The Traderszone Network

WASHINGTON/DETROIT (Reuters) – Takata Corp will “rapidly” reduce production of a volatile chemical that has been linked to ruptured air bag inflators, a company executive told U.S. lawmakers on Tuesday. The chemical, ammonium nitrate, “appears to be one of the factors” contributing to inflator ruptures linked to six deaths and hundreds of injuries, Kevin Kennedy, executive vice president of Takata subsidiary TK Holdings, said. Kennedy told a House subcommittee that Takata has “alternate propellants now with guanidine nitrate.

The strategy is a sign of Teva’s commitment to its $40 billion bid for Mylan, as the latter presses on with its own $34 billion hostile bid for over-the-counter drug company Perrigo Company Plc (PRGO.N). Teva last week disclosed a 1.8 percent stake in Mylan, which blasted the move as breaching U.S. antitrust laws because of the stake’s size. Teva’s stake in Mylan far exceeds that threshold.

Voicemail is going the way of the typewriter, at least at JPMorgan Chase & Co (JPM.N). The Wall Street bank is eliminating voicemail for thousands of employees who do not take calls from customers, at a savings of $10 a month per person, Gordon Smith, chief executive of the company’s consumer banking operations, said at an investor conference on Tuesday. The service is being cut only for employees who do not deal directly with customers, spokeswoman Patricia Wexler said later.

Voicemail is going the way of the typewriter, at least at JPMorgan Chase & Co (JPM.N). The Wall Street bank is eliminating voicemail for thousands of employees who do not take calls from customers, at a savings of $10 a month per person, Gordon Smith, chief executive of the company’s consumer banking operations, said at an investor conference on Tuesday. The service is being cut only for employees who do not deal directly with customers, spokeswoman Patricia Wexler said later.

The United States expects it will be able to clinch an agreement “very soon” with the European Union on a deal allowing companies to easily transfer data across the two blocs, a U.S. government representative said on Tuesday. The European Commission, the EU executive, reopened the Safe Harbour agreement, which makes it easier for companies to transfer EU citizens’ data to the United States, after revelations about U.S. mass surveillance activities involving European citizens sent shockwaves across the continent.

The United States expects it will be able to clinch an agreement “very soon” with the European Union on a deal allowing companies to easily transfer data across the two blocs, a U.S. government representative said on Tuesday. The European Commission, the EU executive, reopened the Safe Harbour agreement, which makes it easier for companies to transfer EU citizens’ data to the United States, after revelations about U.S. mass surveillance activities involving European citizens sent shockwaves across the continent.

Wal-Mart, the largest private employer in the United States with 1.3 million U.S. workers, has been targeted by labor groups for its minimum wages. The company said in February that it would raise minimum wages for 500,000 U.S. employees. The wage increases seem aimed at discouraging worker unionization, said Gary Chaison, professor of industrial relations at Clark University.