Walmart stands by Japan subsidiary
Walmart Inc. is not seeking a buyer for its Japanese supermarket chain Seiyu GK, the new head of Walmart Japan said Monday, countering reports circulating since last year that the company is for sale.
Lionel Desclee, chief executive officer of Walmart's Japanese unit, told reporters in Tokyo that Seiyu is "absolutely not" for sale. Walmart executives assured him they were hiring him to grow Seiyu, not sell it, Desclee said.
A Walmart spokesman said in an email Monday that Desclee's remark "is consistent with what we've been saying, that we continue to build our Japan business toward the future to meet the changing needs of customers there."
The Nikkei Asian Review reported in July that Walmart planned to "unload" Seiyu for between $2.7 billion and $4.5 billion. The publication cited only "multiple sources familiar with the matter" who said Walmart was contacting major retailers and private equity funds about a possible sale. A Walmart spokesman declined to comment to Nikkei.
A wholly owned subsidiary of the Bentonville retailer since 2008, Seiyu has about 330 stores.
-- Serenah McKay
U.S. seizes 1 million pounds of pork
NEWARK, N.J. -- Federal authorities say 1 million pounds of pork products allegedly smuggled from China have been seized at a New Jersey port.
Troy Miller, field operations director for the Customs and Border Protection in New York and New Jersey, says it's the largest agricultural seizure ever made in the United States.
Officials feared the meat could be contaminated with African swine fever virus, which has killed more than a million pigs in China. It's not dangerous to humans, but officials say an outbreak in America could cause $10 billion in damage to the pork industry in just one year.
Officials say the pork was smuggled over several weeks in containers where it was hidden by packages of noodles and laundry detergent. They say the meat was "primarily cured," and the cargo containers were not refrigerated.
-- The Associated Press
Princeton economist Krueger, 58, dies
PRINCETON, N.J. -- Alan Krueger, a groundbreaking Princeton University economist who served as a top adviser in two Democratic administrations and was an authority on the labor market, has died, according to a statement from the university Monday.
The economist took his own life during the weekend, according to a separate statement from Krueger's family that the university released. He is survived by his wife, Lisa, and two adult children, Benjamin and Sydney.
Krueger, 58, devoted much of his research to the job market and, in particular, to the effect of a minimum wage. His work concluded that a higher minimum wage did not generally slow hiring as many conservative critics have argued.
After serving as a Labor Department economist under President Bill Clinton, Krueger worked for President Barack Obama as a top Treasury official and then as chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers from 2011 to 2013.
In a statement, Obama credited Krueger with helping revive the U.S. economy after the devastating 2008 financial crisis.
"He spent the first two years of my administration helping to engineer our response to the worst financial crisis in 80 years and to successfully prevent the chaos from spiraling into a second Great Depression," Obama said. "He helped us return the economy to growth and sustained job creation, to bring down the deficit in a responsible way and to set the stage for wages to rise again."
Krueger had been teaching at Princeton since 1987. His research extended to such issues as economic inequality and the consequences of opioid addiction for the job market.
-- The Associated Press
Foxconn vows Wisconsin plant by '20
MADISON, Wis. -- Foxconn Technology Group said Monday that its manufacturing facility in Wisconsin will be producing flat-screen panels by the end of 2020, with construction starting later this year.
The news came after the worldwide electronics manufacturing leader sent mixed signals earlier this year about whether it planned to suspend work in Wisconsin. After a meeting with President Donald Trump, Foxconn's leader recommitted to building a smaller manufacturing facility in Wisconsin than what was originally promised.
The Taiwan-based Foxconn is building what is known as a Generation 6 factory, which typically makes smaller liquid crystal display screens for cellphones, tablets, televisions and other devices. It first said it was going to build a larger Generation 10 plant, which would have used glass more than three times as large as what the smaller facility will use.
Even with the changes, Foxconn has remained committed to investing up to $10 billion in Wisconsin and hiring 13,000 people. If it does that, the company would qualify for about $4 billion in state and local tax credits.
-- The Associated Press
Ex-VP of auto union charged in probe
DETROIT -- A former vice president at the United Auto Workers was charged Monday in a scheme with Fiat Chrysler executives to buy meals, golf and other perks with the automaker's money -- the highest-ranking official snagged in an investigation that has exposed corruption between labor and management.
The conspiracy charge against Norwood Jewell was filed as a criminal information, which means a guilty plea is likely. At least seven people have pleaded guilty.
Officials at Fiat Chrysler and the UAW enriched themselves by using company money set aside for a job-training center. The corruption occurred at the same time both sides were negotiating labor agreements.
"We can confirm that we have had professional and productive discussions with the U.S. Attorney's Office towards a fair and just resolution," defense attorney Michael Manley told The Detroit News. "We are confident that when the facts of the case come out as it relates to Mr. Jewell, his decades-long reputation of honorable service to members of the UAW will remain intact."
Jewell was the senior UAW official dealing with Fiat Chrysler, from 2014 through 2016.
The court filing says he signed off on dinners valued at thousands of dollars at an exclusive Detroit restaurant, the London Chop House, and golf and meals in Palm Springs, Calif.
-- The Associated Press
Business on 03/19/2019
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