COMPANY NEWS IN BRIEF

Tyson Foods cooperating with DoJ

Tyson Foods Inc said on it was cooperating with the US department of justice on a price-fixing investigation in the poultry industry, under a program that could protect the meat processor from criminal prosecution.

Tyson, which was served with a subpoena in April 2019, said the formal grant under the DoJ's corporate leniency program would mean neither the company nor its employees will face criminal fines, jail time or prosecution.

The news comes a week after the chief executive of poultry company Pilgrim's Pride Corp was indicted along with three other current and former industry executives on charges of seeking to fix chicken prices in the United States.

The charges were the first in a criminal probe of price-fixing and bid-rigging involving broiler birds, which account for most chicken meat sold in the United States.

Grocers, retailers and consumers have accused Pilgrim's Pride, Tyson Foods and other poultry processors of conspiring since 2008 to inflate prices for broiler chickens. – Nampa/Reuters

Ford recalls 2.15 million US vehicles

Ford Motor Co said on it will recall 2.15 million US vehicles with potentially faulty door latches.

The second largest American automaker said the recall covers many 2011 through 2015 model-year vehicles. The recalled vehicles may not have had all door latches replaced or correctly replaced when repaired by dealerships under recalls issued in 2015 and 2016.

Ford said a recalled vehicle with a faulty latch may unlatch while driving, but said it is not aware of any reports of accident or injury related to the condition.

Ford previously recalled more than 5 million vehicles for varying door latch-related issues since 2015 and has booked hundreds of millions of dollars in costs.

The recall covers some Ford Fiesta, C-Max, Focus, Mustang, Fusion, Escape, Transit Connect, Lincoln MKZ and MKC vehicles. – Nampa/Reuters

Eli Lilly Covid-19 treatment could be authorized

Eli Lilly and Co could have a drug specifically designed to treat Covid-19 authorized for use as early as September if all goes well with either of two antibody therapies it is testing, its chief scientist told Reuters.

Lilly is also doing preclinical studies of a third antibody treatment for the illness caused by the new coronavirus that could enter human clinical trials in the coming weeks, chief scientific officer Daniel Skovronsky said in an interview.

Lilly has already launched human trials with two of the experimental therapies. The drugs belong to a class of biotech medicines called monoclonal antibodies widely used to treat cancer, rheumatoid arthritis and many other conditions.

A monoclonal antibody drug developed against Covid-19 is likely to be more effective than repurposed medicines currently being tested against the virus.

Skovronsky said the therapies - which may also be used to prevent the disease - could beat a vaccine to widespread use as a Covid-19 treatment, if they prove effective. -Nampa/Reuters

Simon Property abandons acquisition

Simon Property Group Inc, the biggest US mall operator, said on Wednesday it was ending its US$3.6-billion deal to buy Taubman Centres Inc, citing the beating the retail sector has taken during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Simon Property said that the coronavirus outbreak "disproportionately hurt" Taubman's malls because they are located in densely populated metropolitan areas, depend on tourism and feature high-end retailers whose sales have shrunk.

Simon Property, which runs shopping destinations such as the Woodbury Common Premium Outlets, in New York, also said that Taubman did not cut costs to mitigate the impact of the pandemic.

There are no discussions about renegotiating the transaction at a lower valuation, a person familiar with the matter said.

Taubman said that it would fight against Simon's termination of the deal and that the move was without merit. Taubman, whose properties include the Mall at Short Hills in New Jersey, also said it would pursue monetary damages based on the deal price against Simon. - Nampa/Reuters

US airlines eyes recovery

American Airlines Group Inc and Delta Air Lines Inc said on Wednesday that a modest recovery in demand was helping to slow daily cash burn rates in June after the US government reported record low passenger numbers in April amid the coronavirus pandemic.

US airlines carried 3 million passengers in April, a staggering 96% decline from April 2019, the transportation department said on Wednesday. Total US airline passengers were the lowest since 1974 when the government began collecting monthly data. By comparison, there were 76.1 million total US airline passengers in April 2019.

US airlines have grounded nearly half of all airplanes, cancelled hundreds of thousands of flights and the industry is still burning through billions of dollars a month. But many airlines are adding back flights in July as demand modestly rebounds.

Speaking to shareholders at the company's annual meeting, American Airlines chief executive Doug Parker said while passenger numbers are improving, they are "still a fraction of what they were last year and particularly internationally."

That makes it difficult to know how many flights it will operate in the fall, when U.S. payroll aid for airlines runs out, and in the summer of 2021. Still, American and Delta each said their daily cash burn rate was expected to slow to about US$40 million in June. - Nampa/Reuters