Pennsylvania links quakes to fracking
HARRISBURG, Pa. -- Pennsylvania environmental regulators say there's a likely correlation between a natural gas company's fracking operation and a series of minor earthquakes in western Pennsylvania last year.
The state's Department of Environmental Protection revealed its findings Friday.
The quakes were recorded in April in Lawrence County, about 50 miles north of Pittsburgh and three-quarters of a mile from a natural gas well owned by Houston-based Hilcorp Energy Co. They were too weak to be felt by humans and no damage was reported.
Fracking is a method to extract gas or oil from underground shale rock. It has been tied to earthquakes in neighboring Ohio and other states, but never in Pennsylvania, the nation's No. 2 natural gas-producing state.
Hilcorp stopped fracking at the well pad after the quakes.
-- The Associated Press
Unilever turns down Kraft's $143B offer
NEW YORK -- Kraft Heinz is attempting to buy Unilever in a $143 billion deal that would create a global food leader that sells products including cheese, lunch meats, spreads and snacks.
U.S. food giant Kraft Heinz Co. said Friday that its offer to buy Europe's Unilever was rejected, but it's still pursuing the deal.
The maker of Oscar Mayer meats, Jell-O pudding and Velveeta cheese said, though, that there's no certainty that it will make another offer for Unilever, which owns brands including Hellmann's, Lipton and Knorr. Unilever said Kraft's offer is too low and that it sees no reason to continue talks with Kraft.
The deals underway in the packaged-food industry are a symptom of the strains being felt by its major players. Companies like Kraft Heinz, two century-old businesses that merged in 2015, are trying to fatten profits even as sales growth weakens.
Last year, Mondelez, which makes Oreo and Chips Ahoy, retreated from its attempt to take over Hershey.
Shares of Kraft Heinz rose 10.7 percent Friday. Unilever PLC jumped 14 percent.
-- The Associated Press
Deere raises profit projection for 2017
Deere & Co., the world's biggest maker of farm machinery, raised its 2017 profit outlook and pointed to signs that the worst may be over in a yearslong industry slump.
Sales of the company's signature green-and-yellow agriculture and turf equipment will rise about 3 percent in the fiscal year through October, while construction and forestry sales will climb about 7 percent, it said Friday. That follows positive signs recently in the machinery market, with North American tractor inventories starting to moderate.
"We are seeing signs that after several years of steep declines key agricultural markets may be stabilizing," Chief Executive Officer Sam Allen said in the company's first-quarter earnings statement. "Deere continues to perform far better than in agricultural downturns of the past."
The Moline, Ill.-based company had previously set a goal to cut costs by $500 million by the end of 2018 and said Friday that it remains confident of hitting that target. There have been other savings in recent years, including the elimination of thousands of jobs. While competitors such as Caterpillar have suffered losses over the period, Deere has remained in the black.
The company's fiscal first-quarter earnings per share were better than expected, falling to 61 cents from 80 cents a year earlier, and were above the 55-cent average of 10 analysts' estimates. Deere has now beaten expectations for 17 straight quarters.
Net sales for the quarter fell to $4.7 billion from $4.77 billion, beating the average estimate of $4.63 billion.
The shares rose $1.10 to close Friday at $110.27.
-- Bloomberg News
Southwest Airlines sues union over OT
DALLAS -- Southwest Airlines filed a federal complaint alleging union leaders told mechanics to decline to work overtime, a move the carrier says has harmed operations and driven up costs.
Southwest said in the lawsuit filed Wednesday in Dallas that the Aircraft Mechanics Fraternal Association encouraged workers earlier this month to decline overtime opportunities.
The Dallas-based carrier said it relies on the overtime shifts to keep up with necessary maintenance work.
The company said there was a 75 percent drop in union workers who signed up for overtime shifts last weekend.
Southwest says the union action caused "irreparable injury," in part by having to rely on outside workers.
A union statement cautions members against any organized attempt to avoid overtime.
-- The Associated Press
Fannie Mae to pay U.S. Treasury $5.5B
NEW YORK -- Fannie Mae said Friday that it will pay the U.S. Treasury a $5.5 billion dividend next month after its profit doubled in its latest quarter.
The government-controlled mortgage company has already paid the Treasury $154.4 billion in dividends since receiving $116.1 billion in government bailouts between 2008 and 2011. Fannie Mae's sibling Freddie Mac, the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corp., which was also rescued by the government during the recession, said Thursday that it would pay the Treasury a $4.5 billion dividend next month after its profit soared.
Both companies buy mortgages from lenders, package them as bonds, guarantee them against default and sell them to investors. They do not make loans to homebuyers directly.
Fannie Mae, the Federal National Mortgage Association, said it had net income of $5.04 billion in the fourth quarter, up from $2.5 billion in the same period a year ago.
For all of 2016, the Washington, D.C., company reported net income of $12.31 billion, up from $10.95 billion in 2015.
-- The Associated Press
U.S. oil, natural gas rig tally up by 10
HOUSTON -- The number of rigs exploring for oil and natural gas in the U.S. increased by 10 this week to 751.
A year ago, 514 rigs were active.
Houston oil-field services company Baker Hughes Inc. said Friday that 597 rigs sought oil and 153 explored for natural gas this week. One was listed as miscellaneous.
Texas increased by 16 rigs and Utah gained one.
Louisiana lost three rigs, New Mexico declined by two, and Alaska, North Dakota and Oklahoma each lost one.
Arkansas, California, Colorado, Kansas, Ohio, Pennsylvania, West Virginia and Wyoming were all unchanged.
The U.S. rig count peaked at 4,530 in 1981. It bottomed out in May at 404.
-- The Associated Press
Business on 02/18/2017