Business news in brief

Jim Beam strikers accept new contract

LOUISVILLE, Ky. -- Striking Jim Beam workers at two Kentucky distilleries have accepted a contract offer, ending a walkout that lasted nearly a week.

United Food and Commercial Workers union official Tommy Ballard said workers approved the proposal on a 204-19 vote Friday and will return to work Monday. The strike began last Saturday when Beam workers at two distilleries rejected a prior offer.

The workers' main complaint with the world's leading bourbon producer was not money but time. The union wanted more full-time workers hired, rather than a greater reliance on temporary workers.

Ballard said the company's newest offer includes a commitment to hire more full-time staff members.

With the strike ended, longtime Beam employee Bill Ball said, "Now we can get back to being a family."

-- The Associated Press

Bombardier to shed 7,500 more jobs

Bombardier Inc. will cut an additional 7,500 jobs -- more than 10 percent of its workforce -- over two years as the maker of trains and airplanes accelerates a restructuring plan after taking on billions of dollars of debt to develop its C Series jetliner.

Restructuring charges of $225 million to $275 million will be reported as special items starting in the fourth quarter and continuing through 2017, Bombardier said in a statement Friday. The Montreal-based company expects the program to yield savings of about $300 million a year by the end of 2018, saying it would ensure competitiveness and improve profit margins.

This is the second major employment cut in eight months by Chief Executive Officer Alain Bellemare, who was hired in February 2015 with a mandate to restore profitability. He's working to overcome cost overruns and a delay of about 2 1/2 years on the $6 billion C Series, which was developed to rival Boeing Co. and Airbus Group SE planes.

About two-thirds of the cutbacks will occur in Bombardier's train business, with the remainder in aerospace, Bellemare said in a telephone interview. About 2,000 jobs, or more than a quarter of the total, will be eliminated in Canada, he said.

-- Bloomberg News

Air-trip forecast: China tops U.S. by '24

China is set to overtake the U.S. by 2024 as the world's largest aviation market as measured by passenger count as more people take to the skies domestically and internationally, according to the International Air Transport Association.

The number of people flying to, from and within China will almost double to 927 million annually by 2025, from 487 million last year, according to forecasts from the transport association made in an emailed statement, and reach 1.3 billion by 2035. In comparison, passengers in the U.S. will increase to 904 million by 2025, from 657 million last year, according to the predictions.

Global passenger travel is predicted to surge, with most of that growth coming from the Asia-Pacific region as economies expand and more people can afford to fly. India is set to surpass the United Kingdom as the world's third-largest aviation market by 2025, according to the association, with 263 million passengers compared with 256 million, it said.

-- Bloomberg News

Cigna eases rules for opioid-addict Rx

ALBANY, N.Y. -- Health insurer Cigna has agreed to end a policy that required physicians to fill out extra paperwork before they could give patients a drug used to treat opioid addiction.

The move announced Friday comes after New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman raised questions about whether Cigna's requirement created unnecessary treatment delays.

In a statement, the Bloomfield, Conn.-based insurer said the change will make it easier for customers to get medications they need and is part of the company's broader effort to reduce opioid abuse by its customers.

Schneiderman, a Democrat, said he applauds Cigna's action and encourages other insurers to take similar steps.

Medication-assisted opioid addiction treatment involves the use of specialized drugs, combined with therapy, to help addicts recover while minimizing withdrawal symptoms and craving.

-- The Associated Press

Burberry gains on Coach-wooing report

Shares of Burberry Group PLC rose the most during trading in almost eight months Friday after the Betaville financial blog said Coach Inc. is considering merging with the British trench-coat maker.

The U.S. maker of purses and accessories has been working with financial advisers at Evercore for several weeks on a possible deal, the website said, citing two people familiar with the situation it didn't name. Burberry shares traded 3 percent higher at $18.20 in London after rising as much as 8.1 percent, the biggest intraday gain since Feb. 26. Coach traded at the equivalent of $36.21 in Frankfurt, up about 1 percent from Thursday's close in New York.

Representatives for Burberry and Coach declined to comment. Earlier this year, the Financial Times reported that London-based Burberry asked its advisers at Robey Warshaw to help prepare for a possible bid.

-- Bloomberg News

McDonald's 3Q sales up 1.3% in U.S.

OAK BROOK, Ill. -- McDonald's says sales rose 1.3 percent at established U.S. locations in the third quarter, matching what Wall Street analysts expected.

The world's biggest hamburger chain also reported better-than-expected earnings and revenue for the past quarter. Its shares rose $3.36, or 3 percent, to close Friday at $113.93.

McDonald's launched all-day breakfast a year ago to try to reverse falling sales and win back customers. Sales at U.S. stores have increased in the past five quarters since then, but the growth is slowing. The 1.3 percent increase in the third quarter is slightly below the 1.8 percent increase it reported in the previous quarter. The company is adding more items to its all-day breakfast menu and is testing a Happy Meal for kids with an egg and cheese McMuffin and other breakfast items.

Globally, sales rose 3.5 percent at established locations, beating the 1.3 percent growth analysts expected, according to FactSet.

Overall, the company reported net income of $1.28 billion, or $1.50 per share, in the quarter that ended Sept. 30. Adjusted earnings came to $1.62 per share, surpassing the $1.48 per share Wall Street analysts expected, according to Zacks Investment Research.

It had revenue of $6.42 billion in the period, above the $6.29 billion analysts expected.

Shares of McDonald's Corp. rose $3.36, or 3 percent, to close Friday at $113.93.

-- The Associated Press

Business on 10/22/2016

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