On the heels of Garden Ridge’s Chapter 11 filing, Circuit City announces store closings.
It’s brutal in retail
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Category Archives: Business – General
Garden Ridge moves to reject leases
CFO’s: Beware of this Award
Paul Krugman pens a review in this week’s NY Times Review of Books in which he makes the following observation:
In 1998, CFO Magazine gave an Excellence award to Scott Sullivan, the chief financial executive of WorldCom. In 1999 it gave one to Andrew Fastow of Enron. And in 2000, it gave one to Mark Swartz of Tyco. All three have since been indicted.
Texas’ Largest Highway Contractor Cuts a Deal
This looks like a pretty sweet deal for the Williams Company, Texas’ largest highway construction contractor.
Super Bowl Return to Houston?
John McClain, the Houston Chronicle’s main NFL reporter, weighs in with an articlethat Houston’s success in hosting Super Bowl XXXVIII will likely result in another Super Bowl later in the decade.
Frankly, I do not have a clue on how Jacksonville is going to handle Super Bowl XXXIX next year. To handle the various festivities for this year’s Super Bowl, Houston used two large convention centers, Minute Maid Park, the Astrodome, the Reliant Stadium, thousands of hotel rooms, two distinct entertainment areas (Main Street and the Galleria area), and hundreds of restaurants. Jacksonville simply does not have facilities of that size or nature. Already, the NFL and Jacksonville are planning on docking a fleet of cruise ships in Jacksonville Harbor to make up for the lack of hotel rooms in the area.
The Super Bowl may have become such a huge event that only a few cities are going to have the facilities and infrastructure to handle it. Stay tuned.
Seitel’s Disclosure Statement Approved
The Delaware Bankruptcy Court approved Houston-based geophysical seismic company Seitel, Inc.’s Disclosure Statement yesterday. Seitel filed a chapter 11 case last year after a change in accounting rules relating to valuation of its library of geophysical seismic resulted in a substantial writedown in the value of that library. The case was also spiced by some colorful allegations regarding the company’s former CEO, and Warren Buffet’s failed attempt to take over the company pursuant to an alternative plan that his company had proposed during the chapter 11 case. The hearing on confirmation of Seitel’s reorganization plan is scheduled for March 18th.
More on California’s latest Ponzi Scheme Scam Artist
The LA Times reports more today on James Lewis, an Orange County businessman who promoted a $200 million Ponzi scheme before things started falling apart last year. Lewis was arrested in Houston late last month after using his senior citizen discount in paying for his room at a local Comfort Inn.
E&P Drilling Budgets Flat
The Houston Chronicle reports today that drilling budgets for the coming year are remaining at the past year’s level among major exploration and production companies. In related news, Ennis, TX Congressman Joe Barton, who has a petroleum engineering background, is in line to replace La. Congressman Billy Tauzin as chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee.
Gadzooks, Inc. files Chapter 11
In a development that concerns my two teenage daughters greatly, Gadzooks, Inc., a Carrollton, TX-based retailer of teenage girl’s clothing, filed a reorganization case under chapter 11 on Tuesday in the Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of Texas. The case landed in Bankruptcy Court of Judge Harlan D. “Cooter” Hale, who gets my vote for having the best nickname of any Bankruptcy Judge in the country. Here is the initial docket in the case and the list of 20 largest creditors.
McNair is on a Serious Roll
Bob McNair, the majority owner of the NFL’s Houston Texans, is an old friend and a wonderful man. Bob and the Texans just completed a masterful job in leading Houston’s hosting of the highly successful Super Bowl XXXVIII, and now it appears that Bob may have struck gold again.
Drew Henson, the former University of Michigan quarterback and NY Yankee minor leaguer, announced today that he has finally given up on baseball and is going to play in the NFL. In last year’s NFL Draft, many folks scratched their heads when Bob and the Texans used a sixth round draft choice on Henson. The Texans already have a young franchise QB in David Carr and Henson was still playing baseball with the Yankees AAA team at the time. However, Bob and the Texans knew what they were doing.
Henson’s poor on base average and mediocre slugging percentage in AAA reflected that he was not a Major League Baseball prospect. However, Henson is an excellent football talent, and many scouts considered him a better prospect than Tom Brady, the Super Bowl MVP who was his teammate at Michigan. With Henson now turning to football, the Texans retain his contract rights until this year’s NFL Draft, and there will be several teams bidding for his services. The Texans will likely come out of this deal smelling like a rose, and likely will pick up at least a higher draft pick in this year’s draft in return for the right to sign Henson.
My early bet on the Henson sweepstakes: the Miami Dolphins.