U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry waves before getting into his motorcade vehicle as he arrives at Andrews Air Force Base, Maryland, November 25, 2013, as he returns from London.
Credit: Reuters/Carolyn Kaster/Pool
BRIEF-Brown Forman-increases cash dividend 13.7%; extends revolving credit facility
http://currenteconomictrendsandnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/3d23a__p-89EKCgBk8MZdE.gif
Nov 21 (Reuters) – Brown-Forman Corp : * Increases cash dividend 13.7%; extends revolving credit facility * Increases quarterly cash dividend by 13.7 percent to $ 0.29 per share * Has extended maturity date of its unsecured $ 800 million revolving credit
facility from November 20, 2017 to November 20, 2018 * Source text for Eikon * Further company coverage
The Primark discount chain will be paying wages for another three months to workers affected by Bangladesh fire and building collapse, considered to be the deadliest garment-factory accident in history.
The April fire at the Rana Plaza factory in Dhaka killed more than 1,100 people, and most of the victims haven’t been compensated.
Last month the global trade union IndustriALL organized a meeting of the leading world retailers in Geneva to discuss a compensation fund of $ 74.6 million, the BBC reports. Only 9 out of the 23 brands being made at the Rana Plaza attended the meeting, so the retailers failed to reach an agreement. Key absentees included such giants as Wal-Mart and Benetton.
An eight – floor Rana Plaza factory in a Dhaka suburb collapsed on the 24th of April. According to preliminary investigation four large illegally placed generators providing power for the building set the building vibrating which resulted in its collapse.
1,129 people died, 2,500 out of 3,000 inside the building were injured.
The Rana Plaza was not the first building collapse in Bangladesh. The country’s clothing factories are often accused of poor working conditions and wages of 15 cents per hour. Last November a fire in the Mirpu factory near Dhaka killed more than 110 workers.
Garment manufacturing is a key driver for the Bangladesh economy.
“There are four million employed [in the textile industry], 80% of Bangladeshi exports are clothes. It is a way to alleviate poverty. It is a force for good,” Paul Lister, a head of corporate governance at Primark’s parent company Associated British Foods told the BBC.
Earlier this week, Bangladesh and the International Labour Organisation (ILO) agreed to launch a $ 24m initiative to improve the conditions of garment workers.
In his first interview with the BBC, Paul Lister, said that “a lot has been done” since the fire to improve standards, and that the events of April were a “huge tragedy”.
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Traders work on the floor at the New York Stock Exchange, June 6, 2013.
Credit: Reuters/Brendan McDermid
NEW YORK |
NEW YORK (Reuters) – Stock futures edged lower on Friday amid caution ahead of the closely watched nonfarm payrolls report, which is likely to provide clues on how soon the Federal Reserve will begin to ease back on its stimulus efforts.
* Stocks have mostly declined this week ahead of the jobs report. Investors fret that if the report is stronger than expected, the Fed may slow down its bond-buying program, which has fed a rally in the U.S. equity market this year.
* A pickup in market volatility over the past couple of weeks reflects investors’ concerns over the longevity of the Fed’s stimulus program and over a still-sluggish global economy.
* The Labor Department will release the May employment report at 8:30 a.m. EDT (1230 GMT). U.S. employers likely stepped up hiring only slightly in May, a sign the economy was growing modestly but not strongly enough to convince the Federal Reserve to scale back the amount of cash it is pumping into the banking system.
* S&P 500 futures fell 0.9 points and were slightly below fair value, a formula that evaluates pricing by taking into account interest rates, dividends and time to expiration on the contract. Dow Jones industrial average futures lost 26 points, and Nasdaq 100 futures fell 4.5 points.
* U.S. stocks rose on Thursday, with the Dow swinging nearly 200 points between the session low and high, and the S&P 500 recovering after hitting a key technical level in volatile trading a day before the release of the U.S. jobs report.
* The S&P 500 is up about 13 percent so far this year, after repeatedly hitting record highs. Those gains were triggered in part by the belief the Fed’s stimulus would remain in place.
* Wal-Mart Stores Inc (WMT.N) is optimistic that sales at its U.S. stores will recover from recent sluggishness to grow in the second half of the year, in part because shoppers are getting more confident, company executives said late Thursday.
* Apple shares may be in the spotlight after its rival Samsung Electronics Co (005930.KS) lost $ 12 billion in market value on Friday, hit by brokerage downgrades spurred by concern about slowing sales of its flagship Galaxy S4 smartphone.
* George Soros’s firm, Soros Fund Management, which manages $ 24 billion of the investor’s cash, sold much of its Japanese stock position in May, before the recent, steep sell-off, according to a person close to the matter.
(Reporting by Angela Moon; Editing by Bernadette Baum)
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By Ryan Vlastelica
NEW YORK (Reuters) – Stock index futures were little changed on Thursday as investors paused following a recent bout of volatility and ahead of key data on the economy.
Shares tumbled on Wednesday as gains in U.S. Treasury bond yields hit their highest level in more than a year, pressuring stocks that pay high dividends.
The spread between the S&P 500 dividend yield and the 10-year U.S. Treasury note’s yield is at its narrowest in about a year. The S&P 500 dividend yield was about 2.39 percent near Wednesday’s close.
The rise in yields came on concerns that the Federal Reserve would curb its bond-buying program sooner than most people expected. However, shares advanced on Tuesday following reassurances from central banks abroad that their programs would not be curtailed.
The Fed is expected to make decisions on its policy based on economic conditions, placing a higher premium on Thursday’s economic data. A preliminary read on GDP is seen showing expansion of 2.5 percent in the first quarter, even with the previous quarter.
Separately, initial jobless claims are seen holding steady at 340,000 in the latest week. Both data points are due at 8:30 a.m. EDT (1230 GMT), and while weak reads could raise fears about the pace of economic growth, strong data may be interpreted as hastening an end to the Fed’s stimulus.
S&P 500 futures rose 2.9 points and were above fair value, a formula that evaluates pricing by taking into account interest rates, dividends and time to expiration on the contract. Dow Jones industrial average futures fell 2 points and Nasdaq 100 futures rose 2.5 points.
Loose monetary policies by central banks around the world have lifted stock markets, driving both the Dow and the S&P 500 to record highs this year. The S&P 500 is up 15.6 percent from its close at the end of 2012.
Defensive stocks have been among the leaders this year as investors favored high-dividend stocks over fixed-income securities in a low interest-rate environment. While signs that the Fed may begin tapering its stimulus is expected to hit cyclical shares – groups tied to the pace of economic growth, like energy and financials – further rises in Treasury yields are expected to continue weighing on defensive names.
In company news, Costco Wholesale Corp reported third-quarter earnings that beat expectations by a penny, though sales were below forecasts.
Mining equipment maker Joy Global Inc reported a drop in second-quarter earnings and revenue as a fall in commodity prices pushed miners to cut capital spending.
The Food and Drug Administration approved two new GlaxoSmithKline drugs for treating advanced melanoma.
(Editing by Bernadette Baum)
