Market Basket workers fired for support of ex-CEO

TEWKSBURY — The Market Basket supermarket chain has made good on promises to fire employees who skipped work to attend a rally in support of the former chief executive.

The company said in a statement that eight employees were fired over the weekend because "Their actions continued to harm the company, negatively impacted customers, and inhibited associates' ability to perform their jobs."

Some of those fired had more than four decades with the Tewksbury-based chain, which has 71 stores in Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Maine.

About 2,000 employees and others rallied at company headquarters Friday to call for the reinstatement of fired CEO Arthur T. Demoulas.

Meanwhile, some Market Basket stores started running out of food as deliveries had stopped on Friday.

Seventeen Massachusetts lawmakers have called for a boycott of the chain.

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US companies report rising sales, employment in 2Q

DETROIT — Rising sales helped boost hiring and wages at U.S. businesses in the second quarter, and companies are optimistic that the trends will continue this fall, according to a new survey by the National Association for Business Economics.

Fifty-seven percent of the 85 respondents to the quarterly survey said sales at their companies rose in the April-June period. That was up from 53 percent in the first quarter and 35 percent in the same period a year ago. Just 5 percent of firms said sales fell during the second quarter.

Respondents also said the outlook for the July-October period is strong. Fifty-nine percent of respondents said they expect sales to increase during the third quarter, and just 1 percent expects sales to decline. Respondents from the finance, insurance and real estate sector were most optimistic about sales increases, while the service sector lagged.

As sales picked up, so did hiring. Thirty-six percent of firms said they hired more workers during the second quarter, up from 28 percent in the first quarter and 29 percent in the second quarter of 2013.

The employment outlook was steady, with 37 percent of respondents expecting their companies to hire more workers in the July-October period. Finance, insurance and real estate companies were most likely to say they expect employment increases, at 48 percent; service companies were the least likely, at 28 percent. Less than 10 percent of respondents expect employment declines in the third quarter.

For the first time since October 2012, no respondents reported falling wages. Forty-three percent said their firms raised wages during the second quarter, which was than double the share that reported raising wages during the same time period a year ago. More than one-third of respondents — 35 percent — expected wages to continue to increase in the third quarter.

Hiring and wage increases hit companies' profits. Just 27 percent of respondents said their firms' profit margins rose in the second quarter, down from 32 percent in the first quarter. Despite the slowdown, manufacturers and financial companies both said they expect margins to grow at a faster pace in the third quarter.

Some companies improved their margins by raising prices. Twenty-five percent of respondents said their businesses raised prices in the second quarter, up from 20 percent in the two previous quarters. Eight percent said prices fell, up from 3 percent in the first quarter.

Technology and communications companies and manufacturers said prices were up during the quarter, while service companies and finance companies said prices were softer. Nearly three-quarters of respondents expect no change in the prices their firms will charge in the third quarter.

The quarterly survey by NABE is intended to gauge business conditions at members' firms or industries. Almost half the respondents are from companies with more than 1,000 employees.

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World stocks weak as pressure on Russia grows

BEIJING — World stock markets remained on the back foot Monday as tensions grew between Russia and the West over the downing of an airliner in eastern Ukraine.

In Europe, Germany's DAX was off 0.7 percent at 9,654.54 and France's CAC-40 shed 0.4 percent to 4,315.92. Britain's FTSE 100 dropped 0.3 percent to 6,732.16.

Futures pointed to losses on Wall Street. Dow futures were down 0.1 percent at 17,009 and S&P 500 futures shed 0.1 percent to 1,969.

The shooting down last week of the Malaysia Airlines plane with 298 people aboard has rattled markets, which worried about how Western governments, already alarmed by Russia's support for rebels in Ukraine's east, would react.

The disaster, in an area controlled by pro-Russian separatists, has sparked international condemnation and increased pressure on Russia to stop meddling in Ukraine. Russian officials have blamed Ukraine's government for creating the situation and atmosphere in which the plane was downed.

"The more pressure that builds on Russia the more volatile European indices will be," said strategist Evan Lucas at IG Markets in a report. "With the strong trade links between the continent and Russia, any disruptions to this through sanctions will cause profit taking on European indices."

China's Shanghai Composite Index declined 0.2 percent to 2,054.48 points and Hong Kong's Hang Seng was off 0.3 percent at 23,387.14. Sydney's S&P/ASX 200 added 0.1 percent to 5,539.90.

Seoul's Kospi fell 0.1 percent to 2,018.50 ahead of this week's release of quarterly economic growth data. Tokyo was closed for a holiday.

Markets in Southeast Asia were mostly higher. Jakarta rose 0.8 percent despite tensions over presidential election results due out Tuesday, with both candidates claiming victory.

Investors were looking ahead to U.S. earnings reports amid hopes American economic growth is recovering. Results from Apple, Microsoft and Coca Cola were due out Tuesday and Caterpillar on Thursday.

In energy markets, U.S. benchmark crude for August delivery was down 1 cent to $103.12 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract shed 6 cents on Friday to close at $103.13.

The euro rose to $1.3537 from $1.3525 late Friday. The dollar fell to 101.31 yen from 101.36 yen.

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McDonald's, KFC in China face new food scandal

BEIJING — McDonald's and KFC in China faced a new food safety scare Monday after a Shanghai television station reported a supplier sold them expired beef and chicken.

The companies said they immediately stopped using meat from the supplier, Husi Food Co., Ltd. The Shanghai office of China's food and drug agency said it was investigating and told customers to suspend use of the supplier's products.

Dragon TV said Sunday that Husi, owned by OSI Group of Aurora, Illinois, repackaged old beef and chicken and put new expiration dates on them. It said they were sold to McDonald's, KFC and Pizza Hut restaurants.

The report added to a series of food safety scares in China that have battered public confidence in dairies, fast food outlets and other suppliers.

McDonald's Corp. and Yum Brands Inc., which owns KFC, Pizza Hut and Taco Bell, said they were conducting their own investigations.

"Food safety is a top priority for McDonald's," the company said on its microblog account. The company said it pursues "strict compliance" with consumer safety laws and regulations and has "zero tolerance for illegal behavior."

A third company, sandwich shop chain Dicos, said in a statement that it stopped using sausage patties supplied by Husi. Dicos is owned by Taiwan's Ting Hsin International Group, and the company website said it had 2,000 outlets in China as of September 2013.

The Shanghai office of the State Food and Drug Administration said it was working with police to investigate Husi.

"At present, the company has been sealed and suspect products seized," the agency said on its website.

McDonald's sealed 4,500 cases of beef, pork, chicken and other products supplied by Husi for investigation and Pizza Hut sealed 500 cases of seasoned beef, the city government said in a statement.

A woman who answered the phone at Husi's headquarters said no one was available to comment. The official Xinhua News Agency cited a company manager, Yang Liqun, who said Husi has a strict quality control system and will cooperate in the investigation.

The Communist Party secretary of Shanghai, Han Zheng, called for "severe punishment" of any wrongdoing, according to the city government statement.

KFC is China's biggest restaurant chain, with more than 4,000 outlets and plans to open 700 more this year.

The company was badly hurt after state television reported in December 2013 that some poultry suppliers violated rules on drug use in chickens. Yum said KFC sales in China plunged 37 percent the following month. KFC launched an effort to tighten control over product quality and eliminated more than 1,000 small poultry producers from its supply network.

In a string of product scandals over the past decade, infants, hospital patients and others have been killed by phony or adulterated milk powder, drugs and other goods.

Foreign fast food brands are seen as more reliable than Chinese competitors, though local brands have made big improvements in quality.

The high profile of foreign brands means any complaints involving them attract attention, while their status as foreign companies with less political influence means Chinese media can publicize their troubles more freely.

Scandal-weary consumers on Monday expressed mixed feelings.

Chen Lu, 24, an employee of an Internet company, was eating a chicken burger and fries at a McDonald's in central Shanghai that was half-empty at midday, a time when most restaurants are crowded.

"My boyfriend called and told me not to eat McDonald's one minute after I ordered this chicken hamburger, but what can I do? I've already ordered and I am in a hurry," she said.

"I am worried about my health," she said. "I will try to avoid it, at least for a while. I am pretty disappointed in this brand."

Another diner, Liu Kun, a 24-year-old student from Nanjing who was visiting Shanghai, said he was not concerned.

"The incident won't change me eating here," Liu said. "There have been negative reports all the time. McDonald and KFC are the leaders in the industry."

___

Associated Press researcher Fu Ting in Shanghai contributed to this report.

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US stock futures slip to start the week

NEW YORK — US stock futures are drifting lower ahead of the opening bell as more companies line up to post quarterly results. Halliburton edged up after reporting higher earnings and sales in the second quarter.

KEEPING SCORE: Dow Jones industrial average futures fell 39 points, or 0.2 percent, to 16,999 as of 8:41 a.m. Eastern time. Standard & Poor's 500 index futures fell five points, or 0.2 percent, to 1,967. Nasdaq 100 futures slid four points, or 0.1 percent, to 3,926.

DRILLING: Early Monday, Halliburton, the oil and gas servicing company, said that its second-quarter earnings rose 20 percent and that it plans to buy up to $6 billion of its own shares. Revenue came in higher than analysts' estimates. Halliburton's stock rose 56 cents, or 0.7 percent, to $71.41 in premarket trading.

HASBRO: The toy maker Hasbro turned in second-quarter earnings and revenue that fell short of analysts' targets. Rising sales of My Little Pony, Transformers and other toys weren't enough to stem a decline in sales of games such as Twister. Hasbro's stock sank $1.96, or 3.6 percent, to $51.25.

EUROPE: Major stock markets in Europe headed lower Friday. Germany's DAX sank 1 percent while France's CAC-40 lost 0.5 percent. Britain's FTSE 100 was off 0.4 percent.

BONDS AND OIL: Bond prices barely moved in the market for U.S. Treasurys. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note was 2.48 percent, unchanged from late Friday. Benchmark U.S. crude oil rose $1.24 to $103.19 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

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Flight sharing set for Boston

For the harried traveler tired of spending interminable amounts of time in traffic before taking a ferry to get to the Vineyard or Nantucket, the Uber of the air could offer a new way to get away.

MassChallenge finalist AirPooler, a web-based, flight-sharing service that hopes to launch in Boston this summer, was founded last August by Steve Lewis and Andy Finke, who both came from backgrounds in travel technology — Lewis from ITA Software, a Cambridge company with an airfare-pricing-and-shopping system, and Finke from Zipcar.

"We were thinking where the new frontier would be," Lewis said. "There had been tremendous progress in making researching places and planning travel easier and more enjoyable. But when it came to actually getting around, it was still a huge hassle."

The two decided to launch a website where private pilots of light aircraft with vacant seats could list their flights, and people going to the same places could arrange to fly with them in exchange for sharing costs such as fuel or plane-rental fees.

Leaving out of Logan International Airport in Boston, a roundtrip flight on a Cessna 172 with three people, including the pilot, for example, would take approximately 1.1 hours at a cost of $47 per person to Martha's Vineyard, 1.4 hours at $60 per person to Nantucket and 3.1 hours at $132 per person to Bar Harbor, Maine.

All of the costs are estimates and could be recalculated by the system to reflect factors such as time spent waiting on the runway, or alterations to a flight plan that added or subtracted distance to or from the trip. Passengers also would pay AirPooler's 20 percent fee.

For the time being, however, AirPooler's plans to launch locally are on hold while it awaits a response to a May 19 letter it says it sent to the FAA, requesting that the agency confirm that any pilots who might list flights on the company's website would be in compliance with FAA regulations since they would be sharing the cost of flights, rather than profiting from them.

Until it receives that confirmation, AirPooler has suggested that pilots refrain from listing flights on the West Coast, where it launched earlier this year.

In a statement Friday, the FAA said only that it had not been contacted by Air Pooler about beginning operations in the Boston area.

Asked what the company's plans are if the FAA does not give it the legal interpretation it's seeking, Lewis said: "We really haven't thought about that. We recognize this is a difficult issue for the FAA. The regulations in question were issued long before operations of this sort were possible, and the agency needs a reasonable amount of time to evaluate the legal implications. But we're confident they will respond in the near future."

In January, two Northeastern University students launched a similar flight-sharing website called
Flytenow.

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The Ticker

Amazon unveils e-book service

Amazon is rolling out a new subscription service that will allow unlimited access to thousands of electronic books and audiobooks for $9.99 a month in the online giant's latest effort to attract more users.

The largest U.S. e-commerce site said that the Kindle Unlimited service will give users the ability to read as much as they want from more than 600,000 Kindle titles and thousands of Audible audiobooks.

TUESDAY

• Labor Department releases Consumer Price Index for June
• National Association of Realtors releases existing home sales for June
• Senate Finance Committee hearing on tax laws
• Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions subcommittee hearing on coal miners

WEDNESDAY

•  Environment and Public Works Committee hearing on the Environmental Protection Agency's proposed carbon pollution standards for power plants
•  Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation subcommittee hearing on legislation focusing on consumer protections and safety for cruise ship passengers
•  House Transportation and Infrastructure subcommittee hearing on domestic aviation manufacturing

THURSDAY

• Labor Department releases weekly jobless claims
•  Freddie Mac, the mortgage company, releases weekly mortgage rates
• Commerce Department releases new home sales for June

FRIDAY

•  Commerce Department releases durable goods for June

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Electric locks make doors hard to open if power fails

I was shocked to see a news broadcast of a man whose car caught fire and he couldn't get out because the electric door locks were inoperative. He was saved because someone was able to bend the top of the door and break the glass to pull him out. This seems to be a big problem in some modern cars. I was recently at a Chevrolet dealership that had a one-year-old Corvette convertible in the showroom. It was locked, but the top was down so I attempted to pull the door lock knob up to get in. No luck. I didn't have the key fob. I also read about some cars that can only be opened by finding some elusive handle to manually open a door when the car has an electrical failure. I find it hard to believe that the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration would allow cars to be manufactured this way. I own a 2005 Buick LeSabre and a 2010 F-150. Both have electric locks. Should I be concerned about these two vehicles?

The C6 Corvette you mentioned — I have one — has electrically operated door unlatch mechanisms that are operated by electric buttons on the inside and outside of the door and the BCM (body control module). Your two vehicles have electrically operated door latches operated by the keyless entry fob and the BCM, but also have mechanical unlatch mechanisms on the inside and outside of the doors.

The Corvette has no door-mounted mechanical release levers or buttons. Instead, it has a manual door unlatch mechanism that mechanically unlatches the door latch via a cable inside the door and a lever located on the floor between the seat and door. Pulling up on this lever unlatches and opens the door.

If some type of complete electrical failure disabled both your remote keyless entry fob and the electrical door lock switches on your door, you would open the door by manually unlocking it, then pulling the mechanical release handle on the door itself.

The same electrical failure on the Corvette would require you to pull up on the release lever on the floor to open the door. The only real difference is the location of the mechanical release system.

One other interesting difference. Because the Corvette, like a number of newer vehicles, utilizes electric switches rather than a mechanical linkage to open the door from the outside, if the battery is dead with the doors and rear hatch locked, the only way into the car is to use a special key that's part of the fob to mechanically unlock the rear hatch and pull a release handle to unlock the door.

Maybe the real question is this: Does this new technology add to or improve the functionality of the vehicle? What do you think?

I have a 2011 Chevy Silverado LT. Every time I have it serviced they claim it needs a front-end alignment. I mostly drive in city or on paved highways. Is this common? I have never had this problem before. I am 87 years old if that makes a difference.

Your age makes no difference — except perhaps to a service agency that may think you are an easier "up-sell" during routine service. Unless you've been pounding off-road, sliding into curbs, finding every pothole in your area or some other alignment-ruining scenario, your truck's alignment certainly should not need "regular service."

Are the tires on your truck wearing relatively evenly? Does the vehicle exhibit any alignment issues such as lead, pull or instability in a straight line.? GM says some light "feathering" on the outer edge of the tread is normal for this vehicle. Regular tire rotation can help maximize tire life and minimize unusual wear.

If your vehicle exhibits none of these issues, you may want to align yourself with another service agency.

Paul Brand, author of "How to Repair Your Car," is an automotive troubleshooter, driving instructor and former race-car driver. Readers may write to him at: Star Tribune, 425 Portland Ave. S., Minneapolis, Minn., 55488 or via email at paulbrand@startribune.com.

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RJ Reynolds vows to fight $23.6B in damages

MIAMI — The nation's No. 2 cigarette maker is vowing to fight a jury verdict of $23.6 billion in punitive damages in a lawsuit filed by the widow of a longtime smoker who died of lung cancer.

R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. executive J. Jeffery Raborn has called the damages awarded by a Pensacola jury "grossly excessive and impermissible under state and constitutional law."

"This verdict goes far beyond the realm of reasonableness and fairness, and is completely inconsistent with the evidence presented," Raborn, a company vice president and assistant general counsel, said in a statement. "We plan to file post-trial motions with the trial court promptly, and are confident that the court will follow the law and not allow this runaway verdict to stand."

One of the widow's attorneys said the verdict Friday night sends a powerful message to tobacco companies.

"The jury wanted to send a statement that tobacco cannot continue to lie to the American people and the American government about the addictiveness of and the deadly chemicals in their cigarettes," said Christopher Chestnut, one of the attorneys representing Cynthia Robinson.

The case is one of thousands filed in Florida after the state Supreme Court in 2006 threw out a $145 billion class action verdict. That ruling also said smokers and their families need only prove addiction and that smoking caused their illnesses or deaths.

Last year, Florida's highest court re-approved that decision, which made it easier for sick smokers or their survivors to pursue lawsuits against tobacco companies without having to prove to the court again that Big Tobacco knowingly sold dangerous products and hid the hazards of cigarette smoking.

The damages awarded to Robinson after a four-week trial came in addition to $16.8 million in compensatory damages awarded Thursday.

Robinson individually sued Reynolds in 2008 on behalf of her late husband, Michael Johnson Sr., who died in 1996. Her attorneys said the punitive damages are the largest of any individual case stemming from the original class action lawsuit.

The verdict came the same week that Reynolds American Inc., which owns R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company, announced it was purchasing Lorillard Tobacco Co., the country's No. 3 cigarette maker, in a $25 billion deal. That would create a tobacco company second only in the U.S. to Marlboro maker Altria Group Inc., which owns Philip Morris USA Inc. and is based in Richmond, Virginia.

The deal is expected to close in the first half of 2015 and likely will face regulatory scrutiny.

Anti-smoking advocates hailed the verdict as a reminder of what they called the tobacco industry's history of marketing to children and hiding the truth about their products.

"Wall Street analysts like to say the industry's liability risk is manageable. What this verdict shows is the tobacco industry's risk is far greater than Wall Street analysts would lead investors believe," said Vince Willmore, spokesman for the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids.

In June, the U.S. Supreme Court turned away cigarette manufacturers' appeals of more than $70 million in court judgments to Florida smokers. Reynolds, Philip Morris USA Inc. and Lorillard Tobacco Co. had wanted the court to review cases in which smokers won large damage awards without having to prove that the companies sold a defective and dangerous product or hid the risks of smoking.

The Supreme Court refused to hear another of the companies' appeals last year, wanting the court to consider overturning a $2.5 million Tampa jury verdict in the death of a smoker.

Other Florida juries have hit tobacco companies with tens of millions of dollars in punitive damages in lawsuits stemming from the original class action lawsuit.

In August, a Fort Lauderdale jury awarded $37.5 million, including $22.5 million in punitive damages against Reynolds, to the family of a smoker who died at age 38 of lung cancer in 1995.

Attorneys for Reynolds said they would appeal, arguing that the woman knew the dangers of smoking because cigarettes had warning labels when she started. The attorney for the woman's family said teenagers like her were targeted by tobacco companies.

Some large jury verdicts awarding tens of millions of dollars in damages to relatives of smokers have been upheld by appeals courts.

In September, the 3rd District Court of Appeals affirmed $25 million in punitive damages and $10 million in compensatory damages against Lorillard, the country's No. 3 cigarette maker, for Dorothy Alexander, whose husband died in 1996 of lung cancer. Lorillard, based in Greensboro, North Carolina, unsuccessfully argued the damages were excessive and raised a number of other claims.

The 1st District Court of Appeals upheld in June 2013 a $20 million punitive damage award to another smoker's widow, more than a year after reversing a $40.8 million award in the same case against Reynolds. After the appeals court rejected the first award as excessive the award amount was recalculated. The tobacco company still objected.

Philip Morris is the country's biggest tobacco company and owned by Richmond, Virginia-based Altria Group Inc. Reynolds is owned by Winston-Salem, North Carolina-based Reynolds American Inc.

Messages left with Atria and Lorillard spokesmen were not immediately returned.

___

Follow Jennifer Kay on Twitter at www.twitter.com/jnkay.

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In preliminary count, FairPoint strike authorized

MANCHESTER, N.H. — Unions representing FairPoint Communications workers in northern New England say preliminary vote counts suggest an overwhelming majority of members support authorizing a strike.

Negotiations began in April on a contract that expires Aug. 2. Workers in Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont recently held meetings to vote on whether to authorize a strike. Voting has finished in Maine and Vermont, but has been extended in New Hampshire due to storm damage.

The vote does not mean the 2,000 workers will go on strike but gives leaders with the Communications Workers of America and the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers the ability to call for one later.

The company says service to customers will continue if there is a strike.

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