IN BRIEF
Henderson nonprofit will pay back wages
IDC Ltd., a Henderson-based fundraising company for nonprofit organizations, agreed to pay $128,084 in back wages to 74 current and former employees following an U.S. Department of Labor investigation, the federal agency said Tuesday.
Company sales associates and office staff worked as many as 50 hours a week between April 2005 and January 2007 without overtime pay and IDC failed to record or pay for the overtime hours, the Labor Department said.
The company, which has offices at 2500 Paseo Verde Parkway, has raised money for such groups as Amnesty International.
The Fair Labor Standards Act requires that employees be paid at least the federal minimum wage and receive overtime at one and a half times their regular rates beyond 40 per week.
NEW YORK
Credit worries send stock indexes skidding
Volatility returned to Wall Street Tuesday, sending stocks plunging as investors grew uneasier about the economy and whether the Federal Reserve will take the steps needed to prevent credit market problems from spreading further. The Dow Jones industrials fell 280 points.
Stocks were down on further worries about the economy. The Conference Board's report that consumer confidence sagged in August amid volatile financial markets and ongoing housing problems added to the downbeat mood on the Street. Keeping alive credit worries, a Standard & Poor's housing index showed that U.S. home prices in the second quarter posted the sharpest decline since 1987.
The Dow fell 280.28, or 2.10 percent, to 13,041.85, its biggest drop since Aug. 9.
The Standard & Poor's 500 index was down 34.43, or 2.35 percent, at 1,432.36, and the Nasdaq composite index shed 60.61, or 2.37 percent, to 2,500.64.
DALLAS
Whole Foods lands financing for buyout
Whole Foods Market said Tuesday it has lined up financing to complete its $565 million purchase of rival organic and natural foods grocer Wild Oats Markets, ending a six-month battle against federal regulators who tried to block the deal on antitrust grounds.
The company said it took out a five-year, $700 million loan to fund the deal, which also includes the assumption of $137 million in Wild Oats debt.
The fight to buy Wild Oats was bruising, and both Mackey and the FTC emerged from the fight with black eyes, according to former FTC officials and analysts.
ATLANTA
EarthLink will cut about half of workers
Internet service provider EarthLink said Tuesday that it would cut 900 jobs, or about half its work force, and close four offices in an effort to reduce operating costs. EarthLink shares climbed 7 percent on the news.
The moves come as the company struggles to generate revenues as dial-up access customers turn to high-speed alternatives from cable and phone companies.
More actions could be announced by the year's end but no more cuts are expected, said Rolla Huff, the company's president. As part of the plan, EarthLink also said it will repurchase $200 million of its stock.
ANN ARBOR, Mich.
Wizard can't stop woes for Borders Group
Not even Harry Potter could conjure up enough business to help Borders Group avoid more losses in the second quarter.
The nation's second-largest bookseller said Tuesday that heavy charges outweighed a boost in sales driven by "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows," the seventh and final book in the phenomenally popular series.
For the quarter ended Aug. 4, the company reported a loss of $25.1 million, or 43 cents per share, versus a loss of $18.4 million, or 29 cents per share, a year earlier.
Analysts polled by Thomson Financial expected a loss of 34 cents per share.
Revenue rose 10.4 percent to $956.7 million from $866.3 million.
ATLANTA
Home Depot to sell unit at sharply lower price
Home Depot said Tuesday it has agreed to sell its wholesale distribution business to private equity groups for $8.5 billion -- about $1.8 billion less than originally agreed.
The announcement comes after several days of intense negotiations to preserve the deal, even at a lower price.
The sale price as announced in June was $10.3 billion. But tightening credit conditions and a rocky housing market led to renegotiation.
As part of the amended terms, Home Depot will purchase a 12.5 percent equity interest in the whole business for $325 million and will guarantee a $1 billion senior secured loan of HD Supply, a business that serves construction contractors.
The sale is scheduled to take come today.
NEW YORK
FTC said to grant OK to deal for Dow Jones
Dow Jones & Co. and News Corp. said Tuesday that the Federal Trade Commission has given antitrust clearance for News Corp.'s $5 billion acquisition of The Wall Street Journal's publisher.
The companies said the FTC granted early termination of the 30-day waiting period under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act that gives regulators time to assess the transaction.
The companies said they expect the deal to close in the fourth quarter, pending approval by Dow Jones shareholders.
NEW YORK
Treasury bond prices higher as stocks sink
Prices for shorter-term U.S. Treasury bonds were sharply higher Tuesday, amid revived credit concerns and sharp losses in stocks.
At 5 p.m. EDT, the 10-year Treasury note was up $4.38 per $1,000 in face value, or 0.44 points, from its level at 5 p.m. Monday. Its yield, which moves in the opposite direction, fell to 4.52 percent from 4.57 percent.
The 30-year bond rose 0.06 points. Its yield fell to 4.85 percent from 4.86 percent.
