Submit trade pact, GOP senators urge
WASHINGTON -- A dozen GOP senators have urged President Donald Trump to send lawmakers the legislative language for a U.S.-Canada-Mexico trade agreement as soon as possible so it can be approved before Democrats take control of the House next year.
The lawmakers wrote in a Nov. 20 letter that they're concerned that waiting until 2019 to send Congress the draft legislative language will make passage "significantly more difficult," as some Democrats have called for revisions. But Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., so far hasn't shown interest in considering the trade deal before the end of the year.
If the president pursues congressional approval this year, "we commit to working with you in a consultative manner to draft implementing legislation that could win our votes, as well as a majority in the House and Senate," the senators wrote. They asked for the pact to be provided before Nov. 30.
All three nations are preparing to sign the agreement during the Group of 20 leaders' summit in Argentina, which will be held Nov. 30-Dec. 1. The trade pact will require approval from Congress and from lawmakers in Mexico and Canada.
-- Bloomberg News
Stock buybacks rise to $194B in 3Q
Stock buybacks by companies in the benchmark S&P 500 index climbed to $194.07 billion in the third quarter, according to data from S&P Dow Jones Indices.
The buying spree, which has steadily accelerated since the second quarter of 2017, has been led by companies in the technology sector. Apple spent more than $80 billion on share buybacks through the first three quarters of this year. Chipmaker Qualcomm also bet big on its own stock, shelling out $21.2 billion in the third quarter.
"Companies have adopted buybacks as an option when they have excess capital and nothing better to do with it," says Michael Schoonover, portfolio manager of the Catalyst Buyback Strategy Fund.
Buybacks, in which companies purchase their own shares and retire them, are popular with investors because having fewer outstanding shares lifts the companies' earnings per share, the most-watched barometer of corporate success.
-- The Associated Press
Jobless claims up by 3,000 in week
Filings for U.S. unemployment benefits rose last week to the highest level since late June, according to Labor Department figures released Wednesday.
Jobless claims increased by 3,000 to 224,000 in the week that ended Saturday, the Labor Department figures show. That comes after the department reported an upwardly revised 221,000 claims from the previous week. The four-week average, a less-volatile measure, rose to 218,500.
Analysts may pay extra attention to the data because the week included the 12th of the month, which lines up with the survey period for the Labor Department's November employment report, due Dec. 7.
The results may also reflect volatility around the Veterans Day holiday, which was observed on the 12th, a Monday. Wildfires in California could be boosting claims, as disasters are typically associated with a temporary increase.
Even with the rise, applications for unemployment benefits are hovering around historically low levels, underscoring strong demand for workers that's helping to increase wages. Such gains along with lower taxes are supporting consumer spending, the biggest part of the economy.
-- Bloomberg News
Farmer indicted in dicamba-use case
ST. LOUIS -- A southeast Missouri farmer has been indicted on federal charges of illegally applying dicamba, a weedkiller that has drawn criticism for drifting and damaging crops in neighboring fields.
A 53-count federal indictment was announced Tuesday against Bobby David Lowrey, 51, of Parma. He is accused of illegally applying the dicamba on his cotton and soybean crops outside of Environmental Protection Agency guidelines, then lying to investigators when confronted about it.
Dicamba has long been on the market, but problems have occurred in recent years after farmers began to plant new seeds engineered to be resistant to the herbicide. Dicamba can easily evaporate after being applied and can drift on the wind into neighboring fields.
Lowrey faces 49 counts of misapplication of a pesticide, three counts of obstruction of justice, and one count of making a false statement. He could face up to 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine if convicted.
-- The Associated Press
Foxconn memo calls for $2.9B cost cut
Foxconn Technology Group, the biggest assembler of Apple iPhones, aims to cut $2.9 billion in expenses in 2019 as it faces "a very difficult and competitive year," according to an internal company memo.
The iPhone business will need to reduce expenses and eliminate about 10 percent of nontechnical staff members, according to the memo obtained by Bloomberg. The company's spending in the past 12 months has been about $6.7 billion.
"The review being carried out by our team this year is no different than similar exercises carried out in past years to ensure that we enter into each new year with teams and budgets that are aligned with the current and anticipated needs of our customers, our global operations and the market and economic challenges of the next year or two," Foxconn said in an emailed statement in response to Bloomberg queries.
-- Bloomberg News
Amazon discloses lapse in security
Amazon.com informed some customers on Wednesday that their names and email addresses had been "inadvertently disclosed" as a result of a "technical error," but it declined to provide more details about the security incident.
The e-commerce giant confirmed it sent the messages, adding in a subsequent statement that it had "fixed the issue." Amazon did not say how many of its users had been affected or where and how the information had been exposed. It said only that its website and other systems had not been breached.
The disclosure came days before the Black Friday and Cyber Monday holiday shopping frenzies that mark the start of a Christmas season in which e-commerce sales are projected to total more than $123 million, according to eMarketer. Amazon's handling of the security lapse drew sharp criticism on social media.
-- The Washington Post
Business on 11/22/2018