Loren C. Steffy's Blog, page 56
January 27, 2012
When price tags don't always mean it's a Best Buy
A couple of weeks ago, before my son returned to college, we decided to make a quick trip to Best Buy for a small TV for his dorm. I'm not, as I've pointed out before, a fan of the Big Blue Box. But it's close to the house, and we didn't want to take a [...]
January 26, 2012
Houston-area small businesses are planning more hiring
You may have noticed things were a little quiet on the blog yesterday. That's because I was hosting my annual small business roundtable. The theme this year was more upbeat, and most of the companies represented said they expect to add jobs this year. That could be an important indicator because small businesses create most [...]
January 24, 2012
Former Stanford broker says he made little on CD commissions
Earlier this month, the Chronicle published a story about two former Stanford Financial brokers whose lawsuit against the firm helped expose the alleged Ponzi scheme. The brokers now find themselves targets of lawsuits filed by the Stanford receiver as part of the effort to collect money for investors. In the story, Charles Rawl and Mark [...]
KBR embraces ideas of investor it sued
KBR sued investor John Chevedden last year after he tried to submit a shareholder proposal for the company's proxy. But apparently KBR likes Chevedden's ideas, because it's adopted them anyway. In a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission Monday, KBR said it will ask shareholders to approve changes to its bylaws that would require [...]
The joy of choosing a cell phone plan, Portlandia style
I've been catching up on old episodes of "Portlandia," and this segment from last season aptly captures the absurdity of cell phone pricing. It's funny because it's true.
January 23, 2012
Foxes and henhouses? Justice officials linked to mortgage banks
Amid mounting pressure for a sweeping criminal investigation into the mortgage meltdown, Reuters reports that two of the highest-ranking Justice Department officials, Attorney General Eric Holder and criminal division chief Lanny Breuer, were partners for years at a Washington law firm that represented many of the big banks at the center of the scandal. Their [...]
January 20, 2012
The pain for Crane is mainly down the drain
Houston Astros owner Jim Crane has become mired in the bankruptcy of Jefferson County, Ala. A federal bankruptcy judge ordered Crane to disclose details of a settlement with JP Morgan Chase involving $35 million worth of the county's sewer bonds than Crane bought four years ago, the Wall Street Journal reported. Crane got burned on [...]
January 19, 2012
TXU buyout short-circuits as risk of bond default rises
It could be lights out for the biggest buyout in history. The $43.2 billion purchase of TXU by two private equity groups in 2007 looked brilliant at the time. Natural gas prices were expected to rise, driving wholesale power prices higher. That was especially good for TXU, which generates much of its electricity from lower-priced [...]
January 18, 2012
Obama rejects Keystone pipeline as political dance continues (Updated)
(Updates with details of the administration's decision.) Ah, election-year politics, where the issues matter far less than the theater. Enter the Keystone XL pipeline a conduit from Canada's oil sands straight into an American political minefield. The Obama administration officially rejected the application for the pipeline, which would have brought crude oil from Canada to [...]
January 17, 2012
Dr Pepper goes from `Dublin' to dumber (Updated)
With the legal settlement that ends Dublin Dr Pepper, the iconic soft drink brand has lost some of its mystique.
