LITTLE ROCK — QUOTE OF THE DAY
“The railroads are looking at this as a unique opportunity, a game-changing opportunity for their business.” Jeffery Elliot, a rail expert for Oliver Wyman, on an increase in rail transport of oil Article, 1D
Amazon apologizes for Dec. 24 outage
Amazon.com Inc. has apologized for a disruption that affected customers of its cloud-computing services starting on Dec. 24, saying that it’s taking steps to prevent a recurrence.
Netflix Inc. said last week that many customers in the Americas were unable to access online content on Christmas Eve because of a disruption caused by Amazon’s Web storage and computing system. Amazon didn’t identify Netflix in its statement, which was posted online Saturday, said Tera Randall, a spokesman for Amazon Web Services.
“We want to apologize,” Seattle-based Amazon said.
“We know how critical our services are to our customers’ businesses, and we know this disruption came at an inopportune time for some of our customers.”
Amazon, the world’s largest online retailer, has expanded into computing services delivered over the Internet.
Occasional system failures can undermine confidence in such cloud-computing services, in which customers’ data is stored and accessed at large data centers.
The disruption began at 2:24 p.m. Central Time on Dec. 24 and continued until the next day, according to Amazon.
- Bloomberg News
Tuberculosis tablet gets FDA approval
Johnson & Johnson has won accelerated U.S. Food and Drug Administration approval for its tuberculosis tablet Sirturo, the first medicine in 40 years that provides a new way to treat the contagious lung infection.
The FDA cleared Sirturo to be added to existing therapies for use by adults whose illness is resistant to multiple drugs, Johnson & Johnson, which is based in New Brunswick, N.J., said Monday in a statement. The FDA cleared Sirturo based on the second of what are typically three clinical trial phases, an option the agency has when a drug treats a serious disease and fills an unmet need.
There were 8.7 million new cases worldwide of tuberculosis in 2011, with multidrug-resistant forms accounting for as many as 400,000 cases, according to a World Health Organization report. The international charity Doctors Without Borders called approval of Sirturo “an immense milestone,” and FDA Commissioner Margaret Hamburg said the drug adds a new weapon “to the arsenal for fighting this deadly, contagious disease.”
“The fact that the drug is active against drug-resistant forms of the disease makes it a potential game changer,” Dr. Manica Balasegaram, executive director of the Doctors Without Borders Access Campaign, said in an e-mailed statement.
Most drug-resistant cases occur in China, India, the Russian Federation and South Africa, according to the World Health Organization.
- Bloomberg News
Greece: Ex-minister faces prosecution
ATHENS, Greece - Greece’s coalition government called on Monday for the indictment of former Finance Minister George Papaconstantinou on allegations he removed the names of three of his relatives from a list of Swiss bank-account holders whose tax records were to be re-examined.
Seventy-one deputies from the three-party coalition signed the proposal to indict Papaconstantinou on allegations he tampered with a public document and breach of duty - offenses that would carry a maximum 10-year jail term, according to legal experts.
Papaconstantinou, 51, served as finance minister between 2009 and 2011 in the previous Socialist government.
His party, which is part of the new, conservative-led administration, is backing the proposed indictment.
The former minister has denied the allegations, insisting the names were removed without his knowledge.
The proposed indictment alleges Papaconstantinou had removed the names of his first cousin, her husband and another relative from a list of some 2,000 account holders at Swiss branches of the British lender HSBC.
The list was provided by French authorities in 2010 from data on 24,000 customers purportedly stolen from the bank. Greek prosecutors found the three missing names last week after requesting that the French government resend the information.
- The Associated Press
AMF Bowling seeks to pay bonuses
AMF Bowling Worldwide Inc., the world’s largest bowling-alley operator, asked a bankruptcy judge for permission to pay as much as $1.03 million in bonuses to three executives after the company is sold or reorganized.
Chief Financial Officer Stephen Satterwhite would receive as much as 150 percent of his annual salary if AMF’s earnings exceed expectations or a buyer pays more than $350 million, according to papers filed Friday in U.S.
Bankruptcy Court in Richmond, Va.
Controller Rachel Labrecque and General Counsel Daniel McCormack also would share in the bonus pool.
The payments are needed “to meet numerous challenging performance goals” and the only probable opponents are unsecured creditors, AMF said.
AMF in November filed for court protection for the second time in 11 years, seeking to implement a restructuring agreement reached with holders of most of its $216 million in first-lien debt and iStar Financial Inc., the landlord for most of its bowling centers.
AMF asked U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Kevin Huennekens to hold a hearing Jan. 17 on the bonus plan.
The company, based in Mechanicsville, Va., runs about 300 bowling centers with more than 20 million visitors a year, according to its website.
The case is: In re AMF Bowling Worldwide Inc., 12-36495, U.S. Bankruptcy Court, Eastern District of Virginia (Richmond).
- Bloomberg News
LodgeNet announces bankruptcy filing
NEW YORK - LodgeNet Investment Corp. said Monday that it is filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection and will be acquired by investment firm Colony Capital.
LodgeNet provides video, Internet and advertising services to the lodging and health-care sectors. The company said that it will continue to operate during the expedited bankruptcy process. When that is complete, Colony will own LodgeNet.
LodgeNet says a Colony Capital affiliate will provide it with $60 million in new capital and that funding will be used to support a recapitalization of the company. It also received commitments for up to $15 million in debt financing from creditors. LodgeNet, based in Sioux Falls, S.D., said its lenders will extend their credit agreements. The company said it has a secured credit facility worth about $346 million.
LodgeNet also said it will form a strategic partnership with DirecTV LLC in the hospitality and health-care markets.
- The Associated Press
Business, Pages 20 on 01/01/2013