Feb 8, 2018

CVS to boost pay and add benefits thanks to tax law

Photo: Mandel Ngan / AFP / Getty Images

CVS Health announced Thursday that it will use some of its extra money from the recently-passed tax law to increase its starting hourly pay from $9 to $11, beginning in April, and adjust the pay rates of other workers later this year, per CNBC. CVS will also offer all full-time employees up to four weeks of paid parental leave and freeze their health premiums for the year.

Why it matters: CVS, which has more than 240,000 employees, is the latest company to dole out bonuses and announce employee raises thanks to the new tax cuts — in addition to Walmart, Bank of America, Boeing and others.

Timing: The news came as CVS reported better-than-expected fourth quarter earnings. Net income rose to $3.29 billion from $1.71 billion in the year-earlier quarter and, excluding the impact of the $1.5 billion tax benefit, the company earned $1.92 per share vs. analysts' $1.89 estimate.

Don't forget: CVS struck a deal in December to purchase health insurance company Aetna for $69 billion, and CVS' stores are an integral part of the agreement. The two companies plan to bring together health insurance and pharmacy services through the chain's retail clinics.

Go deeper

Rebecca Falconer, Orion Rummler, Eileen Drage O'Reilly

Cruise ship evacuations: More Americans test positive for coronavirus

A bus carrying American citizens from the quarantined Diamond Princess cruise ship arrives at the U.S. government-chartered aircraft that is taking them back to the United States while authorities wear protective suits look on at Haneda airport in Tokyo on Monday. Photo: Tomohiro Ohsumi/Getty Images

Another 14 passengers tested positive for the novel coronavirus during their evacuation from the Diamond Princess cruise ship before being flown in a "specialist containment" area of the plane to the United States, per a Trump administration statement early Monday.

Details: Over 40 Americans who had been on the ship had previously been confirmed as infected and will remain in Japanese hospitals for treatment, NIAID director Anthony Fauci told "Face the Nation" Sunday. The rest were evacuated, and these latest cases were among them. All evacuees will undergo a 14-day quarantine upon arrival later Monday.

Go deeperUpdated 57 mins ago - Health

Rebecca Falconer

GM to exit Australia, New Zealand and Thailand

GM's Holden brand is popular among racing fans down under, and it's been a regular fixture at events like the Bathurst 1000 V8 Supercar Race in Australia. Photo: Speed Media/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

General Motors is retiring its Holden brand from sales in Australia and New Zealand and winding down operations in the two countries and Thailand by 2021, the company confirmed in a statement Monday.

Why it matters: The Holden brand has been in Australia and New Zealand for 160 years, per a GM statement issued in Australia. It is beloved by many motor racing fans down under. Holden produced Australia's first wholly locally made car in 1948.

Go deeperUpdated 2 hours ago - Economy & Business

Rebecca Falconer

In photos: Deadly Storm Dennis lashes U.K., Ireland and western France

A family is rescued from a property in Nantgarw, Wales, on Sunday. The storm comes a week after the U.K. was battered by storm Ciara, which killed two people, per the BBC. Photo: Matthew Horwood/Getty Images

Storm Dennis continued to pummel parts of England, Wales and Ireland over Sunday night with heavy rain after battering Northern Ireland and Scotland, per the official British weather agency the Met Office.

Why it matters: It's the second-strongest nontropical storm ever recorded in the North Atlantic Ocean, with its hurricane-force winds and heavy rains that caused widespread flooding across the U.K., the Washington Post notes. Police in Wales confirmed Sunday they found the body of a man who fell into a river as the storm lashed Ystradgynlais.

See photos4 hours ago - World