Trading Partners

Bentonville, Ark. -- Amidst allegations of involvement in a foreign bribery scandal, Wal-Mart Stores vice chairman Eduardo Castro-Wright has vacated his seat on the board of life insurer MetLife, according to a Tuesday announcement by Wal-Mart.

In a letter to MetLife CEO Steve Kandarian, Castro-Wright said that the recent events at Wal-Mart would require his “immediate and personal attention. Accordingly, I now must focus my energy in spending personal time with my family and in protecting my good name and business reputation.”

BENTONVILLE, Ark. — Amidst allegations of involvement in a foreign bribery scandal, Wal-Mart Stores vice chairman Eduardo Castro-Wright has vacated his seat on the board of life insurer MetLife, according to a Tuesday announcement by Wal-Mart.
 
In a letter to MetLife CEO Steve Kandarian, Castro-Wright said that the recent events at Wal-Mart would require his “immediate and personal attention. Accordingly, I now must focus my energy in spending personal time with my family and in protecting my good name and business reputation.”

PALM BEACH, Fla. — The charitable arm of the National Association of Chain Drug Stores has elected three new members to its board of directors.

The board, which now will expand to 23 members for 2012-2013, include Rite Aid's SVP and chief communications officer Susan Henderson; GlaxoSmithKline VP channel development and sales Joseph Kucharski; and Pfizer Worldwide Pharmaceuticals VP corporate government customers David Moules.

BENTONVILLE, Ark. — Amidst allegations of bribery at its Mexican affiliate, Wal-Mart Stores has created a new position. The global FCPA compliance officer will be responsible for ensuring that all Walmart divisions comply with the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. This person will also oversee five FCPA compliance directors based in the international markets.

Bentonville, Ark. -- In response to the New York Times article about compliance with the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, Wal-Mart VP corporate communications, David Tovar on Tuesday made the following statement:

New York -- Canada’s Jean Coutu Group has sold 56 million of its approximately 234.4 million shares in Rite Aid, the company said Friday.

The Canadian retailing group said the $83.6 million sale, which amounts to a 23.9%% reduction in the number of Rite Aid shares the company owns, would reduce its stake in Camp Hill, Pa.-based Rite Aid to 19.85%. The Jean Coutu group still owns about 178.4 million shares in the 4,667-store chain.

New York -- Wal-Mart Stores confirmed that it is investigating its operations in Mexico for possible violations of the U.S. law that prohibits bribery overseas. The acknowledgement came in response to a lengthy article by The New York Times on Saturday that alleged the giant discounter first learned of allegations of "widespread bribery" by its workers in the country in 2005 and that top executives subsequently covered them up. 

NEW YORK — Wal-Mart Stores confirmed that it is investigating its operations in Mexico for possible violations of the U.S. law that prohibits bribery overseas. The acknowledgement came in response to a lengthy article by The New York Times on Saturday that alleged the giant discounter first learned of allegations of "widespread bribery" by its workers in the country in 2005 and that top executives subsequently covered them up.