RETAIL
Wal-Mart dumps Kindle
Wal-Mart announced it will stop selling Kindles and other Amazon.com-branded products after it sells out of its existing stock.
The Wal-Mart decision follows a similar move in May by rival Target, with that discount chain saying it “continually evaluates its product assortment” and would phase out Amazon-branded products in the spring of 2012.
ACQUISITIONS
EMI deal is allowed
Universal Music Group can buy the famed British music company EMI, including the hugely lucrative Beatles catalogue, the European Union’s competition regulator said Friday, but must jettison some of the famed label’s other big acts, including Coldplay and Pink Floyd.
Among EMI’s assets that must go are Parlophone, home to those two British bands as well as Kylie Minogue and David Bowie. The Beatles, which are part of Parlophone, were exempted.
Universal will also have to sell off EMI’s classical music divisions.
The EU’s approval is just one hurdle cleared for Universal, which already represents Jay-Z, Nirvana and U2. The $1.9 billion purchase of EMI’s recorded music division still needs U.S. Federal Trade Commission approval.
Universal’s rivals, such as Warner Music and small independent labels, have strongly protested the deal.
TIRE & RUBBER
Factory to be built in Turkey
Japan’s Sumitomo Rubber Industries Ltd., which sells its products under the Dunlop brand, signed a deal with Petlas Lastik Sanayi ve Ticaret AS to build a tire factory in Turkey.
Sumitomo, Japan’s third-largest tire maker, and Petlas will invest $516 million in the factory in Cankiri, north of Ankara.
“The priority of our factory in Cankiri is to supply tires for Japanese automobile firms such as Toyota and Honda and become a base for the European market,” Ikuji Ikeda, chief executive officer of Sumitomo, told reporters. The factory will start producing tires for cars and trucks in June 2015 and reach an annual capacity of 10 million tires by 2017, Ikeda said. “We expect a serious growth primarily in Russia and the Middle East markets,” Ikeda said. Turkish Economy Minister Zafer Caglayan said Sumitomo will use the factory to produce tires for 56 countries. He also said that Turkey is preparing to start negotiations on a trade agreement with Japan.
Cooper shares drop
Shares of Cooper Tire & Rubber Co., based in Findlay, tumbled the most in a year after a KeyCorp analyst downgraded the stock to hold from buy, citing possible industrywide price volatility when tariffs on Chinese tires expire. Cooper fell 9.3 percent to $19.94, the biggest drop since Aug. 18, 2011. Shares are up 42 percent this year. A U.S. tariff on Chinese tires, set to expire on Sept. 26, could weigh on stocks of U.S. manufacturers as rivals in the Asian nation cut prices on the low end of the market by 10 to 15 percent, Brett D. Hoselton, a KeyCorp analyst, wrote in an investor note Thursday.
AUTO INDUSTRY
Transmission problem at GM
General Motors is recalling nearly 474,000 Chevrolet, Pontiac and Saturn cars to fix a transmission problem that can cause the cars to roll away unexpectedly. The recall affects 2007-10 Chevrolet Malibus, Pontiac G6s and Saturn Auras in the U.S., Canada and Mexico as well as a small number of exports. All the cars have four-speed automatic transmissions.
DIVIDENDS
McDonald’s raises dividend
McDonald’s Corp., the world’s largest restaurant chain, raised its dividend 10 percent to 77 cents a share as companies return cash to investors through higher payouts. The dividend will be paid Dec. 17 to shareholders of record Dec. 3. Yum! Brands Inc. raised its quarterly dividend 18 percent to 33.5 cents a share. Texas Instruments Inc. raised its quarterly payout 24 percent to 21 cents a share.
EARNINGS
Darden reports income up
Darden Restaurants Inc. said its fiscal first-quarter net income rose 4 percent even as it struggled to grow a key revenue figure at its flagship Olive Garden and Red Lobster chains. Darden stood by its fiscal 2013 forecast that revenue is expected to increase 9 to 10 percent, mostly as a result of the addition of as many as 110 new restaurants. For the three months ended Aug. 26, the company said it earned $110.8 million, or 85 cents per share. That’s compared with $106.6 million, or 78 cents per share, a year ago.
Compiled from staff and wire reports