Noranda buys back more debt
Posted on November 6, 2009 at 2:11 pmThird-quarter losses at Franklin-based Noranda Aluminum hit the middle of its previously projected range, coming in at $4.3 million. The company also bought back more than $80 million in debt during the quarter, pushing its year-to-date total in that deparment to almost $300 million.
Double-digit days for LP, O’Charley’s
Posted on November 5, 2009 at 2:57 pm
Shares of Louisiana-Pacific (Ticker: LPX) are basking in the afterglow of analyst praise and have extended the strong run that was cut short yesterday. Heading into the close, they’re up more than 17 percent.
Why O’Charley’s is up about the same amount is more of a puzzle. Yes, many industry players are having good days, but this Dow Jones chart shows Nashville-based O’Charley’s (Ticker: CHUX) is outpacting them by a factor of two to one.
No hogs for Murfreesboro
Posted on at 7:54 am
Harley-Davidson officials have eliminated Murfreesboro and Shelbyville, Ind., from the short list of cities where it might move its 2,300-employee York, Pa., operations.
Analysts impressed with LP
Posted on at 7:43 am
Although they rolled over late in the day like the broader market, shares of Louisiana-Pacific (Ticker: LPX) had a nice Wednesday after several analysts praised Rick Frost’s crew for their steady hand during a “sloppy” economy. D.A. Davidson analyst Steven Chercover raised his rating on the company to ‘buy’ from ‘neutral.’
Big wheels driving Nissan sales
Posted on November 4, 2009 at 9:20 am
Nissan North America’s truck sales rose more than 17 percent last month, helping the Franklin-based auto maker post an overall volume increase of almost 8 percent. Shipments of Infiniti-brand vehicles, however, fell almost 10 percent.
LP buys back chunk of debt
Posted on at 8:25 amIn its quarterly filing with the SEC, Louisiana-Pacific says it spent $113 million late last month to buy back more than a third of its debt series due in 2017. The company (Ticker: LPX) will take a $21 million charge this quarter to account for the deal.
The money comes through for purchase of Stones River Cos.
Posted on November 3, 2009 at 1:44 pmWhen an Ohio-based lighting systems maker inked a letter of intent last month to buy Madison-based electrical and lighting management provider Stones River Cos., there was reason to doubt the deal would ultimately go down as planned.
Not only did Energy Focus Inc. say it would have to raise $3.5 million on the capital markets in order to acquire the company, but it raised the specter of having to “cease operations or seek federal bankruptcy protection” without that cash.
Looks like the buyer dodged the bullet. Nasdaq-listed Energy Focus yesterday announced it has raised $3.75 million in the first round of a 5 million-share offering – a result so successful it no longer needs to float a second round. Although the company has not divulged what it is paying for Stones River, it said the offering’s main purpose was to fund the deal. It now expects to close on the purchase within 30 days.
State slips in ECD ranking
Posted on at 7:56 amFifth out of 50 ain’t bad, but I guess we’ve been spoiled of late…
Tennessee’s business climate has slipped three spots on the latest list published by Site Selection. Compared to 2008’s survey, the state scored significantly lower on recruiting new plants. But look how far we’ve come.
For the people, with the people
Posted on at 7:27 am
Spring Hill Mayor Michael Dinwiddie has begun working the line at GM’s Spring Hill plant, where the last Chevy Traverse will roll off the line in three weeks.
One in eight Tennessee factory jobs gone since 2007
Posted on November 2, 2009 at 12:49 pmMore bleak data from the manufacturing sector: Tennessee factories has shed more than 56,000 jobs since September of 2007. The automotive sector accounts for more than 9,000 of those losses and has been laying off workers more quickly than the rest of the industry.
Clarcor’s retail push has to settle for a single
Posted on at 7:33 amThe Franklin-based manufacturer’s pilot program to sell high-end HVAC filters under its Puralotor brand has unexpectedly ended, but CEO Norm Johnson is ready to move forward.
“Our team did a terrific job in all aspects of this project, and nothing we learned over the past four months changes our view that we have a winning combination of product, packaging and price. We are as excited about the retail marketplace as ever. Although we would have loved to hit a home run out of the box, the fact is that we are just beginning our retail efforts.”
Shares of Clarcor (Ticker: CLC) fell 3 percent Friday, pushing their 2009 losses to 11 percent.
Cash for clunkers’ local boost
Posted on October 30, 2009 at 2:26 pm
Middle Tennessee’s factory sector saw a nice boost in activity during September, with hours worked at durable goods manufacturers jumping almost 20 percent.
Gun maker takes aim at TDOT
Posted on at 10:39 am
Ronnie Barrett says state officials told him they were on board with his plans to expand and add 300 jobs just off I-24 in Rutherford County — until they weren’t and left him with a building he can’t get to.
“TDOT was very in favor of it. They said, ‘Yes, we like it. It’s an old farm fence out there. I think it’s going to be easy just to move the fence,’” said Barrett. “Now we have the inability to be able to win certain government contracts because our building’s not big enough.”
Nissan’s electric project getting tax breaks
Posted on October 29, 2009 at 10:56 am
The Rutherford County Industrial Development Board will cut the auto maker $62 million worth of slack over 20 years in return for the more than 1,700 jobs expected to be created at its electric car and battery operations.
Ghosn: Electric cars need regulatory help
Posted on at 8:12 am
Speaking at UPenn’s Wharton School of Business, Nissan CEO Carlos Ghosn said that — between public perception and emerging-market growth — the auto industry has no choice but to dive headlong into the production of cars that don’t need fossil fuels. That said, he does say car makers need a good bit of government help to build a mass market.
The equipment isn’t cheap: A quick-charge device, Ghosn said, costs $30,000 — an investment that might make sense once there is a critical mass of electric-car drivers already on the road, but something that could seem expensive for service station owners in a market where electric cars remain rare. He called for governments to step in and spur the market via regulation. One idea: Make quick-charge facilities mandatory for anyone operating a gas station starting in 2012.




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