QUOTE OF THE DAY “We now have to rescue an entire generation of people who are scared.We have the best
ever educated generation in this continent, and we are putting them on hold.”Enrico Giovannini, Italian labor minister, on youth unemployment in the European Union Article,1D3-month T-bills flat, 6-month notes fall
WASHINGTON - Interest rates on short-term Treasury bills were mixed in Tuesday’s auction with rates on three-month bills unchanged while rates on six-month bills dropped to the lowest level in three weeks.
The Treasury Department auctioned $30 billion in three month bills at a discount rate of 0.045 percent, unchanged from last week. Another $25 billion in six-month bills was auctioned at a discount rate of 0.080 percent, down from 0.085 percent last week.
The six-month rate was the lowest since these bills averaged 0.075 percent on May 6.
The discount rates reflect that the bills sell for less than face value. For a $10,000 bill, the three-month price was $9,998.86 while a six-month bill sold for $9,995.93. That would equal an annualized rate of 0.046 percent for the three-month bills and 0.081 percent for the six-month bills.
The weekly auction of three-month and six-month Treasury bills is normally held on Monday but took place on Tuesday this week because of the Memorial Day holiday.
American Realty makes CapLease deal
NEW YORK - American Realty Capital Properties Inc. is buying fellow real estate investment trust CapLease in a deal the companies valued at about $2.2 billion.
New York-based American Realty will pay $8.50 for each share of CapLease’s outstanding common stock. The price represents a 20 percent premium over the company’s Friday closing stock price.
Shares of New York-based CapLease Inc. jumped $1.45, or 20 percent, to close Tuesday at $8.55.
In addition, each share of CapLease’s preferred stock will be converted into the right to receive $25 in cash plus the equivalent of dividends. American Realty also will assume about $580 million of CapLease’s $1.2 billion in debt and repay the rest.
American Realty says the acquisition, which is expected to close in the third quarter, will expand and further diversify its property portfolio.
- The Associated PressEquity firm gets stake in shipyard group
GULFPORT, Miss. - A private equity firm is taking an ownership stake in a Mississippi shipyard group.
Littlejohn & Co. of Greenwich, Conn., has bought part of Gulf Coast Shipyard Group, which owns the Trinity Yachts and TY Offshore shipyards in Gulfport and New Orleans.
The dollar amount and ownership share were not disclosed.
John Dane III, chief executive officer of the shipyard group, says the company plans $9 million of improvements at its Gulfport yard, which will allow it to build more ships each year. A building will be expanded, its launching system will be upgraded, and a new crane will be installed.
Dane says Trinity has about 700 employees and is currently trying to hire another 100.
Trinity Yachts builds large private yachts, while TY Offshore builds offshore supply vessels and tank barges.
- The Associated PressTeamsters looking to expand at airlines
DALLAS - The Teamsters union is stepping up its campaign to unseat other unions in the airline industry.
Teamsters officials said Tuesday that they filed a petition with a federal labor agency to force an election against the Transport Workers Union to represent mechanics at American Airlines.
The Teamsters union is also seeking to represent mechanics at US Airways, who are currently represented by the machinists’ union.
The outcome of both elections will determine which union will negotiate with the world’s biggest airline.
American and US Airways expect to close their merger deal in the next few months and create a carrier larger than industry leader United Airlines.
By law, the Teamsters need the support of at least half the American Airlines mechanics to force an election.
Union officials declined to say how many signatures they got. There are more than 10,000 mechanics at American.
- The Associated PressNike breaking with Armstrong charity
Nike Inc., which helped Lance Armstrong build his Livestrong cancer charity into one of the nation’s best known brands, will cut ties with the organization more than seven months after dropping the cyclist for his links to performance-enhancing drug use.
Beaverton, Ore.-based Nike and Livestrong are dissolving their partnership after nine years, having raised more than $100 million, the Austin, Texas-based charity said in a statement.
“This news will prompt some to jump to negative conclusions about the foundation’s future,” Livestrong said in the statement. “We see things quite differently. We expected and planned for changes like this and are therefore in a good position to adjust swiftly and move forward with our patient-focused work.”
E-mail and phone messages left for Mary Remuzzi, a spokesman for Nike, seeking comment from the company weren’t immediately returned.
Nike, the world’s largest sporting-goods company, signed a five-year contract in 2010 to pay the Lance Armstrong Foundation, now known as Livestrong, at least $7.5 million annually from profits generated by merchandise sales, according to Outside Magazine.
400 go back to work at Crystal Sugar
FARGO, N.D. - About 400 American Crystal Sugar Co. workers who have been locked out of their jobs for nearly two years are back to work.
The Forum reports a little more than a month after the union ratified a new contract, some 400 workers returned to their jobs Tuesday.
About 1,300 sugar workers had been locked out of their jobs in North Dakota, Minnesota and Iowa since August 2011 after the union rejected a company contract offer.
Vice President Brian Ingulsrud says the company is glad to have its employees back. He says the union workers are evenly spread throughout the company’s factories.
The company has said about 650 union employees had resigned or retired.
A message left with the union wasn’t immediately returned.
- The Associated Press
Business, Pages 24 on 05/29/2013