Tag Archives: investment

FedEx commits $3.2 billion to raise pay, expand hubs after U.S. tax overhaul

A FedEx Express Boeing 737-45D (BDSF) OO-TNN aircraft is seen at the Chopin International Airport in Warsaw, Poland January 8, 2018. Picture taken on January 8, 2018.

By Eric M. Johnson

(Reuters) – Package delivery company FedEx Corp said on Friday it will spend more than $3.2 billion on wage increases, bonuses, pension funding and capital investment, taking advantage of the U.S. tax overhaul signed into law in December.

The Memphis, Tennessee-based company said it would invest $1.5 billion to significantly expand its hub in Indianapolis over the next seven years and modernize and enlarge its Memphis SuperHub.

The new tax code allows companies to immediately write off the full value of capital costs, which helps make projects more financially attractive, but that benefit starts to phase out in 2023. It also permanently lowers the U.S. corporate rate to 21 percent from 35 percent.

The announcement makes FedEx the latest U.S. company to promise higher pay for workers, citing the tax cuts.

FedEx, which said the recent tax changes would likely boost economic growth and investment in the United States, also said it would contribute $1.5 billion to an employee pension plan.

The company plans more than $200 million in higher compensation, about two-thirds of which will go to hourly employees with the remainder funding increases in performance-based incentive plans for salaried workers.

FedEx shares were down 0.3 percent in morning trading.

(Reporting by Rachit Vats in Bengaluru, Eric M. Johnson in Seattle, and Nick Carey in Detroit; Editing by Arun Koyyur and Meredith Mazzilli)

After shoddy China economic data, Xi says to persevere with reform

Xi Jinping

BEIJING (Reuters) – China will push forward supply-side reform and increase the number of middle-income earners, state television quoted President Xi Jinping as saying on Monday, after economic data for April fueled doubts about the economy’s health.

Xi’s speech to a meeting of top government economic regulators underscores the importance, and pressure, of managing China’s economic shift as growth has cooled to 25-year lows.

Investment, factory output and retail sales in the world’s second-largest economy all grew more slowly than expected in April.

The main thrust is to reduce ineffective supply and increase effective supply, Xi said, according to the official Xinhua news agency.

The government has made reducing the capacity glut one of its top priorities, and has vowed to put “zombie” companies out of business. But economists expect authorities to move slowly to avoid a sharp jump in unemployment.

In some regions there had not been forceful action on government policies, Xi was quoted as saying by Xinhua. At the same time, some policies need to be further researched and drawn up.

For the state and society to remain stable over the long-term, the government must realize its goal of meeting people’s needs and expanding the number of middle-income earners, he said.

China must push forward reform of state-owned enterprises, accelerate change in how government functions and deepen the fundamental reforms of pricing, taxation, finance and social insurance, said Xi.

The government must also improve China’s income distribution system and strengthen people’s property protections, he said.

Separately, China’s State Council plans to encourage private investment, a major foundation of a stable economy, in part by removing hidden barriers, Xinhua said on Monday.

To that end, the State Council will send teams to government departments and provincial governments to inspect progress on promoting private investment, said Xinhua.

(Reporting by Beijing Monitoring Desk, Elias Glenn and Paul Carsten, Editing by Ed Osmond)

Global banking Fees Fall 29 Percent

A view of the exterior of the JP Morgan Chase & Co. Corporate headquarters in the Manhattan borough of New York City,

By Anjuli Davies

LONDON (Reuters) – Global investment banking fees fell 29 percent in the first quarter of 2016 from a year earlier as market volatility put a brake on dealmaking and equity and debt capital markets activity, Thomson Reuters data published on Monday showed.

Global fees for services ranging from merger and acquisitions advisory services to capital markets underwriting reached $16.2 billion by the end of March, the slowest first quarter for fees since 2009.

Regionally, fees in the Americas totaled $8.7 billion, down 32 percent from last year. Fees in Europe were down 27 percent at $3.9 billion and the Asia-Pacific region saw an 18 percent decline to $2.6 billion.

Investment banking income was dragged down across all products as global markets were hit by volatility sparked by global growth worries, geopolitical tensions in the Middle East and a China slowdown.

Company boards and their chief executives were deterred from pulling the trigger on big transformative deals, in contrast to the record levels of activity seen last year, although the quarter saw a flurry of Chinese companies seeking Western targets.

Equity capital markets fees saw the steepest decline of 48 percent compared to a year ago, followed by a 26 percent fall in debt capital markets fees and an 18 percent decline in M&A revenue.

JPMorgan <JPM.N> topped the global league table for fees, drawing in $1.2 billion during the quarter, a decline of 23 percent compared to a year earlier but gaining slightly in overall wallet share.

The top five banks were all American, but European banks Barclays <BARC.L> and Credit Suisse <CSGN.S> each gained one place to rank sixth and seventh respectively.

<<<For the full league table click on: http://trmcs-documents.s3.amazonaws.com/3501ec8eae589bfbef9cc1729a7312f0_20160404083831_1Q2016_Global_Investment_Banking_Review.pdf >>>

(Editing by Susan Fenton)