Firearms company has fresh start
Remington Outdoor Co. has emerged from bankruptcy, the company announced Thursday.
The reorganization plan, confirmed by a Delaware bankruptcy court earlier this month, converted over $775 million in debt into equity.
The company, hit by declining sales, first announced it would enter bankruptcy in February.
Cerberus Capital Management acquired Remington in 2007 and the firearms and ammunition giant accumulated nearly $1 billion in debt.
Remington Outdoor Co. is made up of 13 brands, including a 200-year-old rifle maker, ammunition manufacturers and silencer companies.
“It is morning in Remington country,” CEO Anthony Acitelli said in a statement.
H-E-B plans to hire 900 in Houston
H-E-B plans to fill more than 900 jobs in Houston to keep up with growth in its stores, Favor delivery and curbside pickup programs.
The openings include store leadership and management positions, as well as part-time and entry-level jobs. The San Antonio-based grocer recently boosted minimum pay to $9.50 per hour for baggers and $11.50 per hour for checkers. Eligible employees receive benefits, store discounts, paid time off, and retirement savings plans and scholarship opportunities.
Board, Redstones fight over CBS
The CBS board voted Thursday to strip National Amusement of its controlling stake in the company by diluting its share of voting power. But NAI — a firm backed by the Redstone family — contested the vote, stating that it had already changed the company’s bylaws to prevent such a maneuver.
That means the move is invalid unless approved by the courts. Unable to resolve this tug of war on their own, the two sides will now ask a judge to decide who has control over CBS — its board of directors or the Redstone family. The dispute mirrors a fight two years ago between NAI and the leadership of its other media company, Viacom.
NAI won a round earlier Thursday when a Delaware judge denied the CBS bid to block Shari Redstone from interfering with board meeting.
J.C. Penney outlook spooks Wall Street
NEW YORK — J.C. Penney blamed weak clothing sales on bad spring weather and said it would offer more plus-size fashions to try and boost sales.
The company cut its earnings outlook for the year, and its stock tumbled 14 percent Thursday.
Pay Pal buying $2.2 billion startup
SAN FRANCISCO — PayPal is buying financial services startup iZettle for $2.2 billion to expand its digital payment service into thousands of brickand-mortar stores in Europe and Latin America.
The deal announced Thursday marks the largest acquisition in PayPal’s 20-year history and intensifies its competition with Square, a payment processor started by Twitter cofounder and CEO Jack Dorsey.
Both PayPal and Square are vying to help mostly small- and medium-sized retailers process sales that aren’t paid with cash.
BP, ConocoPhillips consider a swap
BP and ConocoPhillips are in discussions for an asset swap deal that would see the U.K. energy major gain a greater foothold in a key project in the North Sea and the U.S. explorer get Alaskan assets, according to people familiar with the talks.
BP is considering taking Conoco’s stake in the Clair field, in which BP already holds a 28.6 percent stake and is the operator, the people said, asking not to be identified because the talks are private. In exchange, ConocoPhillips is likely to take some of BP’s assets in Alaska.
Sugar industry wins vote in Congress
WASHINGTON — The U.S. sugar industry on Thursday won an easier-than-expected victory over food processors, soft drink manufacturers and candy makers trying to rewrite the government’s much-criticized sugar program, a web of price supports, loans and tariffs that props up prices for the commodity.
In a decisive 278-137 vote, the House rejected a bid by Rep. Virginia Foxx, R-N.C., to significantly weaken the program and invite more foreign competition.
The sugar program was one of the key battles in this year’s farm bill, a five-year renewal of federal farm and nutrition policy that is again proving to be a headache for Republicans controlling Congress.
Mortgage levels at a 7-year high
WASHINGTON — Longterm U.S. mortgage rates jumped this week, marking their highest levels in seven years amid the peak home buying season.
The benchmark 30-year rate pushed toward the significant 5 percent level. Mortgage buyer Freddie Mac said Thursday the average rate on 30-year fixedrate mortgages was 4.61 percent, up from 4.55 percent last week. The average rate on 15year fixed-rate loans climbed to 4.08 percent from 4.01 percent last week.