WEEK IN REVIEW
Monday Bass Pro settles bias case
Bass Pro Outdoor World agreed to pay $10.5 million to settle a nationwide class-action case brought in Houston by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, which accused the outdoor outfitter of rejecting qualified black and Hispanic job applicants and retaliating against employees who objected to the alleged practice.
Revenue up for Halliburton
Houston energy services company Halliburton said its revenue jumped in the second quarter as its North American hydraulic fracturing business boomed, but the company expects the pace of growth to slow as oil prices languish.
Gasoline price turnaround
The average gasoline price in the Houston area rose for the first time in three months as crude prices recovered from a recent sell-off, according to GasBuddy.com.
IPO for Huntsman spinoff
Huntsman said it launched the initial public offering to spin off Venator Materials as a new company.
Arrests in pipeline damage
Two women with civil disobedience arrest records are claiming they damaged valves and set fire to construction equipment along an oil pipeline that crosses Iowa and three other states. Jessica Reznicek and Ruby Montoya were arrested for criminal mischief at the Iowa Utilities Board office after damaging a sign outside the agency’s building.
Tuesday Milestone for chamber
The Greater Houston Black Chamber held its kickoff meeting for its Missouri City branch, its first outside the Houston city limits. It won’t have a physical location, but the chamber will host meetings and events in Missouri City tailored to local businesses’ needs. The branch will also serve as the model for future openings across the region.
Wednesday Wisconsin snares factory
President Donald Trump said electronics giant Foxconn will build a $10 billion factory in Wisconsin that’s expected to initially create 3,000 jobs, the largest economic development project in state history.
United sued over rabbit
A group of Iowa businessmen filed a lawsuit against United Airlines over the death of Simon, a giant rabbit whose lifeless body was discovered in a kennel after a flight from London to Chicago.
Charge in corruption case
A former Fiat Chrysler executive was charged with looting a training center for blue-collar workers by giving $1.2 million through a variety of ways to a UAW leader, his wife and other senior union officials.
Retooling for Coke Zero
Coke Zero is getting revamped as Coca-Cola Zero Sugar, CocaCola Co. announced, with the new name intended to make clearer that the drink has no sugar, and a new recipe intended to make the drink taste more like regular Coke.
End of the road in UK
Britain announced Wednesday that sales of new diesel and gasoline cars would reach the end of the road by 2040, the latest step in Europe’s battle against the damaging environmental impact of the internal combustion engine.
Thursday Record quarter for bank
BBVA Compass Bancshares on Thursday reported record second-quarter earnings of $157 million, up 29 percent from the same period last year, prompting experts to say, cautiously, that the bank has weathered the oil price slump.
Auto sales stay weak
Group 1 Automotive reported lower secondquarter earnings Thursday, again citing steep declines in Houston and other energycentric markets despite the region’s stop-and-go recovery from the oil bust.
Richest in world, briefly
Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos briefly became the world’s richest man in Forbes magazine’s tracking of wealth, as stock in his e-commerce company hit an all-time high. Microsoft founder Bill Gates reclaimed the lead by afternoon, as Amazon’s stock fell nearly 1 percent for the day.
Friday A focus on the Permian
Exxon Mobil and Chevron said they plan to put more drilling rigs to the Permian Basin, praising the 75,000 square miles teeming with oil across West Texas and New Mexico, where drillers can pump more crude for at lower costs than most places. But the focus on the Permian by the two largest U.S. oil companies, which both reported strong second-quarter profits, underscored that the energy industry’s recovery remains uneven and narrowly focused on West Texas.
Solid growth rate for U.S.
The U.S. economy rebounded this spring after a weak winter, expanding at a solid 2.6 percent annual rate as consumers picked up their spending pace, the Commerce Department said. “After the winter blues, the economy has rebounded,” says an economist.
A middle-class Tesla?
For Tesla, everything is riding on its $35,000 Model 3. The company delivered the first 30 Model 3s to customers as it starts high-volume production.