In Brief

Killers frontman to perform at Cosmopolitan of LV opening

The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas has chosen Brandon Flowers and other musicians to help open the new Strip hotel on Dec. 15.

Flowers, a Las Vegas native and frontman of The Killers, will perform songs from his new album "Flamingo" at Cosmopolitan's Boulevard Pool on opening night. The show will be broadcast live through the hotel's 65-foot digital marquee.

"This entertainment experience is an indication of what's to come," Cosmopolitan CEO John Unwin said.

Mayer Hawthorne, Beats Antique and sisters Liv and Mim Nervo, known as Nervo are also scheduled to perform Dec. 15.

Jay-Z and Coldplay will perform on New Year's Eve at the $3.9 billion hotel-casino, which sits on 8.7 acres between the Bellagio and City Center.

Barclays Capital buys more shares of MGM Resorts

MGM Resorts International said Tuesday that Barclays Capital Inc., which underwrote the sales of the company's recent public offering, exercised its full option to buy an additional 6.1 million shares of common stock from the company.

Barclays also bought an additional 4.2 million shares of common stock from Tracinda Corp., the privately held investment arm of billionaire financier Kirk Kerkorian, MGM Resorts' majority shareholder.

Barclays bought the stock at $12.52 a share.

MGM Resorts received $511 million in proceeds from the stock offering last month, which the company used to restructure a portion of its long-term debt.

Wynn Resorts shares hit
52-week high, slide into red

Shares of Wynn Resorts Ltd. slipped into the red Tuesday after setting a 52-week high of $117.50 shortly after the Nasdaq National Market opened for trading.

Wynn shares lost $2.67, or 2.3 percent, to close at $113.87 on average volume of 2.97 million shares traded.

Deutsche Bank analyst Chris Woronka attributed the stock's volatility to possible short covering by traders or profit-taking as investors reconsider their portfolios as the end of the year approaches.

"It's still a very strong performer this year," Woronka said. "You have to remember the stock price is up 100 percent year-to-date."

In January, Wynn shares reached their 52-week low of $58.21. Woronka said the dollar value of the decline was only 2.3 percent, which is not unusual for shares of company like Wynn Resorts that move 5 percent or more during a trading session.

NEW YORK

Chevron will buy Atlas Energy in $3.2 billion transaction

Chevron will buy natural producer Atlas Energy Inc. in a cash-and-stock deal worth $3.2 billion, the companies said Tuesday.

Including debt of about $1.1 billion, the deal is worth $4.3 billion in all.

Chevron Corp., based in San Ramon, Calif., is the latest major energy company to make a big acquisition in the natural gas sector, following Exxon Mobil and Royal Dutch Shell. Atlas is a big player in the Marcellus shale of Western Pennsylvania and elsewhere.

British Airways will fly larger jets on trips to Las Vegas

British Airways will close the gap between it and rival Virgin Atlantic by switching to larger aircraft on its London-Las Vegas next year.

Since it started the route in October 2009, British Airways has flown Boeing 777s with 275 seats. These planes will be replaced on June 1 by Boeing 747s with 337 seats, an extra 62 per flight. This will boost the weekly capacity from 1,925 to 2,359 seats a week to McCarran International Airport compared to 2,912 for Virgin Atlantic, which flies a larger version of the 747.

Based on statistics provided to McCarran, British Airways ran 89 percent full in the nine months through September compared to 92 percent for Virgin Atlantic. British Airways carried 134,000 people in and out of the airport compared to 209,000 for Virgin Atlantic.

In addition to the larger seat counts, British Airways has four cabin classes on its 747s compared to three in the 777s. The 747s will have 14 first class seats per plane, starting at $11,500 round trip. The next tier down, called Club World, costs $4,088.

CHICAGO

General Growth Properties exits bankruptcy protection

Shopping mall owner General Growth Properties Inc. on Tuesday emerged from Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, bringing to a close the largest real estate bankruptcy case in U.S. history.

The Chicago-based company said it has completed the final steps of its financial restructuring, 19 months after it turned to the courts under the weight of nearly $28 billion in debt.

During bankruptcy, the company lined up $6.8 billion in equity commitments and restructured and extended $15 billion in debt. It also worked out a way to pay all creditors in full .

As part of the restructuring, General Growth split into two separate companies: General Growth Properties and The Howard Hughes Corp., which owns General Growth's portfolio of planned communities and other real estate development opportunities.

The company also said Wednesday it launched a public stock offering of 135 million shares, worth nearly $2.35 billion based on Tuesday's closing stock price of $17.39.

In Las Vegas, General Growth owns the Boulevard, Meadows and Fashion Show malls, the Grand Canal Shoppes at The Venetian and the Shoppes at Palazzo.

WASHINGTON

Authorities: Facebook gibes over boss protected under law

A Connecticut woman who was fired after she posted disparaging remarks about her boss on Facebook has prompted a first-of-its-kind legal case by federal authorities who say her comments are protected speech under labor laws.

The National Labor Relations Board alleges that American Medical Response of Connecticut Inc. illegally fired Dawnmarie Souza from her job as an emergency medical technician late last year after she criticized her supervisor on her personal Facebook page and then traded Facebook messages about the negative comments with other employees.

The complaint, filed Oct. 27 by the board's Hartford, Conn., regional office, could set a precedent for employers to heed as more workers use social networking sites to share details about their jobs.

Federal labor law has long protected employees against reprisal for talking to co-workers on their own time about their jobs and working conditions, including remarks that may be critical of managers. The law applies whether or not workers are covered by a union.