MANUFACTURING
Factories continued to buzz in January, but pace slowed a bit
American factories continued to expand in January, but at slower pace than December. The Institute for Supply Management reported Monday that its gauge of manufacturing activity fell to 58.7 percent in January from 60.7 percent the previous month. The December reading was the index’s highest since it stood at 60.8 percent in August 2018. Any reading above 50 indicates expansion in the manufacturing sector. The January figure indicates expansion in the overall economy for the eighth straight month after contracting in March, April, and May. — ASSOCIATED PRESS
REAL ESTATE
Record number of vacant offices in Manhattan
There’s a record amount of office space available in Manhattan. With workers stuck at home, the office availability rate rose to 14.9 percent in January, the highest in data going back to 2000, according to a report by Colliers International. Leasing fell by nearly 47 percent from the same period last year. That came even as asking rents dipped for the seventh straight month to $73.65 a square foot on average, the lowest in almost three years. — BLOOMBERG NEWS
INTERNATIONAL
Truckers can wait 15 hours at border post-Brexit
Truckers are trying to avoid the UK as Brexit red tape keeps them waiting to get to the continent. Freight firms are shunning the UK, at least partly because haulers are being put off by delays.The median time truckers spent in lines at Ashford, southeast England, was about 15 hours. The cost of sending freight between the UK to the European Union also remained abnormally high. Some firms are using air instead of sea freight to circumvent delays. — BLOOMBERG NEWS
EQUITY
Gap joins companies pledging to stock items from Black-owned businesses
The 15 percent Pledge is evolving as new companies — like Gap — sign on. The initiative, which began last year as an attempt to give products from Black-owned businesses 15 percent of shelf space at retailers, has adapted to accommodate new companies that don’t sell outside brands. Gap is now promising to start new programs and expand existing ones to develop Black talent in order to increase representation in its workforce. Companies like Sephora and West Elm were among the first to sign on. The name — 15 percent — refers to the rough percentage of the population that Black people represent in the United States. — BLOOMBERG NEWS
INTERNATIONAL
Beer sales continue to fall in the land of beer gardens
Beer sales in Germany were down 5.5 percent last year, dragged lower by lengthy closures of bars and restaurants in the coronavirus pandemic, official data showed Monday. German-based breweries and distributors sold 8.7 billion liters (2.3 billion gallons) of beer last year, the Federal Statistical Office said. That figure doesn’t include alcohol-free beer or beer imported from outside the European Union. German beer sales have been declining for years as a result of health concerns and other factors. They have now fallen 22.3 percent since 1993. — ASSOCIATED PRESS
AIRLINES
JetBlue reshapes its premium cabin for trans-Atlantic flights
JetBlue has remodeled its premium Mint cabin for the company’s trans-Atlantic debut later this year, changing the seats into “suites” with sliding doors and adding two larger “studios.” The carrier will offer 24 premium berths on flights connecting New York and Boston with London, which are set to begin in the third quarter with single-aisle Airbus SE A321LR jets, according to a statement Monday. JetBlue also will install 14 suites and two studios on new “low density” A321 planes that will fly between New York and Los Angeles starting in June. The carrier will enter a trans-Atlantic market hammered by the coronavirus pandemic, which has prompted the United States to temporarily restrict travel from the UK, Ireland, and 26 other nations in Europe. The studio has an extra seat and pop-out table that will enable two people to dine together. — BLOOMBERG NEWS
FINANCE
Goldman Sachs ties bonuses to non-compete clauses for top traders
Some of Goldman Sachs’ most in-demand traders were confronted with a surprising rider before collecting their rewards for 2020. The firm asked staff in its portfolio-trading group to sign a six-month non-compete clause to get bonuses for the breakout year, making it harder for them to defect to rivals, according to people with knowledge of the matter. While a non-compete of that length is normal for more senior ranks, it’s often half that or less for more junior levels. — BLOOMBERG NEWS
RETAIL
Topshop brand, but not its stores, is sold
Online fashion seller Asos says it has bought Topshop, which once boasted designs by Kate Moss and Beyonce, along with three other brands for 265 million pounds ($363 million) as rivals scoop up bargains after the collapse of Britain’s Arcadia retail group. The deal, announced Monday, puts thousands of jobs at risk because Asos acquired the Topshop, Topman, Miss Selfridge’s, and HIIT brands but none of their stores. Asos said it plans to keep only about 300 of the brands’ employees. — ASSOCIATED PRESS
FOR-PROFIT SCHOOLS
Investors warn about acquisition of Walden during Justice Dept. probe
Adtalem Global Education Inc. is being urged by two investors to halt its $1.5 billion acquisition of Walden University until the US Justice Department completes an investigation of the for-profit university. Engine Capital and Hawk Ridge Partners, which collectively own a 3.9 percent stake in Adtalem, said in a letter to the company’s board Monday that they believe it is understating the severity of potential violations involving Walden’s nursing program, noting that four agencies are involved in the investigation. The duo said 18 of 26 for-profit universities it found to have been investigated by the Justice Department faced sanctions or penalties, and over half are no longer in business or were sold in a fire sale. That was the case with DeVry University, which Adtalem used to own, Engine Managing Partner Arnaud Ajdler and Hawk Ridge portfolio manager David Brown wrote in the letter, which was reviewed by Bloomberg. — BLOOMBERG NEWS
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