In brief: Idaho Department of Labor job fair features 20 employers

Twenty employers are participating in a July 9 job fair at the Idaho Department of Labor in Post Falls, 600 N. Thornton St.

The event runs from 10 a.m. to noon. Job seekers should bring their résumés and be prepared for interviews.

Employers taking part in the event are SL Start/Imagine Behavioral Services, Humanix, Ambitions of Idaho, Driver Training & Solutions, Swift Transportation, Energy Recruiting Services, Sears, Home Instead Senior Care, West Corp., Buck Knives, Silverwood Theme Park, Integrated Personnel Inc., Mercer Trucking Co., Kootenai County and others.

BNP guilty of U.S. sanctions violations

WASHINGTON – France’s largest bank, BNP Paribas, has agreed to pay nearly $9 billion to resolve criminal allegations that it processed transactions for clients in Sudan and other blacklisted countries in violation of U.S. trade sanctions, the Justice Department announced Monday. The bank pleaded guilty to state charges in New York and plans another guilty plea in federal court next month.

After months of negotiations, BNP admitted to violating U.S. trade sanctions by processing billions of dollars in illegal transactions on behalf of clients in Sudan, Cuba and Iran. The United States had imposed sanctions on the countries to block their participation in the global financial system. The transactions, made through the bank’s New York office from at least 2004 through 2012, were processed at the same time as human rights abuses – including the genocide in Sudan – were occurring in those nations.

“Sanctions are a key tool in protecting U.S. national security interests, but they only work if they are strictly enforced,” Attorney General Eric Holder said.

The goal of such sanctions is to cut off an enemy nation’s access to banks and other sources of capital, limiting its economic growth and ability to buy weapons, food and other items available through global trade. The restrictions on dealings with sanctioned countries generally apply to U.S. banks and foreign banks with U.S. operations.

The roughly $8.9 billion deal is the largest sanctions case brought by the Justice Department and the largest penalty in any criminal case involving a bank. Prosecutors say the penalty was necessary not only because of the sheer volume of the illicit transactions but also because of the bank’s efforts to hide them.

Pinnacle Foods ends sale to Hillshire

NEW YORK – Pinnacle Foods said Monday it has scrapped its sale to Hillshire Brands, freeing Hillshire to be acquired by Tyson Foods.

Pinnacle Foods, which makes Birds Eye frozen vegetables, Duncan Hines cake mixes and Hungry-Man frozen dinners, said it will get a $163 million breakup payment from Hillshire. The Parsippany, New Jersey, company said it expects about $25 million in one-time costs connected to the scotched sale.

Chicago-based Hillshire Brands Co. agreed to buy Pinnacle Foods for $4.23 billion in May. But Tyson and Pilgrim’s Pride went after Hillshire two weeks later, and on June 9, Hillshire accepted Tyson’s $7.75 billion offer.

The deal with Tyson, which is based in Springdale, Arkansas, is contingent on Hillshire walking away from its offer for Pinnacle. Hillshire’s board had withdrawn support for the move because it considered the offer from Tyson a superior proposal.

United flight lands after slide deploys

LOS ANGELES – A United flight from Chicago O’Hare International Airport bound for John Wayne Airport in Santa Ana, California, made an emergency landing in Wichita, Kansas, on Sunday night after a slide deployed midair.

Flight 1463 had 96 passengers and five crew members on board, according to the airline. Passengers tweeted pictures of the massive slide inflated inside the cabin.

“No one was injured and the flight landed safely,” airline spokesman Christen David said in an email.