Honda’s CEO Steps Down
Autos: Honda’s CEO steps down
Honda’s CEO is calling it quits, said Sophia Yan in CNN.com. Takanobu Ito, a nearly 40-year veteran of the Japanese automaker, unexpectedly announced that he will resign from his post this summer, having led the firm since 2009. Ito said the move will allow new leaders to “revamp” the beleaguered carmaker’s operations. Honda has struggled lately because of poor sales, regulatory fines, and “a massive recall over faulty airbags.” The firm has appointed Taka hiro Hachigo—a managing officer at Honda who has overseen operations in the U.S., Europe, and China—as Ito’s successor.
Banks: JPMorgan’s latest cost cuts
JPMorgan Chase is trimming its operations, said Kaja Whitehouse in USA Today. The bank announced this week it will close 300 retail branches over the next two years as a cost-cutting measure, as customers increasingly gravitate toward mobile and online banking. The bank also said it will shed $100 billion in large deposits by the end of the year “so it can meet new capital requirement rules that penalize banks for large, uninsured deposits that are viewed as unstable by regulators.”
Commodities: Banks probed over metal prices
Federal officials are investigating at least 10 major banks for price rigging in precious metals markets, said Jean Eaglesham and Christopher M. Matthews in The Wall Street Journal. The Justice Department is reportedly “scrutinizing the price-setting process for gold, silver, platinum, and palladium in London” and targeting several major firms—including HSBC, Barclays, Credit Suisse, Deutsche Bank, Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan Chase, and UBS—over allegations that the banks manipulated metal prices. Benchmarks for the four precious metals can affect financial products such as derivatives and exchange-traded funds.
Imports: Labor dispute at West Coast ports ends
Work has resumed at West Coast ports after nine months of slowdowns and stoppages, said Andrew Khouri in the Los Angeles Times, but it could take months to clear the backlog of cargo. Some 20,000 dockworkers struck a tentative five-year deal with their employers this week, after months of tense negotiations that have slowed trade through 29 West Coast seaports, including those of L.A. and Long Beach, which together handle roughly 40 percent of incoming U.S. cargo. The protracted dispute has cost businesses across the country millions of dollars.
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