Walmart CEO knew of bribery, emails show
NEW YORK » Wal-Mart Stores Inc.’s CEO Mike Duke found out in 2005 that the retailer’s Mexico unit was handing out bribes to local officials, according to emails obtained by lawmakers.
The lawmakers say the emails contradict earlier claims by Walmart that executives weren’t aware of bribes being made by the company.
Democratic Congressmen Elijah E. Cummings and Henry A. Waxman, who are investigating bribery charges at Walmart’s Mexico division, on Thursday released emails that indicate that Duke and other senior Walmart officials were informed multiple times starting in 2005 about bribes being made in the country. U.S. law forbids American companies from bribing foreign officials.
The lawmakers shared the emails, which they say they got from a confidential source, with Walmart on Wednesday, and sent a letter to Duke asking for a meeting to discuss them.
"It would be a serious matter if the CEO of one of our nation’s largest companies failed to address allegations of a bribery scheme," according to the letter written by Waxman and Cummings to Duke.
Bendable screen offers peek into future
LAS VEGAS » By showing off a phone with a flexible screen, Samsung is hinting at a day when we might fold up our large phone or tablet screens as if they were maps.
The Korean electronics company provided a glimpse of such a device at a keynote speech Wednesday at the International CES gadget show in Las Vegas. It’s an annual showcase of the latest TVs, computers and other consumer electronic devices.
Brian Berkeley, head of Samsung Electronics Co.’s display lab in San Jose, Calif., demonstrated a phone that consists of a matchbox-size hard enclosure, with a paper-thin, flexible color screen attached to one end. The screen doesn’t appear flexible enough to fold in half like a piece of paper, but it could bend into a tube.
The company also showed a video of a future concept, with a phone-size device that opens up like a book, revealing a tablet-size screen inside. The screen uses organic light-emitting diodes, or OLEDs. Only a thin layer of these chemicals is needed to produce a bright, colorful screen. They’re used in many Samsung phones already, though with glass screens. For the bendable phone, Samsung laid the chemicals over thin plastic instead of glass.
Ford’s dividend could lure new investors
Ford may get a longer look from curious investors after rolling out a more muscular, souped-up dividend Thursday. The nation’s No. 2 automaker is doubling its quarterly payout to 10 cents a share, just nine months after paying its first dividend in more than five years.
The dividend increase marks another milestone in Ford’s comeback. Ford is expected to report its fourth consecutive annual profit when it releases earnings in a few weeks.
Schmidt among few to see N. Korean Net
SEOUL » Google Chairman Eric Schmidt’s glimpse of the Web being used at a top university in Pyongyang makes him part of a tiny elite that has seen the Internet operate in North Korea.
His four-day visit to the North was a golden propaganda opportunity for North Korean officials striving to give one of the world’s most closed societies a modern, tech-savvy face. But the images of students surfing the Web in a brightly lit, spacious computer lab were far removed from daily reality for most North Koreans. Access to the Internet is all but impossible for ordinary North Koreans.
Rate on 30-year mortgage rises to 3.4 percent
WASHINGTON >> Average U.S. rates on fixed mortgages rose this week but remained close to record lows. Cheap mortgages have made home buying more affordable and helped drive a housing recovery.
Mortgage buyer Freddie Mac said Thursday that the average rate on the 30-year loan increased to 3.4 percent from 3.34 percent last week. That’s still near the 3.31 percent rate reached in November, the lowest on record dating to 1971.
The average on the 15-year fixed mortgage increased to 2.66 percent from 2.64 percent last week. The record low is 2.63 percent.
Mortgage rates tend to track the yield on the 10-year Treasury note. The yield on the note has risen this year to 1.89 percent Thursday from 1.7 percent.
ON THE MOVE
AARP Hawaii has announced Gerry Silva as its state president, the association’s top volunteer position. During the past year, Silva has served as AARP lead volunteer and spokesperson of "You’ve Earned a Say," an intiative in engaging Hawaii residents to look at the future of Social Security and Medicare. Silva is a retired Army colonel.
The Queen’s Health Systems has announced the following new members to serve on its board of trustees as well as on the Queen’s Medical Center board of trustees: Allan K. Ikawa, founder, president/chief executive officer for Big Island Candies; James "Kimo" Steinwascher, executive vice president and chief operating officer for Kaneohe Ranch Co.; Jenai S. Wall, chairwoman and chief executive officer for Foodland Super Market; Leslie Wilcox, president and chief executive officer for PBS Hawaii.
Central Pacific Bank has donated $2,500 to local nonprofits on behalf of employees Lee Moriwaki, Roxanne Ai and Roberta Rivera. The donation was part of a yearlong employee rewards program that tracked the community service efforts of CPB employees. Moriwaki participated in the most community service projects and has selected the Arc in Hawaii to receive his $1,500 donation. Ai selected Hospice Hawaii to receive her $500 donation, and Rivera selected Aloha United Way to receive her $500 donation.
