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BUSINESSFriday 11 December 2015
Commodity giant Glencore cuts debt ahead of schedule
JAMEY KEATEN
Associated Press
GENEVA (AP) — Grappling
with a severe slump in metals
prices, commodities group
Glencore said Wednesday
that its three-month-old
plan to cut its towering debt
is ahead of schedule thanks
to asset sales, production
cuts, cost reductions and
Energy stocks, beaten down all week, push market higher
BERNARD CONDON
AP Business Writer
NEW YORK (AP) — Investors
took a chance on some
beaten-down shares on
Thursday, helping the U.S.
stock market to its first gain jumped 10 percent. It’s
in four days. The gain was
modest, but broad, with
eight of the 10 industry sec-
tors of the Standard and
Poor’s 500 index ending
higher. Drillers and other
energy companies, down
sharply in previous days,
climbed 0.6 percent, much
more than the rest of the
market. Among individual
stocks, Chevron rose nearly
2 percent.
Some suppliers of raw ma-
terials posted gains, too.
Aluminum giant Alcoa and
miner Freeport-McMoRan
each rose 5 percent.
The climb came despite
a continuing slump in the
price of commodities that
has been rattling markets
all year. Benchmark U.S.
crude oil fell to another
seven-year low.
The Dow Jones industrial
average climbed 82.45
points, or 0.5 percent, to
17,574.75. The S&P 500 in-
dex rose 4.61 points, or
Men’s Wearhouse struggles continue, stock tumbles
NEW YORK (AP) — Men’s
Wearhouse’s is struggling
as it tries to figure out the
best strategy for its busi-
nesssince buying rival Jos.
A. Bank.
The men’s clothing retailer
reported Wednesday that
sales at Jos. A Bank loca-
tions open at least a year
tumbled 14.6 percent in
the third quarter as fewer
customers visited those
shops. This metric is a key
gauge of a retailer’s health
because it excludes results
other tactics to improve its
burdened balance sheet.
The Swiss-based producer
of zinc, copper, nickel and
other commodities, said it
has achieved $8.7 billion in
reductions under a $10.2
billion plan announced
in September to cut debt
and issue shares as its share
price plunged amid market
0.2 percent, to 2,052.23.
The Nasdaq composite in-
creased 22.31 points, or 0.4
percent, to 5,045.17.
Natural gas and coal
producer Consol Energy
still the biggest loser in the $36.76 a barrel in New York.
S&P 500 this year, however,
down 78 percent.
In economic news, appli-
cations for unemployment
benefits in the U.S. rose last money at the gas pump,
week, but the number of
Americans seeking aid re-
mains close to historic lows.
The report comes a week
before the Federal Reserve
is expected to raise inter-
est rates for the first time
in nine years. That would
signal the central bank is
confident the economy is
strong enough to withstand
higher borrowing costs.
“There is a fear over the
market. China is slowing,
emerging markets are
slowing,” said James Duni-
gan, chief investment strat-
egist at PNC Wealth Man-
agement. “But if the Fed
can say we’re comfortable
with U.S. employment and
economic growth, that will
be a positive.”
The price of crude oil fell
from locations recently
opened or closed.
It shares dropped almost
18 percent in afternoon
trading. For the quarter
to date, which includes
part of the critical holi-
day shopping season, Jos.
A. Bank same-store sales
were down 35.1 percent
while the company’s other
brands average same-
store sales were up 5.5 per-
cent. Men’s Wearhouse
Inc. said that if Jos. A. Bank A. Bank, Men’s Wearhouse
continues to have troubles
weakness along with gen-
erally sluggish economic
growth worldwide. CEO
Ivan Glasenberg said Glen-
core is aiming to now cut
net debt by almost $3 billion
to $13 billion by end of 2016. high degree of flexibility
It’s now targeting debt of
$18 billion to 19 billion by
then, down from the low
$20 billion range that had
Trader Patrick Casey, center, works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange. Investors took
a chance on some beaten-down shares on Thursday, helping the U.S. stock market to its first
gain in four days.
40 cents, or 1 percent, to
Oil is trading at its lowest
level since early 2009.
The upside to lower oil
is that consumers save
giving them more money
to spend at stores and
elsewhere. But that boost
hasn’t helped much yet.
“You just don’t have any-
for the rest of the quarter
the company will be at risk
of missing the lower end of
its full-year outlook. Men’s
Wearhouse CEO Doug Ew-
ert said in a written state-
ment that after buying Jos.
knew that it had to work
on the promotions that the
brand offered. It got rid of
the “buy one suit, get three
free” promotion that Jos. A.
Bank used to offer. But Ew-
ert said Men’s Wearhouse
underestimated how
been previously sought.
“Glencore is well placed to
continue to be cash gen-
erative in the current en-
vironment — and at even
lower prices. We retain a
and will continue to review
the need to act further as
required,” Glasenberg said
in a statement. In a con-
thing to show in retail sales
or consumer spending,”
said James Paulsen, chief
investment strategist at
Wells Capital Manage-
ment. “Where is the stimu-
lus from lower oil?”
Among other stocks mak-
ing big moves, Men’s Wear-
house plunged $3.12, or 17
percent, to $15.27 after re-
porting earnings per share
much doing away with
such promotions would im-
pact Jos. A. Bank’s near-
term performance. The
pains that Men’s Wear-
house Inc. is experiencing
seem similar to those that
J.C. Penney Co. has expe-
rienced. The department
store operator had tried to
reinvent itself under former
CEO Ron Johnson by get-
ting rid of most sales and
some basic merchandise.
But it led to billions in losses brand and draw in new
and sales declines. John-
ference call later, he said
that the company retains
a number of “levers” to pull
if needed. Vowing to press
on with the deleverag-
ing, Glasenberg said: “We
definitely don’t want to get
into this situation again ...
We’re halfway through the
journey, and we’ve still got
work to do.”q
(AP Photo/Richard Drew)
that were half what finan-
cial analysts expected,
according to FactSet. The
struggling clothes chain
is down 65 percent since
the start of 2015. First Solar
dropped $4.50, or nearly
eight percent, to $54.35 af-
ter the solar energy com-
pany released earnings
and a forecast that disap-
pointed investors.q
son was eventually ousted
and Mike Ullman came
out of retirement to help
the business with its recov-
ery efforts. Ewert maintains
that the steps being taken
at Jos. A. Bank are neces-
sary and will help the busi-
ness grow. The executive
said that it is trying to re-
engage with current Jos.
A. Bank customers while
also looking to bring back
shoppers that have left the
customers.q