Windstream seeking
Charter's payment
Windstream Holdings Inc. has asked a federal bankruptcy judge to enforce an earlier ruling that calls on Charter Communications to pay the Little Rock company $19.9 million.
Windstream is seeking the payment after Judge Robert Drain last year ruled that Charter used illegal advertising practices to lure Windstream customers and disconnected other Windstream users after the company filed for bankruptcy protection in February 2019.
There is no date set for the judge to rule on Windstream's request for payment, which was filed June 9.
Charter used "scare tactics" to convince Windstream customers that the company was going out of business and also unfairly disconnected its customers, Windstream said. The judge ruled in Windstream's favor.
Now, Windstream is seeking collection.
"The time has now come for Charter to face the consequences of its unlawful actions and its frivolous and dilatory conduct of this litigation," the Windstream filing said.
-- Andrew Moreau
Mortgage firms seek
U.S.-release advice
Fannie Mae has hired Morgan Stanley to advise the mortgage giant on its eventual exit from U.S. control, while Freddie Mac has retained JPMorgan Chase & Co.
The Wall Street firms will assist Fannie Mae, the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Association, and Freddie Mac, the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corp., in implementing strategies to build up their capital buffers and get out of conservatorship. The federal government took over the companies at the height of the 2008 financial crisis. They announced the hires in Monday statements.
The announcements show that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are still pursuing plans to potentially raise billions of dollars through share sales even though the coronavirus crisis is raising questions about the health of the housing market. While releasing Fannie and Freddie is a top goal of the Trump administration, the pandemic has pushed back the time frame for ending U.S. control.
In its statement, Fannie Mae said Morgan Stanley will provide strategic counsel on a variety of topics, including options for raising capital.
-- Bloomberg News
State index closes
with a gain of 4.29
The Arkansas Index, a price-weighted index that tracks the largest public companies based in the state, closed Monday at 383.40, up 4.29.
"There was a nice reversal for all three major U.S. stock indexes on Monday afternoon following the U.S. Federal Reserve decision to continue buying corporate bonds, which boosted investor confidence after last week's market sell-off on the spike in new Covid-19 cases," said Chris Harkins, managing director at Raymond James & Associates.
The index was developed by Bloomberg News and the Democrat-Gazette with a base value of 100 as of Dec. 30, 1997.