The world’s biggest smartphone maker, Samsung Electronics, based in South Korea, has sparked calls from shareholders for dividends after it splashed out what was estimated to be $1 billion on an employee bonus.

Apple’s arch rival drew from its nearly $50 billion in cash to mark a 20-year anniversary, just months after it was criticized by shareholders for not spending enough to make its dividend yield higher.

The bonus was to commemorate the New Management strategy of Lee Kun-hee the chairman and hit the operating profit for the October to December quarter, which Samsung said was likely to fall 6% compared to the same period last year, and 18% from the third quarter which was a record $7.8 billion.

Initial estimates on the street put the new bonus at nearly about $650 million, but the extent of the decline in profit reflects a bonus of close to $1 billion. That amounts to a bonus of approximately $4,000 for each of the 240,000 employees.

Because of the bonus, the profit for the fourth quarter is expected to fall below the lowest forecast amongst analysts of 8.8 trillion won, which is the lowest since the second quarter of 2012 when profit was 8.1 trillion won.

Like the majority of companies in South Korea, Samsung has kept a low dividend yield at about 1% or even less, which is the biggest reason its shares are not as valuable as some peers are around the global.

Shares at Samsung experienced their first decline annually during 2013 in over five years due in part to the conservative return policy for shareholders at the company. This came despite operating profit most likely increasing by over 28% to $36.8 trillion won.

Shares were down in Asia on Tuesday by 0.2%, while the broader market was up by 0.3%.

Returns have been around 5.1% of profits, which is the lowest since Samsung purchased back some shares in 2007, when its rate of return has been 15.8%.

Lee took control of Samsung in 1987 from the original founder, his father. In 1993, he ordered his top executives to change everything, with the exception of your wife and children to transform the company from a television set maker to a global leader in technology.

On Thursday, cashier Karina McClain did not work on her shift at a New York City Checkers. Instead, McClain, 22, joined nearly 100 others outside of a Wendy’s restaurant in Brooklyn calling for an increase in wages to $15 per hour.

McClain said that she has bills she has to pay and is not paid enough money. She currently earns $7.25 per hour, which is the federal minimum wage and only works for 20 hours per week.

Missing a day’s income would hurt McClain, who has a hard time paying for her daughter’s diapers and clothes.

However, Thursday McClain could afford to miss her shift since organizers of the protests compensated workers who did not work.

McClain said the groups that are backed by unions such as Fight for 15 and Fast Food Forward, were giving her close to $50 or the equivalent of her daily wage for her to protest.

McClain said that if the group had not paid her to be there, she would not have been able to afford to protest.

Other people at the protest along with others around the country confirmed they too were being paid amounts that were similar. Organizers said the workers such as McClain had gathered in 100 different cities on Thursday making demands that were similar.

The movement started with a small fast food employee walkout in November of 2012 in New York City. It has since increased with strikes in August that attracted workers form the fast food industry in 60 cities.

The group leading the Fast Food Forward movement is compensating the workers who did not work their shifts on Thursday so they could participate in a protest.

The money used to pay the workers is from a strike fund that has the support of foundations, grassroots organizations and labor unions.

Unions have organized similar funds for strikes for many years in order to make up for lost wages, while standing up to their employers.

The average pay for a fast food employee across the country is approximately $9 per hour or close to $18,500 annually. That amount is nearly $4,500 less than the poverty threshold level from the Census Bureau of $23,000.

Toyota Motor Corp increased its forecast for annual profit on Wednesday, closing in on new records that had been set prior to the financial crisis thanks to a weaker yen and growing sales in the U.S. car market that helped boost earnings sharply.

The bestselling automaker in the world now says it expects a net profit of $16.95 (1.67 trillion yen) billion for its fiscal year ending March 2014, compared to its forecast previously of 1.48 trillion yen.

That would put it just short of its previous record of 1.72 trillion yen in net profit for the fiscal year ended March 2008. That compares to an average forecast by analysts of 1.79 trillion yen.

The Japanese carmaker is the most reliant on exports amongst the three biggest automakers in Japan. It has benefited from the weakening yen that helped boost profits both from its exports and from the conversion of money earned overseas back into its local currency.

The automaker also increased its sales forecast for the U.S. from 2.61 million vehicles to 2.63 million, which will help offset a fall in its sales in Asia that it forecast to be 1.64 million after an original amount of 1.70 million.

The consolidated sales total globally, excluding sales in China, was not changed from its original 9.1 million.

Sales in Thailand were very weak, dropping by 30% during the quarter from ending September 30, as the market began to slow after incentives for first time clients ended in 2013. Thailand is the fourth largest market for Toyota on a per country basis.

Toyota increased its annual outlook for capital expenditure by 2% to 940 billion yen, which was close to 4% of overall revenue. It also kept its forecasted expenses for R&D the same at 900 billion yen.

During the quarter ending September 30, the largest carmaker in the world said its net profit increased by 70%, which was in line with Wall Street analysts.

Its net profit for the quarter was higher than rivals Nissan and Honda, the second and third largest Japanese carmakers respectively.

On Friday, the government of Venezuela seized control of a chain appliance stores that stretched across the country.

Shoppers started hearing on Friday that President Nicolas Maduro had ordered the stores seized to sell electronics at less expensive prices. By midnight on Friday, hundreds of shoppers were amassing outside the stores waiting for the doors to open.

Price inspectors from the government said they had found evidence that usury was taking place and Maduro ordered the occupation of the stores.

In a Friday night televised address, the president said he would reopen the seized stores on Saturday and unload the plasma TVs, washing machines and other electronics at prices that were fair to the public.

He told the citizens of his country to leave nothing on the store shelves or in the store warehouses.

The out of control inflation in the country, which is at 54% is causing problems across all families in the biggest oil producer in South America. Last Wednesday, Maduro tightened currency transaction controls.

With municipal elections coming up in December, Maduro also ordered his military to shutter businesses that were hoarding products and speculating prices. In just their second day, inspectors took control of two Daka stores.

By nightfall, the military, some with assault rifles, helped to control order outside the seized stores by giving numbers to shoppers as they formed lines that went around the block.

Prices of products had skyrocketed to over $8,500 for a plasma television, when the same product was available on the black market for only $1,000.

The owners of the stores seized have not responded to the government’s accusations or the seizing of their stores. Reports were that the owners did not live in Venezuela but in Miami.

Even Maduro’s opponents expressed some sympathy for the effort he was putting in for price gouging by the private sector.

One woman watching the activity around the store does not agree with the current government in general, but said that she does not like it when she and her fellow Venezuelans are abused by businesses and their high prices.

The upcoming municipal elections are turning out to be more of a referendum on the controversial seven months that Maduro has been president and his rocky rule.

Ukraine lawmakers must act in a very quick fashion to correct the countries imbalance in the economy that threaten to widen the current account and budget deficits beyond the control of the government, said the World Bank.

The lender, based in Washington, said Ukraine must allow more flexibility in currency exchange rates and end the gas-price subsidies to qualify for bailout funds from international lenders.

The international lender lowered its estimate for the 2013 economic growth for Ukraine from 1% to zero.

At present, Ukraine is in a struggle with a shrinking economy, contracting foreign reserves, a widening gap on current accounts and trade restrictions from neighbor Russia, its largest market for exports.

By delaying an overhaul to the economy until past the presidential elections scheduled for 2015, would make the changes at that time even more difficult and eventual recovery slower, said the international lender.

Ukraine’s bonds from the government due in 2014 fell, pushing the bond yield to over 15.1%, the highest it has been in over a week.

On September 20, Moody’s Investors Service downgraded the debt rating for Ukraine by a full level to Caa1. That level is seven below investment grade. The service cited increasing economic and political risks due to relations deteriorating with Russia, low reserves in the central bank and no progress on a possible bailout from the IMF.

The reserves in the central bank are sitting at a low of seven years of just $21.7 billion as of the end of August. That is down by over $8 billion form just last year.

Policymakers have had to dip into the fund to support country’s currency the hryvnia. The balance is lower than the prices of three months of imports, which is a threshold many economists deem as important to keep financial stability.