Tag: UPS

Latest Headlines July 18, 2016July 21, 2016

Ford shuffles top execs in Europe and South America, adds CFO to new mobility unit; Humana-Aetna said ready to shed 350,000 members to win DOJ antitrust clearance

A news summary focused on 10 big employers; updated 2:12 p.m.

FORD today shifted senior leadership in Europe and South America, and promoted an executive to the nascent Ford Smart Mobility LLC subsidiary. The changes come as the European market has been further challenged by Britain’s decision this month to leave the E.U., at a time when the economy is already threatened by a possible recession.

Neil Schloss, 57, was named CFO at the mobility unit, in addition to his current position as Ford vice president and treasurer.

The leadership changes started with the retirement of one of the automaker’s more senior female executives, Barb Samardzich, 57, vice president and COO of Ford of Europe, effective Oct. 1. The company said her retirement is voluntary.

Her retirement spurred a cascade of other changes:

Steven Armstrong, 52, succeeds Samardzich, and
Lyle Watters, 51, succeeds Armstrong, and was elected a corporate officer

Samardzich, during her 26-year Ford career, was responsible for the design, engineering and development of several key Ford and Lincoln vehicles, including the 2005 model Mustang.

Ford announced the mobility subsidiary in March amid growing competition with other automakers and Silicon Valley in development of driverless cars and other technology innovations that are challenging Detroit’s primacy in the auto world. Underscoring its importance, Ford said Jim Hackett, former Steelcase vice chairman and CEO, was leaving the company’s board of directors to chair the new subsidiary.

Separately today, Ford also highlighted the towing capacity of its 2017 F-Series Super Duty trucks, starting with high-strength, military-grade, aluminum alloy and high-strength steel that helps cut weight by up to 350 pounds.

The F-450 Super Duty SuperCrew 4×4 now features a maximum gooseneck tow rating of 32,500 lbs., 1,290 lbs. more than its nearest competitor, a regular cab two-door pickup. Maximum fifth-wheel towing has been boosted to 27,500 lbs., 2,500 lbs. better than the nearest competitor (press release). In Louisville, the Kentucky Truck Plant employs about 5,100 workers, producing F-250 and F-550 Super Duty pickups, plus Expeditions, and Lincoln Navigators.

HUMANA and proposed acquirer Aetna have reportedly offered to divest regional plans covering roughly 350,000 members, and have received bids from smaller Medicare rivals WellCare Health and Centene, as the two insurance giants scramble to win Department of Justice approval for their $37 billion tie-up.

Analysts say the DOJ’s antitrust unit may not see the sales alone as enough to maintain competition. “The question is not can you find a buyer for the plans,” said FBR Capital Markets analyst Steven Harper, “but will the government approve the buyer?” (CNBC).

The 350,000 members Humana and Aetna are reportedly willing to shed are a tiny fraction of the 60 million members the two would have if their deal went through. But its prospects grew more uncertain when word leaked July 7 that the DOJ had called in executives at both companies to explain why it wouldn’t be anticompetitive.

Humana, started in Louisville in 1961, has more than 21.3 million members and does business in all 50 states. It has approximately 50,000 employees, including about 12,500 in Louisville. Last year’s revenues were $54 billion.

UPS said it announce second-quarter results July 29 at about 7:45 a.m. ET, followed by a conference call at 8:30 with CEO David Abney, CFO Richard Peretz and Wall Street analysts. The call will be open to the public on a listen-only basis, via a live webcast (press release).

In other news, a Fresh Thyme Farmers Market — the city’s second — will be an anchor tenant in the planned Bardstown Pavilion commercial center in Fern Creek, a $35 million-$40 million project under review by metro planners (Courier-Journal). Fresh Thyme opened its first store in April on Shelbyville Road in St. Matthews in a former Liquor Barn store. The Fern Creek outlet would be one of 60 stores the Chicago-based chain plans by 2019.

In NuLu, construction on the proposed $37 million AC Hotel at the corner of Shelby and Market streets could start in October or November of this year (Insider Louisville).

Latest Headlines July 16, 2016July 17, 2016

Facing heightened competition, UPS will try limited Saturday delivery in three U.S. cities

A news summary focused on 10 big employers; updated 7:02 a.m.

UPS will test Saturday delivery this summer in Atlanta, Philadelphia and Los Angeles for standard ground packages as it defends its turf against FedEx, which already offers the service, and the U.S. Postal Service, which delivers on Saturdays and Sundays in some markets for Amazon. UPS is remaking its network to accommodate online shopping while watching potential rivals enter the market, including courier services now pitching same-day delivery. The proportion of UPS’s packages going to U.S. homes is expected to rise to 51% in 2019 from today’s 46%, challenging its efficiency. While it earns a bit more per parcel for home deliveries, it averages only 1.2 packages on each residential stop, compared with 3.6 at each business (Bloomberg).

Turkey President Recep Tayyip Erdogan — Erdogan

PAPA JOHN’S has 22 restaurants in Turkey, only 1% of all its more than 1,500 locations outside the U.S., according to regulatory filings that show it has limited exposure to the tumult in that country, where President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has been facing a military-led coup attempt since yesterday. List of all overseas restaurants. Louisville’s other major fast-food chain, YUM, doesn’t show any locations broken down by country.

Latest Headlines July 14, 2016July 15, 2016

Roadhouse stock hits new record high; Yum shares climb 3% on second-quarter earnings report; and Trump reportedly picks Indiana’s Pence for VP

A news summary, focused on 10 big employers; updated 5:02 p.m.

Texas Roadhouse vs S&P — Texas Roadhouse stock (blue) outgunned the S&P 500 index over the past year.

TEXAS ROADHOUSE shares traded at a new record high today: $47.33, before closing slightly lower at $47.02, up 36 cents, or less than 1%. The company’s stock is up 24% from a year ago vs. a much smaller 4.2% gain in the broader S&P 500 index.

YUM‘s stock closed moments ago at $88.27 a share, up $2.53, or 3% on a better-than-expected second-quarter earnings report, released after markets closed yesterday afternoon. The fast food restaurant giant also raised its profit outlook for all of 2016 to 17% from an earlier 12%. Shares have been roaring so far this year, jumping 17% vs. a smaller 5% gain in the broader S&P 500 index (Google Finance).

KFC: The Kentucky Fried Chicken Foundation will award $1.2 million in college assistance to 600 hourly restaurant employees across the country this month (Portsmouth Daily Times).

FORD declared a regular quarterly dividend of 15 cents per share, payable Sept. 1 to shareholders of record July 28 (press release). The automaker also said it will release second-quarter financial results at 7 a.m. ET on July 28 (press release). Ford shares closed at $13.59, up 11 cents, or less than 1%. The current dividend yield is generous 4.4%.

AMAZON said it will hold a conference call to discuss its second-quarter results July 28 at 5:30 p.m. ET; the report itself will be released shortly after markets close that day (press release).

UPS: About 15 people gathered yesterday outside the shipper’s Maumee, Ohio, distribution center to protest two nooses (photo, left) found hanging in the building, after photographs circulated widely on Facebook and Twitter.

“We want justice. We want accountability,” Julian Mack told WTVG. “There’s no place for nooses in Lucas County.”

Company spokeswoman Susan Rosenberg said UPS had confirmed the nooses’ presence, and fired the worker responsible when he arrived for work Tuesday evening. Maumee is 18 miles southwest of Toledo. (Blade and WTVG).

In other news, presumptive GOP White House nominee Donald Trump will choose Indiana Gov. Mike Pence as his running mate, multiple media outlets are now reporting, including The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal. The New York billionaire’s choice of Pence had been widely expected in recent days in advance of the start of the Republican National Convention in Cleveland, starting Monday.

Latest Headlines July 13, 2016July 17, 2016

Yum shares jump on sweetened profit forecast; UPS reportedly considering Louisville for new $65M project; and new Jack Daniel’s video is virtual reality

A news summary, focused on 10 big employers; updated 10:11 p.m.

YUM reported a big increase in second-quarter profit on a rebound in its big China unit, and raised its forecast for core operating profit growth for the full year. Shares surged 4.6% to $89.65 in extended trading on the report, which was released after markets closed.

For the period ended June 11, Yum reported earnings of $339 million, or 81 cents a share vs. $235 million, or 53 cents a share, a year ago, according to MarketWatch. Excluding costs related to the planned separation of the China business and other items, profit rose to 75 cents a share vs. 69 cents.

Revenue, which includes franchise and license fees, fell 3% to $3.01 billion. It was the third consecutive quarterly decline. Analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters had projected 74 cents a share on $3.09 billion in revenue.

In its forecast, the Louisville-based fast-food giant said it now expects 14% growth from a year ago; the earlier forecast had been a smaller 12%. In a statement, CEO Greg Creed cited a rebound of its China business during the first half of the year. “I’m particularly pleased with the continued sales momentum at KFC China, which delivered better-than-expected same-store sales growth of 3% (MarketWatch and press release).

UPS is reportedly considering Louisville for a new $65 million 180,000-square-foot vehicle packaging facility with automated sorting equipment. But the shipper also is eyeing Jacksonville, Fla.; Nashville, Tenn., and Miami-Dade County. The project emerged in an application UPS filed with Miami-Dade seeking tax incentives to locate it in the northwest part of the county (Atlanta Business Chronicle). UPS is Louisville’s biggest private employer, with 22,000 workers at its Louisville International Airport hub.

AMAZON has passed an important threshold for invented holidays: Continue reading “Yum shares jump on sweetened profit forecast; UPS reportedly considering Louisville for new $65M project; and new Jack Daniel’s video is virtual reality” →

Latest Headlines July 13, 2016July 13, 2016

Humana stock jumps for second day; Amazon Prime Day sales soared, and yuck: Man chases Jack with bottle of Elmer’s glue

A news summary, focused on 10 big employers; updated 4:38 p.m.

Ford 2017 Escape — The 2017 Ford Escape built in Louisville took top honors in Cars.com’s annual compact SUV challenge.

HUMANA‘s stock closed moments ago up 4.3% at $161.30, posting its second consecutive day of gains. The beleaguered stock has been buffeted since last week’s surprising news that top executives met Department of Justice anti-trust officials in a last-ditch effort to keep the insurer’ $37 billion merger with Aetna on track (Google Finance).

The New York state insurance regulator has conditionally approved the deal, one of the last state sign-offs needed, people familiar with the matter told Bloomberg News. The approval is significant because New York is one of the nation’s biggest insurance markets. Alongside the Justice Department, state insurance regulators have been conducting their own assessments, which are in some cases required before a transaction can proceed (Bloomberg).

The Louisville insurer is adding 70 telesales jobs to its existing 305 in Middleton, Wisc., to meet anticipated demand for the upcoming Medicare open enrollment period, Oct. 15 to Dec. 7 (Wisconsin State Journal).

KINDRED: Arkansas state lawmakers are giving mixed reviews to the state’s plan to sell its in-home health care services program to Kindred for $39 million, a deal closing Aug 1. Kindred submitted the highest bid of the six bidders and got the highest scores in the state Health Department’s bid evaluation (Arkansas Democrat-Gazette).

UPS fired an employee at its Maumee distribution center yesterday after investigating a photo posted on Facebook purporting to show a noose hanging inside the northeast Ohio facility. It’s unclear whether the employee taking the photo was fired, or the person responsible for the noose itself. Maumee is 18 miles southwest of Toledo (Toledo Blade).

AMAZON said yesterday’s second annual Prime Day Continue reading “Humana stock jumps for second day; Amazon Prime Day sales soared, and yuck: Man chases Jack with bottle of Elmer’s glue” →

Latest Headlines July 8, 2016July 9, 2016

Humana dives again on fears $37B Aetna merger is unraveling; JP Morgan warns stock could plunge to $115 if deal collapses

A news summary, focused on 10 big employers; updated 4:53 p.m.

HUM three days — Humana’s stock has tumbled 12% over last three days.

The probability of the Justice Department approving the deal has now declined well below a 50/50 chance, JP Morgan said in a report today. If the deal bombed altogether, the Louisville insurer’s shares could fall to a range of as low as $115 to $125, the investment bank said.

Humana’s unexpected plunge came as suitor Aetna was to meet with top Justice Department officials today as it seeks to win antitrust approval for its takeover of Louisville-based Humana, multiple media outlets have been reporting. The Hartford insurer’s meeting was to include the DOJ’s No. 3 official, a top-level gathering that signals the review is entering a final, make-or-break stage, according to Bloomberg News, which cited sources it didn’t identify.

“We have long held that only HUM shares have material downside if the DOJ were to block the pending acquisition by Atena,” JP Morgan’s Gary Taylor said in in his report.

Humana’s stock closed moments ago down 2.7%, or $4.35 a share, to $158.15. It fell another $1.14 in extended trading. Yesterday, it fell a far steeper 10% on sales volume more than six times normal — the biggest one-day drop in four years. It was Humana’s lowest closing price since Feb. 12, when shares hit $160.37.

Aetna’s stock was recently up 1.3%, or $1.43, to $116.89; yesterday, it closed down 4%.

Humana building — Humana tower downtown.

“The meeting falls two weeks after a similar Justice Department session with Anthem and Cigna, which are pursuing their own $48 billion merger,” Reuters said. “While department officials are concerned that the Anthem-Cigna tie-up may stifle competition, Aetna is arguing that its deal is different: It maintains that its overlap with Humana is small and any loss of competition is easily fixable, according to a person familiar with the insurer’s thinking who, like the others, asked not to be identified discussing a private matter.”

Today’s purported meeting was first disclosed at Continue reading “Humana dives again on fears $37B Aetna merger is unraveling; JP Morgan warns stock could plunge to $115 if deal collapses” →

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