COMPANY NEWS IN BRIEF
Glencore's mine expansion risking sites
Expansion at an Australian lead and zinc mine run by miner Glencore puts at risk several sacred Aboriginal sites including a historical quarry, the head of a Northern Territory oversight authority told an Australian inquiry on Tuesday.
Glencore unit McArthur River Mine (MRM) received approval from the territory's mining minister last year to proceed with expansion at the mine, 670 km south east of Darwin, including doubling the size of its waste dump.
The approval came despite an objection by an authority responsible for protecting traditional sites, and amid greater scrutiny of miners' dealings with Indigenous groups after Rio Tinto destroyed ancient rock shelters in Western Australia for an iron ore mine expansion last year.
"The scale of the mine expansion raises some quite serious questions about the maintenance and protection of sacred sites on that lease and also access to those places for custodians into the future," said Benedict Scambary, chief executive of the Aboriginal Areas Protection Authority (AAPA).
Glencore has applied to almost double the height of its waste rock dump to 140 m from 80 m and approval now rests with the Northern Territory mining minister. - Nampa/Reuters
Exxon to cut 7% of Singapore workforce
Exxon Mobil Corp plans to cut its workforce in Singapore, home to its largest oil refining and petrochemical complex, by about 7% amid the "unprecedented market conditions" resulting from the Covid-19 pandemic, it said on Wednesday.
About 300 positions out of 4 000 current jobs will be impacted by the end of 2021, the company said in a statement.
The Singapore layoffs come weeks after Exxon announced its plan to close its 72-year-old Altona refinery in Australia and convert it to an import terminal.
The top US oil producer, once America's most valuable company, posted a historic annual loss for 2020 after the coronavirus pandemic slashed energy demand.
Exxon's announcement also follows European major Royal Dutch Shell's decision in November to cut 500 staff and halve its crude processing capacity in Singapore as part of a global strategy to reduce carbon emissions. -Nampa/Reuters
Google teams up with Allianz, Munich Re
Google is teaming up with two global insurers to cover cyber breaches and related risks for businesses that use its cloud services, the first time a major provider has opened up such insurance to its clients, the companies said on Tuesday.
Major insurers have been treading carefully on cyber risks for years, but the tie-up between Google, Allianz and Munich Re gives the insurers special access to data to see what controls are in place at client firms to help them price the risk.
"This is extremely key. This is data that we as insurance carriers traditionally have not had access to," said Thomas Kang, head of North American cyber, tech and media at Allianz's AGCS unit.
The initial targeted customers are US-based companies with annual revenue of between US$500 million and US$5 billion.
"We didn't want to overreach coming out of the box. But the plan is obviously to expand this offering both up and down the revenue scale very shortly," said Bob Parisi, head of cyber solutions in North America for Munich Re.- Nampa/Reuters
Target sales soar as quick delivery fires up
Target Corp holiday season sales jumped as Americans ordered everything from home goods, toys and groceries online, helping the company exceed Wall Street expectations with an 118% surge in digital sales for the quarter.
Over the past year, Target and Walmart Inc consistently performed better than Wall Street expected as the deep-pocketed national retail chains amped up their online businesses during the health crisis and swiped market share from smaller rivals who rely more on their physical stores.
"The enormous investments we made in supply chain, store operations and technology capabilities are already powering exponential growth in digital commerce," Target Chief Executive Officer Brian Cornell said on a call with investors.
Still, Target held back on providing sales and earnings forecast for fiscal 2021, citing continued uncertainty over consumer shopping patterns amid the health crisis.
The company's comparable sales rose 20.5% in the fourth quarter ended Jan. 30, comfortably beating analysts' estimates for a 16.4% rise, according to IBES data from Refinitiv. - Nampa/Reuters
JPMorgan looks to cut office space in Manhattan
JPMorgan Chase & Co is looking to sublet big blocks of office space in Manhattan, Bloomberg News reported on Tuesday, citing people with knowledge of the matter.
The bank is looking to sublet just under 700 000 square feet at 4 New York Plaza in the Financial District and more than 100 000 square feet at 5 Manhattan West in the Hudson Yards area, the report said.
Due to Covid-19 pandemic-led lockdowns and stay-at-home orders, fewer people have been going to office, which has prompted companies to reassess the need for real estate.
"It is too early to comment on specifics as we continue to learn and adapt to this current situation and how it impacts our commercial real estate needs. We are committed to New York and are planning for the next 50 years with our new headquarters here," a spokesperson for the bank said.
Real estate broker Jone Lang LaSalle is marketing JPMorgan's space, the report said. In October, JPMorgan Chief Executive Officer Jamie Dimon said JPMorgan would press ahead with its plans to build a large headquarter in New York that is scheduled to open in 2024.- Nampa/Reuters
Expansion at an Australian lead and zinc mine run by miner Glencore puts at risk several sacred Aboriginal sites including a historical quarry, the head of a Northern Territory oversight authority told an Australian inquiry on Tuesday.
Glencore unit McArthur River Mine (MRM) received approval from the territory's mining minister last year to proceed with expansion at the mine, 670 km south east of Darwin, including doubling the size of its waste dump.
The approval came despite an objection by an authority responsible for protecting traditional sites, and amid greater scrutiny of miners' dealings with Indigenous groups after Rio Tinto destroyed ancient rock shelters in Western Australia for an iron ore mine expansion last year.
"The scale of the mine expansion raises some quite serious questions about the maintenance and protection of sacred sites on that lease and also access to those places for custodians into the future," said Benedict Scambary, chief executive of the Aboriginal Areas Protection Authority (AAPA).
Glencore has applied to almost double the height of its waste rock dump to 140 m from 80 m and approval now rests with the Northern Territory mining minister. - Nampa/Reuters
Exxon to cut 7% of Singapore workforce
Exxon Mobil Corp plans to cut its workforce in Singapore, home to its largest oil refining and petrochemical complex, by about 7% amid the "unprecedented market conditions" resulting from the Covid-19 pandemic, it said on Wednesday.
About 300 positions out of 4 000 current jobs will be impacted by the end of 2021, the company said in a statement.
The Singapore layoffs come weeks after Exxon announced its plan to close its 72-year-old Altona refinery in Australia and convert it to an import terminal.
The top US oil producer, once America's most valuable company, posted a historic annual loss for 2020 after the coronavirus pandemic slashed energy demand.
Exxon's announcement also follows European major Royal Dutch Shell's decision in November to cut 500 staff and halve its crude processing capacity in Singapore as part of a global strategy to reduce carbon emissions. -Nampa/Reuters
Google teams up with Allianz, Munich Re
Google is teaming up with two global insurers to cover cyber breaches and related risks for businesses that use its cloud services, the first time a major provider has opened up such insurance to its clients, the companies said on Tuesday.
Major insurers have been treading carefully on cyber risks for years, but the tie-up between Google, Allianz and Munich Re gives the insurers special access to data to see what controls are in place at client firms to help them price the risk.
"This is extremely key. This is data that we as insurance carriers traditionally have not had access to," said Thomas Kang, head of North American cyber, tech and media at Allianz's AGCS unit.
The initial targeted customers are US-based companies with annual revenue of between US$500 million and US$5 billion.
"We didn't want to overreach coming out of the box. But the plan is obviously to expand this offering both up and down the revenue scale very shortly," said Bob Parisi, head of cyber solutions in North America for Munich Re.- Nampa/Reuters
Target sales soar as quick delivery fires up
Target Corp holiday season sales jumped as Americans ordered everything from home goods, toys and groceries online, helping the company exceed Wall Street expectations with an 118% surge in digital sales for the quarter.
Over the past year, Target and Walmart Inc consistently performed better than Wall Street expected as the deep-pocketed national retail chains amped up their online businesses during the health crisis and swiped market share from smaller rivals who rely more on their physical stores.
"The enormous investments we made in supply chain, store operations and technology capabilities are already powering exponential growth in digital commerce," Target Chief Executive Officer Brian Cornell said on a call with investors.
Still, Target held back on providing sales and earnings forecast for fiscal 2021, citing continued uncertainty over consumer shopping patterns amid the health crisis.
The company's comparable sales rose 20.5% in the fourth quarter ended Jan. 30, comfortably beating analysts' estimates for a 16.4% rise, according to IBES data from Refinitiv. - Nampa/Reuters
JPMorgan looks to cut office space in Manhattan
JPMorgan Chase & Co is looking to sublet big blocks of office space in Manhattan, Bloomberg News reported on Tuesday, citing people with knowledge of the matter.
The bank is looking to sublet just under 700 000 square feet at 4 New York Plaza in the Financial District and more than 100 000 square feet at 5 Manhattan West in the Hudson Yards area, the report said.
Due to Covid-19 pandemic-led lockdowns and stay-at-home orders, fewer people have been going to office, which has prompted companies to reassess the need for real estate.
"It is too early to comment on specifics as we continue to learn and adapt to this current situation and how it impacts our commercial real estate needs. We are committed to New York and are planning for the next 50 years with our new headquarters here," a spokesperson for the bank said.
Real estate broker Jone Lang LaSalle is marketing JPMorgan's space, the report said. In October, JPMorgan Chief Executive Officer Jamie Dimon said JPMorgan would press ahead with its plans to build a large headquarter in New York that is scheduled to open in 2024.- Nampa/Reuters
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