Tag: Stocks

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DOW PLUNGES 589 POINTS IN GLOBAL ROUT, AS INVESTORS REEL FROM BREXIT VOTE; FORD DIVES 7%; YUM, OTHER LOUISVILLE STOCKS SLAMMED

A news summary, focused on 10 big employers; updated 5:21 p.m.

Traders at exchange
Anxious traders at the New York Stock Exchange today (New York Times).

The Dow Jones Industrial Average cratered 3.3% this afternoon, tumbling 589 points and wiping out its year-to-date gains as fears gripped markets with Britain’s stunning vote to  leave the E.U. The broader S&P 500 tumbled 3% and the Nasdaq slumped 3.8%. Latest news.

All 10 big-employer stocks tracked by Boulevard fell sharply:

To fully appreciate the magnitude of the losses, consider Kentucky’s richest family, the Browns of Brown-Forman. They saw $201 million of their more than $6 billion in paper wealth evaporate in a matter of hours.

WSJ-1
This morning’s paper.

The impact of last night’s stunning Brexit news for Louisville employers will be greatest for those with extensive overseas footprints and currency exposure.

They include Brown-Forman, which sells 15 brands such as Jack Daniel’s in 160 countries worldwide. The U.K. is the company’s second-biggest market, accounting for 10% of fiscal 2016 sales, according to Brown-Forman’s annual report. Europe, excluding the U.K., was 21%. The U.S. is No. 1, with 46%. The company says foreign markets are increasingly important: “In fiscal 2016, we generated 54% of our net sales outside the United States compared to 41% 10 years ago.”

Other companies likely taking post-Brexit hits include Papa John’s, which operates in 39 countries; Yum in 130 countries and now reshaping overseas operations with a planned China spinoff in October; Ford, which is already reworking its European sales strategy, and Amazon, a relative newcomer abroad.

Boulevard’s Stock Portfolio companies routinely warn investors about risks of doing business outside the U.S. Papa John’s, for one, noted in its annual report that “international operations could be negatively impacted by changes in international economic, political, security or health conditions in the countries in which the company or our franchisees operate.”

Yum’s 14,600-unit KFC Division bears the biggest overseas exposure; it’s in 120 countries, with more than a third — 5,003 restaurants — in China.

uk_tg
Britain’s Guardian.

“Our business,” Yum says in its annual report, “is increasingly exposed to risks inherent in international operations. These risks, which can vary substantially by country, include political instability, corruption, social and ethnic unrest, changes in economic conditions .  . .  as well as changes in the laws and policies that govern foreign investment in countries where our restaurants are operated.”

Also, Yum warns, “results of operations and the value of our foreign assets are affected by fluctuations in currency exchange rates, which may adversely affect reported earnings.”

Boulevard’s Big 10 companies employ 63,000 workers in the Louisville area, and nearly 2 million worldwide.

In non-Brexit news; updated 5:38 p.m.: Continue reading “DOW PLUNGES 589 POINTS IN GLOBAL ROUT, AS INVESTORS REEL FROM BREXIT VOTE; FORD DIVES 7%; YUM, OTHER LOUISVILLE STOCKS SLAMMED” →

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Yum! Brands wins trademark case in Philippines!!!; Kindred attorney bolts for a competitor, and a KFC beanie promo on Twitter captivates New Zealand

A news summary, focused on 10 big employers; updated 2:39 p.m.

Jolibee YumYumYUM has won a trademark case in the Philippines brought by fast-food chain Jollibee, which sought to block the Louisville company from using its business name in the country. The government’s trademark office said the word “yum” is a commonly-used interjection, and the chain’s “Yum!” logo employs an exclamation point and a different font — in caps-and-lower case — that distinguish the mark from Jollibee’s (Interaksyon). The Philippines is a potentially big market: its population is nearly 100 million.

HUMANA CEO Bruce Broussard knew his personal and work lives were out of whack after his mother died in a car accident. “I regretted the time I was not able to spend with family members. I also regretted that I defined life success as career success,” Broussard told Georgetown University graduates at their Saturday commencement ceremonies. The school gave him an honorary doctorate in humane sciences (The Hoya). Brossard, CEO since 2013, attended Texas A&M and the University of Houston.

David Pearce
Pearce

KINDRED: David Pearce, chief counsel for Kindred’s home division for 11 years, has been named senior vice president and chief compliance officer at home health provider Amedisys of Baton Rouge, La. (Home Health Care News).

KFC: It was the competition that captivated a nation on Twitter, according to Spinoff magazine: The busy working world of New Zealand ground to a halt last week as one tweet from a KFC New Zealand social media person — featuring three, identical, crimson beanies — got 6,800 retweets and a 16-piece bucket full of favorites. “This is the oral history of the greatest online giveaway in New Zealand history, as told by key players” (Spinoff).

PAPA JOHN’S: In the Seattle area, Continue reading “Yum! Brands wins trademark case in Philippines!!!; Kindred attorney bolts for a competitor, and a KFC beanie promo on Twitter captivates New Zealand” →

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$125M Appliance Park value far more than GE once claimed; Humana employees fear threat, and California UPS driver rescues world’s cutest puppy

A news summary, focused on 10 big employers; updated 7:33 p.m.

Appliance Park aerial
An aerial view shows Appliance Park.

GE sold Appliance Park to Haier Group for five times what it claimed the complex was worth in 2013, when it won a dispute with Jefferson County over the southend property’s value, a dispute that ultimately reduced the taxes the conglomerate paid. At the time, GE said the complex was worth $23 million, nearly half the $42 million value assigned by Property Valuation Administrator Tony Landauer’s office (WDRB).

HUMANA beefed up security yesterday after reports of what some employees said was a threatening graffiti message written on a bathroom wall at the insurer’s Waterside building downtown, one the company seriously enough to allow employees to go home early. The FBI is investigating the incident, said WAVE. The threat may be related to annual gay pride events planned downtown this weekend. Several employees told WLKY the graffiti referenced last weekend’s mass shooting at an Orlando gay bar, where a suspected terrorist possibly inspired by ISIS killed 50 people and injured another 50 (WAVE, WLKY and Courier-Journal).

Yesterday’s incident came after authorities arrested a Jeffersonville man arrested in California who was heavily armed and headed to a gay pride event, plus reports of possible copycat threats at a New York gay bar and in the U.K. June is gay pride month in many cities, with parades and other public festivities (Courier-Journal, Time and BBC).

BROWN-FORMAN filed its annual 10-K report with the Securities and Exchange Commission this morning; as always, a key section describes the business itself. The filing came a day after the whiskey giant disclosed how much it paid CEO Paul Varga and other top executives, plus fresh details about the value of the controlling Brown family’s $6 billion in stock holdings (SEC document).

Triple Treat Box
It costs $19.99.

PIZZA HUT‘S bacon-stuffed pizza has arrived in the U.K., but only for in-the-know customers. “To savour one of the new pimped-up crusts, all you need to do is whisper the secret words ‘Bacon Crust Have’ when ordering any large pizza (Mirror). Also, the chain has brought back its Triple Treat Box in a special summer edition, “a tri-level wonder decorated to look just like your favorite picnic basket” (Delish). It includes two medium one-topping pizzas, bread sticks and the just-introduced Ultimate Hershey’s Chocolate Chip Cookie (Brand Eating).

PAPA JOHN’S: In San Diego, no injuries were reported after an SUV crashed into a Papa John’s Pizza restaurant yesterday afternoon (KGTV).

TEXAS ROADHOUSE is looking for Baltimore area cooks “who are ready for a fun and rewarding career in the restaurant business.” Applicants are considered without regard to race, religion, color, age, gender, disability, veteran status, sexual orientation, citizenship, national origin, or any other legally protected status (Craigslist). Apparently, gender expression hasn’t made that list — yet.

Puppy
Adopt me, please!

UPS: In northern California, a UPS driver who happened to be on the scene rescued a crazy-cute puppy dumped Tuesday evening in the street by a passing vehicle. The Modesto Bee identified the driver as 39-year-old Jason Harcrow of Hughson. Police said the puppy, believed to be a Cairn terrier less than a year old, was in great spirits and would be put up for adoption at the county shelter (KPIX). The driver who abandoned the pup is expected to spend eternity in hell with tobacco lobbyists.

In other news, U.S. stocks closed slightly higher, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average and other indices up less than 1% (Google Finance). Among Boulevard’s 10 big Louisville employers, Papa John’s performed best, closing at $65.89, up 2%. And on the A-list front, there was no news of any consequence about Louisville native and Oscar winner Jennifer Lawrence.

Latest Headlines

Details emerge in new 52-bed Kindred rehab hospital; Chipotle stock hits 3-year low, and Amazon’s got something unique for all 319 million Americans

A news summary, focused on 10 big employers; updated 4:24 p.m.

Palomar Medical Center
Palomar’s existing Escondido hospital; the new Kindred hospital will be built nearby.

KINDRED‘s just-announced 52-bed rehab hospital planned for southern California will be built by a private investment company, which will then lease it to the joint venture run by Kindred and local partner Palomar Health. Expected to open in 2019, the facility will be built on Palomar’s existing 56-acre campus in Escondido in San Diego County, 103 miles south of Los Angeles. Kindred didn’t detail the construction cost in its late-afternoon announcement yesterday. Escondido has just 149,000 residents, but the county ‘s total population is 3.1 million.

Palomar wants to relocate its existing inpatient rehabilitation program run by Kindred since 2000 at an older Palomar building in downtown Escondido. Palomar’s campus already includes an 11-story, 740,000-square-foot hospital opened in 2012; it has 288 private single-patient rooms, 44 emergency and trauma rooms, and 11 operating rooms (San Diego Union-Tribune). The new facility will be Kindred’s 20th rehab hospital nationwide. The Louisville company also has 95 transitional-care hospitals and 90 nursing centers. Palomar was launched in 1933 by two women — a nurse and a dietician — who used their own money to buy an egg and poultry plant downtown and converted it into a 13-bed hospital.

In Louisville, meanwhile, Kindred is planning a four-story, 114-room nursing home near the Old Brownsboro Crossing development at Chamberlain Lane. That follows the company’s disclosure two weeks ago that it’s closing its nursing and rehabilitation center near Bashford Manor, with 110 residents and 153 employees (Courier-Journal).

Chipolte logoTACO BELL rival Chipotle’s once high-flying shares fell again, closing at $390.31 moments ago, the second consecutive day near three-year lows after a bearish Deutsche Bank report Monday. The stock’s weakness is the latest sign the Mexican food chain is still recovering from a devastating E. Coli outbreak last year; shares had reached an all-time high of $748 last August.

Analyst Brett Levy said Chipotle’s profit margin potential is now highly uncertain as sales continue to decline, and some customers “may be lost for good.” The analyst cut his price target to $340 (KDVR). The Denver-based chain was felled by two E. coli outbreaks starting in late October, forcing the company to shutter all its stores for a day to retrain employees. Chipotle shares have plunged 39% since the first outbreak emerged vs. a 17% gain by Taco Bell parent Yum. The CDC declared the outbreak over in February (CNBC). More about Yum.

AMAZON: A new report may have settled a long-standing question: How many different products does Amazon sell? Answer: 12.2 million on its own. Throw in marketplace sellers, and the number soars to nearly 354 million — enough to supply one different gift to each of the U.S.’s 319 million residents. Both figures exclude books, media, wine, and services, according to the 360pi study (Chain Store Age).

Kansas City, Kan., has emerged as a likely location for one of Amazon’s newest distribution centers, sparking speculation same-day delivery service won’t be far behind; it’s already available in Louisville and 26 other markets. The retailer is already working on a 822,104-square-foot center 37 miles southwest of Kansas City in Egerton, and plans to begin staffing there early next month for the busy third-quarter shipping season (Kansas City Business Journal). Amazon has two centers in the Louisville area with 6,000 employees, and another three elsewhere in Kentucky.

In other news, urban life blog Broken Sidewalk has new drawings of the recently announced six-story, 128-room Cambria Hotel proposed for the former Connection nightclub site on the corner of Market Street and Floyd Street in NuLu.

On Wall Street, U.S. stocks opened higher as traders eyed the end of a two-day Federal Reserve Open Market Committee meeting at 2 p.m. (Google Finance).

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Amazon wants Texas tax cut, as Trump slams Bezos anew; Haier paid $125M for Appliance Park, and much ado about new KFC pulled-porker down under in Oz

A news summary, focused on 10 big employers; updated 9:34 a.m.

AMAZON is seeking tax breaks for a proposed distribution center in Houston that would lower the retailer’s taxes there to 65% for 10 years, starting Jan. 1; Harris County officials meet today to consider whether to call a public meeting on the company’s request. The $136 million facility would create 1,000 jobs and construction would start in the third quarter (Houston Chronicle). Amazon already has at least one center in Houston; it opened in 2014. In the Louisville area, it employs 6,000 at two distribution centers. What it’s like to work in one of the centers.

Presumptive GOP White House nominee Donald Trump has renewed his attack on The Washington Post and owner Jeff Bezos, after the paper called him out for trying multiple times yesterday to quietly link President Obama to this weekend’s devastating attack in Orlando. Trump has revoked the paper’s press access to his campaign, saying Bezos is using the newspaper as his personal mouthpiece to gain tax advantages for Amazon. Bezos bought the paper from its long-time owners, the Grahams, for $250 million in 2013; he owns it separately from Amazon (The Verge). Also, Amazon is getting ready to roll out its second annual Prime Day, a special 24-hour discount extravaganza for Prime members that last year exceeded its Black Friday results. It was held in July last year; the company hasn’t set a date this year yet (Street Insider).

FORD has been much less visible than competitors in forging deals with Silicon Valley partners, raising questions about whether it’s getting left behind in the race for self-driving cars and other innovations. Talks with Google this year went nowhere, while Fiat Chrysler has already forged a relationship with that technology giant. Meanwhile, Ford’s experiments with on-demand shuttles and e-bikes have been overshadowed by General Motors’ Maven car-sharing and Toyota’s alliance with Uber (Hybrid Cars).

GE: We now know what Haier paid GE’s 61-year-old Appliance Park: $125 million, according to Jefferson County Clerk Office records reviewed by Business First. Overall, Haier paid $5.6 billion for the home appliances division in a deal completed last week.

Pulled Pork Burger
Exhibit A.

KFC: Some customers are confused and angry — and even angry about that anger — after the fast food restaurant famous for fried chicken launched a $6 limited edition burger with that other white meat: pork. The sandwich of pulled pork, coleslaw and barbecue sauce on a brioche bun is available across KFC restaurants in at least Australia starting today for the next four weeks (Emmanorris Blog and EFTM ). The Ozzie KFC division posted that video at the top of this page and the photo on the left.

News about the sandwich is spreading across Twitter, with many outraged or at least annoyed over the outrage:

Boulevard sees the Australian Mafia-of-one at work: Greg Creed has been leading a KFC makeover since become CEO of corporate parent Yum in January 2015.

TACO BELL: Our foreign news story of the day is about the Mexican chain’s move into Brazil next month in the megalopolis of Sao Paulo, just in time for the summer Olympics: “Taco Bell desembarca no Brasil ainda no segundo semestre” (Clica Piaui). For those who don’t speak Portuguese, Google Translate is your friend. Facing an increasingly saturated U.S. fast-food market, the Yum unit is ramping up overseas openings, expanding to 1,000 locations by 2020 from about 280 now (Bloomberg).

PAPA JOHN’S: Three men armed with a gun and a baseball bat robbed a driver at 10 p.m. Sunday night in Magnolia, Del., taking money and his cellphone (Delaware Online).

TEXAS ROADHOUSE is hiring in Knoxville and Alcoa, Tenn., at a job fair today (WVLT).

In other news, the newly opened Speed Cinema this weekend will present this year’s Sundance Short Film Festival Tour (Insider Louisville). And on Wall Street, U.S. stocks traded lower again right after the opening bell (Google Finance).