Business Briefs – October 3, 2018

President Trump Hails Trade Pact With Canada, Mexico

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump hailed his revamped North American trade agreement with Canada and Mexico as a breakthrough for U.S. workers, vowing to sign it by late November.

But it still faces a lengthy path to congressional approval. PresidentTrump notes that the agreement would need to be ratified by Congress, a step that could be affected by the outcome of the fall elections as Democrats try to regain majorities in the House and Senate.

Trump is branding the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement, which the Canadians joined just before a Sunday midnight deadline, as the “USMCA.”

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says his country is in a more stable place now that it has completed the negotiations. He says: “We got the right deal. We got a win-win-win for all three countries.”

Amazon to Cut Bonuses, Stock Benefits as It Raises Wages

NEW YORK (AP) — Amazon made a big splash this week with its $15 an hour minimum wage announcement, but lost in the fine print: Existing warehouse workers will no longer receive stock in the company or collect bonuses.

The online giant says next month it will end bonuses, which paid workers extra based on their attendance and warehouse productivity, as it boosts its minimum wage.

Amazon will also phase out its restricted stock unit program, which gave shares to workers if they stayed with Amazon for a certain amount of years. Amazon says it will replace it with a program next year that will allow workers to buy stock, but didn’t provide details.

Barnes & Noble Reviewing Offers to Sell Company

NEW YORK (AP) — The board of Barnes and Noble says it is reviewing the company’s future after several parties expressed interest in buying it.

The company said Wednesday that its board appointed a special committee to review the offers.

One of the interested parties is its founder and chairman, Leonard Riggio, who is credited with turning Barnes & Noble into a superstore.

The bookseller has long been struggling with increasing competition from Amazon and has been reducing staff over the last year.