Chron - Businesses

Bankruptcy filing for Houston-based Francesca's said to be imminent

Mon, 30 Nov 2020 21:46:45 GMT

The Houston-based boutique-style women’s clothing chain could file as soon as next week.

These 5 Texas companies received the biggest fines from OSHA

Mon, 23 Nov 2020 12:52:56 GMT

A pottery manufacturer tops the list with the highest amount in fines after an employee was trapped inside a kiln and died when the machine was fired up.

Large companies

Tue, 17 Nov 2020 16:11:30 GMT

The large companies in the 2020 Top Workplaces

PNC acquires Houston-based BBVA in $11.6 billion deal

Tue, 17 Nov 2020 00:14:53 GMT

PNC chose to expand its presence in Houston, where it currently operates five branches, because of Houston’s diversity and growth.

IEA cuts oil-demand outlook as vaccines won’t rescue market

Thu, 12 Nov 2020 12:35:28 GMT

The International Energy Agency cut forecasts for global oil demand amid new lockdown measures and cautioned that the vaccine breakthrough won’t quickly revive markets.

Houston energy exec charged with bilking investors out of $1.2 million in oil and gas deals

Fri, 30 Oct 2020 18:32:36 GMT

A Houston energy exec has been charged in an elaborate scheme to defraud 21 investors out of $1.2 million in oil and gas transactions, according to U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Patrick.

Exxon to cut 1,900 jobs, mostly in Houston area, in downsizing effort

Thu, 29 Oct 2020 16:28:55 GMT

(Bloomberg) -- Exxon Mobil Corp. will slash its global workforce by 15% over the next two years, an unprecedented culling by North America’s biggest oil explorer as it struggles to preserve dividends.

The cuts will include 1,900 U.S. jobs, mostly in Houston, as well as an undisclosed number of positions around the world.

“These actions will improve the company’s long-term cost competitiveness and ensure the company manages through the current unprecedented market conditions,” the company said in a statement on Thursday.

Exxon’s total reduction will affect about 14,000 people, split between employees and contractors, spokesman Casey Norton said by phone. The figure includes the U.S. job cuts, as well as layoffs and retirements previously announced in Europe and Australia, and future reductions in Canada and elsewhere.

Exxon’s Big Oil rivals are also cutting thousands of jobs in response to the pandemic-induced demand slump. BP Plc plans to slash 10,000 jobs, Royal Dutch Shell Plc will cut as many as 9,000 roles and Chevron Corp. has announced around 6,000 reductions.

Exxon’s in-house workforce stood at 74,900 people, as of Dec. 31, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. However, the fact that it’s cutting at all is a sign of its weakened financial position compared to its former status as the S&P 500 Index’s biggest company less than a decade ago and a profit powerhouse used to riding out oil-price cycles.

This year’s downturn has been particularly painful because it affected refining, usually a cushion in times of low oil prices, and because it came at a time when Exxon was already increasing borrowing to fund a large expansion program. The company was forced to retreat on these plans in April, reducing capital spending by $10 billion and...

Houston's first 'small' Target opens in Montrose

Mon, 26 Oct 2020 17:55:52 GMT

The first small-format Target store in Houston is now open.

Short-lived video app Quibi shuts down after only a 6-month run

Thu, 22 Oct 2020 19:06:02 GMT

In a marketplace riddled with streaming giants such as Netflix, Apple and Disney+ competing for a consumer's attention, it's no surprise the freshman video platform struggled to find an audience.

Beyoncé's second Ivy Park x Adidas collaboration is on the way

Tue, 20 Oct 2020 16:17:34 GMT

Beyoncé's second release is around the corner.

U.S. retail sales rise most in three months, topping estimates

Sat, 17 Oct 2020 00:32:32 GMT

U.S. retail sales rose in September at the fastest pace in three months, topping forecasts and capping a third-quarter rebound for consumer spending that faces increasing headwinds.

The value of overall sales increased 1.9 percent from the prior month after a 0.6 percent gain in August, Commerce Department figures showed Friday. The median estimate in a Bloomberg survey of economists called for a 0.8 percent gain. Excluding autos and gasoline, sales rose 1.5 percent.

The broad-based gain may partly reflect consumers tapping elevated savings, with demand also supported by temporary extra jobless benefits and continued hiring. The economy’s rebound from the pandemic-driven downturn is threatened, though, by a new acceleration in coronavirus infections and Congress’s failure to agree on a fresh stimulus package, developments that appear to be weighing on an already-slowing labor market recovery.

U.S. stocks gained, heading for their first advance in four days.

While the $600 weekly payments for jobless Americans expired in July, a temporary program authorized by President Donald Trump provided most benefit recipients about $300 extra a week for a limited time. But funding for that program is dwindling, and the broader dropoff in payments risks a hit to future consumer spending.

“The extra $300 kicked in a lot in September and I think that helped boost consumer spending,” said Ryan Sweet, head of monetary policy research at Moody’s Analytics Inc. “With the absence of additional fiscal stimulus we’re going to start to see spending moderate.”

A separate report Friday showed that U.S. manufacturing production unexpectedly declined in September, the first decrease in five months and a sign of headwinds for the...

Tilman Fertitta’s Golden Nugget in Lake Charles reopens

Tue, 13 Oct 2020 18:36:53 GMT

Located two hours east of Houston, it will reopen Tuesday at 12:30 p.m. with social distancing and cleaning guidelines in place.

Texas' first aquarium set to close because of 'insurmountable financial losses' worsened by COVID-19

Mon, 05 Oct 2020 22:08:36 GMT

Texas' first aquarium opened in 1936 as the Dallas Aquarium at Fair Park. This living bit of history will soon be closing its doors permanently.

WSJ: Some of Allstate's 3,800 layoffs related to pandemic refunds to customers

Thu, 01 Oct 2020 15:29:17 GMT

Of the 3,800 layoffs announced by the Allstate Corporation on Tuesday, about 1,000 are related to refunds customers received during pandemic shutdowns, the Wall Street Journal reports.

Unfriendly skies: Airline workers brace for mass layoffs

Tue, 29 Sep 2020 21:37:07 GMT

DETROIT (AP) — The worries are growing for United Airlines flight attendant Jordy Comeaux.

In a few days, he’ll be among roughly 40,000 airline workers whose jobs are likely to evaporate in an industry decimated by the coronavirus pandemic.

Unless Congress acts to help for a second time, United will furlough Comeaux on Thursday, cutting off his income and health insurance. Unemployment and the money made by his husband, a home health nurse, won’t be enough to pay the bills including rent near Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport.

“I don’t have enough, unfortunately, to get by,” said Comeaux, 31, who has worked for United for four years. “No one knows what’s going to come next and how to prepare.”

Since the pandemic hit, thousands of flight attendants, baggage handlers, gate agents and others have been getting at least partial pay through $25 billion in grants and loans to the nation’s airlines. To receive the aid, companies agreed not to lay off employees through Sept. 30. That “Payroll Support Program” helped many stay on, and keep health care and other benefits.

It all runs out on Thursday.

With air travel down about 70% from last year, many carriers including United and American say they’ll be forced to cut jobs without additional aid. Delta and Southwest, two other big carriers, tapped private capital markets and say they’ll avoid layoffs.

Industry analysts say fear of air travel and businesses keeping employees close to home have brought an unprecedented crisis to the industry, resulting in cataclysmic losses. The four largest U.S. airlines — Delta, United, American and Southwest — together lost $10 billion in the second quarter alone. Fewer airline passengers also means less demand for rental cars, hotels and restaurants. With demand for new planes down, airplane...

American Air gets $5.48 Billion U.S. loan in upsized deal

Sat, 26 Sep 2020 00:16:12 GMT

American Airlines Group Inc. closed a $5.48 billion loan with the U.S. Treasury, increasing its pool of cash to help fund operations until travel demand begins to return.

The credit facility, backed by American’s loyalty program, increased from an original $4.75 billion target after rivals such as Delta Air Lines Inc. and Southwest Airlines Co. opted out of the funds and the remaining money was reallocated. American could receive as much as $2 billion more when the funds are adjusted a second time next month, according to a regulatory filing Friday.

The deal makes American the first major carrier to tap U.S. loans that were included in the $2 trillion Cares Act for economic relief from the coronavirus pandemic. As part of the federal rescue, U.S. airlines earlier got $25 billion in payroll support, largely in grants, with American receiving $5.8 billion. Congress is debating whether to extend the payroll aid, which expires at the end of the month, in an effort to avoid deep industry layoffs.

“We are working to raise and conserve as much cash as possible during the COVID-19 pandemic,” American said in a message to employees Friday. “Today’s actions help us shore up our longer-term liquidity until demand returns.”

U.S. airlines slammed by the coronavirus pandemic have been building cash through equity sales and loans as passenger totals remain about 70 percent below year-ago levels. Carriers have also parked aircraft, cut flying schedules and asked thousands of employees to retire early or take leaves to further reduce spending.

American’s federal loan carries an interest rate of around 3.5 percentage points above the London Interbank Offered Rate. In addition, the Treasury will receive warrants for 43.8 million shares in the...

US senators demand action after AP exposes palm oil abuses

Sat, 26 Sep 2020 00:16:12 GMT

Lawmakers said Friday that the U.S. government needs to ban the import of products made with child or forced labor after an Associated Press investigation found widespread exploitation in the palm oil industry, from debt bondage to outright slavery.

U.S. Sens. Sherrod Brown and Ron Wyden — who spearheaded efforts to close a loophole in a federal law that had allowed the import of products made with forced labor — also called on companies that buy goods tainted by labor abuses to be held accountable.

“The federal government needs to enforce this law and investigate all instances of forced labor in supply chains and block imports made with forced labor from coming into the U.S.,” said Brown, an Ohio Democrat. “In addition to strong government enforcement, corporations need to hold themselves accountable.”

An Associated Press investigation into the $65 billion palm oil industry found labor abuses among an invisible workforce consisting of millions of men, women and children from some of the poorest corners of Asia, including stateless Rohingya Muslims sold onto plantations after fleeing persecution in their homeland. The fruit they harvest makes its way into the supply chains of the planet’s most iconic food and cosmetics companies like Unilever, L’Oreal, Nestle and Procter & Gamble.

Palm oil can be found in roughly half the products on supermarket shelves, from Dove soap and Oreo cookies to instant noodles and hand sanitizer.

Reporters interviewed more than 130 current and former workers from two dozen companies across wide swaths of Malaysia and Indonesia, which together produce 85 percent of the global supply. They described various forms of exploitation, with the most serious abuses including child labor, outright...

Dallas-based rideshare service Alto set to launch in Houston

Fri, 25 Sep 2020 20:51:29 GMT

Alto will employ up to 40 salaried drivers. The full-time employees, who will receive benefits and sick leave, will be required to complete a background check and defensive driving program before getting behind the wheel of the 15 to 20 company-owned and -operated vehicles.

Like Uber, but for pedicures: Cherry app comes to Houston area

Thu, 24 Sep 2020 22:36:35 GMT

The company is from Amber Venz Box and Baxter Box (rewardStyle, LIKEtoKNOW.it) and Whitney Wolfe Herd (Bumble, Bumble BFF, Bumble Bizz).

Robots will soon be fulfilling your H-E-B online grocery orders

Mon, 21 Sep 2020 16:27:04 GMT

Welcome, robot overlords.