Windstream pulls all of Huawei gear
Communications and software company Windstream said Thursday that it has removed all of the equipment in its network from Chinese manufacturer Huawei.
The Federal Communications Commission designated Huawei as a national security threat in June 2020, leading telecommunications carriers like Windstream to remove Huawei equipment from their networks, Windstream said in a news release.
The network included Huawei equipment that came with Windstream's 2017 purchase of EarthLink.
"Windstream implemented a multi-year engineering plan to remove this equipment in 2019, before the FCC made removal mandatory. By fall 2022, all Huawei equipment had been disconnected from Windstream's network and was no longer operative," the news release said.
The company removed the last of the Huawei equipment in March 2023.
"Windstream was prepared to quickly and effectively remove the impacted equipment," said Art Nichols, Windstream's chief technology officer. "Our multi-pronged approach included using alternate routes [and] replacing equipment."
-- Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
Bed Bath & Beyond warns of bankruptcy
Reeling from a collapse in its stock price and at the mercy of Wall Street banks, Bed Bath & Beyond warned Thursday it will likely go bankrupt if a last-gasp $300 million equity offering fails.
The retailer filed to sell new shares to stay afloat and repay creditors after a hedge-fund rescue effort faltered and as day traders -- famed for bidding up loss-making companies -- flee. If the offering "is not fully consummated," the company said Thursday, "we expect that we will likely file for bankruptcy protection."
The company was close to bankruptcy earlier in the year but secured a rescue from Hudson Bay Capital Management -- which agreed to provide over $1 billion if the retailer's share price didn't drop below $1.25 or $1.50, depending on the timing.
With the stock trading at 80 cents at the Wednesday close, the deal with Hudson Bay is no more, putting Bed Bath & Beyond on the brink of liquidation, giving banks, including JPMorgan Chase, the upper hand.
The retailer would first send all net proceeds from the share sale to its lenders on Wall Street, the filing said.
-- Bloomberg News (WPNS)
State index edges lower to 747.68
The Arkansas Index, a price-weighted index that tracks the largest public companies based in the state, closed Thursday at 747.68, down 0.54.
"Equities remained strong despite a midday swoon with the technology sector leading stocks higher for a second consecutive day as Friday marks the end of the first quarter," said Leon Lants, managing director at Stephens Inc.
The index was developed by Bloomberg News and the Democrat-Gazette with a base value of 100 as of Dec. 30, 1997.