Uber had 6,000 US sexual assault reports in two years - BBC News

Uber said it received almost 6,000 reports of sexual assault in the United States in 2017 and 2018.

While the number of cases rose in 2018, the rate of incidents dropped by 16%, as the number of journeys was higher.

The data was published in a report which Uber said showed its commitment to "improving safety for Uber and the entire industry".

Uber is facing growing scrutiny around the world, and recently lost its licence to operate in London.

The report showed 5,981 sexual assault incidents were reported out of the 2.3bn US trips over the two-year period.

Some 99.9% of the total journeys were concluded without safety issues, it said.

Passengers - as opposed to drivers - accounted for nearly half of those accused of sexual assault, the report added.

Uber said the report was the first comprehensive safety review of its ride-hailing business.

"Voluntarily publishing a report that discusses these difficult safety issues is not easy," said Tony West, chief legal officer at Uber.

"Most companies don't talk about issues like sexual violence because doing so risks inviting negative headlines and public criticism. But we feel it's time for a new approach."

The company told the BBC there were currently no concrete plans to release safety reports for any non-US markets.

This is a hugely significant document that for the first time details the extent to which the gig economy puts people in harm's way.

Uber described it as a complex project that was two years in the making, with much of that time spent auditing the data ensure to accuracy.

It should be noted that, knowing it would provoke grim headlines, the firm opted to release this data voluntarily.

The firm has committed to releasing the report every two years.

Now that Uber has proven it can produce this data in a digestible form, it must keep doing so at regular intervals and, eventually, for all its markets around the world.

That's not an easy undertaking, but the company can afford it.

Continual publication of the report would bring focus and urgency: is Uber's record on safety getting better or worse? Why might that be? Are certain regions safer than others? What can we learn from that?

Attention must also turn to the other gig economy firms out there. Lyft - which is facing a lawsuit over sexual assault filed just this week - has no excuses now that its bigger rival has acted.

Uber said 3,045 sexual assault reports were made in 2018 compared with 2,936 in 2017.

Last year, 1.3 billion trips were completed in the US, up from one billion in 2017.

The head of the US National Sexual Violence Resource Center, Karen Baker, welcomed the report, saying it "provides an opportunity to shed light on how this information-sharing emboldens our work for a safer future".

Passenger safety, in particular sexual violence, have been major challenges for Uber and its US rival Lyft, as well as China's Didi.

In November, London's transport regulator announced that Uber would not be granted a new licence to operate after repeated safety issues.

The firm has appealed against the ruling and continues to operate during the process.

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2019-12-06 05:50:53Z
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This stock bear is waiting for one clear signal to jump back into markets - MarketWatch

A previous version of this column misspelled the name of pro-basketball player LeBron James. The story has been corrected.

Getty Images

The water’s fine?

Stock market bears have had few breaks this year.

The S&P 500 SPX, +0.08%  has nabbed 26 record closes this year, while the Dow DJIA, -0.05%  counts 15, and pullbacks have often been quickly met by investors ready to buy. The pendulum swinging back toward more optimistic U.S.-China trade talk means a few more records could be reached in 2019.

Our call of the day comes from JonesTrading’s chief market strategist Michael O’Rourke, an unrepentant bear who sees little reason to dive in now, even if he has missed gains this year.

“We have been in an environment of deteriorating stock fundamentals, a weak global economy and a decelerating U.S. economy, against a backdrop of a historically expensive market,” he tells MarketWatch. Despite strong gains, the S&P 500 is just under 10% above its 2018 high, while the Russell 2000 RUT, +0.29%  is below its 2018 high.”

As for his call: “I will turn positive on the equity market when valuations are more attractive and aligned with economic and earnings growth.”

What has happened in the past couple of years is that company earnings growth has been “artificial,” driven by the administration’s tax cuts, he argues. That should mean that investors should assign a lower valuation, but they aren’t doing that, which is “dangerous.”

“I will become more constructive on the equity market as it begins to approach that historic 15x to 16x earnings multiple within a stable economic environment,” says O’Rourke. And right now, the forward price/earnings ratio—a popular method of valuing a stock’s worth—for the S&P 500 is right around 20.

Does he regret missing out on the stock’s gains? “I have a long-term process that is intended to be bullish when there is tremendous long-term opportunity and bearish when there is notable long-term risk,” O’Rourke said. He believes the Federal Reserve’s lengthy accommodative monetary policy has skewed business and investment cycles.

The market

Dow YM00, +0.16%, S&P 500 ES00, +0.17% and Nasdaq NQ00, +0.23%  futures are climbing, and European stocks SXXP, +0.21% are up, while Asian equities ADOW, +0.43% rose as well. Oil CLF20, +0.98%  is up as the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries gets underway.

The chart

Look for the S&P 500 to rally to 3,200 and up in the first half of next year, say JP Morgan strategists Jason Hunter and Alix Tepper Floman, who provide our chart of the day.

JP Morgan

They don’t think bears have a grip on this stock market, despite the pullbacks triggered by geopolitical headlines this year. Investors will likely get tempted into the market around the support level of 3,020 to 3,055, says the team.

The buzz

In the latest on trade, China says Washington must roll back tariffs if the two sides want to reach a deal.

The Federal Trade Commission is widening an Amazon AMZN, -0.50%  probe to include its cloud services unit, reports Bloomberg. Neither side would comment on the article.

Saudi Aramco may become the world’s biggest IPO, if the energy group prices shares at the top end of an expected range.

Shares of Slack WORK, -1.34%  are climbing after the online communications service earnings disappointed, but its outlook didn’t. Dollar General DG, +0.81%  shares are up after the cut-price retailer topped estimates and raised guidance.

The economy

A day ahead of U.S. payrolls data, jobless claims came in below expectations and the trade deficit fell on weak Chinese imports. Still to come are factory orders.

Random reads

A U.S. sailor kills two people and himself at Pearl Harbor shipyard.

Dying teen has one wish—to shake hands with basketball superstar LeBron James.

Air New Zealand is experimenting with edible coffee cups.

Strikes and protests over the government’s retirement reforms paralyze France.

This art sale is literally bananas.

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2019-12-05 14:22:00Z
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U.S. trade deficit falls 7.6% in October to 16-month low on decline in Chinese imports - MarketWatch

AFP/Getty Images

The U.S. trade deficit fell in October largely because of lower imports from China, but the decline is unlikely to last.

The numbers: The nation’s trade deficit dropped almost 8% in October to a 16-month low, largely because of lower imports from China tied to the ongoing U.S. trade dispute with the Asian giant.

The deficit slid to $47.2 billion from a revised $51.1 billion in the prior month, the government said Thursday. If it persists through December, the smaller gap could give a boost to gross domestic product in the fourth quarter.

Economists polled by MarketWatch had forecast a $48.5 billion gap.

Read: ADP Says U.S. private-sector job growth slows sharply in November

What happened: Imports fell 1.7% to $254.3 billion.

The U.S. imported fewer drugs, cell phones, electronics, clothing and toys and other goods, much of it from China. Imports of Chinese goods shrank by $1.8 billion to $35.3 billion.

Auto imports also fell.

The decline in imports largely reflects a recent up-and-down pattern depending on the timing of new U.S. tariffs on China. Companies rushed to import consumer goods from China in August before scheduled U.S. tariffs went into effect.

Exports dipped a smaller 0.2% to $207.1 billion. Shipments of drugs, airplane engines and autos all decreased.

For the second month in a row the U.S. posted a record surplus in petroleum, showcasing the country’s reemergence as an energy superpower.

Still, the U.S. trade deficit added up to $520.1 billion in the first 10 months of this year, compared to $513 billion in the same span in 2018.

Although tariffs have caused a record trade deficit with China to tumble in 2019, the gap has grown with other countries and left the U.S. in no better position.

Read: U.S. manufacturing sector slumps further in November

Big picture: The U.S. is on track to record the biggest annual trade deficit in 11 years.

The deficit has grown in 2019 partly because the economy is doing better than in most other countries. Americans can afford to buy more imports. Weaker economic performance around the world has also led to softer demand for U.S. exports.

A bigger trade deficit subtracts from gross domestic product, but the U.S. has run large deficits for so long it’s had virtually no influence on how consumers and businesses behave.

Market reaction: The Dow Jones Industrial Average DJIA, -0.05% and S&P 500 SPX, +0.07% were set to open higher on Thursday. They rose on Wednesday for the first time in four days.

The 10-year Treasury yield TMUBMUSD10Y, +2.19% rose several basis points to 1.79%. One year ago the yield was around 3.2%.

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2019-12-05 13:34:00Z
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Macy's president Hal Lawton is stepping down to become CEO of Tractor Supply - CNBC

Honoree Hal Lawton accepts award on stage during the 2019 Fashion Scholarship Fund Awards Gala on January 10, 2019 in New York City.

Cindy Ord | Getty Images

Macy's said Thursday that the president of the department store chain, Hal Lawton, is resigning, effective Friday.

Lawton will be leaving to join Tractor Supply as its CEO, succeeding Greg Sandfort, effective Jan. 13. He will also join Tractor Supply's board.

Before joining Macy's in 2017, Lawton, 45, was a senior vice president of North America for eBay.

"Hal has made significant contributions to the business over the past two years, including improving the Macy's operational cadence," CEO Jeff Gennette said in a statement. "Hal also helped us build an excellent team and, with their leadership, I'm confident that Macy's will continue strong execution through Holiday 2019 and beyond."

Lawton's resignation comes in the midst of the all-important holiday shopping season. Macy's didn't name an immediate replacement in its press release.

Lawton has been president of Macy's since September 2017. During his tenure, the landscape for U.S. department stores has grown increasingly difficult. Macy's has struggled to find ways to grow sales, with more shoppers turning to the internet or going directly to brands to buy things, bypassing trips to traditional malls.

During its latest quarter, Macy's said same-store sales declined for their first time in two years. The company also slashed its full-year profit outlook, on the heels of the dismal results.

Macy's shares have fallen roughly 50% this year.

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2019-12-05 13:19:00Z
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How Trump's Trade War Went From Method to Madness - Bloomberg

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1. How Trump's Trade War Went From Method to Madness  Bloomberg
2. China gives little indication US trade talks are progressing  CNBC
3. Trump: Trade talks with China are going well  CNBC Television
4. We Are Not Winning the Trade War  National Review
5. Trump's tariffs are coming to a store near you. It turns out Mexico won't pay for those either.  NBC News
6. View full coverage on Google News

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2019-12-05 11:00:01Z
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Another big luxury deal may be brewing - CNN

Kering, the owner of luxury brands including Gucci and Yves Saint Laurent, has held exploratory talks to buy Italian apparel company Moncler, according to Bloomberg.

Moncler is best known for its puffy winter coats. Its shares shot up by 9% on Thursday, while Kering stock posted a more modest rise of 1.3%. When asked about the report, Kering (PPRUF) declined to comment.

Moncler said in a statement that its chairman and CEO, Remo Ruffini, interacts "from time to time" with "other sector participants, including the Kering group, in order to explore strategic potential opportunities."

"At the moment, however, there is not any concrete hypothesis under consideration," the company added.

What's so great about Moncler (MONRF)? Our colleagues at CNN Style point to its innovative approach to leadership: One project involves asking multiple creative directors to produce individual collections that are released on a rolling calendar. This allows new products to be marketed on a monthly instead of seasonal basis.

Should the deal be completed, it would help Kering compete with rival French luxury group LVMH. The owner of Louis Vuitton and Christian Dior announced last month that it would buy Tiffany & Co. in a deal that values the jeweller at about $16.2 billion.

LVMH (LVMHF) on a roll: The luxury conglomerate led by billionaire Bernard Arnault is having a great year, with shares increasing nearly 55% so far. Earlier in 2019, LVMH acquired Rihanna's Fenty and Fenty Beauty fashion and cosmetics lines, which have enjoyed huge success with a diverse swath of young women.

It's all working out well for Arnault. With a fortune of $106 billion, he could soon overtake Jeff Bezos and Bill Gates to become the world's richest person.

Time for the biggest IPO ever?

Saudi Arabia's state oil company is poised to price what could be the biggest IPO in history.

Saudi Aramco said last month that it was aiming to sell about 1.5% of its 200 billion shares in a partial privatization for between 30 riyals ($8) and 32 riyals ($8.53) each. A final decision on price is expected to be announced on Thursday.

The competition: Alibaba's (BABA) 2014 debut on the New York Stock Exchange, so far the world's biggest IPO, raised $25 billion. Aramco will top that if the price is set at the top of its range.

High expectations: The Saudi government initially discussed floating 5% of the company in 2018 in the hope of raising as much as $100 billion. It was looking at international markets such as New York or London, as well as Riyadh.

Yet the project was shelved amid concerns about legal complications in the United States, as well as doubts about the $2 trillion valuation reportedly sought by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

The deal was revived earlier this year after Aramco pulled off a successful international bond sale. But international investors are less convinced about buying Aramco stock: Among their concerns: Low oil prices, the climate crisis and geopolitical risks.

Meanwhile, in Vienna: OPEC and its allies are once again being forced to consider dramatic action to avert a crash in oil prices.

The cartel led by Saudi Arabia is reportedly working towards an agreement with OPEC producers and others including Russia to extend and deepen production cuts designed to put a floor beneath prices. Meetings take place Thursday and Friday.

If the group fails to cut production, the world oil market will be oversupplied by about 800,000 barrels per day during the first half of 2020, according to consulting firm Rystad Energy.

The ensuing supply glut would spark a "significant oil price correction," driving Brent crude into the low $40s for a short period of time, Rystad predicted. That represents a plunge of about 30% from current levels of nearly $63 a barrel.

Silicon Valley faces a major loss in trade talks

Tech companies have long relied on just a few sentences of US law — Section 230 of the 1996 Communications Decency Act — to avoid legal trouble over what internet users write and post on their platforms.

The legal provision has proved hugely valuable to the industry, helping to give rise to Facebook, Instagram and Twitter by ensuring that the platforms would not be held responsible for the actions of their users.

According to the Wall Street Journal, internet companies have been lobbying for the legal protections to be included in the new US trade agreement with Mexico and Canada. But in a sign of growing skepticism in Washington toward Big Tech, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who represents San Francisco in Congress, is pushing to strip them out of the deal.

Another sign of discontent: Several US civil rights leaders recently invited to Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg's home have slammed what they say is a "lackluster response" to their concerns.

"Our communities are being targeted by bad actors on Facebook and the company has a moral obligation to fix this ongoing problem," the group said in a statement. "Facebook's lackluster response to our serious concerns is devoid of any commitments to implement substantive measures and changes to its policies."

Dollar General (DG), Kroger (KR) and Tiffany & Co. report earnings before US markets open. American Outdoor Brands (AOBC) and Ulta Beauty (ULTA) will follow after the close.

Also today:

The US trade balance for October arrives at 8:30 a.m. ET.

Coming tomorrow: The US jobs report for November will give fresh insight into America's economic health.

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2019-12-05 11:29:00Z
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Takata airbag fault forces recall of another 1.4 million vehicles - CNN

These cars were recalled on Wednesday, authorities in the United States said.

As with the wider ongoing recall, the new fault can cause airbag inflators to explode, under-inflate or spew out shrapnel at passengers, raising the risk of serious injury or death, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

The airbags involved in the latest recall were found to have "a manufacturing issue," and were fitted to "some brands of 1995-2000 vehicles," the agency said in a notice posted on its website. It gave no further details.

Takata produced and sold around 4.5 million of the airbags with the new fault globally in the late 1990s, but only a fraction of the vehicles fitted with them are likely still being driven, according to government documents.

As many as 41.6 million vehicles with Takata airbags have been recalled in the United States so far, according to the US Department of Transportation. In total, 34 auto brands have been affected, from Ferrari (RACE)to Ford (F).

Ruptured airbags have been linked to at least 29 deaths and hundreds of injuries around the globe, according to the Australian government.

The crisis caused Takata to file for bankruptcy in 2017. The Japanese company then sold most of its operations to Key Safety Systems, a Chinese-owned company based in Michigan, for $1.6 billion.

US federal safety regulators have previously said that it could take until 2023 for the recall to be complete — a full 15 years after the first car was ordered back to the workshop.

In the coming month, Takata will be working with automakers to assess which vehicles could be affected by its latest problem, according to US authorities.

"As this work progresses, numerous vehicle recalls will likely be announced," they said.

— Chris Isidore contributed to this report.

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2019-12-05 10:13:00Z
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