White House weighs auto import tariffs
WASHINGTON -- The White House is circulating a draft report by the U.S. Commerce Department over whether to impose tariffs on automobile imports to protect national security, three people familiar with the matter said.
President Donald Trump is scheduled to meet with senior members of his trade team today to discuss how to proceed on the potential tariffs, two of the people said. Speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss internal deliberations, they didn't give any insight into Commerce's conclusions.
The department in May launched an investigation into the national-security impact of car imports under section 232 of the 1962 Trade Expansion Act, the same provision Trump used to justify steel and aluminum tariffs.
A Commerce spokesman and White House communications staff had no immediate comment.
At public hearings in July, companies and governments from Europe to Asia warned that duties on car imports would hurt the U.S. economy, disrupt the global automotive industry, and widen the rift between America and its closest allies.
There's no indication when Trump will make a final decision on auto tariffs but he has repeatedly signaled that he's getting impatient with his trading partners, including the European Union and Japan. Trump has threatened a 25 percent tariff on imported cars.
-- Bloomberg News
Athenahealth draws $5.7B buyout offer
Athenahealth shares soared Monday after the struggling medical billing software maker received a $5.7 billion cash buyout offer.
Veritas Capital and Evergreen Coast Capital plan to give Athenahealth shareholders $135 per share in a deal that will take the company private. That represents a roughly 12 percent premium over the closing price of Athenahealth shares on Friday.
But the latest deal is smaller than a $6.5 billion bid that prominent investor Elliott Management Corp. made in May.
Elliott Management made its offer for $160 per share in cash after saying it had grown frustrated with Athenahealth's struggles, which included missed guidance targets and churning through five chief financial officers in the last four years.
A month after Elliott made its offer, co-founder and Chief Executive Officer Jonathan Bush said he was stepping down.
Athenahealth said Monday that Elliott Management supported the latest deal offer. Evergreen Coast Capital is an Elliott affiliate that invests in technology.
Athenahealth stock jumped about 9.7 percent, to $131.97 while broader indexes fell Monday.
-- The Associated Press
GE slides after CEO addresses investors
General Electric's new chief executive officer tried to reassure investors but the effort failed as a deep rout worsened and Wall Street's confidence in the beleaguered company's future continued to collapse.
The shares tumbled as much as 10 percent Monday as Larry Culp expressed a "sense of urgency" in cutting debt and selling assets. Speaking publicly for the first time since the company spooked investors with its third-quarter earnings report Oct. 30, he also said GE's troubled power division had yet to hit bottom.
"We're going to try to look at everything and all of our options again with a sense of urgency," Culp told CNBC in a rare television interview.
GE closed down 6.9 percent at $7.99 in New York after sliding for the lowest intraday price since March 2009, during the depths of the severe global recession.
The CEO's failure to stem the stock decline underscored the crisis engulfing GE as weak demand for gas turbines, heavy debt and federal accounting probes fuel one of the deepest slumps in the company's 126-year history. The shares have dropped more than 25 percent since Culp's surprise appointment was announced Oct. 1, extending a sell-off that has wiped out more than $200 billion in market value since the end of 2016.
-- Bloomberg News
SoftBank sets IPO date for mobile unit
TOKYO -- Japanese technology company SoftBank Group Corp. will carry out an initial public offering of its Japanese mobile subsidiary, set for Dec. 19.
The Tokyo Stock Exchange approved the listing of 1.6 billion shares of SoftBank Corp. Monday, at $13 a share, raising potentially more than $20 billion.
Founded in 1986, initially running software, broadband and fixed-line telecommunications businesses, the company has expanded to become one of Japan's top mobile service providers.
The parent is investing in a range of companies globally, including U.S. wireless company Sprint, British software company Arm, Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba and U.S. ride-sharing service Uber.
Recently, SoftBank Group Chief Executive Masayoshi Son was in the spotlight for his relations with the Saudi prince after the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi.
-- The Associated Press
CEO departs New York cosmetics maker
NEW YORK -- The top executive at the New York cosmetics maker Coty is leaving less than a week after revealing that significant supply chain problems sapped revenue during the first quarter.
The company said Monday that Chief Executive Officer Camillo Pane, who led the company for two years, resigned for family reasons.
Pierre Laubies, who last ran JDE, a beverage company, takes over immediately. He will also have a seat on the board.
Coty, whose brands include CoverGirl, Max Factor and Hugo Boss, named Peter Harf as chairman Monday. Bart Becht, who was chairman, will remain on the board.
The company will also add two independent directors to its board.
-- The Associated Press
Vietnam ratifies Pacific Rim trade pact
HANOI, Vietnam -- Vietnam's National Assembly on Monday ratified a Pacific Rim trade deal abandoned by U.S. President Donald Trump, but still being pushed forward by 11 other members.
The Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership will take effect at the year's end after Australia became the sixth nation to ratify it last month.
Trump pulled out of the pact just days after taking office last year, saying that multilateral trade agreements cost American jobs and that he would prefer bilateral trade agreements.
The remaining 11 members account for more than 13 percent of the world's gross domestic product.
Vietnam is expected to be one of the members that would most benefit from the deal with its strong base of exports of cellphones, garments, shoes, seafood and agricultural products.
-- The Associated Press
Business on 11/13/2018