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Closing time? Japan convenience stores pressed to end 24-7 model amid labor crunch

FILE PHOTO: A woman looks at scarves on sale at a department store in Tokyo
FILE PHOTO: A woman looks at scarves on sale at a department store in Tokyo March 30, 2012. REUTERS/Yuriko Nakao

March 20, 2019

By Ritsuko Ando

TOKYO (Reuters) – Japan’s 24-hour convenience stores are struggling to stay open around the clock as an industry that has continually expanded now finds itself at the sharp end of a labor shortage.

Franchise owners, some of whom were forced to work amid massive snowstorms or in the wake of a family death, have launched a campaign to persuade industry leader 7-Eleven to allow stores to close earlier.

Although the debate has focused on their plight, it has also raised doubts over the future of a $100 billion industry that faces an aging population, slow economic growth and new competitors such as Amazon Prime.

“The question is, how much demand is there for 24-hour service in an age when online shopping is expanding?” said Takayuki Kurabayashi, a Nomura Research Institute partner who specializes in consulting for the retail industry.

Japanese convenience stores began expanding in the 1970s as their 24-hour accessibility proved a perfect match with the country’s dense population and late-night work culture.

The brightly lit stores, which locals call “combini,” are ubiquitous and an essential part of modern Japanese life, offering everything from neckties to packaged “bento” lunches for city workers.

Rural Japanese rely on the stores for parcel and ATM services, or even as lifelines during disasters such as earthquakes.

The franchise system promoted a nationwide expansion that took the total number of stores to roughly 58,000 last year, a majority operated by the big three: 7-Eleven, originating in the U.S. but now Japanese-owned; FamilyMart, UNY Holdings’ convenience store arm; and Lawson, a subsidiary of trading house Mitsubishi Corp.

For years, the franchise model shielded operations from the direct effects of Japan’s labor crunch. But now, the tightest labor market more than 40 years is hurting store owners, who pay salaries after handing over royalty fees.

A union of convenience store owners said they were finding it increasingly hard to hire enough employees. Many owners said they worked long hours themselves to keep stores open 24 hours – a requirement in most franchise contracts.

“At the time of the agreement, we could not foresee the current labor shortage or spike in minimum wages,” said Mitoshi Matsumoto, a union member who owns a 7-Eleven store in Osaka, referring to the deal he and his wife signed with the company.

Struggling to keep the store running after his wife’s death last year, he began closing it for a few hours at night, and was threatened with a fine.

His pleas to management and lawmakers drew widespread sympathy in a country in which “work-life balance” has become a buzzword and employers have come under fire for cases of death by overwork.

Even the pro-business Nikkei newspaper wrote an editorial saying stores should be allowed reasonable working hours even if consumers suffer slight inconveniences.

Amid such pressure, the company said that on Thursday, it would begin testing shorter hours at 10 of its more than 20,700 stores. It emphasized that the change was experimental and that it was not yet altering its 24-7 format.

SATURATION AND INNOVATION

Roy Larke, who analyses Japan’s retail industry as editor of JapanConsuming.com, said he sees the sector as saturated and consolidation inevitable.

“We do have too many convenience stores now, sometimes literally next door to each other. There are probably around 10 percent too many,” he said.

Katsuhiko Shimizu, spokesman for Seven & i Holdings which owns 7-Eleven and general merchandise chain Ito-Yokado, disagreed.

“There’s room for innovation,” he said, citing the company’s efforts to incorporate more automation and artificial intelligence in processes ranging from stocking to check-out.

Chains are also testing new formats such as outlets that combine drugstores, dry cleaners and even gyms. FamilyMart has opened some such stores with the country’s largest discount chain, Don Quijote, to inject excitement.

Analysts warn against underestimating a sector known for maintaining high margins and rarely discounting, helped by constant product renewals and staples like 100-yen (90-cent) coffees.

They also say it’s too early to predict the outcome of Japan’s online grocery delivery race, which is only getting started.

Although Amazon’s grocery and same-day delivery services are considered threats, convenience stores are also launching online platforms; their affiliations with traditional supermarkets and logistics networks are seen as advantages.

“It’s not clear-cut whether Amazon will be overwhelmingly powerful here,” said Larke. “Especially in food, it doesn’t have the game to itself.”

Convenience stores, like other Japanese businesses, have also been expanding abroad. But Nomura Research’s Kurabayashi warned that those foreign markets, including China, were also aging.

“What’s happening in Japan is eventually going to happen elsewhere in Asia,” he said. “It’s just a matter of time.”

(Reporting by Ritsuko Ando; Editing by Gerry Doyle)

Source: OANN

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Nestle to face lawsuit saying Poland Spring water not from a spring: U.S. judge

FILE PHOTO: The Nestle logo is pictured on the company headquarters entrance building in Vevey
FILE PHOTO: The Nestle logo is pictured on the company headquarters entrance building in Vevey, Switzerland, February 18, 2016. REUTERS/Pierre Albouy/File Photo

March 28, 2019

By Jonathan Stempel

(Reuters) – A federal judge on Thursday rejected Nestle SA’s bid to dismiss a revised lawsuit claiming that it defrauded consumers by filling bottles of its Poland Spring water with ordinary groundwater.

U.S. District Judge Jeffrey Alker Meyer said consumers from eight northeastern states may pursue claims that Nestle Waters North America deceived them into overpaying by labeling Poland Spring as “100% Natural Spring Water.”

The New Haven, Connecticut-based judge allowed claims on behalf of consumers from Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania and Rhode Island. He said federal law preempted claims from Vermont consumers.

Nestle Waters had argued there was “no fraud” because its water met the various state requirements. Meyer had dismissed an earlier version of the lawsuit last May.

“We remain highly confident in our legal position and will continue to defend our Poland Spring brand vigorously against this meritless lawsuit,” a Nestle Waters spokeswoman said in a statement on Thursday. “Poland Spring brand natural spring water is just what it says it is — 100 percent natural spring water.”

Lawyers for the plaintiffs did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

According to the amended complaint, Nestle Waters sells 1 billion gallons of Poland Spring a year in the United States, and “not one drop” of its water “emanates from a water source that qualifies as a genuine legal ‘natural spring.'”

The actual Poland Spring in Maine, which the defendant’s labels said is a source of Poland Spring water, “commercially ran dry” nearly 50 years ago, the complaint said.

In his earlier dismissal, Meyer said the plaintiffs were trying merely to enforce guidelines for spring water under the federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, and that this preempted their state law claims.

But in Thursday’s decision, he said he was “convinced” the plaintiffs would try to show only that Poland Spring water did not meet the states’ individual spring water standards, though they appeared to “mirror” the federal standard.

The case is Patane v. Nestle Waters North America Inc, U.S. District Court, District of Connecticut, No. 17-01381.

(Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York; Editing by Tom Brown)

Source: OANN

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Kris Kobach: Department of Homeland Security Trump’s ‘biggest impediment’

The former Kansas Secretary of State on Monday appeared on “Tucker Carlson Tonight” and said the Department of Homeland Security has been the “biggest impediment” President Trump has faced while trying to implement his immigration agenda.

Kris Kobach said the agency appeared unwilling to execute many of the president's goals.

TRUMP DECLARES 'COUNTRY IS FULL' IN FOX NEWS INTERVIEW, SAYS U.S. CAN NO LONGER ACCEPT ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS
 
Trump announced Sunday afternoon that Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen "will be leaving her position" after 16 months. Trump also announced that U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Commissioner Kevin McAleenan will replace Nielsen as acting secretary

Administration sources told Fox News that Nielsen's background in cybersecurity made her a poor fit to handle border issues, while McAleenan best fits Trump's requirement of being the "toughest cop" on the frontier.

Kobach brought up his first-person experience and frustration he had with the DHS and “foot-dragging.”
 
Fox News' Samuel Chamberlain, John Roberts and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Source: Fox News Politics

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Boeing profit falls 21 percent after 737 MAX groundings

FILE PHOTO: An aerial photo shows Boeing 737 MAX airplanes parked on the tarmac at the Boeing Factory in Renton
FILE PHOTO: An aerial photo shows Boeing 737 MAX airplanes parked on the tarmac at the Boeing Factory in Renton, Washington, U.S. March 21, 2019. REUTERS/Lindsey Wasson/File Photo

April 24, 2019

(Reuters) – Boeing Co reported a 21 percent fall in first-quarter profit on Wednesday and suspended its 2019 outlook as the world’s largest planemaker worked to get its 737 MAX jets back in the air after two deadly accidents.

The company said it would be issuing a new forecast in the future when it has more clarity around the issues surrounding the 737 MAX.

Excluding certain items, Boeing said its core earnings fell to $1.99 billion, or $3.16 per share, in the quarter ended March 31 from $2.51 billion, or $3.64 per share, a year earlier.

(Reporting by Ankit Ajmera in Bengaluru; Editing by Bill Rigby and Anil D’Silva)

Source: OANN

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Trump slams Ann Coulter as 'Wacky Nut Job' over her criticism of border wall progress

President Trump lashed out at conservative pundit Ann Coulter on Saturday, labeling her a “Wacky Nut Job” and insisting he was “winning on the Border” despite opposition from a hostile Democratic Party.

Coulter, one of Trump’s earliest supporters, has evolved into a persistent critic the president in recent months over his struggles to secure funding from Congress for his long-promised wall along the U.S.-Mexico border.

“Wacky Nut Job @AnnCoulter, who still hasn’t figured out that, despite all odds and an entire Democrat Party of Far Left Radicals against me (not to mention certain Republicans who are sadly unwilling to fight), I am winning on the Border. Major sections of Wall are being built...,” Trump tweeted.

ANN COULTER: TRUMP DOESN'T NEED CONGRESS TO BUILD THE WALL

....and renovated, with MUCH MORE to follow shortly. Tens of thousands of illegals are being apprehended (captured) at the Border and NOT allowed into our Country. With another President, millions would be pouring in. I am stopping an invasion as the Wall gets built. #MAGA,” he continued.

Coulter, whose books include “In Trump We Trust,” and "Resistance is Futile," did not reply to the president via Twitter on Saturday, but has been relentless in her criticism. In January, after lawmakers reached an agreement to end the 35-day partial government shutdown, she called Trump the "the biggest wimp ever to serve as President of the United States."

During an appearance on “Real Time With Bill Maher,” she said Trump backed down on his demands for the wall in order to reopen the government without securing funding from House Democrats.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

“I promise you the country would be run much better if I had a veto over what Donald Trump is doing. It’s crazy that I expect a president to keep the promise he made every day for 18 months,” Coulter told Maher over Trump's border wall promise.

During Trump’s State of the Union address to Congress in February, Coulter labeled the speech as “the lamest, sappiest, most intentionally tear-jerking SOTU ever.”

Coulter is scheduled to speak Monday at the Forum Club of the Palm Beaches in Florida, not far from Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort, the Palm Beach Post reported.

Source: Fox News Politics

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Delta forecasts second-quarter profit above expectations

FILE PHOTO: A Delta plane passes a Delta bus on the tarmac at LAX airport in Los Angeles
FILE PHOTO: A Delta plane passes a Delta bus on the tarmac at LAX airport in Los Angeles, California U.S. January 10, 2018. REUTERS/Lucy Nicholson/File Photo

April 10, 2019

(Reuters) – Delta Air Lines Inc forecast second-quarter profit above Wall Street expectations and reported a 31 percent rise in quarterly profit on Wednesday, boosted by a renewed agreement with credit-card issuer American Express and robust travel demand.

The company said it expects profit for the second quarter to be in the range of $2.05 per share to $2.35 per share.

At the midpoint of the range, the profit forecast was above average analyst estimate of $2.13 per share, according to IBES data from Refinitiv.

The airline forecast total unit revenue, a closely watched performance metric, to increase 1.5 percent to 3.5 percent in the second quarter.

The No.2 U.S. carrier’s net income rose to $730 million in the first quarter ended March 31 from $557 million a year earlier. On an adjusted basis, Delta earned 96 cents per share, beating expectations of 90 cents per share.

Total operating revenue rose 5.1 percent to $10.47 billion in the quarter.

(Reporting by Ankit Ajmera in Bengaluru; Editing by Arun Koyyur)

Source: OANN

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Left Defends Creepy Joe Biden’s Groping Amid #MeToo Scandal

The Left is defending former Vice President Joe Biden’s habit of touching and groping women, claiming it’s just a harmless personality trait rather than inappropriate behavior.

The View’s Whoopi Goldberg and Joy Behar, MSNBC’s Mika Brzezinski, and the wife of Obama’s former Secretary of Defense Ash Carter defended Biden’s intent behind his groping, and even the groping itself.

“We all know Joe Biden…He’s so friendly. He’s a close talker…He touches you. That’s what he’s like,” Behar gushed on Monday.

Co-host Sunny Hostin added, “I don’t know if we’ll see anymore smelling of hair,” which triggered Goldberg.

“That pisses me off. I don’t want Joe to stop doing that!” Goldberg exclaimed.

Brzezinski told her audience that Biden is “extremely flirtatious” but in a “completely safe way.”

“There’s a lot of things I know about Joe Biden — I’ve known him for a long time — he is extremely affectionate, extremely flirtatious in a completely safe way,” she said on Monday.

“I am sure that somebody can misconstrue something he’s done. But as much as I can know what’s in anyone’s heart, I don’t think there is bad intent on his part at all.”

Carter’s wife didn’t deny Biden’s behavior, but said in her case, a “misleadingly extracted” photograph mischaracterized her as appearing uncomfortable.

Biden’s well-known proclivities gained attention on Friday after former Democratic nominee for Nevada’s lieutenant governor Lucy Flores wrote a scathing op-ed detailing how during a 2014 campaign event Biden had approached her from behind, smelled her hair, and planted a slow kiss on the back of her head.

In early March, Biden even referred to himself as a “tactile politician” during a speech in Delaware.

“I always have been, and that gets me in trouble as well, because I think I can feel and taste what is going on,” he told the crowd.

Biden in a statement acknowledged his tendency to touch women, but insisted he didn’t think he was “acting inappropriately.”

“In my many years on the campaign trail and in public life, I have offered countless handshakes, hugs, expressions of affection, support and comfort. And not once — never — did I believe I acted inappropriately. If it is suggested I did so, I will listen respectfully. But it was never my intention,” he said in a statement.


Source: InfoWars

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The headquarters of Wirecard AG is seen in Aschheim near Munich
FILE PHOTO: The headquarters of Wirecard AG, an independent provider of outsourcing and white label solutions for electronic payment transactions is seen in Aschheim near Munich, Germany April 25, 2019. REUTERS/Michael Dalder

April 26, 2019

BERLIN (Reuters) – Wulf Matthias will not stand for a second term as Wirecard’s chairman in 2020, German daily Handelsblatt said on Friday, citing sources in the financial industry.

For age reasons alone this would not be an option for Matthias, aged 75, Handelsblatt added.

Matthias will keep his mandate until it ends in 2020, the paper quoted a company spokeswoman as saying.

Wirecard was not immediately available for comment when contacted by Reuters.

(Reporting by Tassilo Hummel; Editing by Thomas Seythal)

Source: OANN

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FILE PHOTO: The Credit Suisse logo is pictured on a bank in Geneva
FILE PHOTO: The Credit Suisse logo is pictured on a bank in Geneva, Switzerland, October 17, 2017. REUTERS/Denis Balibouse/File Photo

April 26, 2019

ZURICH (Reuters) – Shareholders approved Credit Suisse’s 2018 compensation report with an 82 percent majority on Friday, overriding frustrations expressed at its annual general meeting over jumps in executive pay during a year its share price plummeted.

Three shareholder advisers had recommended investors vote against Switzerland’s second-biggest bank’s remuneration report, while a fourth backed the report but expressed reservations about whether management pay matched performance.

The approval marked a slight increase over the 80.8 percent support garnered for the bank’s 2017 compensation report.

(Reporting by Brenna Hughes Neghaiwi; Editing by Michael Shields)

Source: OANN

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FILE PHOTO: Traders work on the trading floor of Barclays Bank at Canary Wharf in London
FILE PHOTO: Traders work on the trading floor of Barclays Bank at Canary Wharf in London, Britain December 7, 2018. REUTERS/Simon Dawson/File Photo

April 26, 2019

By Simon Jessop and Sinead Cruise

LONDON (Reuters) – Activist investor Edward Bramson is likely to fail in his attempt to get a board seat at Barclays’ annual meeting next week, even though shareholders are dissatisfied with performance of the group’s investment bank.

New York-based Bramson’s Sherborne Investors and the board of the British bank have been sparring for months over Barclays’ strategy.

Bramson wants to scale back Barclays’ investment bank to reduce risk and boost shareholder returns. Barclays Chief Executive Jes Staley remains staunchly committed to growing the business out of trouble.

After failing to persuade Staley to change course since he began building a 5.5 percent stake in the bank in March last year, Bramson hopes a board seat will rachet up the pressure.

Both sides have written to shareholders pitching their case and Bramson has courted investors in one-on-one meetings, although none have publicly backed him yet.

Interviews by Reuters with five institutional investors in Barclays suggest Bramson has failed to persuade them.

Sherborne declined to comment.

Mirza Baig, head of investment stewardship at top-40 shareholder Aviva Investors, said Bramson was welcome on the bank’s register but the boardroom was a step too far.

“He has created a lot of value at other businesses, but, generally, when he has come in as executive chair and taken full control. This would be a different case where he would just be one lone voice on the board,” he said.

A second Barclays shareholder said he backed Bramson’s goal of improving returns but via an “evolutionary” approach.

“If you look at banks that have tried to restructure their operations in investment banking – you look at Natwest Markets, Deutsche Bank – I struggle to think of an example where a roughshod restructuring has been accretive to shareholder value.”

A third, top-30 investor said he had been impressed by incoming Chairman Nigel Higgins’ grasp of the challenge in hand, and felt investors would give him time.

“Management know they have to execute and deliver improved returns… [Higgins] will continue to re-shape the board but obviously he didn’t feel that having someone with a diametrically opposed view on it would be helpful.”

A fourth, top-30 investor agreed: “We voted for the chairman to come in and it would be crazy to allow an activist to join the board (at this time).”

Jupiter Fund Management, the 24th largest investor, said it also planned to vote against Bramson.

Barclays has nearly 500 institutional shareholders, Refinitiv data showed.

Since Staley joined Barclays in 2015, the investment bank returns relative to capital invested have increased but are still underperforming the overall business.

Barclays’ first-quarter figures showed the investment bank posted a 6 percent drop in income from its markets business and a 17 percent fall in banking advisory fees.

Returns in the investment bank fell to 9.5 percent from 13.2 percent a year ago.

Famed for successful campaigns against smaller British companies in sectors from chemicals to advertising, Bramson’s board seat pitch has been rebuffed by shareholder advisory firms.

Institutional Shareholder Services, the world’s biggest, said Bramson’s proposal “falls short of what can reasonably be expected from a shareholder trying to address issues at a 28 billion pounds, systemically important bank”.

Glass Lewis also flagged concern about Bramson’s lack of banking experience and “questionable” shareholding structure, referring to Sherborne’s use of derivative contracts to hedge losses should its strategy fail.

Critics said the arrangement meant his interests are not truly aligned with those of other long-term shareholders.

British advisory firm Pirc, however, said it recommended that investors abstain in the vote on Bramson’s proposal as a challenge to the board to do better in the year ahead – or face a similar contest in 2020.

(Editing by Jane Merriman)

Source: OANN

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https://a57.foxnews.com/static.foxnews.com/foxnews.com/content/uploads/2019/04/918/516/02_2.jpg?ve=1&tl=1

After an over 15-month pregnancy, “Akuti,” a 7-year-old Greater One Horned Indian Rhinoceros, gave birth as a result of induced ovulation and artificial insemination at Zoo Miami, April 23, 2019.

Ron Magill/Zoo Miami

https://a57.foxnews.com/static.foxnews.com/foxnews.com/content/uploads/2019/04/918/516/02_2.jpg?ve=1&tl=1

Source: Fox News World

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FILE PHOTO: File photo of a Chevron gas station sign in Del Mar, California
FILE PHOTO: A Chevron gas station sign is seen in Del Mar, California, in this April 25, 2013 file photo. REUTERS/Mike Blake/File Photo

April 26, 2019

(Reuters) – U.S. oil and natural gas producer Chevron Corp reported a 27 percent fall in quarterly earnings on Friday, hit by lower crude prices and weaker margins in its refining and chemicals businesses.

Net income attributable to the company fell to $2.65 billion, or $1.39 per share, for the first quarter ended March 31, from $3.64 billion, or $1.90 per share, a year earlier.

Earlier in the day, larger rival Exxon Mobil Corp reported earnings well below analysts’ estimates, as margins in its refining business were hurt by higher Canadian prices and heavy scheduled maintenance.

(Reporting by Arathy S Nair in Bengaluru; Editing by Saumyadeb Chakrabarty)

Source: OANN

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