Transportation
Landing Gear Troubles Plague New Dreamliner
Boeing Co.’s newly operational commercial jetliner, the 787 Dreamliner, has run into its first technical issue since launch. One of the planes, flown by launch customer All Nippon Airways (ANA) of Japan, experienced landing gear failure, which was later corrected by the pilot using a manual override and the plane landed safely. ANA is currently the only airline flying the new wide-body jet. According to a Boeing spokesperson this week, the company is aware of the issue and is cooperating with ANA to resolve the problem. The plane, which is constructed using lightweight carbon composite material, which serves to save fuel, is currently being assembled at Boeing’s Everett, Wash., plant.
Biotechnology
Amgen to Buy Back $5 Billion in Shares
Biotech giant Amgen Inc. said Monday that it would buy back $5 billion in a share repurchase program in order to increase shareholder value. The overall shares bought back will be roughly 10 percent of the outstanding shares of the Thousand Oaks, Calif.-based pharmaceutical company. To finance the purchase, Amgen plans to sell bonds of various maturities, according to a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. After the decision, Fitch Ratings and Moody’s Investors Service both downgraded the long-term debt rating of the firm due to its increased debt to equity load. Shares of the company (Nasdaq: AMGN) increased after the news.
Consumer Products
Sara Lee Gets Offer for European Dough Business
Food and consumer products giant Sara Lee Corp. on Monday received an offer from a European private equity firm for the company’s European dough business. The Downers Grove, Ill.-based company—currently preparing to split into two—received the $159 million offer for EuroDough, which has operations in eight countries in continental Europe. The offer comes after Sara Lee completed its previous sale of its North American bakery business to Mexican bread giant Grupo Bimbo SAB, for $709 million. The deal closed on Monday after reaching a settlement deal with the Department of Justice last month. Grupo Bimbo will become the largest maker of fresh sliced bread in the United States.
Global Markets
US Stocks Edge Up Despite EU Worries
Stocks edged up on Monday, after a volatile session, as investors exhibited sentiments based on headlines coming out of Europe. The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed up 85.15 points, or 0.7 percent. The S&P 500 Index gained 7.89 points, or 0.6 percent, while the Nasdaq Composite Index gained 9 points, or 0.3 percent. The source of the latest investor fear is Italy, whose Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi is on the verge of stepping down, prior to a key parliamentary vote on austerity and budget matters. Italian government bond prices fell and yields rose to a new 14-year high. “It is widely believed that a regime change in Italy is required to get the country to regain its economic footing,” Beacon Equity Research said in a report Monday.
