Actual finance blog

Kirin Holdings Co. says that a Brazilian court has revoked an injunction blocking the company’s $2.5 billion takeover of Brazilian beer producer Schincariol.

The ruling in Sao Paulo paves the way for the Japanese beer maker to assume control of Schincariol and gain a valuable foothold in the rapidly growing Brazilian market.

In August, Kirin announced a $2.5 billion deal to buy the 50.45 percent stake owned by brothers Alexandre and Adriano Schincariol. Minority shareholders _ their cousins _ opposed the transaction and successfully requested an injunction.

Kirin, Japan’s No. 2 brewer, appealed the decision.

Schincariol is Brazil’s second-largest beer producer, known for brands such as Nova Schin, Devassa and Bem Loura.

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Several thousand Occupy Wall Street protesters have marched to New York City’s Washington Square Park for a peaceful general assembly.

Demonstrators marched Saturday from Manhattan’s Zuccotti Park, the group’s unofficial headquarters where protesters have been camped out for the last 22 days. The trek was peaceful and orderly.

On Wednesday, dozens were arrested when thousands marched on Wall Street in their biggest show of support yet. Last Saturday, 700 people were arrested after they spilled onto the roadway while crossing the Brooklyn Bridge.

Protesters are speaking out against corporate greed and the gap between the rich and poor. They say they have no leaders and are making decisions by consensus.

Supporters have donated food, clothing and medical supplies. Some drop off their offerings, while others have mailed them.

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U.S. stocks fell sharply in afternoon trading after seesawing through most of the morning. The Dow Jones industrial average dropped nearly 190 points and the S&P 500 hit a new low for the year.

European markets slumped, dragging U.S. stocks down along with them, after Greece said it will miss deficit reduction targets it agreed to as part of its bailout deal. Benchmark indexes in Germany, France and Spain all fell 2 percent.

The Dow briefly turned higher after 10 a.m., when the Institute of Supply Management said its gauge of U.S. manufacturing did better than Wall Street had predicted in September. The Dow and S&P turned mixed within 20 minutes, then took a sharp slide shortly after noon.

The Dow Jones industrial average was down 186 points, or 1.7 percent, to 10,729 at 1:15 p.m. Eastern.

The S&P 500 lost 22, or 2 percent, to 1,109. That’s below its closing low of 1,119 for the year, reached on Aug. 8.

The Nasdaq composite fell 52, or 2.2 percent, to 2,362.

All 10 company groups in the S&P index fell. Banks, energy, and consumer discretionary stocks had the steepest declines. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note fell to 1.79 percent from 1.91 percent late Friday as investors piled into lower-risk investments.

“The market is continuing to trade based on what is happening in Europe, and that is going to overshadow everything else,” said Quincy Krosby, market strategist at Prudential Financial. “The math (for the Greek bailout) didn’t add up a year ago, and the math doesn’t add up today. The market knows that and is waiting for the Europeans to acknowledge it.”

The renewed concerns about Europe’s debt problems pushed the U.S. dollar up 0.8 percent against the euro. That could hurt large U.S. companies that rely on exports by making their products more expensive overseas. Coca-Cola Co. fell 3 percent. Caterpillar Inc., which sells construction equipment globally, lost 3.8 percent.

Concerns that the U.S. economy is headed for another recession helped send the S&P 500 index, the basis for most mutual funds that invest in U.S. stocks, down 14 percent over the three months that ended in September. It was the worst quarter for the stock market since the financial crisis of 2008.

In corporate news, Yahoo gained 2.3 percent to $13.45, after the head of Chinese Internet company Alibaba Group Holdings said he would be interested in buying the company. Yahoo, which recently ousted Carol Bartz as its CEO, has been trying to decide whether to sell parts of the company.

Bank of America fell to its lowest price since the financial crisis in 2008. The bank lost 4.8 percent to $5.83. The company has fallen 56 percent since January.

Netflix rose 0.2 percent after an analyst from Morgan Stanley upgraded the company following a sharp drop in its stock price. Netflix has plummeted 60 percent from its recent high of $304 because of a drop in subscribers and a plan to split its streaming service from its DVD-by-mail business.

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Austrian lawmakers have voted to expand the powers of the eurozone’s bailout fund, which is designed to help Greece and other potentially struggling countries deal with their debts.

Friday’s passage means that Austria guarantees to provide euro21.6 billion ($29.4 billion) to the fund, compared to euro12.2 billion previously.

If all 17 eurozone nations agree to increase their share, the fund will have euro440 billion ($600 billion) at its disposal.

Parliament’s backing had been expected, with the governing center-left coalition supported by the opposition Greens in backing the measure. Only two rightist parties opposed the bill.

Austria’s endorsement comes a day after German parliamentarians approved beefing up the so-called European Financial Stability Facility.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP’s earlier story is below.

VIENNA (AP) _ Austrian lawmakers have voted to expand the powers of the eurozone’s bailout fund, which is designed to help Greece and other potentially struggling countries deal with their debts.

Friday’s passage means that Austria guarantees to provide euro21.6 billion ($29.4 billion) to the fund, compared to euro12.2 billion previously.

If all 17 eurozone nations agree to increase their share, the fund will have euro440 billion ($600 billion) at its disposal.

Parliament’s backing had been expected, with the governing center-left coalition supported by the opposition Greens in backing the measure. Only two rightist parties opposed the bill.

Austria’s endorsement comes a day after German parliamentarians approved beefing up the so-called European Financial Stability Facility.

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Stock futures are rising, signaling another day of gains on Wall Street. Investors will assess fresh U.S. economic data and closely watch developments in Europe.

The government is expected to report Wednesday that factory orders for long-lasting manufactured goods fell in August after rising in July. Manufacturing has been one of the strongest parts of the economy since the recession ended.

Investors also remain focused on Europe. Stocks have soared this week on hopes that the region is moving closer to resolving its debt crisis.

About 90 minutes before the opening, Dow Jones industrial average futures are up 64 points, or 0.6 percent, at 11,184. Standard & Poor’s 500 futures are up 7, or 0.6 percent, at 1,176. Nasdaq 100 futures are up 11, or 0.5 percent, at 2,265.

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ST. LOUIS 

President Barack Obama is keeping up his appeal for public support of his $447 billion proposal to boost jobs and consumer spending by urging Americans to press Congress to pass the legislation. “No more division or delay,” he said.

In his weekly radio and Internet address Saturday, he focused on a message that has become central to a presidency struggling to address stubbornly high unemployment numbers and dipping approval of his handling of the economy.

The president announced his jobs legislation to a joint session of Congress last week and has since gone outside Washington to build a case for its passage. He has been to Virginia, Ohio and North Carolina.

“The No. 1 issue for the people I meet is how we can get back to a place where we’re creating good, middle-class jobs that pay well and offer some security,” he said.

His address Saturday came in the face of sobering public opinion ratings for the president.

A New York Times/CBS News poll released Friday showed nearly half of those surveyed worried the economy was headed for another recession and nearly three out of four said they believe the country is on the wrong track.

Obama’s proposal would reduce payroll taxes on workers, cut them in half for most businesses and offer incentives for employers to hire. It would spend tens of billions of dollars on new public works projects, extend unemployment benefits for long-term jobless and help states and localities avoid layoffs of teachers and emergency workers.

On Monday, Obama plans to spell out a long-term debt stabilizing plan that aims to cut the deficit by about $2 trillion over 10 years. Obama is making his proposal to a special congressional committee that has been charged with lowering deficit by $1.2 trillion to $1.5 trillion.

“But right now, we’ve got to get Congress to pass this jobs bill,” Obama said.

Obama’s jobs plan has received a tepid reception from Republicans, who are willing to consider some of his tax relief proposals, but not his spending plans. His proposal to pay for the plan with limits on tax deductions and closing corporate tax loopholes is facing stiff GOP resistance and even Democrats have pushed back on some of those provisions in the past.

In an interview with MSNBC that aired Saturday, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., said simply approving tax cuts without including spending on public works and local and state government assistance would not do enough to spur the economy.

“To take one piece or another, it doesn’t create the dynamism we need,” she said.

Still, despite his demand for quick passage, Obama is not likely to get immediate action even in the Democratic-led Senate, where Majority Leader Harry Reid has said there are some other issues that need to be dealt with first, including transportation money.

In the Republican address, Rep. Peter Roskam of Illinois called on Obama to reduce regulations on businesses, saying government agency rules were choking off hiring. “Washington has become a red tape factory,” he said.

He acknowledged Obama’s decision to scrub a clean-air regulation that aimed to reduce health-threatening smog. “He can cancel more,” Roskam said.

He pressed Obama to push the Democratic-controlled Senate to adopt House Republican initiatives, including legislation that would give Congress veto power over certain high-cost regulations.

“Job creators should be able to focus on their work - not on Washington’s busy-work,” he said.

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The United Auto Workers union extended its contracts with General Motors Co. and Chrysler Group LLC early Thursday after failing to meet a deadline to reach a new agreement.

GM broke off talks after midnight and said they would resume at 8 a.m. EDT Thursday. Chrysler didn’t say when its talks would resume.

The decision has little impact on the 71,000 U.S. factory workers covered by the GM and Chrysler contracts. In the past, workers might have gone on strike if the UAW hadn’t extended their contracts. But as part of their 2009 government bailouts, GM and Chrysler workers had to agree not to strike over wages.

“We should continue to do the things we do until we receive official notification otherwise,” a UAW local official at a GM factory in Lordstown, Ohio, wrote Wednesday in a message posted on the local’s website.

The UAW extended its contract with Ford Motor Co. last week, as talks have progressed more slowly with that automaker. The Ford contract covers around 40,000 workers.

Up until the deadline, the negotiations that began over the summer appeared to be proceeding without the acrimony that plagued them in the past. But just before the 11:59 p.m. EDT Wednesday deadline, the CEO of Chrysler fired off a letter to UAW President Bob King saying an agreement likely wouldn’t be reached because King didn’t come to the table Wednesday night to finish the deal.

“I know we are the smallest of the three automakers here in Detroit, but that does not make us less relevant,” Chrysler CEO Sergio Marchionne said in the letter, which was obtained by The Associated Press.

Marchionne said he planned to travel out of the country for business and will return next week. He said he would agree to a weeklong extension of Chrysler workers’ current contract. The UAW didn’t set a new deadline to reach agreements.

UAW President Bob King wouldn’t comment on Marchionne’s letter when he was reached by phone early Thursday.

The UAW extended its contract with Ford Motor Co. last week, as talks have progressed more slowly with that automaker.

Marchionne said he and King met a week ago and agreed to finish work on the new contract before the deadline. He said not meeting the deadline hurts Chrysler’s workers.

“You and I failed them today,” he wrote. “We did not accomplish what leaders who have been tasked with the turning of a new page for this industry should have done.”

Things appeared to be progressing more smoothly at GM. Joe Ashton, the UAW’s vice president in charge of the GM negotiations, told local union officials Tuesday night in a note that bargainers have made “much progress” in talks with the company. GM has taken the lead on the negotiations and its agreement may be used to set the pattern for the other two companies.

The contract talks will determine wages and benefits for 111,000 union workers at the auto makers, and they also set the bar for wages at auto parts companies, U.S. factories run by foreign automakers and other manufacturers, which employ hundreds of thousands more. The contract talks are the first since GM and Chrysler needed government aid to make it through bankruptcy protection in 2009.

GM nearly ran out of cash and needed $49.5 billion from the government to survive, but it’s been making billions in the last two years because its debt and costs were lowered in bankruptcy and its new products have been selling well.

Ashton wrote that “difficult restrictions” have been placed on the union and company as a result of the bailout. To get the government funding, the union had to agree not to strike over wages at GM and Chrysler. Also, unresolved issues can be taken to binding arbitration, and the union’s new contracts must keep the companies’ labor costs competitive with Asian automakers such as Toyota Motor Corp. and Honda Motor Co.

“As you know, several difficult conditions were agreed to in order to obtain financing during the bankruptcy,” Ashton wrote in the note to local union officials. “We are confident that we can reach an agreement that will meet many of the goals we set at the beginning of negotiations.”

The union has been seeking bigger profit-sharing checks instead of pay raises, higher pay for entry level workers who make $14 to $16 per hour, signing bonuses and guarantees of new jobs as auto sales recover. Ford and GM want to cut their labor costs to get them closer to Honda and Toyota, while Chrysler wants to hold its costs steady. Health care costs are also an issue.

Once the contract agreements are reached, workers will vote on them.

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The still fledgling protection for whistle-blowers in Japan received a boost Wednesday by a high court that reversed an earlier decision and awarded damages to a worker who suffered retaliation through a transfer.

The Tokyo High Court ordered Japanese camera and precision-equipment maker Olympus Corp. to pay 2.2 million yen ($29,000) to Masaharu Hamada for transferring him from a sales division where he had a strong work record to a more solitary assignment.

Hamada sued Olympus in 2008, demanding 10 million yen ($130,000) in damages, saying the transfer was punishment for relaying a supplier’s complaint that employees with technological expertise were being lured away by Olympus. According to reports, Hamada first relayed the complaint to his boss, then to the company’s compliance unit.

“I thought I did the right thing for my company and for society. Something is wrong when an honest person loses out,” the 50-year-old Hamada was quoted saying by the Asahi newspaper after his victory.

Olympus said in a statement the ruling was “regrettable” and it was still considering whether it will appeal to the Supreme Court.

Japan is a conformist society that tends to respect the power of companies and demand unquestioning loyalty. A law to protect whistle-blowers was enacted only in 2006. But critics say it is still inadequate since it does not penalize companies that punish employees who report bad company conduct or actions.

Whistle-blowers still need to file lawsuits if they wish to win damages or draw attention.

Last year, the Tokyo District Court ruled against Hamada, saying a company had the right to dole out assignments. The latest ruling reversed the earlier finding and said the company had violated its own internal laws by not protecting Hamada.

Numerous corporate scandals have been brought to light by whistle-blowers _ a systematic cover-up of defects at Mitsubishi Motors Corp., illicit pocketing of government subsidies at Snow Brand Foods, and nuclear plant defects at Tokyo Electric Power Co., the utility behind the nuclear disaster in northeastern Japan.

“Whistle-blowers are still seen in Japan as traitors who go against the system,” said Hiroaki Kushioka, who exposed price-rigging at his trucking company 30 years ago, and was confined for years to a closet-like office, denied promotion and pressured to quit. He sued for damages in 2002, and won a landmark victory in 2005.

“In Japan, it is all about the sake of the team, and not about the individual at all,” he said.

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A military convoy escorting Yemen’s defense minister on Tuesday set off an explosive device that killed two soldiers, an official said, in a brazen attack on security forces fighting al-Qaida-linked militants.

The minister, Mohammed Nasser Ahmed, was not injured.

Tuesday’s attack took place in the area of Wadi Dufas in the southern province of Abyan, where al-Qaida-linked militants have been establishing a strong power base in recent months.

The security official said it was not immediately known who planted the explosive or when. He declined to characterize it as an assassination attempt on the minister.

The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to reporters, said Ahmed was in Abyan visiting troops on the first day of the three-day Muslim Eid al-Fitr holiday.

Security forces have been battling al-Qaida-linked fighters in Abyan for months. The militants have been taking advantage of political turmoil in Yemen around large demonstrations demanding the resignation of longtime President Ali Abdullah Saleh.

In June, Saleh was wounded in a bomb attack on his palace and departed for Saudi Arabia for treatment. He is still there, but he insists he will return home, defying international demands that he step down.

Near daily anti-Saleh protests and growing political disarray have created a security vacuum in southern Yemen, where al-Qaida-linked militants are battling the military for control no fax payday loans.

The West views al-Qaida’s branch in Yemen as one of the group’s most violent and dangerous.

The defense minister is a longtime ally of Saleh and has openly pledged the military’s support to him, though the army’s powerful 1st Armored Division is backing the protesters.

The swift takeover of Abyan’s capital city of Zinjibar by al-Qaida-linked militants in June sent tens of thousands of residents fleeing for safety elsewhere.

Also Tuesday, a Yemeni medical official said six suspected al-Qaida militants were killed in clashes in Wadi Dufas. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to brief reporters.

An official statement by Yemen’s Interior Ministry said 300 militants have been killed since May.

Abyan Governor Saleh al-Azari said that the Yemeni army has dealt a heavy blow to the al-Qaida-linked militants in the province over the past few days.

The army has also suffered losses. At least nine soldiers and an army colonel have been killed since Sunday in battles near Wadi Dufas, according to security officials.

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