Roundup: Honda adds $363M to air bag recall costs; Costco to keep sourcing eggs from Hillandale; more
Honda adds $363M to air bag recall budget
Honda Motor Co. is setting aside $363 million extra to pay for a growing recall of air bags that can explode with too much force.
The automaker announced the spending Friday in Tokyo and said the additional costs will show up in revised earnings for the fiscal year that ended March 31. But the costs won't affect the company's dividend or earnings forecasts, it said in a statement.
Last month, air bag maker Takata Corp. gave in to pressure from U.S. safety regulators and agreed to double the size of an air bag inflator recall to a record 33.8 million. Takata's inflators can explode with too much force, sending metal shrapnel into a car's passenger compartment. So far, the problem has caused at least six deaths and 105 injuries worldwide. Another death is under investigation in Lafayette, La.
Honda, Takata's largest customer, has recalled about 20 million inflators worldwide.
Costco to keep getting eggs from Hillandale
Costco Warehouse Corp. said it will continue to procure eggs from Hillandale Farms, which an animal welfare group this week said was mistreating hens at one of its facilities in Gettysburg.
The Humane Society of the United States released footage by a former Hillandale employee showing hens laying eggs in cramped cages with deceased birds. The footage, gathered in April and May, showed broken eggs and dead chickens on the floor.
The conditions in the video appeared to violate Costco's published “Mission Statement on Animal Welfare.” The retailer said it believes it to be an isolated incident.
Texas regulators: Wells didn't cause quake
Texas oil and gas regulators say there is no evidence that a record magnitude-4.0 earthquake last month in the northern part of the state was caused by injecting oilfield waste into underground wells.
The Texas Railroad Commission said Friday it reached that conclusion after testing five disposal wells in Johnson County. The May earthquake didn't cause any serious damage or injuries. It was the largest in recorded history in North Texas.
The findings were released as the powerful state agency is asking natural gas companies to begin proving their operations aren't to blame for earthquakes. More than 50 have rattled North Texas since late 2013.
Injection wells store wastewater from hydraulic fracturing. That drilling technique has opened vast reserves of natural gas in North Texas, but critics say it has caused small earthquakes.
Pension accounting change costs FedEx
FedEx Corp. said it recorded a non-cash pretax charge of $4.88 a share for the final quarter of its just-ended fiscal year amid a change in pension accounting.
The move to mark-to-market accounting won't affect funding requirements for any retirement programs or corporate cash flows, FedEx said Friday in a statement. Employees' pension benefits won't be affected, FedEx said.
The charge amounts to an estimated $2.2 billion, FedEx said. FedEx, the operator of the world's largest cargo airline, is scheduled to report fiscal fourth-quarter results next week.
— Wire reports
