Oil dispute sends barrel prices soaring
Oil prices jumped to a nine-month high above $105 a barrel on Monday after Iran said it halted crude exports to Britain and France in an escalation of a dispute over the Middle Eastern country’s nuclear program.
By Monday afternoon, benchmark March crude was up $2.02 to $105.26 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange, the highest since May.
URS will purchase Flint Energy for $1.25B
URS, a construction and engineering firm, said Monday it would acquire Flint Energy Services for $1.25 billion in a bid to bolster its presence in North America’s oil and gas industry.
URS, a diversified business built largely through acquisitions, is paying a significant premium for Flint, a Canadian provider of construction services. URS will pay Flint’s shareholders 25 Canadian dollars ($25) per share, nearly a 68 percent premium to its closing price Friday on the Toronto Stock Exchange. URS also will assume about $225 million in Flint’s debt.
With Flint, San Francisco-based URS will greatly expand its presence in Western Canada’s bustling energy industry. Flint, based in Calgary, Alberta, offers a broad range of construction services used during various stages of the exploration and development of natural gas and oil resources. Flint also derives about 20 percent of its revenue from the United States, with operations in the Southwest, Appalachian and Rocky Mountain regions.
Ex-Glock attorney accused of stealing millions
ATLANTA » The vice president of Glock Inc. confessed nine years ago to the company’s founder that he and another top lieutenant had been stealing millions from the gun maker, later telling investigators there was so much cash flying around that it seemed like "Monopoly money."
The executive, Peter Manown, was sentenced to 10 years’ probation after pleading guilty to theft and is now set to be the government’s star witness against the man he says was his accomplice, one-time Glock attorney Paul Jannuzzo.
Jannuzzo is set to go to trial today on theft and racketeering charges.
Jannuzzo’s trial threatens to expose new details about the dirty underbelly of the privately held international firearms manufacturer, which bases its U.S. headquarters in the quiet West Atlanta suburb of Smyrna. In a 2007 interview with investigators, Manown details internal tension among executives and claimed he was able to exploit loose financial practices at the gunmaker, which makes millions selling firearms to law enforcement agencies across the globe.
Jannuzzo has pleaded not guilty. His attorney, Robert Citronberg, didn’t return calls seeking comment.
‘Superinvestor’ Walter Schloss dies at 95
Walter Schloss, the money manager who earned accolades from Warren Buffett for the steady returns he achieved by applying lessons learned directly from the father of value investing, Benjamin Graham, has died. He was 95.
He died on Feb. 19 at his home in Manhattan, according to his son, Edwin. The cause was leukemia.
From 1955 to 2002, by Schloss’ estimate, his investments returned 16 percent annually on average after fees, compared with 10 percent for the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index. His firm, Walter J. Schloss Associates, became a partnership, Walter & Edwin Schloss Associates, when his son joined him in 1973. Schloss retired in 2002.
Buffett, a Graham disciple whose stewardship of Berkshire Hathaway Inc. has made him one of the world’s richest men and most emulated investors, called Schloss a "superinvestor" in a 1984 speech at Columbia Business School. He again saluted Schloss as "one of the good guys of Wall Street" in his 2006 letter to Berkshire Hathaway shareholders.
Lloyds Banking Group takes back bonuses
LONDON » The Lloyds Banking Group, partly owned by the British government after receiving a bailout, became the first bank in Britain to cut past bonuses because of losses that turned up later.
The return of about 2 million pounds ($3.2 million) in bonuses applies to five former or current executive directors, including a former chief executive, and eight other managers. Eric Daniels, who left the bank as CEO last year, would have to give up 40 percent of the share bonus he was awarded for 2010, or about 580,000 pounds ($920,000), Lloyds said Monday.
The move comes after Lloyds was named last year as one of the British banks that had wrongfully sold a type of insurance product to customers. Lloyds said in May that it had taken a charge of 3.2 billion pounds ($5 billion) to cover costs related to compensating those customers, a charge that pushed the entire banking group from a profit to a loss in the first quarter.
Walmart takes big stake in Chinese site
BENTONVILLE, Ark. » Wal-Mart Stores Inc. plans to buy a controlling interest in the fast-growing Chinese online retailer Yihaodian. The big-box chain operator has agreed to increase its stake in Yihaodian’s holding company to approximately 51 percent, Walmart said late Sunday.
Yihaodian has been in business for less than four years, yet it already sells more than 180,000 products, ranging from groceries to electronics to clothing. It has 5,400 employees and a next-day delivery network across Shanghai, Beijing, Guangzhou, Wuhan and Chengdu.
On the Move
Marriott International has named Kaleo Kenui as general manager of the new Courtyard by Marriott Maui Airport Hotel, which is scheduled to open in July. He was previously director of room operations for both Wailea Beach Marriott Resort & Spa on Maui and Waikoloa Beach Marriott Resort & Spa on Hawaii island.
Hawaii Jaycees has honored Honolulu City Council member and congressional candidate Tulsi Gabbard with the Outstanding Young Person award. The award recognizes individuals ages 18-40 who have made exceptional achievements or contributions in the nominee’s chosen field, organization, community, state or nation.
Maui Electric Co. has awarded the Maui Historical Society a $7,000 grant to fund new outdoor lighting projects and other electrical improvements to its Bailey House Museum. The project will improve safety and allow the society to hold evening functions including concerts, fundraisers and community rentals at Bailey House grounds including wedding receptions and parties.
