General Electric Cuts Dividend in Half
GE (GE) is one of America’s most widely held stocks, and countless shareholders, including retirees, rely on the dividend payments. But the company is under enormous pressure to restore investor confidence shaken by a serious cash crunch. The stock has lost 40% of its value this year. GE plunged 8% on Monday, to the lowest level in five and a half years, after the company announced the restructuring and diminished financial targets. The new dividend will be 12 cents a share, down from 24 cents.
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Marriott to Buy Starwood in $12.2B Deal
Marriott International will buy Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide for $12.2 billion to create the world’s largest hotel chain with top brands including Sheraton, Ritz Carlton and the Autograph Collection. The combined company will own or franchise more than 5,500 hotels with 1.1 million rooms worldwide and give Marriott greater presence in markets such as Europe, Latin America and Asia including India and China.
Chinese Yuan Setting Up to Become Reserve Currency
It’s a club reserved for the world’s elite economies… Created in 1969, the International Monetary Fund Special Drawing Rights (SDRs) is an international reserve asset that’s intended to supplement member countries’ reserves. Its value is based on the value of four key currencies – the U.S. dollar, the euro, the Japanese yen, and the British pound. Well, guess who’s pounding on the IMF’s door, looking to gain access to this exclusive club of high rollers? China.
Walgreens buys Rite Aid in $17.2 billion deal
The $17.2 billion deal puts together the nation’s second and third largest pharmacy chains that combined will have nearly 13,000 U.S. stores. That would catapult the merged company above CVS, which has 7,800 stores. The deal, which will have to pass antitrust review, is another sign of increased consolidation in health care as the industry changes due to the Affordable Care Act and an aging population.