’s publisher, Trinity Mirror, announced Thursday that it was shutting down the newspaper amid a precipitous decline in newsstand sales that the company conceded was financially unsustainable. Targeting what it believed was a significant potential audience of “lapsed’’ print readers in Britain’s famously crowded newspaper market, Trinity Mirror, one of Britain’s largest media companies, began The New Day in late February with a goal of reaching as many as a million paying readers a week. In a statement, Trinity Mirror, which also publishes The Daily Mirror tabloid and dozens of other British national and regional titles, said that the reception for The New Day, whose daily circulation had fallen below 40,000 copies in recent weeks, had been “disappointing’’ and that, as a result, it would cease publication Friday. — NEW YORK TIMES

RETAIL

Walmart brings back greeters

Those smiley door greeters are back at Walmart. The nation’s largest retailer said in a blog post this week that it’s bringing back door greeters to a majority of its 5,000 stores by mid-summer to improve customer service. For stores that have been selected as higher risks for thefts, Walmart will position a ‘‘customer host,’’ who will not only greet customers but also check receipts to prevent theft. That was flagged as a growing problem last year. Those workers will be trained to help deter potential shoplifters. The rollout follows a successful pilot program. Four years ago, the discounter decided to remove the workers at the front of the store and relocate them to other areas. Greeters were a tradition that its late founder Sam Walton started. — ASSOCIATED PRESS

EARNINGS

Kellogg struggles amid slow cereal sales

Kellogg’s profit declined in the first quarter as the maker of Frosted Flakes and Pop Tarts continued to fight sluggish cereal sales. The Battle Creek, Mich., company said sales slipped 1.2 percent for its flagship US Morning Foods segment, which includes cereals such as Froot Loops, Mini Wheats, and Raisin Bran. The dip reflects the ongoing struggles for Kellogg and rival General Mills Inc. as Americans increasingly reach for alternatives at breakfast. Still, Kellogg CEO John Bryant expressed confidence that the company would end the year with positive cereal sales. That would mark the first time Kellogg’s US cereal sales were positive since 2012, he said. — ASSOCIATED PRESS

MEDIA

New York Times to sell ingredients for recipes

It’s all the food that’s fit to eat. This summer, The New York Times will begin selling ingredients for recipes from its NYT Cooking website as the newspaper publisher seeks new revenue sources to offset declines in print. The Times is partnering with meal-delivery startup Chef’d, which will send the ingredients to readers within 48 hours. The Times and Chef’d will split sales from the venture. The Times’s foray into meal delivery is another example of how the publisher is looking for new ways to make money from its content, brand, and journalists to hedge against the uncertain future of newspapers. In recent years, New York Times Co. has started businesses around live conferences, a wine club, and an online store that sells hats, shirts, and other trinkets with Times logos. The paper also runs a growing travel unit, “Times Journeys,’’ in which tourists pay thousands of dollars to see countries like Iran or Cuba, many of which are led by Times foreign correspondents. — BLOOMBERG NEWS