FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. >> Wal-Mart CEO Doug McMillon urged employees at the company’s annual shareholders meeting to re-imagine its future in a fast-shifting retail landscape.
The company is at a crossroads, as its long-held dominance in pricing has been chipped away at by Amazon and dollar stores. But it’s fighting back on multiple fronts, growing more aggressive with prices and going after Amazon by expanding delivery services.
The event was packed with 14,000 people including nearly 6,000 Wal-Mart workers as well as shareholders, analysts and others. Part business meeting, part pep rally, the meeting was hosted by comedian James Corden and featured musicians including Nick Jonas, Maxwell and Andy Grammer.
U.S. trade deficit increases 5.3 percent
WASHINGTON >> The U.S. trade deficit, after falling to the lowest point in more than two years, increased in April as a surge in imported goods outpaced a rebound in exports.
The Commerce Department said Friday that the deficit increased 5.3 percent in April to $37.4 billion, up from an imbalance of $35.5 billion in March. Exports increased 1.5 percent to $182.8 billion, but imports rose faster, increasing 2.1 percent to $220.2 billion.
The politically sensitive deficit with China surged 16.3 percent to $24.3 billion, a development certain to heighten trade tensions between the world’s two largest economies.
CEO leaves Nest 2 years after Google sale
SAN FRANCISCO >> Nest Labs CEO Tony Fadell is flying the coop two years after selling the smart-thermostat maker to Google for $3.2 billion.
Fadell, best known for helping to invent Apple’s iPod, announced he was leaving Nest in a Friday blog post. His departure comes after reports published earlier this year detailed intensifying friction within Nest and delays in delivering new products.
Both Fadell and Alphabet, the parent company of Google and Nest, depicted the shake-up as a mutual decision.
Fadell will now serve as an adviser to Alphabet CEO Larry Page.
Valeant defaults on some of its debt
NEW YORK >> Valeant has defaulted on some of its debt because it has yet to file its first-quarter report.
The embattled Canadian drug company said Friday that it now has 60 days to file the report with the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Canadian Securities Regulators for the quarter that ended March 31.
Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc. said that it received a notice of default Thursday from the trustee under two of its senior note indentures.
The company said last month that it plans to file the first-quarter report by Friday.
Fed board member urges caution on rates
WASHINGTON >> In a possible preview of a speech Federal Reserve Chairwoman Janet Yellen will give Monday, a close ally said Friday that the Fed should be in no hurry to raise interest rates, especially after a bleak U.S. jobs report.
The official, Lael Brainard, a Fed board member, said recent economic developments have muddied the picture of the U.S. economy.
Brainard argued for a delay in what would be the Fed’s second rate hike after an initial increase in December. She suggested that the risk of raising rates too soon and depressing growth were higher than the risk of waiting longer.
On the Move
Iolani Palace has named Joseph Valencia as the new shops manager. He was previously assistant manager of Lands End Lookout as well as supervisor at the Golden Gate Bridge Pavilion and sales associate at the Alcatraz Visitor Center.
Jenna Friedman has been appointed a gender equity specialist in the Office of Gender Equity within the University of Hawaii-Manoa Office of the Chancellor. She was previously a junior specialist as well as a research assistant in the Office of Gender Equity at UH Manoa.
Outrigger Enterprises Group has promoted Jessica Thomas to corporate tax director from senior tax accountant. She is responsible for income tax planning for the company’s international and domestic activities as well as federal, state and local income tax compliance. Before joining Outrigger in 2011, Thomas served as an associate for KPMG LLP in Denver and New York for four years.
