TOP NEWS
* Costco Wholesale Corp. will increase the minimum wage of more than 130,000 U.S. employees to $14 and $14.50 per hour from $13 to $13.50 per hour beginning June 11, CFO Richard Galanti said during the company's earnings call to discuss first-quarter results. The membership warehouse operator, which previously said that it will use savings from U.S. tax law changes for the benefit of Costco employees, added that all other staff will receive raises between 25 cents and 50 cents per hour. For the 12 weeks ended May 13, the retailer, based in Issaquah, Wash., posted net income attributable to Costco of $750 million, beating both the S&P Capital IQ mean consensus estimate of $743.8 million and the $700 million in the year-ago quarter.
* Chinese e-commerce retailer JD.com Inc. unveiled plans to open 1,000 restaurants fully staffed with robots by 2020 in a bid to compete against Alibaba's partially automated eateries, the Nikkei Asian Review reported. The first unmanned restaurant, which will feature a menu of about 40 dishes from across China, is slated to open in August, although its location is yet to be announced, the report said.
FOOD RETAIL AND DISTRIBUTION
* Walmart Inc. on limited release rolled out an SMS-based shopping service called Jetblack that allows members in Manhattan and part of Brooklyn to order items via text message and have them delivered the same or next day. The service is the first to launch from the retail giant's technology incubator, Store No. 8, where it previously operated in stealth as "Code Eight." According to a CNBC report, Jetblack aims to attract more affluent shoppers, with a subscription fee of $50 per month, compared to Amazon.com Inc.'s Prime service that costs $12.99 per month.
BEVERAGES
* Shareholders of Coca-Cola European Partners PLC elected Francisco Crespo Benítez, senior vice president and chief growth officer of Coca-Cola Co. and Álvaro Gómez-Trénor Aguilar, who held a number of directorships in Coca-Cola's Spanish operations, to the company's board of directors. U.K.-based Coca-Cola European Partners operates as an independent Coca-Cola bottler and produces and distributes beverage products across markets in Western Europe.
PACKAGED FOODS
* Sweden-based refined oils and fats producer AAK is investing in a customization plant in the Philippines that will initially focus on solutions within the company's special nutrition, chocolate, and confectionery fats and dairy divisions. The plant, which is set to become operational by 2018-end, will be in the city of Batangas and will eventually also supply specialty solutions within AAK's other segments.
* New Zealand-based dairy cooperative Fonterra Co-op Group Ltd. teamed up with Alibaba Group Holding Ltd.'s Lazada South East Asia Pte. Ltd. to sell its products on the online marketplace. The deal will see Fonterra products like Anmum, Fernleaf and Anchor made available to consumers in Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. The collaboration also includes an agreement for Lazada to be the exclusive online distributor of Anchor Full Cream milk powder in Indonesia, marking the brand's debut in the market.
* Activist investor Carl Icahn, through his investment vehicle Icahn Enterprises LP, sold 10,516,744 of his shares in Herbalife Nutrition Ltd. for $52.50 per share. Still the largest shareholder in the nutrition company, owning 35,227,904 shares, Icahn announced his intention to sell his shares after Herbalife launched a "modified Dutch auction" self-tender offer, which it completed May 30.
RESTAURANTS
* U.K.-based Italian restaurant chain Carluccio's plans to close 30 outlets as part of its financial restructuring plan, which could see 500 employees lose their jobs, The Independent reported, citing CEO Mark Jones. The company will continue operating as it continues to pay off its debt through a company voluntary agreement, the U.K. equivalent of filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the U.S., the report added.
* Restaurant Associates and Levy Leisure, hospitality units of Compass Group PLC's U.K. arm, rehired its former group hospitality executive chef, Chef David Simms, as culinary director, effective June 1. Prior to his appointment, Simms was the managing director for UMBEL Restaurant Group, which operates Fera at Claridge's, Rogan & Co and L'Enclume.
AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTS
* U.S. agribusiness and food company Bunge Ltd. opened a new wheat mill in southeast Mexico that will employ about 50 workers and supply flour to large food companies and small bakeries in the region. The Del Mayab mill, with its strategic location, may also export produced flour to other countries in Latin America.
TOBACCO & SMOKING PRODUCTS
* Japan Tobacco Inc. will reduce the price for its heated tobacco products to ¥3,000 from ¥4,000 within the week commencing June 4 amid growing competition in Japan's alternative cigarettes space, Reuters reported. The price cut reportedly follows rival Philip Morris International Inc. decision to slash the price of its QOS tobacco-heating device by about 30% to ¥7,980 to encourage smokers to switch from traditional cigarettes.
INDUSTRY NEWS
* The Trump administration has begun a battle royal with some key U.S. allies over steel and aluminum tariffs after moving to lift temporary exemptions on tariffs for the European Union, Canada and Mexico, intensifying a trade dispute that could hit a broad swath of industries. Reactions from the European Union and Mexico were swift with the EU set to go to the World Trade Organization, while Mexico threatened equivalent measures against the U.S. Canada announced its own retaliatory tariffs against U.S. products worth C$16.6 billion, reciprocal to the value of the Canadian exports targeted by the Trump administration, and said it would also pursue WTO action. Meanwhile, China will cut by more than half its most-favored-nation, or MFN, tariffs for 1,449 taxable items of daily consumer goods starting July 1 amid ongoing U.S-China trade negotiations, Xinhua News Agency reported, citing a State Council statement.
The day ahead
Early morning futures indicators pointed to a higher opening for the U.S. market.
In Asia, the Hang Seng increased 0.08% to 30,492.91, while the Nikkei 225 decreased 0.14% to 22,171.35.
In Europe, around midday, the FTSE 100 was up 0.71% to 7,732.26, and the Euronext 100 was up 1.14% to 1,060.98.
On the macro front
The motor vehicles sales report, the employment situation report, the PMI Manufacturing Index, the ISM Manufacturing Index, the construction spending report and the Baker-Hughes Rig Count report are due out today.
The Daily Dose is updated as of 8 a.m. ET. Some external links may require a subscription. Links are current as of publication time, and we are not responsible if those links are unavailable later.
