QUOTE OF THE DAY
“What truly defines being No. 1 is an eternal pursuit for which there is never an answer.” Akio Toyoda, Toyota Motor Corp. president Article,1D
Wal-Mart 401(k) assets up $2.5 billion
Net assets in Wal-Mart Stores Inc.’s 401(k) Retirement Savings Plan for its employees grew from $15.6 billion to more than $18.1 billion from 2011 to 2012, according to a filing Friday with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The latest figure is the account’s value as of Jan. 31 of this year.
Wal-Mart has the nation’s largest private sector 401(k) program in terms of active, eligible participants - some 1.2 million employees and beneficiaries as of Jan. 31, 2012. An updated number of participants was not listed on Friday’s filing.
It is not yet known who will be handling Wal-Mart’s retirement program going forward. Bank of America-Merrill Lynch has serviced the account for 15 years, but Wal-Mart has put management duties out to bid in an effort to save on fees.
A source close to the deal has said Wal-Mart has been searching for a new account manager for about nine months and that several banks have already been eliminated from consideration. Recent media reports have indicated that if Wal-Mart does not stick with Bank of America, Wells Fargo & Co.’s retirement division is a contender for the business.
Arkansas refinery cited over relief valves
SMACKOVER - Officials from the U.S. Labor Department have cited a Smackover refinery, alleging five safety violations involving the production of napthenic crude oil.
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration is proposing $126,900 in fines for the Martin Operating Partnership refinery in southern Arkansas.
The most serious charge lodged Thursday alleges the company didn’t ensure relief valves were properly sized. Other allegations also involve relief systems.
The refinery is owned by Martin Midstream Partners of Kilgore, Texas. Company Vice President of Finance and Investor Relations Joe McCreery said Thursday it is likely that the company will challenge the findings. It has 15 days to do so.
EU agency calls for Boeing beacon check
European Boeing Co. 787 operators must check the jets’ emergency locator transmitters made by Honeywell International Inc. as the region’s safety regulator followed its U.S. counterpart after a July 12 fire in London.
Airlines must “either remove or inspect the Honeywell ELT, and take corrective actions if necessary,” the European Aviation Safety Agency said Friday in a statement. The plane’s minimum equipment list is being amended to operate for 90 days without the beacon, the Cologne, Germany-based agency said.
The fire on an Ethiopian Airlines Enterprise 787 parked at London’s Heathrow airport was traced to a Honeywell transmitter powered by a lithium battery. The U.K. Air Accidents Investigation Branch on July 19 said the device should be deactivated as the investigation into the cause of the blaze continues.
The agency said that its directive “is an interim measure to prevent any unsafe condition” and that it “continues to monitor the situation closely.”
The requirement applies only to European carriers. The European Aviation Safety Agency, which typically adopts directives from the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration, had to issue its own version to reflect a difference in policy on beacons.
The FAA ordered inspections of the 787 beacons Thursday.
30-year mortgage rate falls to 4.31%
WASHINGTON - Average rates on U.S. fixed mortgages fell for the second straight week, a welcome sign for home buyers hoping to lock in lower rates that had spiked earlier this month.
Mortgage buyer Freddie Mac, the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corp., said the average on the 30-year loan fell to 4.31 percent. That’s down from 4.37 percent last week but nearly a full percentage point higher than in early May. The rate reached a two-year high of 4.51 percent two weeks ago.
The average on the 15-year fixed loan declined to 3.39 percent, down from 3.41 percent last week
While rates remain low by historical standards, they have risen in recent weeks after the Federal Reserve indicated it might slow its bond purchases later this year. The bond purchases have kept long-term interest rates down.
- The Associated Press
Audi to target smaller Chinese cities
Audi AG, the world’s second-largest maker of luxury cars, forecast sales in China will increase by about 11 percent this year, driven by rising incomes and expansion into smaller cities in the country.
Deliveries should reach 450,000 units this year in China, Chief Executive Officer Rupert Stadler told reporters in the southern Chinese city of Foshan, where the automaker is building its second factory in the country. Audi sold 405,838 vehicles last year, a 30 percent increase from the year earlier, according to company data.
Audi’s expansion in China, where it leads in premium car deliveries, is crucial to helping parent Volkswagen AG achieve its goal of overtaking General Motors Co. and Toyota Motor Corp. to become the world’s biggest automaker by 2018. China remains the German brand’s largest single market, with first half sales surging 18 percent to 228,139 deliveries.
“A lot of entrepreneurs are coming into the market, the purchasing power is increasing, people are getting a little bit more rich,” Stadler said late Thursday.
Audi has been “very strong” in north China and in Shanghai and Beijing, though it has missed many opportunities in the south, where it will focus a big part of its expansion by opening dealerships in cities with populations of 1 million to 2 million people, Stadler said.
- Bloomberg News
PepsiCo juice to drop ‘natural’ labeling
NEW YORK - PepsiCo Inc. says it will no longer label its Naked juices as being “all natural,” after a lawsuit complained that the drinks contain ingredients that don’t fit that bill.
The company, based in Purchase, N.Y., is also paying $9 million to settle the lawsuit.
In an emailed statement, the company said it uses “an added boost of vitamins” in some of the drinks. But a lawsuit filed against the company noted that the vitamins are actually synthetic ingredients, including a fiber made by Archer Daniels Midland.
PepsiCo did not respond when asked whether those synthetic fibers are included in the juices. The company’s statement said it will drop the use of the word “natural” until there is more regulatory guidance.
The case highlights the confusion around the use of the word “natural” in the industry. The Food and Drug Administration doesn’t currently have a definition for what constitutes a natural product. But it says that it doesn’t object to the term’s use if the food doesn’t have “added color, artificial flavors or synthetic substances.”
Notably, the FDA says it’s difficult to define a food product that is natural, since it has likely been processed and is no longer a “product of the earth.”
- The Associated Press
Business, Pages 26 on 07/27/2013