Page 24 - ATD13Febr2016

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BUSINESSSaturday 13 February 2016

Whole Foods forecasts key sales figure could slip for year

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Whole store sales have been “par- Mart devoting more space ed Jan. 17, the company ed Kingdom, says it still sees
Foods says its sales at es- ticularly difficult to predict” to such items. said sales fell at 1.8 percent potential for 1,200 loca-
tablished locations slipped given the competitive envi- That has prompted Whole at stores open at least 57 tions in just the U.S. A newer
in its fiscal first quarter and ronment. Foods to try and appeal to weeks. The figure is consid- branch of “365” stores it is
forecast the figure to be Whole Foods has been a broader customer base ered a key metric of health opening that focuses more
flat to down 2 percent for under pressure as organic by keeping prices down. because it strips out the heavily on value can ex-
the year, as it works to keep foods and products mar- On Wednesday, it an- volatility of new and closed pand on that footprint, the
prices down and fend off ri- keted as natural have be- nounced the launch of its locations. company says.
vals. come increasingly main- digital coupons on its mo- Whole Foods, which has Profit for the quarter ended
The Austin, Texas company stream, with big-box retail- bile app. more than 430 stores in the Jan. 17 fell to $157 million,
noted that its comparable ers such as Target and Wal- For the three months end- U.S., Canada and the Unit- or 46 cents per share.q

Wall Street ends a down week on an up note

Trader Sal Suarino works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Friday, Feb. 12, 2016. the beginning of the year higher. Marathon Oil was
U.S. stocks ended a down week on a high note Friday, snapping a five-day losing streak on the on concerns that growth the best performer in the
strength of energy and financial companies. in China, which has been sector, rising 48 cents, or
the engine of the global 6.8 percent, to $7.49.“Oil,
(AP Photo/Richard Drew) economy in recent years, which has been one of
is slowing far faster than ex- the most fickle, most vola-
ALEX VEIGA since late last week. global investment special- pected. Plunging oil prices tile series that everybody’s
AP Business Writer Despite the rally, the major ist at J.P. Morgan. and low inflation have watching, is having a nice
U.S. stocks ended a down U.S. stocks indexes ended The Dow Jones industrial added to the market’s jit- day,” said Tim Dreiling, re-
week on a high note Friday, the week down about 1 average rose 313.66 points, ters that the global econ- gional investment director
snapping a five-day losing percent and they remain or 2 percent, to 15,973.84. omy is sputtering. Those for The Private Client Re-
streak on the strength of down more than 8 percent The Standard & Poor’s 500 worries also helped drive serve of U.S. Bank. “Europe
energy and financial com- for the year. gained 35.70 points, or 2 the stock market lower is continuing to look good.
panies. “It’s a relief to see after sev- percent, to 1,864.78. The in recent days, and con- And it looked like (the mar-
A sharp rebound in oil prices eral very ugly days in a row, Nasdaq composite added tinued to batter stocks in ket) was oversold.”
and an encouraging report but I wouldn’t hang my hat 70.67 points, or 1.7 percent, Asia. Japan’s main stock Financial shares led the
on retail sales helped lift the on it and say the worst is to 4,337.51. Global stocks index lost nearly 5 percent market’s advance. The
stock market to its first gain over,” said Rob Eschweiler, have been in a slump since Friday. But the downbeat sector is the worst perform-
trend in the U.S. snapped ing part of the market this
as investors were encour- year because investors ex-
aged by retail sales and a pect that low interest rates
rally in European stocks. A around the world will sap
surge in oil prices helped bank profits, but it rallied 4
put investors in a buying percent Friday.
mood early on. A day af- JP Morgan Chase climbed
ter sinking to its lowest level $4.42, or 8.3 percent, to
since May 2003, bench- $57.49, while Citigroup
mark U.S. crude climbed added $2.56, or 7.3 per-
$3.23, or 12.3 percent, to cent, to $37.54. Bank of
close at $29.44 a barrel in America rose 79 cents,
New York. Brent crude, a or 7.1 percent, to $11.95.
benchmark for internation- Meanwhile, Deutsche Bank
al oils, gained $3.30, or 11 AG surged 12.1 percent af-
percent, to $33.36 a barrel ter the bank offered to buy
in London. The oil rebound back more than $5 billion in
sent the S&P 500’s energy bonds in a display of finan-
companies 2.6 percent cial strength.q

Drugmaker Mylan to buy Sweden’s Meda AB for $7.2B

NEW YORK (AP) — Drug- prescription drugs. Key In 2015 Mylan tried and Middle East and Mexico. at the same time.
maker Mylan says it will products include drugs that failed to buy Perrigo, an Around the time of the Mylan N.V. also reported
buy Meda AB of Sweden treat respiratory conditions, Irish company that makes Perrigo discussions, Mylan its fourth-quarter results
for $7.2 billion in cash and skin ailments, and pain and medicines, vitamins, nutri- fended off a takeover bid this week. Its adjusted net
stock, and says the move inflammation. Mylan had tional products and infant from Teva Pharmaceuti- income and revenue fell
will help it enter new mar- $9.45 billion in revenue in formula. After that deal cal Industries. About a year short of Wall Street fore-
kets. 2015 and said Meda’s rev- failed the company said it ago Mylan became part of casts.Looking ahead to
Mylan valued the deal at enue totaled about $2.35 had already found some a new company incorpo- 2016, the company fore-
$9.9 billion including Me- billion. new possible acquisitions. rated in the Netherlands, cast earnings per share of
da’s debt. It said this week Mylan sells about 1,000 Mylan said the Meda deal but it still runs its business $4.85 to $5.15 on revenue
Meda’s board and largest generic drugs, but its big- will expand its over-the- out of its headquarters in of $10.5 billion to $11.5 bil-
shareholders support the gest-selling product is the counter drug business to Canonsburg, Pennsylvania, lion. Analysts surveyed
sale. EpiPen, used for the emer- about $1 billion in annual near Pittsburgh. It bought by FactSet forecast earn-
Meda says about 60 per- gency treatment of allergic sales and will bring its prod- part of Abbott Laborato- ings per share of $4.99 on
cent of its sales come from reactions. ucts to Southeast Asia, the ries’ generic drug business revenue of $10.64 billion. q