Hudson’s Bay buys Saks for $2.4 billion

NEW YORK – Luxury retailer Saks Inc. agreed to sell itself to Hudson’s Bay Co., the Canadian parent of upscale retailer Lord & Taylor, for about $2.4 billion.

The deal combines three department-store brands – Hudson’s Bay, Lord & Taylor and Saks Fifth Avenue – and creates a North American upscale retailing behemoth with 320 stores in some of the biggest and most populous cities in the U.S. and Canada.

Lord & Taylor and Hudson’s Bay, Canada’s biggest department store chain, both cater to well-heeled shoppers, and the addition of Saks, which tends to cater to even more affluent shoppers, broadens its luxury reach. The company said its goal is to bring the Saks luxury brand into Canada. It also plans to renovate Saks stores and to make the brand more “luxurious.”

Boeing expands beacon inspections

Boeing Co. has expanded inspections of emergency locator beacons made by Honeywell International to include five more aircraft types after problems were discovered with the transmitters on 787 jets.

Boeing said in a company blog dated Sunday that the aircraft manufacturer is asking operators of 717, Next-Generation 737, 747-400, 767 and 777 airplanes to inspect the battery-operated beacons, which activate in a crash to help rescuers find a plane.

United Airlines and All Nippon Airways last week disclosed issues with the wiring on their Boeing 787’s emergency transmitters. That is the same part of the plane that is getting close scrutiny after a parked Ethiopian Airlines jet caught fire at London’s Heathrow earlier this month.

Boeing said its expanded request for inspections follows a recommendation by the U.K. Air Accidents Investigation Branch that airplane models with the Honeywell locator beacons be reviewed.

NEW YORK – Amazon.com Inc. says it is adding 7,000 jobs in 13 states, beefing up staff at the warehouses where it fills orders and in its customer service division.

The company says it will add 5,000 full-time jobs at its U.S. distribution centers, which currently employ about 20,000 workers who pack and ship customer orders.

The world’s largest online retailer has been spending heavily on order fulfillment, a strategy meant to help the business grow, but one that has also weighed on profit margins.

Bernanke ordered to address AIG bailout

WASHINGTON – A U.S. judge has ordered that Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke can be questioned in a lawsuit against the government filed by the former head of American International Group Inc.

It is rare for a Fed chairman to be deposed in a lawsuit. But Judge Thomas Wheeler of the U.S. Court of Federal Claims said Monday that he made an exception because Bernanke has firsthand knowledge of the government’s decision to bail out AIG at the height of the financial crisis.

Hank Greenberg, the former AIG CEO, has sued the government over the $182 billion bailout, which AIG has since repaid. Greenberg claims the terms of the bailout were too onerous and is seeking at least $25 billion.

Pending home sales decline slightly

WASHINGTON – The number of Americans who signed contracts to buy homes dipped in June from a six-year high in May, a sign that sales could stabilize over the next few months.

The National Association of Realtors said Monday that its seasonally adjusted index for pending home sales ticked down 0.4 percent to 110.9 in June. The May reading was revised lower by a percentage point to 111.3, but it was still the highest since December 2006.

The slight decline suggests higher mortgage rates may be starting to slow sales.

U.S. drugmaker Perrigo to buy Elan

DUBLIN – U.S. generic drugmaker Perrigo agreed Monday to buy Ireland’s Elan for $8.6 billion in a deal that should allow the rapidly growing company to reduce its tax bill and boost its royalty stream.

Perrigo Co. said it would pay Elan Corp.’s investors $6.25 per share in cash and $10.25 in Perrigo stock, an 11 percent premium over Elan’s closing price Friday.

Perrigo, which has been headquartered in the small western Michigan town of Allegan since 1887, said it would move its tax residence to Ireland and hopes to cut its tax liabilities nearly in half as it grows non-U.S. sales.