WEEK IN REVIEW
MONDAY Sysco earnings come in strong
Houston-based food supplier Sysco Corp. posted strong earnings over the past quarter and year, despite rising food and transportation costs. The company reported that sales grew 6.2 percent to $15.3 billion during its latest full quarter.
Musk tells what was behind Tesla tweet
Elon Musk, Tesla’s chief executive, said that he had held meetings with representatives of a Saudi sovereign wealth fund who expressed an eagerness to help him take the electric car maker private. Writing in a post on Tesla’s corporate blog, Musk offered his fullest explanation yet for what he said were the circumstances behind his Aug. 7 message on Twitter that he was “considering taking Tesla private at $420” and had “funding secured.”
Exports of crude from U.S. are down
China has so far chosen not to impose tariffs on U.S. crude and liquefied natural gas, but crude exports from Texas have fallen sharply this summer because of fears over an escalating trade conflict and shrinking discounts, a Morningstar report said.
TUESDAY Diamondback racks up deals
Midland oil producer Diamondback Energy said it would pay $8.4 billion to buy a rival company and about 150,000 acres of Permian land. It was Diamondback’s second big deal in a week and the third $1 billionplus acquisition in the West Texas shale play in less than a month.
New onboard rules for support animals
Southwest Airlines said it would limit customers to only one dog or cat as an emotionalsupport animal, changing its policy after a biting incident on a flight. The carrier follows larger rivals that had altered policies for animals on board as numbers soared for passengers claiming they rely on them. Problems with animals, including a child nipped on a Southwest plane, also have climbed, as have the types of creatures brought on aircraft. The policy takes effect Sept. 17.
WEDNESDAY A look around the Marlowe
“You know me. I’m not going to do a plain old building,” developer Randall Davis said during a tour of Marlowe, his first downtown project in 15 years. Of the 20-story condominium project’s 95 units, 75 are already spoken for. A two-bedroom, two-bathroom place goes for $550,000 to $600,000. Monthly maintenance fees are around $800.
Sign of confidence in Gulf of Mexico
A federal lease sale in the Gulf of Mexico generated $178 million in winning bids, raising expectations that drillers’ confidence in the region is rising. In total, 29 companies participated in the auction, bidding successfully on about 800,000 acres in the Gulf.
Turkey retaliates as relations worsen
Turkey said it was increasing tariffs on some U.S. products like cars, alcohol and coal in a move that is unlikely to have much economic impact but highlights the deteriorating relations with the U.S.
Group says it found herbicide in cereal
The Environmental Working Group, an environmental research and advocacy group, reported that it had found traces of the disputed herbicide glyphosate in Cheerios, Quaker Oats and other breakfast foods that it said could increase the risk of cancer for children. Scott Partridge, a vice president at Monsanto, responded that hundreds of studies had validated the safety of glyphosate.
THURSDAY Luxury hotel plan moves forward
The board of Houston First Corp., the city’s convention arm, voted 8-2 to continue negotiations for a final agreement between the agency and the development group proposing to build a $120 million W Hotel project.
Kroger is testing driverless deliveries
Kroger, the biggest U.S. grocery chain, launched a pilot program in Scottsdale, Ariz., to test the use of driverless cars to deliver groceries.
FRIDAY Texas adds jobs for 25th month
The Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas said Texas employers in July marked 25 months of consecutive growth, adding 13,100 jobs. Texas’ unemployment rate held steady at 4.0 percent.