Company news

S&P 500 companies return $1 trillion to shareholdersS&P 500 companies have returned a record US$1 trillion to shareholders over the past year, helped by a recent surge in dividends and stock buybacks following sweeping corporate tax cuts introduced by Republicans, a report on Friday showed.In the 12 months through March, S&P 500 companies paid out US$428 billion in dividends and bought up US$573 billion of their own shares, according to S&P Dow Jones Indices analyst Howard Silverblatt.That compares to combined dividends and buybacks worth US$939 billion during the year through March 2017, Silverblatt said in a research note.-Nampa/ReutersUS jury fails to reach verdict in latest J&J talc trialA South Carolina jury on Friday could not agree on a verdict in a case of a woman whose family said her long-term use of Johnson & Johnson’s Baby Powder led to her death from asbestos-related cancer, resulting in a mistrial.The case of Bertila Boyd-Bostic, who died of a rare form of cancer in 2017 at the age of 30, is the latest in a series of trials in the United States that center around allegations that the company’s talc-based powder contained asbestos.-Nampa/ReutersBombardier launches longer-range variants of Global business jetsCanada’s Bombardier Inc on Sunday announced two new longer-range variants of its existing large-cabin Global business jets, which the company expects to generate higher revenues during a time of recovering appetite for corporate planes. The Global 5500 and 6500 jets are expected to offer 13 percent improved fuel burn and longer ranges compared with the plane-and-train-maker’s existing Global 5000 and 6000 aircraft. The jets will also have new wings, interiors, and Rolls Royce engines, among other upgrades, Bombardier spokesman Mark Masluch said.-Nampa/ReutersIDC appoints new auditors after dumping KPMGThe Industrial Development Corporation of South Africa (IDC) announced the appointment of new external auditors.This follows the decision taken by its annual general meeting not to reappoint KPMG, which had previously audited the IDC, it stated in a notification sent out by the JSE. "[Th]e IDC appointed SizweNtsalubaGobodo Inc (SNG) and Ngubane & Company (Ngubane) as joint auditors for the financial statements ended 31 March 2018."-Fin24EU to make Google, other search engines pay for newsSearch engines like Google and Microsoft’s Bing could be made to pay for showing snippets of news articles under draft copyright rules endorsed by European Union ambassadors on Friday.The measure, which is not yet final, would allow press publishers to ask search engines to pay them for showing their articles for up to one year after publication.The original proposal from the European Commission had foreseen giving publishers the right to ask for payment for up to 20 years.The EU copyright reform package would also force websites like YouTube to seek a license from rightsholders for displaying their content, for example a music video, or prevent it from being accessible.-Nampa/Reuters

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