In brief: Rates on U.S. Treasury bills at highest point this year
WASHINGTON – Interest rates on short-term Treasury bills rose in Monday’s auction to the highest levels this year.
The Treasury Department auctioned $24 billion in three-month bills at a discount rate of 0.050 percent, up from 0.030 percent last week. Another $24 billion in six-month bills was auctioned at a discount rate of 0.145 percent, up from 0.135 percent last week.
The three-month rate was the highest since three-month bills averaged 0.055 percent on Dec. 22. The six-month rate was the highest since these bills averaged 0.155 percent, also on Dec. 22 of last year.
Separately, the Federal Reserve said Monday that the average yield for one-year Treasury bills, a popular index for making changes in adjustable rate mortgages, rose to 0.33 percent last week from 0.28 percent the previous week.
Kazakhstan approved for admission to WTO
BERLIN – Kazakhstan is set to become the 162nd member of the World Trade Organization after the Geneva-based body formally approved the country’s membership Monday.
The largest former Soviet republic in Central Asia is rich in natural resources and a key transit country for goods between Asia and Europe.
President Nursultan Nazarbayev said Kazakhstan is committed to opening up its financial and telecommunications sectors as agreed during its 19-year accession process.
Kazakhstan, which has suffered from the economic downturn in neighboring Russia, must still ratify the membership agreement in its national Parliament by the end of October.
Nike offers refunds to end FuelBand suit
NEW YORK – Nike will give partial refunds or gift cards to people who bought FuelBand fitness trackers in the last 3 1/2 years, resolving a lawsuit that said the products can’t accurately tally how many steps a user is taking or how many calories they’ve burned.
A website maintained by Gilardi & Co., a firm that administers settlements, said Nike Inc. will give $15 payments or $25 gift cards to people who bought FuelBands between Jan. 19, 2012, and June 17, 2015.
Nike and collaborator Apple deny the allegations in the lawsuit but agreed to settle to avoid a continued legal tussle, according to court documents.
Nike launched the FuelBand in 2012. It’s a wrist band that tracks movement and translates it into what Nike calls “Fuel.” Users can set daily goals for how much movement they want to achieve. The band can connect wirelessly to a smartphone app and its features include a pedometer and a clock.
Apartheid suits against IBM, Ford tossed
NEW YORK – A federal appeals court has rejected lawsuits accusing IBM Corp. and Ford Motor Co. of supporting apartheid in South Africa decades ago through their business deals.
The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan ruled Monday against lawsuits brought 13 years ago against the Armonk, New York-based IBM and Dearborn, Michigan-based Ford. The lawsuits had accused the companies of helping the South African government carry out race-based injustices by selling specially designed computers and cars.
The appeals court cited a 2013 U.S. Supreme Court ruling limiting the legal reach of a 1789 law. A lower-court judge had tossed the lawsuits, saying they failed to allege sufficient U.S.-based actions by IBM or Ford.