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The Morning Risk Report: Shareholders Push Gun Maker to Review Safety |
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Smith & Wesson guns on display at a weapons fair. On Tuesday investors voted to push the company to track shootings involving its products. PHOTO: DANIEL KARMANN/DPA/ZUMA PRESS
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Good day. Investors in American Outdoor Brands Corp. won a shareholder vote urging the top U.S. firearm maker to do more to address gun violence, The Wall Street Journal’s Doug Cameron and Asjylyn Loder report.
Tracking data: The proposal asks the maker of Smith & Wesson guns to track shootings involving its products and consider investing more in technology to prevent their unauthorized use. Investors in Sturm, Ruger & Co. backed a similar shareholder proposal at that company in May.
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CEO is disappointed: American Outdoor said it would prepare the report by February, but made no further concessions to investors who have won backing from some large fund managers. American Outdoor Chief Executive James Debney said he was disappointed by the vote. The company had said illegal use of its guns was a law-enforcement issue.
Investor pressure: The resolutions at American Outdoor and Sturm, Ruger & Co. were put forward by a coalition of investors who began buying gun stocks two years ago to pressure executives for change. The effort gained wider attention after the Parkland, Fla., high school shooting that left 17 people dead.
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| From Risk & Compliance Journal |
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Ex-CEO of Chilean Mining Firm Settles SEC Bribery Probe |
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The former chief executive of a Chilean chemical and mining company on Tuesday settled a foreign bribery case with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, Risk & Compliance Journal's Samuel Rubenfeld reports.
Patricio Contesse, as CEO of Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile SA, or SQM, directed and authorized nearly $15 million in payments through a discretionary account to Chilean politicians, political candidates and people and entities associated with them, the SEC alleged.
Without admitting or denying the SEC’s allegations, Mr. Contesse agreed to pay $125,000. A lawyer for Mr. Contesse didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
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Venezuela's President Nicolás Maduro, left, and his wife Cilia Flores greeting supporters Tuesday in Caracas, Venezuela. PHOTO: MIRAFLORES PALACE/ASSOCIATED PRESS
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U.S. Adds Venezuela’s First Lady to Sanctions List |
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The U.S. and several South American countries on Tuesday sharpened their stance toward Venezuela’s government, with Washington imposing sanctions on the country’s first lady and three top officials as the country’s neighbors ready a push for an international investigation into its alleged crimes against humanity.
President Trump, during a speech before the United Nations General Assembly, urged other countries to join in ratcheting up pressure against “a repressive regime.” President Nicolás Maduro, meanwhile, said the new round of sanctions were part of a Washington-led conspiracy to destabilize his leftist administration.
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Former Bankrate CFO Sentenced to 10 Years for Accounting Fraud |
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The former chief financial officer of Bankrate Inc. was sentenced to 10 years in prison for securities and accounting fraud that resulted in $25 million in shareholder losses, the U.S. Justice Department said.
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Antitrust Chief Vows to Cut Merger Review Time |
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The Justice Department’s antitrust chief is pledging to significantly cut the length of time it takes to review proposed mergers, amid complaints from companies that the regulatory clearance process has become painfully slow.
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Uber Wins Court Appeal Over Driver’s Working
Classification |
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Uber Technologies Inc. scored a legal victory over drivers after a federal appeals court dismantled the class-action status of a lawsuit that sought to reclassify independent contractors as employees.
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Img caption/IMG CREDIT HERE
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Nike Buzz Created Tough Expectations |
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Nike Inc.’s controversial new ad campaign, generating backlash along with a wave of social-media excitement, sent the stock to a record. That set the bar extremely high for the company’s first-quarter earnings report on Tuesday. Though Nike beat expectations and posted double-digit profit growth, the stock fell 4% in after-hours trading.
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Qualcomm Accuses Apple of Funneling Secrets to Rival Intel |
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Qualcomm Inc. accused Apple Inc. of funneling proprietary information about the chip supplier’s technology to rival Intel Corp., broadening a legal battle between two companies central to the smartphone industry.
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NTSB Urges Safety Upgrades to Prevent Taxiway
Collisions |
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Federal air-accident investigators recommended enhanced safety systems in cockpits and on the ground to reduce hazards of airliners mistakenly landing on taxiways instead of designated runways.
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Arby’s Parent to Buy Sonic for $2.3 Billion |
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Arby’s owner Inspire Brands Inc. said it is buying burger chain Sonic Corp. for $2.3 billion including debt, part of its strategy to guard against restaurant-business fads and downturns.
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The Knot Parent Agrees to Tie-Up With WeddingWire |
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XO Group Inc., the parent company of wedding-planning website the Knot, agreed to be taken private for about $933 million, a deal that would hitch it to nuptials-planning marketplace WeddingWire Inc.
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CBS Names Richard Parsons as Interim Chairman |
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CBS Corp.’s board named Richard Parsons interim chairman, and two other longtime directors resigned, in the latest change in the broadcaster’s ranks, the company said.
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Banco Santander Names UBS Investment Bank Head as Next
CEO |
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Banco Santander SA named UBS Group AG’s Andrea Orcel as its new CEO, propelling one of Europe’s highest-profile investment bankers to the helm of a global banking giant.
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