Business news in brief

USDA funds farmer recruiting in state

BRINKLEY -- The U.S. Department of Agriculture has awarded nearly a half-million dollars to an east Arkansas project aimed at supporting new farmers and ranchers.

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced $17.8 million for 37 projects nationwide on Wednesday as part of the USDA's Beginning Farmer and Rancher Development Program. The USDA says the average age of the American farmer is 58, so the agency recognizes the need to recruit the next generation of farmers.

The Arkansas Land and Community Development Corp. in Brinkley, a rural development organization, received $481,080 in funding. The program aims to recruit 120 farmers and ranchers who are socially disadvantaged or have limited resources and to guide them to become successful growers of produce. Organizers say the program will have a positive economic impact on the community.

-- The Associated Press

Aetna letter threatened market pullback

Aetna Inc. warned antitrust officials more than a month ago that it would pull out of government-run markets for health insurance if the U.S. attempted to block its proposed $37 billion merger with Humana Inc.

In a July 5 letter to the Justice Department, Aetna Chief Executive Officer Mark Bertolini said challenging the merger "would have a negative financial impact on Aetna and would impair Aetna's ability to continue its support" of plans sold under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. That would leave the insurer "with no choice but to take actions to steward its financial health."

The Justice Department sued to block Aetna's takeover of Humana on July 21, saying the deal would harm competition in the market for private Medicare plans as well as on the Affordable Care Act exchanges. On Monday, Aetna said it would exit 11 of the 15 state exchanges where it currently offers coverage.

The letter, which Aetna said was written in response to a Justice Department request, was first reported by the Huffington Post. Bloomberg obtained a copy from a person familiar with the matter, who provided it on condition of anonymity.

"If the DOJ sues to enjoin the transaction, we will immediately take action to reduce our 2017 exchange footprint," Bertolini wrote. He said the cost of litigation and debt taken on by Aetna, the need to plan for a breakup fee it would owe Humana, and the cost savings from a successful deal would all factor into Aetna's need to pull back.

"By contrast, if the deal proceeds without the diverted time and energy associated with litigation, we would explore how to devote a portion of the additional synergies (which are larger than we had planned for when announcing the deal) to supporting even more public exchange coverage," Bertolini said in the letter.

-- Bloomberg News

CEO's ouster sinks Barnes & Noble shares

Barnes & Noble Inc. suffered its worst stock decline in more than eight months Wednesday after the board ousted Chief Executive Officer Ron Boire, saying he wasn't the right person to revamp a bookstore chain that's struggling to compete with Amazon.com Inc.

Management duties will be handed over to the company's founder, Leonard Riggio, and other executives while Barnes & Noble searches for a new CEO. As part of the shake-up, Riggio, 75, will postpone his retirement as executive chairman, the New York-based company said late Tuesday. Boire was on the job less than a year.

The departure means more upheaval for a chain reeling from the rise of e-books and online rivals. Boire, a former Sears Canada Inc. executive who became CEO in September, had sought to revive growth by increasing the shelf space allotted to toys and games.

The company's shares fell $1.47, or 11 percent, to close Wednesday at $11.91.

-- Bloomberg News

Banker guilty of giving dad insider tips

NEW YORK -- A New York jury has found an investment banker guilty of insider-trading charges resulting from tips he gave his father about mergers and acquisitions.

The verdict in the trial of Sean Stewart was announced Wednesday in Manhattan federal court. Defense lawyers argued that the former executive for JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Perella Weinberg Partners LP had no idea when he casually talked about his job that his father would trigger securities trades that made over $1 million.

Prosecutors said evidence made it obvious that the son intentionally provided tips to his father.

Stewart testified he did nothing wrong, though he acknowledged breaking employer rules when he talked openly about secret deals when he was around his family.

His father, Robert, has pleaded guilty and been sentenced to a year of home detention.

-- The Associated Press

Uber suit challenges London regulations

Uber Technologies Inc. is suing London's transport regulator, asking judges to decide the legality of rules that require drivers from non-English speaking countries to pass a language exam, the company said in a statement.

The measures also force Uber to notify Transport for London of any changes made to its mobile-phone app.

"This legal action is very much a last resort," Tom Elvidge, Uber London's general manager, said in the statement. "We're particularly disappointed that, after a lengthy consultation process with Transport for London, the goalposts have moved at the last minute and new rules are now being introduced that will be bad for both drivers and tech companies."

San Francisco-based Uber has had disputes with regulators around the world over its business, which traditional taxi companies say threatens their existence. In London, Uber won a suit against Transport for London over the use of its app as a taxi meter and is still waiting for a ruling in an employment dispute with drivers.

-- Bloomberg News

Bank exec floats axing board bonuses

Deutsche Bank AG's supervisory board should discuss scrapping management-board members' bonuses for a second year after Germany's largest lender put dividend payments on hold, consumer banking chief Christian Sewing told Bild-Zeitung newspaper.

"It's clear that if we don't pay our shareholders a dividend, then our own bonus needs to be up for debate as well," Sewing, who sits on Deutsche Bank's 10-member management board, told the German newspaper in an interview published Wednesday. A spokesman for the Frankfurt-based lender wasn't immediately available for comment.

-- Bloomberg News

Business on 08/18/2016

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