British CEO sings ‘We’re in the Money’
LONDON -- The CEO of British supermarket chain Sainsbury's has apologized after being caught on camera singing "We're in the Money" after the purchase of Walmart's British unit, Asda.
Mike Coupe was preparing for an ITV interview to discuss the $10 billion deal when caught on microphone singing a song from the musical 42nd Street, which is based on a movie made during the Great Depression.
As he composed himself for the interview, Coupe sang "we're in the money, the sky is sunny, let's lend it, spend it, send it rolling along." He later described it as "an unguarded moment" on a stressful day.
"It was an unfortunate choice of song, from the musical 42nd Street, which I saw last year, and I apologize if I have offended anyone," he said.
The Unite union, which is worried about job losses resulting from the takeover, posted a video of Coupe's song on its Twitter feed.
"What's his true motive for the merger? Sainsbury's boss sings 'We're in the Money' before TV interview," Unite tweeted.
The value of Coupe's 1.28 million shares in Sainsbury's rose over $750,000 Monday after the deal's announcement.
-- The Associated Press
Disney unions: Have wage-vote signatures
ANAHEIM, Calif. -- A coalition of unions representing Disneyland workers say the unions have collected enough signatures to put a ballot measure before Anaheim voters that would require Walt Disney Co. to pay the resort workers a "living wage."
The 11 labor unions have been pushing for higher wages at Disneyland Resort, which includes the California Adventure Park and nearby hotels.
If enough signatures are verified, the measure on the November ballot would ask voters to require Disney and other large Anaheim employers that accept city subsidies to pay workers a minimum of $15 an hour starting Jan. 1, with salaries rising $1 an hour every Jan. 1 through 2022. Once the wages reach $18 an hour, annual raises would be tied to the cost of living.
A Disneyland representative deferred comment to a coalition of business groups in Anaheim that opposes the ordinance. In the past, Disney officials have said that the average annual pay for hourly workers at the resort is $37,000, which calculates to about $17.80 an hour.
-- Los Angeles Times
Cancer drug Keytruda is Merck top seller
Merck & Co.'s newest cancer medicine surpassed sales of its blockbuster diabetes franchise for the first time, as the pharmaceutical giant boosted its sales outlook for the year.
The drugmaker's Keytruda, which helps patients' immune systems attack tumors, generated $1.46 billion in sales in the first quarter, according to a news release on Tuesday, more than doubling from a year earlier.
Keytruda's sales topped analysts' expectations of $1.38 billion and outpaced sales of its diabetes drugs Januvia and Janumet, which had a combined $1.42 billion in sales, also exceeding analysts' estimates.
Newly diagnosed lung-cancer patients receiving Keytruda in combination with other standard-of-care drugs lived significantly longer than patients receiving the same therapies without Keytruda, data presented at the recent American Association for Cancer Research meeting show.
Lung cancer causes more than 150,000 U.S. deaths each year, according to the National Cancer Institute, and analysts expect Keytruda will shape up to be a mega-blockbuster for Merck.
The Kenilworth, N.J., company reported adjusted earnings in the first quarter of $1.05 per share.
Revenue in the just-ended quarter totaled $10 billion, missing analysts' expectations of $10.1 billion. Pharmaceutical sales rose 9 percent on the back of growth in Merck's oncology, acute-care and diabetes pipeline, the company said in the news release.
Merck shares fell 89 cents to close Tuesday at $57.98.
-- Bloomberg News
Amazon to expand, add jobs in Boston
BOSTON -- Amazon has unveiled plans for a major expansion in Boston's Seaport District.
The Seattle-based company announced Tuesday that it will provide 2,000 new technology jobs in the city in fields that include robotics, cloud computing and machine learning. The expansion would more than double the current number of workers it has in Boston.
Amazon said it plans to move into a 430,000-square-foot office space in 2021 and promised funding to help train residents for technology jobs.
Republican Gov. Charlie Baker and Democratic Boston Mayor Marty Walsh both praised the announcement, with Walsh calling it a "tremendous vote of confidence" in the city's economy.
Boston remains on a list of 20 finalists competing for Amazon's $5 billion second headquarters and the estimated 50,000 jobs that would follow.
-- The Associated Press
$2.6M settles VW diesel suit in W. Virginia
CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- West Virginia has reached a $2.65 million settlement with Volkswagen AG and two of its affiliates in a lawsuit over the automaker's emissions-rigging scandal, state Attorney General Patrick Morrisey announced Tuesday.
Morrisey announced the settlement with Volkswagen and its Audi and Porsche brands.
German automaker Volkswagen admitted rigging diesel emissions technology to pass U.S. exhaust tests. The lawsuit alleged the scheme led to false advertising because the self-described "clean diesel" engines actually emitted up to 40 times the legal limit of nitrogen oxide.
Volkswagen admitted it knowingly defeated the EPA's testing routine for seven years before being caught by the International Council on Clean Transportation, which hired West Virginia University researchers to test a Volkswagen on real roads.
The state filed the lawsuit against Volkswagen in October 2015.
Morrisey said the settlement saved the state more than $500,000 in legal fees and likely exceeded the payout it would have received in multistate litigation.
Volkswagen previously agreed to at least $16 billion in civil settlements with environmental authorities and car owners in the United States, and to a $4.3 billion penalty to settle a U.S. criminal investigation.
-- The Associated Press
Business on 05/02/2018