PENSIONS
State fund tops $100 billion for first time
The pension fund for state employees, teachers, and municipal workers has reached a new milestone, topping $100 billion in assets for the first time. The board of Massachusetts Pension Reserves Investment Management said Thursday that the fund’s investments returned 29.4 percent after fees for the 12 months ended Oct. 31, pushing assets to $101 billion from $80 billion at the start of the period. That represents an investment profit of $23.1 billion, exceeding the fund’s benchmark by $6.9 billion. “This number is a hallmark of outstanding performance and an important sign of stability for our beneficiaries in a very turbulent and difficult time,” Michael G. Trotsky, executive director and chief investment officer of MassPRIM, said in a statement. The fund pays out about $1.2 billion in benefits annually and has more than 300,000 beneficiaries. — LARRY EDELMAN
ENERGY
Revere tank farm sold
An affiliate of private equity giant Blackstone has reached a purchase-and-sale agreement to buy the Global Partners terminal and oil tank farm along Route 1A in Revere from Global for $150 million. The Waltham-based oil distributor disclosed the sale of its Revere Terminal in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission on Wednesday. With enough capacity to store 2.1 million barrels of petroleum products, Global says the Revere Terminal is the largest in its network. Global will enter into a leaseback agreement with the Blackstone affiliate to use key infrastructure at the terminal, including certain tanks, dock access, and loading racks, to ensure Global operations continue at the terminal after it is transferred in the first half of next year. What’s not clear is how much of the property Global plans to use, and whether Blackstone has plans to redevelop a portion of the site. It is next to the former Suffolk Downs horse track, which is undergoing a massive redevelopment led by Boston developer HYM Investment Group. — JON CHESTO
AUTOMOTIVE
Toyota says it will sell only zero-emission cars in Europe by 2035
Toyota vowed to be ready to sell only zero-emission cars in Europe by 2035, a surprise pledge that aligns the world’s biggest automaker with the world’s most ambitious climate plan. The Japanese manufacturer also set a new intermediate goal for at least half its sales in Western Europe to be zero-emission vehicles by the end of the decade. That’s a big step up from the roughly 10 percent sales mix expected in 2025. While the objectives align Toyota with green deal measures the European Union proposed in July, the company qualified its 2035 view by saying it assumes the bloc will have sufficient infrastructure in place for battery recharging and hydrogen refueling. — BLOOMBERG NEWS
SHIPPING
Container costs drop but still high
Ocean freight rates on goods shipped to both major US coasts from Asia fell to the lowest levels since July, reflecting an easing of supply strains after the pre-holiday shipping frenzy that fanned inflation fears in the world’s largest economy. On the busy Shanghai-to-Los Angeles route, the spot rate for a 40-foot container sank 3.8 percent over the past week to $9,698, according to the Drewry World Container Index released Thursday. From Shanghai to New York, the price dropped 4.9 percent to $12,582. Both are still around five times higher than they were before the pandemic in January 2020. — BLOOMBERG NEWS
LABOR
Kellogg and union settle contract after strike
Kellogg and the union representing about 1,400 of its cereal-plant workers said they reached an agreement after negotiations in Chicago. The agreement between Kellogg and the members of the Bakery, Confectionery, Tobacco Workers and Grain Millers International Union “includes an accelerated, defined path to legacy wages and benefits for transitional employees, and wage increases and enhanced benefits for all,” Kellogg said on a website. Changes to the cereal maker’s two-tier employment system had been a sticking point in negotiations. Currently at Kellogg’s cereal plants, longer-tenured “legacy” workers get better benefits and pay. “Transitional” workers can graduate into the higher class as legacy workers leave their jobs. The agreement calls for 3 percent wage increases for legacy workers upon ratification, with cost-of-living adjustments thereafter, Kellogg said. Raises for transitional employees will depend on their years of service. The strike has affected plants in Omaha; Battle Creek, Mich.; Lancaster, Pa.; and Memphis. — BLOOMBERG NEWS
RETAIL
Dollar General goes a bit upscale
Getting more bang for your buck used to be the mantra of dollar store shoppers everywhere, but times are changing — and prices are rising. As consumers continue to contend with escalating prices for food, clothing, and other items thanks to inflation, discount retail chains like dollar stores are rethinking their pricing strategies. Dollar Tree announced last month that it will be boosting prices to $1.25 for most of its products. And now Dollar General is looking to roll out more of its Popshelf stores, where most items cost $5 or less. Dollar General said Thursday that it anticipates nearly tripling the number of Popshelf stores it has by next year and plans to have about 1,000 Popshelf locations by the end of fiscal 2025. Popshelf stores offer items such as beauty and seasonal products, toys, home décor, and arts and crafts. — BLOOMBERG NEWS
RETAIL
Storied Selfridges is sold
The billionaire dynasty behind Selfridges & Co. agreed to sell the British department store operator to Thai conglomerate Central Group, according to a person familiar with the situation. The Weston family has agreed to terms on a deal, which could be announced this month, the person said, requesting not to be identified because the information is private. Central Group is owned by the Chirathivats, one of Asia’s wealthiest families. Trophy assets in the UK have attracted interest even as retail business on major shopping streets suffers. Ikea agreed to buy the former Topshop store on Oxford Circus, one of the busiest retail locations in Europe, in October. London’s Ritz Hotel went up for sale last year. Qatar’s sovereign wealth fund bought Harrods about a decade ago. Selfridges, founded in 1908 by American Harry Gordon Selfridge, is best-known for the giant store on Oxford Street that has long been a mecca for fashion enthusiasts. — BLOOMBERG NEWS
SOCIAL MEDIA
Meta says Belarus used fake accounts to shift blame for border crisis to Poland
Meta Platforms Inc., the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, said it found evidence that Belarus’s state security service, called the KGB, used fake accounts to try to shift blame to Poland over a migrant crisis on their border. Meta said it removed 45 fake Facebook and Instagram accounts and five groups in Belarus that “primarily targeted audiences in the Middle East and Europe,” adding that some used artificial intelligence techniques to generate profile pictures. “Although the people behind it attempted to conceal their identities and coordination, our investigation found links to the Belarusian KGB,” it said in a statement. The European Union accuses Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko of orchestrating the crisis on its eastern flank by funneling thousands of people from the Middle East to his country’s borders with Poland and Lithuania. — BLOOMBERG NEWS