IN BRIEF
Results revealed for Station investors’ vote
Shareholders representing 79 percent of Station Casinos stock voted to approve the $5.4 billion management-led buyout of the locals gaming company, officials said Tuesday.
The vote on Monday, which needed a two-thirds affirmative to accept the deal, was held during a special shareholders meeting at Red Rock Resort.
The Fertitta Colony Partners’ bid still needs approval of federal regulators and state gaming officials in Nevada and California.
The buyout is expected to close later this year.
RENO
Gasoline prices fall statewide in July
Gasoline prices in Nevada fell 21 cents in the past month to $2.84, the latest survey by AAA shows.
AAA Nevada on Tuesday said the decline since July follows a 19-cent drop the previous month.
The biggest drop in Nevada was reported in Carson City, where prices fell 27 cents to $2.76.
Prices fell a quarter in Reno to $2.83, and 20 cents in Las Vegas to $2.76.
The most expensive gasoline in the state was in Elko at $3.02. That’s still 25 cents cheaper than last month.
Nationally, the average price fell 27 cents to $2.77.
MILWAUKEE
AirTran revives bid to take over Midwest Air
AirTran Holdings revived its hostile takeover effort for Midwest Air Group on Tuesday, offering $16.25 per share in a cash and stock deal worth $445 million.
Orlando, Fla.-based AirTran had been courting Midwest for two years and abandoned its hostile takeover effort Sunday night after offering $15.75 per share in cash and stock for a deal worth $431 million.
Private investment firm TPG Capital offered $400 million cash just hours later and Midwest’s board of directors unanimously chose to pursue that sale.
AirTran shares rose 3 cents, or 0.29 percent, Tuesday to close at $10.35 on the New York Stock Exchange.
LITTLE ROCK, Ark.
Wal-Mart cuts forecast, says spending slower
Wal-Mart Stores cut its profit outlook for the year Tuesday, saying during its second-quarter earnings announcement that consumer spending has slowed in the U.S. and abroad.
The company said that for the full year, earnings per share from continuing operations is now estimated to be between $3.05 per share and $3.13 per share. The company’s initial forecast was in the range of $3.15 per share and $3.23 per share.
For its second quarter, the Bentonville-based retailer reported a net income of $3.1 billion, or 76 cents per share, down from $2.08 billion, or 50 cents per share, a year earlier.
Total sales rose 8.9 percent to $92 billion from $84.5 billion.
Same-store sales, or sales at stores open at least a year, rose 2 percent.
ATLANTA
Home Depot says profits slip 14.8 percent
Home Depot said Tuesday that its second-quarter profit fell 14.8 percent. Though the results beat Wall Street expectations, the company’s shares fell after executives made comments that suggested to investors that the sale of the company’s wholesale distribution business may not be a lock.
For the three months ended July 29, Home Depot earned $1.59 billion, or 81 cents a share, down from profit of $1.86 billion, or 90 cents a share, a year earlier.
The Atlanta-based company said earnings from continuing operations totaled $1.52 billion, or 77 cents a share, in the second quarter. On that basis, analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial expected earnings of 72 cents a share.
Revenue fell 1.8 percent to $22.18 billion from $22.59 billion.
Nasdaq set to launch market for super-rich
Nasdaq is set to launch Wednesday what its executives are calling one of the most significant developments on Wall Street in decades — a private stock market for super-wealthy investors.
Minimum requirement for traders: $100 million in assets.
Any private firm can list on Nasdaq’s new platform, which is called the Portal Market, and raise money by selling stock to an elite group of shareholders. These companies would remain private and not have to make public their financial statements or submit to federal regulation, such as the Sarbanes-Oxley corporate accountability law.
ROYAL OAK, Mich.
Chrysler plans to build PT Cruisers through ’09
Chrysler LLC said Tuesday it will build its head-turning PT Cruiser at least through 2009 but made no promises after that, fueling speculation that the stylish retro wagon hurt by a recent slump in sales could be on its way out.
Larry Lyons, vice president of Chrysler’s front-wheel-drive product team, wouldn’t give any more details on the PT Cruiser’s future.
When it went on sale in 2000, the PT Cruiser was a triumph of Detroit design, with the eye-catching looks of a gangster’s getaway car. Chrysler expected to sell just 70,000 PT Cruisers a year but sold more than double that in 2001. The company has sold nearly 1 million Cruisers in the United States in the vehicle’s lifetime.
Gallery of History reports wider loss
Gallery of History, a Las Vegas-based historical documents dealer, said its third-quarter loss widened from a year earlier.
In a statement, the company said it lost $117,470, or 2 cents per share, for the three months ended June 30, compared with a loss of $83,734, or 1 cent per share, a year earlier.
Revenue fell 31.1 percent to $105,686 from $153,437.
Gallery of History shares were unchanged Tuesday, closing at $1.53 on the Nasdaq National Market.
NEW YORK
Treasurys rise amid signs of market danger
Government bond prices rose Tuesday as additional signs of trouble in riskier financial markets emerged.
At 5 p.m. EDT, the 10-year Treasury note was up $2.50 per $1,000 in face value, or 0.25 points, from its level at 5 p.m. Monday. Its yield, which moves in the opposite direction, fell to 4.73 percent from 4.76 percent.
The 30-year bond rose 0.16 points. Its yield fell to 4.99 percent from 5 percent.
