General Motors Co. (NYSE: GM) may keep some of its operations in South Korea. According to Reuters:
General Motors has offered to convert debt of around $2.2 billion owed by its ailing South Korean operation into equity in exchange for financial support and tax benefits from Seoul, four sources with direct knowledge of the matter said.
The restructuring proposal comes after the Detroit automaker announced last week that it would shut its plant in the city of Gunsan, southwest of Seoul, by May and decide the future of the remaining three plants in the country within weeks.
The debt for equity swap would allow GM’s business in South Korea to continue operating. It was not immediately clear how the deal would affect the interest of the state-run Korea Development Bank, which owns 17 percent of GM Korea.
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Albertsons will buy part of Rite Aid Corp. (NYSE: RAD). According to The Wall Street Journal;
Albertsons Cos. plans to buy the rest of Rite Aid Corp. that isn’t being sold to Walgreens Boots Alliance … as retailers of all stripes scramble to respond to a rapidly changing consumer shopping landscape.
The drugstore chain and Albertsons have a combined value of around $24 billion, including debt, the companies said Monday. Rite Aid, which comprises thousands of drug stores and a benefits-management company with millions of members, has a market value of about $2.3 billion and is in the process of selling a chunk of its stores to Walgreens.
Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) iPhone sales are weak throughout much of Asia. According to The Wall Street Journal:
The iPhone X has set a new benchmark for smartphone prices and bolstered Apple Inc.’s bottom line, but its steep price may be hobbling its future in Asia’s biggest markets and allowing Chinese challengers to grab market share.
Buyers from India to Indonesia are opting for models from Chinese smartphone makers like Xiaomi Corp.—sometimes called “the Apple of China”—along with BBK Electronics Corp.’s Oppo and Vivo.
Amazon.com Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN) is giving shoppers incentives to buy groceries at Whole Foods. According to CNBC:
Amazon is offering Prime members who use its Visa rewards card 5 percent cash back when they shop at Whole Foods, the company said Tuesday.
The U.S. e-commerce giant launched [the] Amazon Rewards Visa Card last year. Prime members in the U.S., who pay $99 a year for a subscription, get 5 percent back on all Amazon.com purchases, 2 percent back at restaurants, gas stations and drugstores, and 1 percent back on all other purchases.
Now Prime members will get 5 percent back at Whole Foods stores when using the Visa card.
Yum! Brand Inc.’s (NYSE: YUM) KFC has run low on chicken in the United Kingdom. According to CNNMoney:
The fast food chain has been forced to temporarily close hundreds of restaurants in the United Kingdom after a logistics snafu stopped chicken deliveries.
About 800 of the company’s roughly 900 locations in Britain were closed as of midday on Monday. Some had opened for business by the afternoon, according to the company’s website.
Facebook Inc. (NASDAQ: FB) will send some of its advertisers paper postcards to confirm their purchases. According to Fortune:
A Facebook executive says the social network will begin using paper postcards to try and stop foreign meddlers—for instance, Russian agents—from buying ads designed to influence U.S. elections. Before the 2016 Presidential election, nearly 10 million Americans saw ads that were linked to Russia’s elaborate propaganda campaign.
To try and prevent that from happening again, Facebook says it will mail ad buyers a postcard bearing a code. According to Katie Harbath, Facebook’s global director of policy programs, “You will have to use that code to prove you are in the United States.”
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