GE to freeze pension plans for about 20,000 U.S. employees in bid to cut debt - The Globe and Mail

General Electric Co said on Monday it was freezing pension plans for about 20,000 U.S. employees with salaried benefits, as the industrial conglomerate makes another drastic move to cut debt and reduce its pension deficit by up to $8 billion.

Since taking over a year ago, chief executive officer Larry Culp has carved out a number of measures to streamline the company and raise cash to pare debt. He has also chopped the company’s dividend to a penny.

GE and its finance arm had total borrowings of about $105.8 billion as of June 30, with industrial net debt at $54.4 billion.

Story continues below advertisement

The company said it will also freeze supplementary pension benefits for about 700 U.S. employees who became executives before 2011. GE’s pension plan has been closed to new entrants since 2012.

GE said the freeze is effective Jan. 1, 2021, and both moves are expected to help lower net debt between $4 billion and $6 billion.

Boston-based GE said there would be no change for retirees already collecting pension benefits.

“Returning GE to a position of strength has required us to make several difficult decisions, and today’s decision to freeze the pension is no exception,” Chief Human Resources Officer Kevin Cox said.

Shares rose 2.6% to $8.79 in premarket trading.

The company said it will offer a limited-time lump-sum payment option to about 100,000 former employees who have not yet started their monthly pension plan payments.

GE expects to record a non-cash pension settlement charge in the fourth quarter, but did not specify the amount.

Story continues below advertisement

Story continues below advertisement

The company also said it would prefund about $4 billion to $5 billion of its requirements for 2021 and 2022 under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act by using a portion of the $38 billion cash it is collecting from the sale of its various businesses.

The company also said it was on track to achieve its leverage goal of less than 2.5 times net debt to EBITDA (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization) by the end of 2020.

Your time is valuable. Have the Top Business Headlines newsletter conveniently delivered to your inbox in the morning or evening. Sign up today.

from Business - Latest - Google News https://ift.tt/2LT2yiz
via IFTTT
October 07, 2019 at 05:49PM

Infant formula recalled due to Cronobacter contamination - CBC.ca

In rare case Cronobacter can cause fatal infections. (CFIA)

Loblaws has recalled one of its President's Choice infant formula, following the discovery of Cronobacter by Canadian Food Inspection Agency testing.

No illnesses have been associated with this recall. But Cronobacter can cause fatal infections in rare cases, especially in newborns, says the CFIA. It can infect the blood, the nervous system, and the intestines. 

The affected product is PC lower iron milk-based infant formula in the 900 gram size, UPC code 0 60383 69839 3, with an expiry date of Aug. 29, 2021. The formula was distributed all across Canada.

If you have this product, it should be thrown out or returned to the store where it was purchased.

CFIA is conducting an investigation that may lead to the recall of other products.

More from CBC News

from Business - Latest - Google News https://ift.tt/2OBZLfJ
via IFTTT
October 07, 2019 at 05:23PM

HSBC to cut up to 10000 jobs to slash costs, FT reports - BNNBloomberg.ca

HSBC Holdings Plc may eliminate as many as 10,000 jobs as part of a cost-cutting drive, according to a Financial Times report that signaled Europe may bear the brunt of the initiative.

The bank, one of several European lenders shrinking its workforce, is questioning why it has so many people in the region when it has double-digit returns in parts of Asia, one person briefed on the matter told the newspaper.

The cuts, which would affect about four per cent of the global workforce of about 238,000, come as HSBC interim Chief Executive Officer Noel Quinn ramps up an aggressive cost-cutting strategy started under his predecessor. John Flint, who abruptly departed in August after 18 months leading the bank, failed to radically cut expenses.

“HSBC has a structural profitability challenge in the Americas and Europe and headcount reduction may be appropriate,” said analysts at Citigroup Inc., highlighting Quinn’s sharper focus on profitability.

The job cuts -- on top of 4,700 redundancies flagged earlier -- could be unveiled when HSBC reports its third-quarter results later this month, according to the FT.

Quinn started working on the new plan days after he was appointed, and has been told he is a leading internal candidate for the permanent role, according to the FT. An HSBC spokesman declined to comment on the report.

European banks including Deutsche Bank AG, Societe Generale SA and Barclays Plc are cutting thousands of jobs as low interest rates and a slowing economy weigh on their prospects. HSBC generated almost 80 per cent of its pretax profit in Asia in the first half of the year.

Born as the Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corp. in 1865, HSBC has been shifting resources to Asia, especially China, as part of a strategy initiated by former CEO Stuart Gulliver and strengthened under Flint. Chairman Mark Tucker looks keen to extend that push, weighing a bid for Asian operations put up for sale by London-based insurer Aviva Plc, people familiar with the matter said in August.

HSBC has remained committed to its expansion in the region, even with the U.S.-China trade war and Hong Kong’s protests swirling. The bank said last month it’s sticking with plans to hire more than 600 for its wealth business in Asia by the end of 2022, with more than half of those jobs to be added through this year.

Worried about its position as the biggest foreign bank in China, HSBC launched a public-relations offensive aimed at leaders in Beijing, Bloomberg reported last month. The campaign “demonstrates our commitment to grow our business in China,” the bank said at the time.

During Flint’s short tenure as CEO, the bank grappled with a declining stock price and a failure to hit cost targets. In April, he started a review that was expected to lead to job cuts, including hundreds of investment banking positions. Shortly after Flint’s ouster, Quinn told senior managers he wanted “less process and more action.”

Chief Financial Officer Ewen Stevenson said in August that the bank’s returns from Europe were “unacceptable,” while in the U.S., the bank said it would miss the return target it had set for next year.

--With assistance from Hannah Levitt.

from Business - Latest - Google News https://ift.tt/2o9ZuWt
via IFTTT
October 07, 2019 at 04:49PM

Stocks are dropping after China reportedly signals it will take a tougher stance in trade-war talks this week - Business Insider

Associated Press

• US stocks dropped on Monday following reports China will adopt a tougher negotiating stance in trade talks with the US this week.
• Chinese officials don't plan to offer concessions such as reforms to industrial policy or government subsidies, Bloomberg reported, citing people familiar with the matter.
• "Beijing is about to make another epic miscalculation," one analyst said. "Trump ALWAYS escalates when put under pressure."
• Visit Markets Insider's homepage for more stories.

  ---

US stocks dropped on Monday following reports China will adopt a tougher negotiating stance in trade talks with the US this week.

Chinese officials don't plan to offer concessions such as reforms to industrial policy or government subsidies, Bloomberg reported, citing people familiar with the matter. The tougher stance could narrow the scope of a potential agreement to end the trade war between the world's two largest economies, which is set to escalate with higher tit-for-tat tariffs in the absence of a deal.

China may be seeking to capitalize on the Trump administration's ongoing challenges, which include a mounting impeachment crisis and growing evidence of a slowing US economy. However, analysts are concerned the strategy could backfire.

"Beijing is about to make another epic miscalculation," Michael Every, senior Asia-Pacific strategist at Rabobank, said in a research note. "Trump ALWAYS escalates when put under pressure, and has never shown anything so far but a tendency to raise tariffs when disappointed."

"If China thinks Trump is going to crumble now just because he faces possible impeachment, they are about to get a very nasty surprise — and hence so are markets," he added.

Traders in Europe also faced headwinds. Factory orders in Germany fell 0.6% month-on-month in September, outstripping the Reuters consensus forecast of a 0.3% decline. The UK remains mired in uncertainty, as Prime Minister Boris Johnson won't leave Downing Street even if he loses a confidence vote, and plans to challenge the queen to fire him instead, according to the Sunday Times.

Here's the market roundup as of 9:07 a.m. in New York:

• US stocks opened lower with the Dow Jones Industrial Average and S&P 500 down 0.3%, and the Nasdaq down 0.2%.
• European equities have rallied with Germany's DAX up 0.4%, Britain's FTSE 100 up 0.5%, and the Euro Stoxx 50 up 0.5%.
• In Asia, Chinese and Hong Kong markets were shut for holidays. Japan's Nikkei fell 0.2%. 
• Oil prices have climbed with West Texas Intermediate crude up 1.5% at $53.60, and Brent crude up 1.3% at $59.10.

from Business - Latest - Google News https://ift.tt/2ItNeXG
via IFTTT
October 07, 2019 at 04:28PM

Oil prices up as US-China trade talks loom, supply issues mount - CNBC

Workers cross walkways between zones aboard an offshore oil platform in the Persian Gulf's Salman Oil Field, near Lavan island, Iran, on Jan. 5. 2017.

Ali Mohammadi | Bloomberg | Getty Images

Oil prices were up on Monday, buoyed by hopes of progress in U.S.-China trade talks and supported by challenges to supply facing major exporters.

Brent crude rose 73 cents or 1.3% to $59.11 a barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude was at $53.65, up 84 cents or 1.6%.

Both futures contracts ended last week with a more than 5% decline after dismal manufacturing data from the United States and China, with the trade row between the world's top economies undermining global economic prospects.

U.S. and Chinese officials meet in Washington on Oct. 10-11 in a fresh effort to work out a deal.

On the supply side, deadly anti-government unrest has gripped Iraq, the second-largest producer among the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries.

Iraq's oil exports of 3.43 million barrels per day (bpd) from Basra terminals could be disrupted if instability lasts for weeks, Ayham Kamel, Eurasia Group's practice head for Middle East and North Africa, said in a note.

"Any oil production disruption would occur at a time when Saudi Arabia has lost a significant part of its energy system redundancies (spare capacity)," he said.

The major Buzzard oil field in the British North Sea was also shut for pipe repair work, China's CNOOC said on Friday.

Libya's National Oil Corporation (NOC) said on Sunday it would close the Faregh oil field at Zueitina port for scheduled maintenance from Monday until Oct. 14. But analysts said the resumption in Saudi Arabian production after the Sept. 14 attacks could undermine a price rally.

"The Saudi attacks have quickly been forgotten about and global growth is back to being the main driver of oil markets," said Craig Erlam, senior market analyst at OANDA.

"Such complacency could come back to bite oil traders as another aggressive spike will likely accompany any further escalation in the region."

Despite Monday's gains, Brent is still down more than 20% from the 2019 peak of $75.60 a barrel recorded in April.

But OPEC Secretary-General Mohammed Barkindo said it was still too early for the group to discuss deeper oil output cuts to support prices, Russian news agency TASS reported on Monday.

from Business - Latest - Google News https://ift.tt/31TKZ7D
via IFTTT
October 07, 2019 at 09:22AM

GE freezes pension plan for 20,000 employees - Fox Business

General Electric is still trying to defend itself against accusations of accounting issues. SEC said they are monitoring the situation.

General Electric is making sweeping changes to its pension plan for approximately 20,000 employees, sending shares higher ahead of Monday’s opening bell.

Continue Reading Below

Ticker	Security	Last	Change	Change %
GE	GENERAL ELECTRIC COMPANY	8.57	-0.14	-1.61%

Seven hundred employees who became executives before 2011 will have their supplementary benefits frozen, and no changes will be made for retired employees. The changes will reduce GE’s pension deficit by about $5 billion - $8 billion and net debt by approximately $4 billion - $6 billion.

“Returning GE to a position of strength has required us to make several difficult decisions, and today’s decision to freeze the pension is no exception,” Kevin Cox, chief human resources officer at GE, said in a press release.

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE ON FOX BUSINESS

“We carefully weighed market trends and our strategic priority to improve our financial position with the impact to our employees. We are committed to helping our employees through this transition.”

The company said it will use some of the money it has received from the sale of its BioPharma, BHGE and Wabtec transactions to pre-fund up to $5 billion of its Employee Retirement Income Security Act payments for 2021 and 20212. Retired employees who have not started receiving monthly payments will have the option to receive a one-time lump-sum payout.

READ MORE ON FOXBUSINESS.COM

GM-UAW TALKS TAKE TURN FOR WORSE; SETTLEMENT NOT NEAR

BUSINESS ECONOMISTS FORESEE SLOWDOWN IN US GROWTH

General Electric, once an industrial icon, is in the midst of trying to engineer a turnaround after shares lost more than half their value amid a slew of problems last year. The battered company has undertaken a massive restructuring plan aimed at reducing debt by selling off non-core assets. In August, the company was accused by whistleblower Harry Markopolos, who alerted authorities about Bernie Madoff's Ponzi scheme, of hiding its problems through fraudulent accounting.

GE's Troubled Timeline:

2019:

• January: GE altered its agreement with the rail-transport company Wabtec in order to receive $2.9 billion of cash in exchange for giving up more equity.
• March: Warns it could have a negative free cash flow of up to $2 billion this year.
• June: Reports strong first-quarter results, bolstered by its aviation unit.

2018:

• June: GE was booted from the Dow Jones Industrial Average and announced a massive restructuring, shifting its focus to aviation, power, and renewables.
• October: CEO John Flannery gets the boot and was replaced by Larry Culp. The company then took a $23 billion goodwill charge for its power business. Culp said he would sell assets to raise cash and pay down debt. The SEC and the Justice Department said they would investigate the writedown. The investigation is ongoing. 
• End of the year: GE sold a $4 billion stake in the oil-services provider Baker Hughes and announced it would sell a majority stake in the software provider ServiceMax to the private-equity firm Silver Lake. It was able to bring down debt by $21 billion in the fourth quarter.

Let's block ads! (Why?)

https://www.foxbusiness.com/markets/ge-freezes-pension-plan-for-20000-employees

2019-10-07 10:45:53Z
CBMiT2h0dHBzOi8vd3d3LmZveGJ1c2luZXNzLmNvbS9tYXJrZXRzL2dlLWZyZWV6ZXMtcGVuc2lvbi1wbGFuLWZvci0yMDAwMC1lbXBsb3llZXPSAVNodHRwczovL3d3dy5mb3hidXNpbmVzcy5jb20vbWFya2V0cy9nZS1mcmVlemVzLXBlbnNpb24tcGxhbi1mb3ItMjAwMDAtZW1wbG95ZWVzLmFtcA

Amsterdam-bound flight makes emergency landing in Maine - Fox News

BANGOR, Maine -- A United Airlines flight with more than 200 people aboard has made an emergency landing in Maine.

A United spokesman says a cabin pressure issue diverted the Amsterdam-bound Flight 986 that had left San Francisco on Sunday afternoon to land in Bangor early Monday, local time.

WOMAN BOARDS FLIGHT WITH NO ID, BOARDING PASS

The spokesman says the 13 crew members helped the 197 passengers safely deplane and the airline was working with passengers to provide accommodations overnight.

He said customers would fly on Monday afternoon to Newark, New Jersey, and from there to Amsterdam, arriving Tuesday morning. Details about the cabin pressurization issue weren't available.

CLICK HERE FOR THE ALL-NEW FOXBUSINESS.COM

A 2005 AP story exploring the Bangor airport's role as a haven for diverted planes said the airport created from the former Dow Air Force Base is the last U.S. airport for outgoing flights to Europe.

Let's block ads! (Why?)

https://www.foxnews.com/travel/amsterdam-bound-flight-makes-emergency-landing-in-maine

2019-10-07 07:38:53Z
CBMiVmh0dHBzOi8vd3d3LmZveG5ld3MuY29tL3RyYXZlbC9hbXN0ZXJkYW0tYm91bmQtZmxpZ2h0LW1ha2VzLWVtZXJnZW5jeS1sYW5kaW5nLWluLW1haW5l0gFaaHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZm94bmV3cy5jb20vdHJhdmVsL2Ftc3RlcmRhbS1ib3VuZC1mbGlnaHQtbWFrZXMtZW1lcmdlbmN5LWxhbmRpbmctaW4tbWFpbmUuYW1w