Page 24 - aruba-today-20170819

Saturday 19 auguSt 2017 BUSINESS
A24

A midday rally fades as sporting goods stocks sink Crackdown on
North Korean

By MARLEY JAY imports angers
AP Markets Writer
NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. China’s traders
stocks slumped in the final
minutes of trading Friday BEIJING (AP) — Furious Chi-
and ended a rough week nese businesspeople said
with more losses. Bad news Friday that Beijing’s deci-
from sporting goods retail- sion to enforce U.N. sanc-
ers weighed on the market. tions on North Korean sea-
A day before, stocks had food imports would hobble
taken their biggest loss in the economy of an entire
three months. They opened northeastern city, sparking
lower after retailers Foot a rare public protest earlier
Locker and Hibbett Sports this week after the surprise
gave dour quarterly re- move suddenly choked off
ports. The losses eased and border trade.
stocks briefly turned higher Anger swept the city of
following reports that Presi- Hunchun, home to hun-
dent Donald Trump’s chief dreds of seafood process-
strategist, Steve Bannon, ing plants, after Beijing
left his White House post. began refusing entry Tues-
Investors felt that makes it day to trucks carrying tons
a bit more likely the admin- of North Korean seafood.
istration can achieve at China announced Mon-
least some of its pro-busi- Trader Jonathan Corpina works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange. U.S. stocks slumped day that it was cutting off
ness agenda. in the final minutes of trading Friday and ended a rough week with more losses. imports of North Korean
(AP Photo/Richard Drew)
Major stock indexes are goods under U.N. sanc-
at their lowest levels since be no, because the market expect that problem to sales in the fiscal third quar- tions imposed over the
early July as investors re- has learned not to pay that clear up soon and it now ter came in lower than in- North’s nuclear and missile
spond to tensions between much attention.” plans to close at least 135 vestors hoped. The compa- programs.
the U.S. and North Korea, The S&P 500 lost 4.46 points, stores, up from 100. The ny’s profit got a large boost But given China’s often-
two terrorist in Spain on or 0.2 percent, to 2,425.55. stock dropped $13.32, or after the company sold lax history of sanctions
Thursday, and mounting The Dow Jones industrial 27.9 percent, to $34.38 in some of its stake in SiteOne enforcement, seafood
challenges to the Trump average fell 76.22 points, or heavy trading. Landscape Supply, and traders were shocked as
agenda of tax cuts, infra- 0.3 percent, to 21,674.55. Hibbett Sports cut its an- analysts said they were dis- trucks began lining up at
structure spending and re- The Nasdaq composite nual forecasts and its stock appointed with the com- the border with customs
duced regulation. But the shed 5.39 points, or 0.1 per- fell 60 cents, or 5.2 per- pany’s equipment sales. officials ordering them to
market hasn’t had a severe cent, to 6,216.53. The Rus- cent, to $10.90. It’s down The stock dropped $6.67, return the seafood to the
reaction to all that news. sell 2000 index of smaller- 71 percent this year, and or 5.4 percent, to $117.31. North. Dozens of people
The Standard & Poor’s 500 company stocks gave up Foot Locker has fallen 52 Energy companies rose as from seafood companies
index is only 2.2 percent 1.15 point, or 0.1 percent, percent. Companies that benchmark U.S. crude oil took to the streets Wednes-
below the record high it set to 1,357.79. The index has make athletic goods also jumped $1.42, or 3 percent, day, carrying red banners,
earlier this month. fallen 6 percent since July lost ground, and Nike sank to $48.51 a barrel in New in a rare display of public
“There is a tremendous 25. Athletic gear retailer $2.51, or 4.4 percent, to York. Brent crude, the inter- anger in a country where
amount of optimism that is Foot Locker plunged to its $54.95. Real estate com- national standard, added the government normally
supporting the market even biggest loss in almost nine panies that own shopping $1.69, or 3.3 percent, to cracks down immediately
in the face of extraordinary years. The company said malls and other retail loca- $52.72 a barrel in London. on dissent.
stress,” said Brad McMillan, some high-priced sneak- tions also fell. Simon Prop- Beauty products company “I have more than 30 work-
chief investment officer at ers didn’t sell as well as it erty Group, which declined Estee Lauder jumped after ers and I asked them to
Commonwealth Financial hoped, and there aren’t $3.62, or 2.3 percent, to its fiscal fourth-quarter re- all go home or find other
Network. “The question is, a lot of exciting new shoes $153.58. sults surpassed Wall Street’s jobs,” said Song Min, who
will politics pull that down? on the market. It doesn’t Deere tumbled after its expectations.q runs a fresh seafood busi-
And the answer seems to ness in Hunchun, and who
was not involved in the
Indian IT firm Infosys CEO Vishal Sikka resigns protests.
“But they cannot find other
jobs,” she added in a tele-
phone interview Friday.
NEW DELHI (AP) — The CEO Friday. and large compensation expansion in the United “Everyone here is in the
of India-based outsourcing In his notice to the board, packages paid to some States that is projected to seafood industry.”
and information technolo- Sikka said he was leaving senior employees who had create 10,000 jobs in com- Hunchun authorities met
gy company Infosys, Vishal because of “a continuous quit the company. ing years. The plan includes with seafood traders one
Sikka, has resigned follow- stream of distractions and The company said Sikka an $8.7 million investment day after the protest, warn-
ing differences with some disruptions” that were hin- was made an executive to lease and equip office ing them not to make trou-
founders of the company, dering management of the vice-chairman. He will stay space in the Indianapolis, ble or risk being detained,
including N.R. Narayana company. in that capacity until a Indiana, area to accom- Yang Jian, a seafood trad-
Murthy. Sikka was the first non- new permanent CEO and modate 2,000 new workers er, said by phone. “People
The Infosys board of direc- founder CEO of the Banga- managing director takes by the end of 2021. who attended the meeting
tors accepted Sikka’s resig- lore-based company. He charge by March 31. Infosys describes itself as said the authorities were
nation and appointed U.B. joined Infosys in 2014. In March, Infosys an- a global leader in tech- being very tough about
Pravin Rao as interim CEO Murthy and some other nounced that it will estab- nology services and con- this, no goods are allowed
and managing director, a founders recently com- lish a central Indiana tech sulting with clients in 45 to get into China,” Yang
company statement said plained over salary issues center as part of a broader countries.q
said. q