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The Morning Risk Report: U.S. Regulator Opens Probe Into Kia, Hyundai Over Vehicle Fires
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The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is investigating fires connected to certain Hyundai and Kia vehicles. PHOTO: NAM Y. HUH/ASSOCIATED PRESS
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Good Morning. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is investigating a series of noncrash fires on Kia Motors Corp. and Hyundai Motor Co. vehicles after receiving reports of more than 100 injuries and one death.
The U.S. safety regulator said Monday its investigation, which would cover about 3 million vehicles, was prompted after receiving a petition from consumer-advocacy group Center for Auto Safety last year. NHTSA is already investigating some of the same Kia and Hyundai vehicles that are equipped with Theta II engines.
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“It is long past time for the full power of the federal government to be brought to bear to answer why so many thousands of Kia and Hyundai vehicles have been involved in non-crash fires,” Jason Levine, executive director of the Center for Auto Safety said Monday in a statement.
Representatives for Kia and Hyundai said in separate statements the companies would continue to focus on safety and work with the government.
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The Future of Corporate Compliance
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Join The Wall Street Journal and Dow Jones Risk & Compliance in Houston on April 11 for an interview with Stratfor’s vice president of global analysis, Reva Goujon, on how world events are creating corporate risk, followed by a panel discussion on energy company compliance with Christine Stevenson, chief compliance officer for integrated supply and trading at BP Americas and Brent Benoit, chief compliance officer of National Oilwell Varco. Register here.
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Sustainability, #MeToo Among the Top Issues for Firms, Report Says
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Sustainability, workplace diversity and inclusion initiatives stemming from the #MeToo movement, and corporate activism are expected to be the top social and environmental issues for companies this year, according to a new report published Monday.
Some of these issues have been simmering in the background for years, but their importance has escalated as more investors, consumers and employees have placed a greater emphasis on social and environmental concerns, said Brendon Steele, a director at nonprofit consulting firm Future 500, which publishes the annual trend forecast.
Other trends identified in the forecast include the increasing focus on the use of plastic, risks associated with executives taking stances on social issues, and local corporate tax incentives. The report suggests companies conduct an issue prioritization assessment, set goals and engage with a range of stakeholders to effectively manage these risks.
—Mengqi Sun
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From Risk & Compliance Journal
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The U.K. watchdog for accounting and audit on Tuesday launched an independent review into the governance, controls and culture at KPMG LLP’s U.K. audit unit. PHOTO: NIALL CARSON/ZUMA PRESS
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The U.K. watchdog for accounting and audit us launching an independent review into the governance, controls and culture at KPMG LLP’s U.K. audit unit. The Financial Reporting Council will examine KPMG’s risk management, its controls and the behavior of partners and other employees in the audit practice.
This first-of-its-kind review will be conducted by A&O Consulting, the consulting arm of Allen & Overy LLP, on behalf of the FRC, a spokesman for the regulator said. The review comes on the back of two existing investigations into KPMG’s work for now-defunct construction company Carillion PLC but also addresses issues outside of Carillion.
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Boeing 737 MAX planes at a factory in Renton, Washington, last month. PHOTO: LINDSEY WASSON/REUTERS
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Recent congressional testimony, as well as interviews with executives, regulators and others suggest the American aviation industry had an overly U.S.-centric view about how to handle safety issues, and often a dismissive view of overseas pilots. The speed of Boeing’s response is now a matter of various investigations.
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Singapore’s financial district PHOTO: ROSLAN RAHMAN/AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE/GETTY IMAGES
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Tech giants such as Facebook Inc., Alphabet Inc.’s Google and Twitter Inc. would be required under a draft law introduced Monday in Singapore to immediately issue corrections of false information published on their platforms and inform users when they might have been exposed to inaccuracies. Meanwhile, Facebook said it has taken down hundreds of pages and accounts that it said were working together to spread misleading content or spam ahead of elections in India set to begin April 11.
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China is clamping down on more substances related to the deadly opioid fentanyl, moving ahead to meet a promise made to President Trump amid U.S. and Chinese negotiations to resolve the countries’ trade fight. Chinese regulators announced Monday that a wider range of fentanyl derivatives would be declared controlled substances on May 1 and laid out steps for further enforcement, including stepped-up investigations and better tracking of shipments.
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New York became the second state to pass a ban on single-use plastic bags as others consider making the move.
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Regulators in North Carolina told Duke Energy Corp. that the company must completely remove coal ash from all storage basins in the state, rejecting the company’s proposal to cover some ponds and leave that ash in place. Coal ash is a byproduct from coal-fired power plants, which scrub potential air pollutants from their emissions. That ash can contain arsenic, selenium, lead and mercury. Duke said Monday’s order would add decades and more than $4 billion to the original $5.6 billion estimate for cleanup at its plants.
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The collapse of Abraaj Group, the world’s largest insolvent private-equity firm, has exposed a gap in oversight of the global financial system. Abraaj created companies and funds in jurisdictions including Dubai, the Cayman Islands, London, Singapore, Mauritius and the U.S. But no single regulator was responsible for supervising the entire firm. This allowed regulators to absolve themselves of blame for not identifying any mismanagement.
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Paul Jacobs is now chief executive of wireless-technology startup Xcom Labs. "As Qualcomm’s position changed, the conditions weren’t right to take it private," he said. PHOTO: VICTOR J. BLUE/BLOOMBERG NEWS
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Paul Jacobs, who was ousted a year ago as a Qualcomm Inc. director, has dropped his effort to take the chip giant private, instead choosing to focus on his networking startup just an eight-minute drive from his old employer. The long-shot takeover plan had threatened to pit the former chairman against the company he once led as chief executive and that his father helped found more than three decades ago. He said he is throwing his energy into the wireless-technology startup Xcom Labs Inc., where he is CEO and which recently made its first acquisition.
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Passengers wait to board a delayed Southwest flight at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport in Arlington, Va., on Monday. PHOTO: LEAH MILLIS/REUTERS
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Airlines said a computer-system fault delayed departures across the U.S. early Monday, showing how even brief technical problems can quickly affect much of the nation’s air-travel network. Delays hit most major U.S. carriers including Southwest Airlines Co. and SkyWest Inc., an operator of commuter flights for United Continental Holdings Inc., Delta Air Lines Inc. and others.
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Trucking companies say a congestion-pricing plan in the works for New York City may make deliveries more expensive but could create valuable room to move through the city’s busiest business districts. New York lawmakers approved the measure, which is expected to begin in 2021, on Sunday.
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Mud reaches the Paraopeba river in Brumadinho, Minas Gerais state, Brazil on March 18 after the collapse of a dam at an iron-ore mine belonging to Vale on Jan. 25. PHOTO: DOUGLAS MAGNO/AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE/GETTY IMAGES
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Vale SA’s auditors have refused to guarantee the safety of at least 18 of its dams and dikes in Brazil, as a crisis of confidence in the miner’s structures deepens following the deadly collapse of one of its dams in January. Vale said it cordoned off 10 more of its dams and dikes in the southeastern state of Minas Gerais after failing to obtain stability certificates for the structures. Safety inspectors also didn’t certify another eight dams in areas that Vale had already evacuated after considering them to be dangerous.
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Customers shop for produce during the grand opening of a Whole Foods location in Burbank, Calif., last year. PHOTO: DANIA MAXWELL/BLOOMBERG NEWS
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Amazon.com Inc. is planning to cut prices on hundreds of items at Whole Foods stores, as the e-commerce giant seeks to change the chain’s high-cost image amid intense competition among grocers.
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Kellogg Co. agreed to sell its Keebler cookie business and other snack and baked-goods brands to Ferrero Group for $1.3 billion in cash, as it seeks to shift its portfolio toward products it believes have stronger growth prospects.
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First there was Dow. Then there was Dow DuPont. And on Tuesday, Dow Inc. will begin trading on the New York Stock Exchange, after completing its spinoff from conglomerate DowDuPont Inc. The new Dow, as it is being branded, is a more focused version of its predecessor, entirely focused on material sciences, like plastics and silicones.
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Slack Technologies Inc. has selected the New York Stock Exchange for the direct listing of its shares, the second time a major company has picked the exchange to host its unorthodox initial public offering.
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Meat companies are using the deli counter to showcase new and higher-priced products, as customers eschew prepackaged cold cuts in favor of healthier and more natural foods. Hormel Foods Corp., Kraft Heinz Co., Tyson Inc. and other companies are buying smaller deli-meat brands and reformulating their ham and smoked-turkey recipes to meet rising demand for fresher cuts.
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Home-sharing company Airbnb Inc. said it had invested in Indian hotel-booking startup Oyo Hotels & Homes, expanding its reach in Asia.
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