WEEK IN REVIEW
Sunday Decision on pipeline
The Standing Rock Sioux Tribe won a major victory in its battle to block an oil pipeline being built near its reservation when the Department of the Army said it would not allow the pipeline to be drilled under a dammed section of the Missouri River. The Army said it will look for alternative routes for the $3.7 billion Dakota Access pipeline.
Monday Mechanics OK pact
United Airlines concluded a busy year for labor negotiations when its mechanics ratified a new contract, meaning the Chicago-based carrier reached new agreements with each of its domestic unionized work groups in 2016.
Pemex awards contract
Mexico’s state-owned oil company, Pemex, said it has awarded its first contract with a private operator for a joint operating agreement in deep-water oil drilling.
Dispute on tariffs
House Republican leaders signaled they would not support President-elect Donald Trump’s threat to impose a heavy tax on companies that move jobs overseas, the first significant confrontation over conservative orthodoxy that Trump relishes trampling.
Tuesday Protesters arrested
Two protesters in West Texas were arrested near a pipeline being built to transport natural gas from the Permian Basin to Mexico.
Brick-and-mortar stores
Four executives from different industries agreed at a local forum that the brick-andmortar store remains integral to retailers, but its role is changing quickly in the face of e-commerce growth.
Wednesday A salute from NASA
ANASA team recognized Stafford-based Atec, which builds, assembles and tests critical valves for rocket engines that launch satellites and will one day propel astronauts toward Mars.
Global dollar jitters
The dollar’s surge helped the Dow Jones industrial average and Standard & Poor’s 500 indexes soar to their biggest gains since the presidential election and set all-time highs. But around the globe, the strengthening of the dollar is provoking financial jitters.
12,000more Starbucks
Starbucks outlined its fiveyear growth plans to investors, saying it expects to open 12,000 new locations within five years.
Thursday Awin for Michael Jordan
China’s highest court ruled largely in favor of former basketball star Michael Jordan, saying Jordan owns the legal rights to the Chinese characters of the equivalent of his name after a four-year trademark dispute. “I am happy that the Supreme People’s Court has recognized the right to protect my name through its ruling in the trademark cases,” Jordan said.
Strong dollar hurts city?
The steady rise of the U.S. dollar since the presidential election last month is inflicting further headaches on a Houston economy that was already struggling with low oil prices and the end of an export boom.
Friday Abetter 2017 forecast
Houston’s biggest business group, the Greater Houston Partnership, expects that 2017 will be a better year than 2016 has been on employment, but by no means a return to the oil-boom bonanza.
New-vehicle sales edge up
New-vehicle sales in the Houston area improved slightly in November, though the total did little to alleviate a downward trend expected to continue for months.