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The Morning Ledger: Companies Left in Limbo as Brexit Deadline Looms |
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U.K. Prime Minister Theresa May appealed to her cabinet to stick together on Friday. PHOTO: IAN VOGLER/WPA POOL/GETTY IMAGES
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Good day. With U.K. Prime Minister Theresa May’s government in turmoil over the terms of a Brexit agreement, the prospect of “no deal” is getting real—frightening companies big and small, including some far from Britain’s shores, reports The Wall Street Journal.
Big task ahead: Mrs. May on Friday appealed to her cabinet to stick together, a day after a wave of resignations thrust her Brexit plans in jeopardy. The Prime Minister now has to get the current draft through parliament, a challenging but not impossible task. However, with less than five months to go, the costs and logistical challenges for businesses of a no-deal Brexit are coming into sharper focus.
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Join the #cloud conversation this week with
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Preparing for a no-deal: The transport, manufacturing and pharmaceutical sectors would be the hardest hit by a disorderly Brexit, analysts say. BMW AG, which makes its Mini in England, is stockpiling parts and scouring the U.K. and Europe for warehousing space and parking lots. Pharmaceutical firms have been ordered to stockpile drugs, and food companies are hoarding ingredients. Aero-engine maker Rolls-Royce Holdings PLC on Friday said it would continue with its contingency plans involving buffer stocks, Reuters reports.
Preparing for a weaker pound: Company executives also brace for heightened currency gyrations ahead of the March 29, 2019 deadline, reports CFO Journal's Nina Trentmann. “We have seen increased hedging activity over the past couple of months,” James Hassett, head of foreign exchange trading at Barclays PLC, said. “U.K. and Continental European companies, both importers and exporters, look to hedge their exposure,” Mr. Hassett said.
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Abercrombie & Fitch Co., Helmerich & Payne Inc. and Rockwell Collins Inc. are among the companies slated to report earnings Friday.
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A customer pushes a shopping cart inside a J.C. Penney Co. store in Peoria, Ill. PHOTO: DANIEL ACKER/BLOOMBERG NEWS
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J.C. Penney Co. is finding that slashing inventory comes at a price, as efforts to clear the sales floor have also thinned margins.
Facebook Inc. Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg and the company’s board took issue with a report suggesting the social-media giant deliberately played down the impact of Russian interference on the platform.
Sears Holdings Corp. won court approval to pursue a sale of its best stores, a process that would be the retailer’s only hope of avoiding liquidation.
Shares of PG&E Corp. fell for the sixth straight day Thursday, then rebounded in after-hours trading, as investors grappled with the volatility that now comes with owning California’s largest utility.
Walmart Inc. is gearing up for a strong holiday season with a robust U.S. economy spurring consumer spending and the retail giant finding its footing in a shifting landscape.
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The FDA concluded in 2013 that menthols are harder to quit and likely pose a greater health risk than regular cigarettes. PHOTO: JUSTIN SULLIVAN/GETTY IMAGES
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U.S. regulators are seeking a nationwide ban on menthol cigarettes, a move that would remove nearly a third of the roughly 250 billion cigarettes sold annually in the country.
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Former Dewey & LeBoeuf LLP Chief Financial Officer Joel Sanders was led out of a New York courtroom in handcuffs Thursday after a judge found he willfully failed to pay part of a $1 million fine in his sentence on felony convictions, reports the New York Law Journal.
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U.S. securities regulators are investigating a company's $50 million cryptocurrency sale, and people familiar with the probe said it includes looking at whether a prominent bitcoin entrepreneur broke the law by getting involved with the company’s fundraising.
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The U.S. flag flew over shipping containers that were unloaded at the Port of Long Beach in California. PHOTO: MARK RALSTON/AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE/GETTY IMAGES
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Imports into U.S. seaports are surging over usual seasonal patterns in an apparent push by retailers and manufacturers to pull orders forward ahead of a new round of tariffs set to hit U.S.-China trade in January.
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U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell delivered another upbeat assessment of the U.S. economy, an indication the central bank remains likely to raise short-term interest rates next month.
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Imports into U.S. seaports are surging over usual seasonal patterns in an apparent push by retailers and manufacturers to pull orders forward ahead of a new round of tariffs set to hit U.S.-China trade in January.
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The U.S. Internal Revenue Service on Thursday announced the tax code’s parameters for 2019, implementing a new method for making inflation adjustments that will result in higher tax payments—and government revenue—over time.
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Anadarko Petroleum Corp., the Houston petroleum and natural gas exploration and production company, named Benjamin Fink executive vice president and chief financial officer. He succeeds Bob Gwin, who was named president.
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Mr. Fink most recently served as senior vice president of Western Gas Partners LP and president and chief executive of Western Gas Equity Partners LP. Both are limited partnerships formed by Anadarko to acquire, own, develop and operate midstream assets. Compensation details were not immediately available.
Groupon Inc., the Chicago-based coupon website, named Melissa Thomas as chief accounting officer and treasurer, effective Nov. 30. She succeeds Brian Stevens, who announced plans to resign on Nov. 8 to pursue a different opportunity. His resignation also will be effective Nov. 30.
Ms. Thomas was most recently vice president, commercial finance, a role she’s held since May 2017. Prior to that, she served as vice president of finance at Surgical Care Affiliates Inc. from June 2016 to May 2017. Compensation details were not disclosed.
Baxter International Inc., the Deerfield, Illinois healthcare company, named Brian Stevens as senior vice president, chief accounting officer and controller, effective on the earlier of either Dec. 3 and a date that Mr. Stevens and management agree on. He succeeds Caroline Karp, who resigned as vice president and controller to pursue other interests.
Mr. Stevens was most recent chief accounting officer and treasurer at Groupon, and prior to that spent 16 years at KPMG LLP.
He will receive a sign on bonus of $335,000, which he will be required to repay in full if he resigns within 12 months of his start date, or will be required to repay 50% of the amount if he resigns within 13 to 24 months.
Mr. Stevens will be paid a base salary, and will be eligible to receive an annual cash bonus and equity awards, and participate in the company’s other benefit plans, though Baxter did not release specific details of his compensation in the filing.
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Every weekend we select a handful of in-depth articles we think are worth a bit of your time, either because they peel back the layers on a compelling business story, or somehow make us look at business in a different light.
Karl Friston’s free-energy principle may explain the organizing principle of all life and all intelligence, but the theory is maddeningly difficult to understand. The idea may hold the key to true artificial intelligence, Wired reports.
Gen-Z employees are accelerating a shift away from wordy emails toward more visual forms of workplace communication--from emojis and gifs to photos and short videos, Fast Company reports.
Over several decades, President Trump has shifted many of his positions—including on health care, abortion and taxes—and even changed parties. On trade, however, he hasn’t wavered an inch, dating back to ideas first laid out in the late 1980s, WSJ reports.
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