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(Corrects spelling of board member's name in paragraph 2 to Knudstrop from Knudstorpand) (Reuters) -Long-term Starbucks shareholders have written to the company to resume talks with its workers' union to discuss staffing, wages and other issues, a letter posted on the New York City Comptroller's website on Thursday showed. The letter, signed by Comptroller Brad Lander, Trillium Asset Management, the Shareholder Association for Research and Education and Pensions Investment Research Consultants, was addressed to Starbucks' board members Jorgen Vig Knudstorp and Beth Ford and called on the company to reach a contract agreement with Starbucks Workers United. "We are concerned that Starbucks' labor relations have significantly deteriorated, as reflected by over one hundred Unfair Labor Practice complaints filed since the beginning of the year, in-store actions, partner walkouts and protests over store closings, and even strikes," the letter said. The New York City pension funds said they were the largest Starbucks stockholders within the group, with about 1.33 million shares. Starbucks did not respond to a request for comment. The union has been at odds with management for months. Talks between Starbucks and Starbucks Workers United, which represents more than 12,000 baristas, began in April last year but have since stalled. In December, union members staged multi-day strikes across several U.S. cities during the peak holiday season. "Over three years have passed since the first successful union election by Starbucks Workers United and yet no contract agreement has been reached," the letter said. The Starbucks' store in Buffalo, New York was the first company-owned location to unionize in the U.S. in December 2021. There are over 650 unionized Starbucks stores currently in the country, according to the SBWU's website. The SBWU republished excerpts from the shareholder letter on its website, without commenting further. Last month, Starbucks said it would shutter underperforming stores in North America, including its flagship unionized outlet in Seattle, as CEO Brian Niccol pushed ahead with a $1 billion restructuring aimed at reviving sales. (Reporting by Shubham Kalia, Mrinmay Dey and Juveria Tabassum in Bengaluru; Editing by Nivedita Bhattacharjee)

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(Reuters) -U.S. regional bank Fifth Third Bancorp reported a 14% jump in third-quarter profit on Friday on the back of robust fee income, but booked a $178 million loss related to the bankruptcy of auto dealer Tricolor.   Broad-based growth across Fifth Third's fee businesses lifted non-interest income to $781 million in the quarter, up 10% from a year earlier.   Wealth management and asset management fee revenue surged 11%, while mortgage banking fee revenue jumped 16%. Shares of the bank were up 1% in early afternoon trading. The stock had fallen 4.5% this year as of Thursday's close.    TRICOLOR LOSS While the broader U.S. economy has remained resilient, fears about credit quality at some regional banks, including Zions Bancorporation and Western Alliance, triggered a fall in U.S. bank stocks on Thursday. Fifth Third had disclosed last month it gave a $200 million asset-backed finance loan to Tricolor, which filed for bankruptcy last month and moved to liquidate its business. "We decided to disclose the potential loss as quickly as possible", Fifth Third CEO Tim Spence said in a phone interview. He said the bank is comfortable with its risk after a portfolio review and noted that profits increased even after the losses. Net charge-offs, or debts that are unlikely to be recovered, totaled $339 million in the quarter, including a $178 million loss related to the impairment of the loan to Tricolor.  INTEREST INCOME GROWTH Net interest income — the difference between what banks earn on loans and pay on deposits — rose 7% to $1.53 billion in the quarter, thanks to lower deposit costs and fixed-rate asset repricing. Earlier this month, Fifth Third struck a $10.9 billion all-stock deal to buy regional lender Comerica, the biggest U.S. bank transaction this year which will create the nation's ninth-largest lender. Spence said he expects the deal to close in the first quarter of 2026 and the integration to start generating savings in 2027. Fifth Third is now focused on the consolidation process and not looking for another deal, the CEO added. Fifth Third's profit jumped to $608 million, or 91 cents per share, in the three months ended September 30, compared with $532 million, or 78 cents per share, a year earlier.  (Reporting by Arasu Kannagi Basil in Bengaluru, additional reporting by Tatiana Bautzer in New York; Editing by Sahal Muhammed and Cynthia Osterman)

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By Stephen Culp NEW YORK (Reuters) -Wall Street stocks advanced and U.S. Treasury yields rebounded on Friday as investors assessed the health of regional banks and President Donald Trump said his face-to-face trade talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping were still on. All three major U.S. stock indexes closed in positive territory after struggling for direction in early trading, and all three notched weekly gains. Benchmark Treasury yields and the dollar turned higher, while gold pulled back after a record run sent the precious metal to all-time highs. Worries over potential systemic credit problems in the banking sector abated the day after Zions disclosed it would take a $50 million loan loss in the third quarter and Western Alliance initiated a lawsuit alleging fraud by an investment firm. The KBW Regional Banking index advanced 1.7% in a partial recovery from Thursday's 5.0% plunge. "It took a night to sleep on it, but some calm has come in over the probably overblown worries in the regional bank area," said Ryan Detrick, chief market strategist at Carson Group in Omaha. "The truth is the financial sector is likely still on firm footing; just a couple companies had some bad news, but it's not systemic." Trade tensions between Washington and Beijing were calmed by Trump's assurances that his proposed 100% tariff on Chinese imports would not be sustainable. He confirmed he would meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping in two weeks in South Korea. "We've seen this movie before," Detrick added. "A week ago, President Trump was talking 100% tariffs and the market had its worst selloff in months and now today he's clearly putting some water on that fire, saying he and President Xi have a good relationship." The first official week of the third-quarter earnings season is in the books, with 58% of companies in the S&P 500 having reported. Of those, 86% have delivered stronger-than-expected results. Analysts now expect third-quarter S&P 500 earnings growth of 9.3% year-on-year, up from 8.8% as of October 1, according to LSEG data. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 238.37 points, or 0.52%, to 46,190.61, the S&P 500 rose 34.94 points, or 0.53%, to 6,664.01 and the Nasdaq Composite rose 117.44 points, or 0.52%, to 22,679.98. European stocks closed lower as signs of credit stress in U.S. regional banks dampened investor risk appetite, driving them to safe-haven assets. MSCI's gauge of stocks across the globe fell 0.21 points, or 0.02%, to 984.18. The pan-European STOXX 600 index fell 0.95%, while Europe's broad FTSEurofirst 300 index fell 20.72 points, or 0.91%. Emerging market stocks fell 16.86 points, or 1.22%, to 1,362.10. MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan closed lower by 1.24%, to 706.04, while Japan's Nikkei fell 695.59 points, or 1.44%, to 47,582.15. U.S. Treasury yields rose and the dollar strengthened as worries stemming from the escalating trade war and regional banks' credit quality ebbed. The greenback, however, remained on track for a weekly loss. The yield on benchmark U.S. 10-year notes rose 2.9 basis points to 4.005%, from 3.976% late on Thursday. The 30-year bond yield rose 1.7 basis points to 4.6005% from 4.583% late on Thursday. The 2-year note yield, which typically moves in step with interest rate expectations for the Federal Reserve, rose 3.3 basis points to 3.459%, from 3.426% late on Thursday. The dollar index, which measures the greenback against a basket of currencies including the yen and the euro, rose 0.16% to 98.42, with the euro down 0.15% at $1.1669. Against the Japanese yen, the dollar strengthened 0.04% to 150.48. Oil prices inched higher but lost ground on the week amid the fog of global supply uncertainty. U.S. crude rose 0.14% to settle at $57.54 per barrel, while Brent settled at $61.29 per barrel, up 0.38% on the day. Gold prices pulled back from record highs, pressured by a firmer dollar. Spot gold fell 2.19% to $4,230.60 an ounce. U.S. gold futures fell 1.3% to $4,224.60 an ounce. (Reporting by Stephen Culp; Additional reporting by Ian Withers and Stella Qiu; Editing by Nia Williams and Nick Zieminski)

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By Valerie Volcovici WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The state of California announced a lawsuit against three major plastic bag producers and reached a settlement with four other manufacturers on Friday after concluding an investigation into their false claims that these bags were recyclable. California Attorney General Rob Bonta announced a lawsuit against Novolex Holdings LLC, Inteplast Group Corp, and Mettler Packaging LLC alleging violations of California's Environmental Marketing Claims Act, False Advertising Law, and Unfair Competition Law.     Bonta also announced a settlement with four plastic bag producers, Revolution Sustainable Solutions LLC (Revolution), Metro Poly Corp. (Metro Poly), PreZero US Packaging LLC (PreZero), and Advance Polybag, Inc. (API), resolving their alleged violations of those same laws. "The consequences of these violations are severe: Billions of plastic carryout bags end up in landfills, incinerators, and the environment instead of being recycled as the bags proclaim. Our legal actions today make it clear: No corporation is above the law,” Bonta said in a statement. The actions come nearly three years after Bonta launched an investigation into plastic bag producers in which he requested they substantiate claims that their bags are recyclable. That investigation came after the California Statewide Commission on Recycling Markets and Curbside Recycling had asked the attorney general and regulator CalRecycle to crack down on what it claimed was illegal labeling that was undermining the state's efforts to tackle plastic pollution. The sale of these thicker recycled plastic bags emerged from what critics said became a loophole in California's 2017 ban on single-use shopping bags that enabled retailers to sell reusable plastic bags for a minimum of 10 cents each if the bags can be recycled in California. As part of the settlement, the four companies agreed to halt plastic bag sales in California and pay a total of $1.8 million to the state.  (Reporting by Valerie VolcoviciEditing by Nick Zieminski)

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