QUOTE OF THE DAY
“I hate the characterization of ancillary revenues as nickel and diming.”
Scott Kirby, president of American Airlines Group Inc.
Article, 1D
Zylks named Conway airport manager
Josh Zylks has been named manager of Conway's new airport.
Zylks, the manager at South Arkansas Regional Airport in El Dorado, will begin work at Cantrell Field in June, ahead of the opening in August, according to a news release from the city.
Zylks' responsibilities will include airport management, tenant relations and leases, airport maintenance, and budget and fueling operations, the news release said.
The new airport will have a 100-foot-wide, 5,500-foot runway with a full-length taxiway, according to the news release. A 6,300-square-foot terminal is also being built.
Funding for the airport comes from the Federal Aviation Administration, the Arkansas Department of Aeronautics, and local funds from the sale of the existing airport, the news release said.
N.Y., website reach accord on rentals
ALBANY, N.Y. -- New York's attorney general and the website Airbnb say they have reached agreement on information disclosures about short-term New York City apartment rentals in the state investigation of illegal hotels.
Attorneys say the agreement "balances" Attorney General Eric Schneiderman's commitment to protect city residents and tourists from illegal hotels with the company's concerns about the privacy of thousands who use the website to rent their apartments to visitors.
State investigators have been seeking information about Airbnb's hosts going back three years, noting many listings appear to offer unoccupied apartments for very short periods, violating rules against unregulated hotels.
A judge last week rejected Schneiderman's request to subpoena information, first filed last year, saying it was overbroad. That request was narrowed and refiled.
McDonald's to hub workers: Stay home
McDonald's Corp. told its 3,200 corporate headquarters employees to stay home Wednesday to avoid a protest demonstration in support of increasing wages at the fast-food chain.
McDonald's has been in contact with police in Oak Brook, Ill., and encouraged employees to work from home because of traffic concerns, spokesman Heidi Barker Sa Shekhem said. The protest came on the eve of today's McDonald's shareholder meeting.
"We've adjusted work schedules for our employees and access to our facilities to assist the Oak Brook Police Department and address the protests and the related traffic congestion," Shekhem said in an email.
About 2,000 protesters, including about 325 McDonald's workers, were planning to picket the headquarters at 2111 McDonald's Drive in Oak Brook, calling for increased pay. After the company told employees to stay home, the location of the protests shifted to Jorie Boulevard and Kroc Drive, the entrance to the McDonald's campus that houses Hamburger University and a Hyatt Lodge, also in Oak Brook.
Police arrested several protesters near Hamburger University after they were told to disperse.
AT&T optimistic about DirecTV-NFL talks
AT&T Inc. Chief Financial Officer John Stephens said the National Football League's recent commentary on negotiations with DirecTV for NFL Sunday Ticket rights is "very encouraging."
Those talks are key now that AT&T's proposed takeover of DirecTV hinges on the satellite-TV company securing a renewal of the sports rights. AT&T can walk away from the acquisition if the football relationship isn't renewed on terms that AT&T and DirecTV have discussed, according to a regulatory filing this week.
Stephens, speaking at the JPMorgan Global Technology, Media and Telecom Conference in Boston on Wednesday, said DirecTV is responsible for negotiating with the NFL on its own. DirecTV has been carrying the out-of-market Sunday afternoon games for about 20 years. The last four-year contract was for $4 billion.
Roger Goodell, commissioner of the NFL, said the league is still in an exclusive negotiating period with El Segundo, Calif.-based DirecTV.
"They've been a terrific partner," Goodell said during a news conference Tuesday.
-- Bloomberg News
New French trains too wide for stations
French rail-track company RFF will spend $68 million to create narrower platforms after state train operator SNCF ordered new train models that are too wide for some stations. The work involves about 1,300 platforms corresponding to 15 percent of the total, according to a statement from SNCF, which will take delivery of the new trains from Alstom SA of France and Canada’s Bombardier Inc. through 2016. While the government and opposition leaders criticized what they said was a waste of money, SNCF said the expense is equal to only 1.5 percent of the $4 billion cost of the regional expresses and that similar work had to be done in 2003 and 2005 with the introduction of other models new to the network.
-- Bloomberg News
JPMorgan to invest $100 million in Detroit
JPMorgan Chase & Co. is investing $100 million over five years to revive bankrupt Detroit, marking the bank's largest commitment to a city.
JPMorgan will provide funds for community development, blight removal, job training, small-business support and other growth programs, the biggest investment bank by revenue said Wednesday in a statement. The move follows as much as $15 million in loans to Detroit small businesses announced by Goldman Sachs Group Inc. in November and signals Wall Street's rising interest in the erstwhile auto-manufacturing capital, which faces $18 billion in long-term debt.
"We believe in Detroit's future, and we want to see the city recover its economic strength," Jamie Dimon, chairman of New York-based JPMorgan, said in the statement.
The New York-based bank's commitment includes $40 million in flexible, long-term debt capital and $10 million in grant capital to two community-development lenders. Another $25 million will help end residential blight and restore properties, and $12.5 million will go toward work-force training and development. The investment also offers $7 million to support small businesses and $5.5 million in strategic initiatives, including investing in a new rail line.
-- Bloomberg News
Business on 05/22/2014