St. Regis apartments sold during “limited sale”
finance
Fidelity International CEO departs
Fidelity International CEO Anne Richards is stepping down unexpectedly after five years, leaving the asset manager without an immediate replacement. Richards, 59, will remain at the company as a vice president to assist Fidelity with its key external relationships and strategic partnerships, according to a statement Monday. The company said succession plans “will be announced at a later date.” A Fidelity spokesman declined to comment on the reasons for Richards’ decision to retire. Assets at the company have nearly doubled during Richards’ tenure, jumping from $414 billion when she took over in 2018 to $714.3 billion at the end of September. She has overseen a major push into private markets, hiring dozens of people and launching the firm’s first private lending fund this year. Fidelity International, formerly the international arm of Fidelity Investments, was created in 1980 to better meet the needs of clients in regions outside the United States. It is mainly owned by the management and members of the founding family. – Bloomberg News
Media
Nader-backed Connecticut newspaper shuts down
After trying to buck the national trend of media closings and downsizing, a small Connecticut newspaper founded earlier this year with the help of Ralph Nader has succumbed to financial problems and will close. The Oversight Board voted Monday to shut down the Winsted Citizen, a broadsheet newspaper that had been serving Nader’s hometown and the surrounding area in the state’s northwestern hills since February. Andy Thibault, the veteran journalist who led the paper as editor and publisher, announced the newspaper’s closure in a memo to employees. The Citizen’s fate was similar to that of other newspapers which were dying at an alarming rate due to declining advertising and circulation revenues. The United States has lost nearly 2,900 newspapers since 2005, including more than 130 confirmed to have closed or merged over the past year, according to a report released this month by the Northwestern/Medill Local News Initiative. – News agency
the cars
Credit Toyota to pay $60 million to settle CFPB claims
Toyota’s lending arm will pay $60 million to settle allegations by a U.S. regulator that it misled customers into purchasing additional products that boosted their payments and then gave them a chance to evade when they tried to cancel. Toyota Motor Credit Corp. allegedly lied about whether the add-ons were mandatory or were rushed through paperwork to hide them, according to a statement Monday from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. The CFPB said Toyota unreasonably hindered customers who tried to cancel and, if successful, withheld refunds by applying the amount to the principal of the loan. The lender also sometimes incorrectly reports payment information to credit agencies, the agency said. The unit will pay $48 million to consumers and $12 million to the Victim Relief Fund. In a separate statement, Toyota Motor Credit said it did not admit any wrongdoing but agreed to the CFPB’s consent order “to fulfill our commitment to continually provide better service to our customers.” In most cases, TMCC has already addressed the areas of concern mentioned by the Office. – Bloomberg News
Social media
Musk denounces reports that he supports anti-Semitism
Elon Musk has slammed “fake” media reports accusing him of anti-Semitism, issuing his strongest response yet after endorsing anti-Semitic content in an X post that sparked outrage and alienated advertisers like Apple. The backlash erupted last week after the billionaire Tesla CEO and Company This letter has since drawn criticism from the White House as well as many Tesla investors. The Walt Disney Company was among the major corporate names to distance itself from the platform formerly known as Twitter. On Sunday, the businessman tweeted that he wished “only the best for humanity.” Hedge fund manager Bill Ackman was among those who jumped to Musk’s defense. Several advertising executives privately urged X CEO Linda Yaccarino over the weekend to resign in order to save her reputation, the Financial Times reported, citing unidentified people familiar with the matter. But she refused to resign, saying she believed in the company’s mission, the Financial Times reported. – Bloomberg News
Banking services
Citigroup intends to lay off 300 of its senior managers
Citigroup is cutting more than 300 senior manager positions as part of CEO Jane Fraser’s efforts to streamline the Wall Street giant. The company began announcing the cuts — which affect employees two levels below Fraser’s executive management team — on Monday, according to a person familiar with the matter. They represent approximately 10 percent of workers at this level, according to the person who requested anonymity while discussing employee information. – Bloomberg News
Delivery
USPS, FedEx and UPS say they’re in good shape for the holidays
Carriers, including the US Postal Service, FedEx, and United Parcel Service, have the capacity to meet expected demand this holiday season, which is exciting news for shippers and shoppers alike. As with last year, there is expected to be little drama compared to the struggles during the pandemic when people hunkered down at home and turned to online shopping while major carriers including USPS simultaneously struggled with absences and a deluge of package shipments. The parcel industry has the capacity to deliver more than 110 million packages compared to the expected holiday peak of 82 million per day, slightly lower than last year, said Satish Jindel of ShipMatrix. – Bloomberg News
