Report highlights child labor on US tobacco farms

RICHMOND, Va. — An international rights group is pushing the federal government and the tobacco industry to take further steps to protect children working on U.S. tobacco farms.

A report released Wednesday by Human Rights Watch claims that children as young as 7 are sometimes working long hours in fields harvesting nicotine- and pesticide-laced tobacco leaves under sometimes hazardous conditions. Most of what the group documented is legal, but it wants cigarette makers to push for safety on farms from which they buy tobacco.

Human Rights Watch details findings from interviews with more than 140 children working on farms in North Carolina, Kentucky, Tennessee and Virginia, where a majority of the country's tobacco is grown.

"The U.S. has failed America's families by not meaningfully protecting child farmworkers from dangers to their health and safety, including on tobacco farms," said Margaret Wurth, children's rights researcher and co-author of the report.

Human Rights Watch met with many of the world's biggest cigarette makers and tobacco suppliers to discuss its findings and push them to adopt or strengthen policies to prevent the practices in their supply chains.

The companies say they are concerned about child labor in their supply chains and have developed standards, including requiring growers to provide a safe work environment and adhere to child labor laws, the group said.

"This report uncovers serious child labor abuses that should not occur on any farm, anywhere," Andre Calantzopoulos, CEO of Philip Morris International Inc., the world's second-biggest cigarette seller, said in a statement. "More work remains to be done to eliminate child and other labor abuses in tobacco growing."

Altria Group Inc., owner of the nation's biggest cigarette maker, Philip Morris USA, said it wants suppliers to follow the law. But Altra spokesman Jeff Caldwell also said that restricting tobacco work to people 18 and over "is really contrary to a lot of the current practices that are in place in the U.S. and is at odds in these communities where family farming is really a way of life."

About 736,500 children under 18 were reported to have worked on U.S. farms in 2012, but there are no figures for children working on tobacco farms, according to the federally funded National Children's Center for Rural and Agricultural Health and Safety.

Less than 1 percent of U.S. farmland grows tobacco, according to the 2012 Census of Agriculture.

According to the Human Rights Watch report, U.S. agriculture labor laws allow children to work longer hours at younger ages and in more hazardous conditions than children in any other industry. With their parent's permission, children as young as 12 can be hired for unlimited hours outside of school hours on a farm of any size. And there's no minimum age for children to work on small farms.

In 2011, the Labor Department proposed changes that would have prohibited children under 16 from working on tobacco farms, but they were withdrawn in 2012.

Nearly three-quarters of the children interviewed in 2012 and 2013 reported vomiting, nausea and headaches while working on tobacco farms. The symptoms they reported are consistent with nicotine poisoning often called Green Tobacco Sickness, which occurs when workers absorb nicotine through their skin while handling tobacco plants.

Those interviewed, many of whom were children of Hispanic immigrants but were often U.S. citizens themselves, also reported worked long hours, often in extreme heat, without overtime pay or sufficient breaks and wore no, or inadequate, protective gear.

"The conditions are inhumane and they should improve them," said 17-year-old Erick Garcia, of Kinston, North Carolina, who has been working in tobacco fields since he was 11 to help his family earn more money.

Additionally, Garcia said kids should primarily focus on school and shouldn't be in the fields: "That's not a place for children," he said.

Republican Kentucky state Sen. Paul Hornback, who started worked in tobacco fields when he was 10 and now farms about 100 acres of tobacco in Shelby County, Kentucky, said he adheres to federal regulations to keep his workers safe but doesn't believe further restrictions are needed.

"People get pretty extreme about trying to protect everybody from everything," Hornback said. "It's hard manual labor, but there's nothing wrong with hard manual labor."

00.32 | 0 komentar | Read More

Deere 2Q profit falls, sales outlook cut

MOLINE, Ill. — Deere reported a 9.5 percent decline in second-quarter net income Wednesday on lower demand for farming equipment and cut its sales forecast for the year.

The company beat Wall Street's quarterly expectations on both profit and revenue, but the sales outlook weighed on shares.

With farmer income projected to decline, Deere said sales of its agriculture and turf equipment could fall 7 percent for the full year. It had projected a 6 percent decrease in February.

The U.S. economic rebound and housing recovery is helping to offset some of the decline in agriculture. The company expects its construction and forestry equipment sales to rise 10 percent this year.

Overall, the company expects a 4 percent drop in equipment revenue for fiscal 2014. It projected a 3 percent fall three months ago. For the current quarter, it's also expecting a 4 percent decline in equipment revenue.

Net income in the most recent quarter fell to $980.7 million, or $2.65 per share, compared with $1.08 billion, or $2.76 per share, in the same quarter a year ago.

That was much better than the per-share forecast of $2.47 on Wall Street, according to a poll of analysts taken by FactSet.

Revenue fell 8.9 percent to $9.95 billion, from $10.91 billion, but that also edged out analyst expectations for $9.63 billion.

For the full year, Deere maintained its forecast for net income of $3.3 billion.

Shares of Deere & Co., based in Moline, Illinois, fell $1.94, or 2 percent, to $91.67 in morning trading.

00.32 | 0 komentar | Read More

Stocks edge lower; Deere, Fossil sink

NEW YORK — Stocks edged lower in morning trading Wednesday, a day after the stock market closed at a record high.

KEEPING SCORE: The Standard & Poor's 500 index fell four points, or 0.2 percent, to 1,893 as of 11:24 a.m. Eastern. The Dow Jones industrial average dropped 54 points, or 0.3 percent, to 16,660. The Nasdaq composite fell 11 points, or 0.3 percent, to 4,118.

TOUCHING A MILESTONE: The S&P 500 crossed 1,900 for the first time during trading Tuesday, but closed slightly below that level. The S&P 500 has been rising over the last month as investors become optimistic that the economy will start to accelerate this year following a cold winter that stymied growth.

THE QUOTE: Almost all of the companies in the S&P 500 have finished reporting their first-quarter earnings. Earnings rose 3.3 percent for the period, and almost 70 percent of companies reported results that exceeded analysts' expectations. Many Wall Street analysts had low expectations due to the harsh winter, said Jim Russell, a regional investment director at US Bank. Expectations for growth will be higher for the rest of the year.

"The will be no excuses for the second, third and fourth quarter," said Russell. "Companies have to deliver for the market to maintain these record levels."

DEERE ME: Deere fell $2.11, or 2.3 percent, to $91.52 after the company reported a 9.5 percent decline in second-quarter net income as demand for farming equipment weakened. The company cut its full-year sales forecast.

FOSSIL FALL: Fossil Group fell $9.24, or 8.3 percent, to $102.21 after the watch, jewelry and accessories maker said late Tuesday that its first-quarter net income fell 8 percent, despite sales gains across all its business segments. The quarter's results beat market expectations, but the company gave a weak forecast.

TREASURYS AND COMMODITIES: Government bond prices rose. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note fell to 2.54 percent from 2.61 percent. The price of oil rose 78 cents, or 0.7 percent, to $102.47 a barrel.

00.32 | 0 komentar | Read More

Consumers losing doctors with new insurance plans

MIAMI — Some consumers who bought insurance under President Barack Obama's health care law have buyer's remorse after realizing that their longtime doctors aren't accepting the new plans.

Before the law took effect, experts warned that narrow networks could impact patients' access to care, especially in cheaper plans. But with insurance cards now in hand, consumers are finding their access limited across all price ranges — sometimes even after they were told their plan would include their current doctor.

Michelle Pool is one of those customers. Before enrolling in a new health plan on California's exchange, she checked whether her longtime primary care doctor was covered. Pool, a 60-year-old diabetic who has had back surgery and a hip replacement, purchased the plan only to find that the insurer was mistaken.

Her $352 a month gold plan was cheaper than what she'd paid under her husband's insurance and seemed like a good deal because of her numerous pre-existing conditions. But after her insurance card came in the mail, the Vista, California resident learned her doctor wasn't taking her new insurance.

"It's not fun when you've had a doctor for years and years that you can confide in and he knows you," Pool said. "I'm extremely discouraged. I'm stuck."

The dilemma undercuts President Obama's 2009 pledge that: "If you like your doctor, you will be able to keep your doctor, period." Consumer frustration over losing doctors comes as the Obama administration is still celebrating a victory with more than 8 million enrollees in its first year.

Narrow networks are part of the economic trade-off for keeping premiums under control and preventing insurers from turning away those with pre-existing conditions. Even before the Affordable Care Act, doctors and hospitals would choose to leave a network — or be pushed out — over reimbursement issues as insurers tried to contain costs.

Insurance trade group America's Health Insurance Plans says studies show the biggest factor influencing consumer choice is price. Insurers say that if consumers want low premiums, their choices may be limited.

Insurance companies also argue there's wide variation in what doctors and hospitals charge, with some increasing prices every year. Insurers say there's little evidence that higher-priced hospitals or doctors are actually delivering better care.

Health and Human Services spokesman Fabien Levy says the law requires insurance companies to post their directories so consumers can see if their doctor is covered before they sign up. Officials say insurance companies ultimately decide what doctors and hospitals to include in networks, just as they did before the law. The federal government is closely monitoring plans to see if more guidelines are needed to ensure consumers have access to quality health care.

Insurance companies say doctors are equally responsible for letting consumers know what plans they accept. Insurers also say that healthcare.gov should include a centralized directory of doctors and what plans they accept.

Insurance agents Craig Gussin in San Diego and Kelly Fristoe in Texas helped dozens of clients switch plans just before the enrollment deadline when clients realized their doctors weren't covered. Now, they're struggling to help clients who realized they were in that position after the March 31 enrollment deadline, when consumers are locked into plans for one year.

Gussin says that even after his mad-dash to make switches before the deadline, he still has a half-dozen clients who are stuck — and he expects the number to grow as more try to schedule with doctors. He and other agents fear it will be one of their most serious issues in 2014.

"Everybody I talk to is having the same issue. It's probably the number one item that we're seeing right now," said Gussin, who is petitioning Covered California for special enrollment status to help clients change plans.

Health counselor Nathalie Milias, who helped enroll nearly 300 Miami-area residents in ACA plans, says most of them chose a plan with $0 monthly premiums and deductibles — but with much more limited choices. She says tax credits could have allowed them more robust plans if they were willing to spend more, but many are working poor who didn't want to pay another bill.

Marie Bien-Aime, a 59-year-old cook at a Miami restaurant, enrolled in that plan to avoid a monthly payment, but she realized her longtime health clinic didn't take the plan. Shortly before the enrollment deadline, Bien-Aime upgraded to a plan that costs $37 per month.

"Paying $37 isn't good for me, but I had to do it because I wanted to keep my doctor because he's so good," said Bien-Aime, who was previously uninsured.

Many consumers are still learning. They hear "Obamacare" and think it's free like Medicaid or Medicare, said John Foley, an attorney and navigator.

"They don't expect to pay anything," said Foley. "For a couple more dollars a month you can get a really good plan and they're like, 'This is free. I don't want to pay for this.'"

Even with pricier plans, some consumers have access problems.

James Potts' $647-per-month silver plan was issued by the same company that had insured him with a different plan cancelled under the Affordable Care Act. The 64-year-old property insurance agent assumed his doctors would remain the same under the insurer's new plan, but didn't double check.

When Potts got a nasty cold, he called three facilities near his home in Wichita Falls, Texas, and was shocked to find none took the insurance, including his primary care doctor.

"It was a waste of money for me," he said. "I couldn't find doctors that would talk to me."

__

Follow Kelli Kennedy on Twitter at www.twitter.com/kkennedyAP

00.32 | 0 komentar | Read More

Mass. utilities warn of late payment scam

BOSTON — Electric utilities NStar and Western Massachusetts Electric Co. are warning about a scam targeting their customers.

In the scam, someone calls homeowners or businesses and says their power will be shut off unless they make immediate payment.

The scammers tell the targeted customer the only way to keep the power on is to pay quickly using an untraceable pre-paid debit card, such as the Green Dot or Vanilla Reload Network card, or by making a Western Union money transfer.

Utility officials say they never demand instant payment over the phone and don't require the use of pre-paid debit cards.

Customers scheduled for disconnection due to nonpayment receive sufficient written notice.

NStar and Western Mass. Electric are both divisions on Northeast Utilities.

00.32 | 0 komentar | Read More

Cabela's recalling 600 electronic jerky blasters

WASHINGTON — Cabela's is recalling approximately 600 electronic jerky blasters because of a possible fire hazard.

The outdoor sporting goods company said Wednesday that the battery charger adapter can overcharge causing the electronic jerky blaster's battery and battery charger adapter to overheat.

The hand-held, battery powered appliance resembles a caulking gun, Cabela's says, and is used for making jerky sticks or strips.

There has been one report of the battery and the battery charger overheating. No injuries have been reported.

The product has a black handle, a gold-toned 15" tube that holds the meat and an interchangeable tip at the end. The tube is marked with "Cabela's Power Jerky" written on it. The device was sold as a set with interchangeable tips and cleaning brushes.

The recalled item number IK-540848 can be found underneath the barcode on the product's cardboard packaging and on the front of the instruction manual.

The device was sold exclusively at Cabela's locations nationwide from August 2013 through March 2014. It sold for about $150.

Consumers should stop using the product and contact Cabela's Inc. for a full refund. The company can be reached at (800) 237-4444. Consumers may also visit www.Cabelas.com and click on "Consumer Product Safety" at the bottom of the page for more information.

00.32 | 0 komentar | Read More

April sales surge bolsters Macy's optimism

NEW YORK — After a slow, cold winter, Macy's Inc. saw its business improve in April as the spring thaw heated up shoppers' demand for shorts and T-shirts, the department store chain said Wednesday.

But Mother Nature's aid came too late to boost the department store chain's first-quarter sales, which missed expectations despite a 3.2 percent increase in profit.

Macy's stuck by its full-year earnings outlook, indicating it thinks the April sales surge will continue.

Investors pushed shares slightly higher in midday trading as Macy's raised its dividend by 25 percent and increased its stock buyback program as a reflection of its confidence.

"Overall, business trends were soft in January through March, with the exception of the Valentine's Day shopping period," Macy's Chairman and CEO Terry J. Lundgren said in a statement. "The trend improved in April when the weather began to turn in northern climate zones. We see this as a good sign moving forward into the second quarter."

Macy's, a standout among its peers throughout the economic recovery, is the first of the major retailers to report first-quarter results, which should provide insight into shoppers' mindset heading into the summer season. Wal-Mart Stores Inc. and J.C. Penney Co. are scheduled to report their results Thursday.

Like many retailers, Macy's, which has corporate offices in Cincinnati and New York, was hurt by winter snowstorms and rain that kept shoppers away from malls. It's still unknown whether stores can make up for the lost business.

Macy's and others that cater to middle-class shoppers are facing economic hurdles. While the job market is improving and the housing market is rebounding, the gains are not strong enough to sustain big shopping sprees.

"We think that the consumer is OK, but not great," Karen Hoguet, Macy's chief financial officer, told investors on Wednesday.

That's why Macy's, which also operates the upscale Bloomingdale's chain, has to focus on controlling what it can.

The retailer has benefited from its focus on tailoring merchandise to local markets. Macy's is also trying to create a more seamless experience for shoppers who are going back and forth from stores to websites.

Cost-cutting efforts that will trim 1,800 jobs, saving the company $100 million per year, helped boost first-quarter profit.

Macy's said it earned $224 million, or 60 cents per share, in the quarter that ended May 3. That compares with $217 million, or 55 cents per share, a year earlier.

Revenue slipped 1.7 percent to $6.28 billion.

Analysts expected a profit of 59 cents on revenue of $6.46 billion.

Revenue at stores open at least a year fell 0.8 percent, matching Wall Street estimates.

Macy's raised its dividend to 31.25 cents from 25 cents. It also announced its board reauthorized a $1.5 billion increase in its share buyback program.

The company also reiterated its outlook for earnings of $4.40 per share to $4.50 per share. Analysts expected $4.46 per share, according to FactSet.

Macy's shares rose 9 cents to $57.89 in morning trading on Wednesday.

00.32 | 0 komentar | Read More

Sears considering selling its Canadian operations

NEW YORK — Sears is considering selling its Canadian operations as the retailer looks for ways to prop up its sagging business.

The retailer, which operates its namesake stores and Kmart locations, said that it's looking at strategic options for its 51 percent interest in Sears Canada. The Hoffman Estates, Illinois-based company said this includes the possible sale of its stake or possibly the entire Sears Canada operation.

Sears Canada's board and management plan to cooperate with Sears Holdings as it explores strategic alternatives.

The news comes as Sears Holdings Corp.'s chairman, the billionaire hedge fund manager Eddie Lampert, has been under intense pressure to turn around its business. He took over as CEO in February 2013.

Sears has had trouble adapting as bigger, nimbler rivals such as Wal-Mart and Home Depot have attracted its customers over the years.

Sears is trying to transform itself to into a member-focused business rather than a company that simply runs a store network. Loyal shoppers now receive incentives to buy. But its results have been hurt as it continues traditional promotions while investing in its membership program dubbed Shop Your Way.

Sears previously sold some store leases in Canada. It recently spun off clothing business Lands' End as a separate public company after not having much success with it.

The possible sale of its business north of the border also comes as several U.S. retailers, particularly Target Corp., are having difficulties cracking the Canadian market, about one tenth the size of the U.S. market.

The two countries are neighbors and they are culturally similar. But Canadian stores are grappling with a web of costly regulations and a slower Canadian economy and increasing competition are making the retail landscape look a lot like the U.S. economy.

Sears expanded into Canada through a joint venture in the early 1950s, but it has seen heightened competition from rivals Home Depot and Wal-Mart that entered Canada in the 1990s. The momentum picked up during the Great Recession. Target, based in Minneapolis, expanded into the Canadian market last year with more than 100 stores, marking its first foray a market outside the U.S.

But Target's merchandising mistakes and poor locations have resulted in a $724 million loss on lower than-expected sales for the year ended Feb. 1.

The botched up expansion was one of the key factors behind last week's abrupt departure of Target's CEO Gregg Steinhafel who also faced intense scrutiny in the wake of its massive data breach.

In an interview with The Associated Press last week, John Mulligan, Target's chief financial officer, who is serving as Target's interim CEO until a permanent replacement is named, vowed that it would not scale back on its expansion plans in Canada. Target's longer-term plans call for reaching $6 billion in revenue in that country. But Mulligan noted it was making several leadership changes to help fix the problems.

Analysts say that Sears is a much different story.

"(Sears) resembles the atrocity of the U.S. business," said Brian Sozzi, CEO and chief equities strategist at Belus Capital Advisors. "It's almost a shell outfit."

In 2012, Sears announced plans to restore profitability by cutting costs, reducing inventory, selling off some assets and spinning off others. Those moves helped the company reduce net debt by $400 million and generated $1.8 billion in cash from the asset sales.

Sears has spun off other businesses over the past three years, including its Hometown and Sears Outlet stores and its Orchard Supply Hardware Stores, to raise cash.

The company's shares fell 95 cents, or 2.2 percent, to $42.28 in afternoon trading after rising as high as $45 earlier in the session. Its shares have fallen more than 6 percent over the past year.

00.32 | 0 komentar | Read More

Ecclestone corruption trial may run through July

MUNICH — A German banker allegedly bribed by Bernie Ecclestone must return to a Munich court to give more testimony — meaning the Formula One boss's corruption trial will run at least until the end of July.

Ecclestone maintains Gerhard Gribkowsky blackmailed him into a $44 million payment, but the banker told the court over three days of testimony the money was a bribe.

After the end of testimony Wednesday, presiding Judge Peter Noll asked Gribkowsky to return to court July 30, German news agency dpa reported.

Prosecutors say Gribkowsky, who's been convicted of taking the money, agreed to facilitate the sale of Munich-based bank Bayern LB's 47 percent stake in F1 to a buyer of Ecclestone's liking.

00.32 | 0 komentar | Read More

Google Glass resumes sales in the US

SAN FRANCISCO — Google is once again selling its Internet-connected eyewear to anyone in the U.S. as the company fine tunes a device that has sparked intrigue and disdain for its potential to change the way people interact with technology.

The latest release of Google Glass comes a month after a one-day sale gave U.S. residents their first chance to buy the hottest accessory in geek fashion.

Google Inc. isn't setting a time limit for people to buy Glass this time, although the company is emphasizing that the product remains in its test, or "Explorer," phase.

As has been the case since Google began selling Glass to a select group in 2012, the device costs $1,500. It's only available on Google's website for now.

___

Online:

Glass store: https://glass.google.com/getglass/shop/glass

00.32 | 0 komentar | Read More