WEEK IN REVIEW
Monday Behind bankruptcy filing
Charming Charlie, which filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, said in its filings that many of its vendors refused to ship merchandise unless it paid upon delivery. As much as $45 million in inventory was stranded in distribution centers and ports, and the company had reported it had only $700,000 in cash.
Oil market is jumpy
The discovery of a tiny fracture along a major U.K. pipeline system prompted an emergency shutdown, sending oil prices surging and overshadowing the latest moves by OPEC and U.S. drillers in their oil-market tug of war.
Tuesday Packages galore
“We definitely feel like Santa Claus and his elves around here,” Francis Singleton, an operations manager, said at a big local FedEx facility. The delivery service has been working around the clock since Black Friday to deliver a projected 380 million to 400 million packages globally by Christmas morning.
Harvey donations
Houston-based Karbach Brewing Co., which in the 13 months since announcing it was being acquired by Anheuser-Busch InBev has increased its Texas sales, took a moment to celebrate as it released more than $900,000 in donations, much of it for Hurricane Harvey relief, to seven local charities.
Thoughtfulness and rants
Twitter announced that it was adding a tool making it easy to thread tweets together, giving users more space for thoughtful commentary, unhinged rants and everything in between. The move builds on the company’s recent decision to abandon its old 140-character count for 280 characters.
Crew capsule goes aloft
Blue Origin, the aerospace company led by Amazon’s Jeff Bezos, launched its New Shepard rocket from West Texas for the seventh time. It marked the first flight, though, of the latest version of Blue Origin’s crew capsule, featuring big windows for future space tourists.
Navajo Nation sues bank
The Navajo Nation sued Wells Fargo, saying its citizens were targeted by workers trying to meet the bank’s aggressive sales quotas. The lawsuit alleged many of the same practices that led to last year’s $185 million settlement between Wells Fargo and regulators, including the creation of unauthorized banking accounts, credit cards and other products.
Wednesday Paydays can come earlier
Walmart said it had teamed up with Even and PayActiv to provide an app to 1.4 million Walmart workers aimed at providing them help budgeting their money and get paid before payday. The Even app will allow workers to access cash before a scheduled payday up to eight times a year for free.
Same-day deliveries
Target said it would pay $550 million in cash for Shipt, a same-day delivery company that specializes in groceries, as the chain doubles down on its efforts to compete with Amazon and Walmart. The Minneapolisbased chain said it will begin offering same-day delivery at about half of its 1,800 stores early next year.
Wireless and video wed
T-Mobile said it bought cable TV startup Layer3 TV to help it roll out a TV service next year as it became the latest company to marry wireless and video. The service will target people who aren’t interested in traditional cable and satellite television packages.
Thursday Net neutrality overturned
The Federal Communications Commission voted to dismantle rules regulating the businesses that connect consumers to the internet, granting broadband companies the power to potentially reshape Americans’ online experiences.
Disney’s megadeal
The Walt Disney Co. said that it had reached a deal to buy most of the assets of Twenty-First Century Fox, the conglomerate controlled by Rupert Murdoch, in an all-stock transaction valued at roughly $52.4 billion. Friday
Enrollment for 2018 health insurance through the Affordable Care Act ended for most people, but Texans affected by Hurricane Harvey will get two extra weeks to sign up.