LITTLE ROCK — QUOTE OF THE DAY
“We are just trying to keep the rigs warm, ready to start up again.”
Simon Henry, Royal Dutch Shell Group chief financial officer,
on the deep-water drilling ban in the Gulf of Mexico Article, 1D
Flippin boat firm buys Triton Boats
FLIPPIN - The company that makes Ranger and Stratos boats in north Arkansas has acquired Triton Boats from Brunswick Corp.
Fishing Holdings LLC announced Thursday that Triton Fiberglas boats will be manufactured at the Flippin factory where Ranger and Stratos are also made. Brunswick will make Triton aluminum boats under license.
Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Production of Triton Fiberglas boats is to start in the fall.
Triton founder Earl Bentz and other Triton executives will join Fishing Holdings. Others will remain with Triton’s Tennessee office.
China blocking searches, Google says
MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. - Google says people in mainland China are being blocked from using its Internet search engine.
The company posted a Thursday notice about the new barrier without any other details. A Google spokesman in the U.S. says he is still trying to gather information about the situation in China.
It’s the latest twist in a high-profile showdown over Internet censorship pitting Google against China’s communist government.
Google risked having its search engine cut off from the world’s most populous country because it said it was no longer willing to let China’s government control its search results. The two sides had appeared to reach a truce three weeks ago when China renewed Google’s Internet license there.
Citi to pay $75 million to settle case
WASHINGTON - Banking titan Citigroup Inc. is paying $75 million to settle civil charges that it misled investors about its potential losses from subprime mortgages as the housing bust hit in 2007.
The Securities and Exchange Commission announced the settlement with Citigroup on Thursday. It said the company repeatedly made misleading statements in calls with analysts and regulatory filings about the extent of its holdings tied to high-risk mortgages.
Citigroup had said the exposure was $13 billion or less.
The SEC said it exceeded $50 billion.
A current and a former Citi executive also settled charges with SEC. Former Chief Financial Officer Gary Crittenden agreed to pay a $100,000 civil penalty. The former head of investor relations, Arthur Tildesley Jr., agreed to pay $80,000. Tildesley now is the head of cross marketing at the company.
New York-based Citigroup, Crittenden and Tildesley neither admitted nor denied the SEC’s charges. But they did agree to refrain from future violations of the securities laws.
SEC Enforcement Director Robert Khuzami said in a statement that Citigroup boasted of its superior ability to reduce its subprime exposure, even in the fall of 2007 as the subprime mortgage market quickly weakened.
“In fact, billions more in ... subprime exposure sat on its books undisclosed to investors,” he said. “The rules of financial disclosure are simple - if you choose to speak, speak in full and not in half-truths.”Toyota recalls 412,000 U.S. vehicles
Toyota Corp. said Thursday that it is recalling 412,000 Avalons and Lexuses in the U.S. for steering problems, bringing the number of cars recalled around the world by Toyota since October to nearly 9 million.
The 373,000 recalled Avalons, dating from between 2000 and 2004, have improperly cast steering-lock bars that appear to have been a factor in three accidents reported to the company. This problem can cause what Toyota described as a “minute” crack to develop on the surface. The crack, in turn, can break the bar and lock the steering wheel, increasing the risk of a crash.
The 39,000 Lexus luxury model LX 470s being recalled date from a four-year period beginning in 2003. They have a different steering-shaft problem and no injuries have been reported related to this issue, Toyota said.
Toyota is also recalling 16,420 vehicles in Japan for steering problems - Land Cruisers and another model called the Pronard - and 1,123 Lexus vehicles in China, officials said.
Toyota has initiated a worldwide ad campaign to convince the public that defects related to the reports of sudden, unintended acceleration - the focus of previous recalls - were isolated.
Ruling: Muffin exec can’t go to rival
PHILADELPHIA - A food-industry executive armed with the secret to the “nooks and crannies” in Thomas’ English muffins can’t work for a rival amid a trade-secret lawsuit.
The U.S. appeals court ruling this week stops Chris Botticella of Trabuco Canyon, Calif., from moving to rival Hostess. A U.S. district judge had already ruled he couldn’t jump ship.
Thomas’ parent company, Bimbo Bakeries, said he is one of just seven people who knows its English muffin secrets.
Bimbo said Botticella worked for it for months after accepting a Hostess job in Houston.
Bimbo sued to stop the move, fearing he would divulge trade secrets.
Courts must balance a company’s right to guard trade secrets against an employee’s right to switch jobs.
In this case, the appeals court said Botticella can be banned from Hostess while the lawsuit plays out.
China OKs Geely’s deal to buy Volvo
BEIJING - Geely Holding Group has received final Chinese government approval to acquire Volvo Cars from Ford Motor Co., the Commerce Ministry said Thursday.
Commerce officials approved the $1.8 billion deal Monday, said a ministry spokesman contacted by phone who refused to give his name. He said other agencies already have signed off on it.
“This was the final stage of the government approval,” he said. “There are no conditions attached.”
Geely agreed in March to buy Volvo in China’s biggest foreign acquisition in the auto industry. It would give one of China’s small but ambitious automakers access to a prestigious brand and top-tier technology.
European Union regulators approved the deal in early July.
A Geely spokesman, Ning Shuyong, confirmed that government approval had been given, opening the way for the company to complete the acquisition.
“We will now move forward as planned,” Ning said by phone from the company’s headquarters in the eastern city of Hangzhou, south of Shanghai.
Industry analysts say doubt hangs over whether 13-yearold Geely can make a success of Volvo, a money-losing manufacturer on another continent.
Business, Pages 26 on 07/30/2010