Books-A-Million Inc. said it withdrew its bid to buy 30 Borders Group Inc. stores after the companies failed to agree on terms and going-out-of-business sales at the locations had already started. “We worked exhaustively in an effort to acquire these stores and reach agreements with all of the parties whose consent was necessary,” Books-A-Million Chief Executive Officer Clyde B. Anderson said yesterday in a statement. “Unfortunately, we were unsuccessful.” Books-A-Million, which also runs stores under the names Books & Co., Bookland and Joe Muggs Newsstands, is based in Birmingham, Alabama, and operates in the southeastern U.S. Read more: Bloomberg
Submitted 1 years 328 days ago

President Barack Obama warned that the nation’s burgeoning deficit threatens to do “serious” damage to the economy and pressured Congress to reach a compromise on a deal to raise the debt ceiling and address future shortfalls. With a week left before the Treasury Department says the U.S. won’t be able to pay all its obligations unless the $14.3 trillion debt limit is increased, Obama urged lawmakers to put aside politics and implored Americans “to make your voice heard.” Read more: Bloomberg
Submitted 1 years 328 days ago

The state creates the list to determine where to direct its federal training dollars, which can be up to $7,000 for a qualified individual who enrolls in Austin Community College or other approved training programs. It is a varied list of jobs that require from one year of training after high school to a college degree. It includes both high- and low-tech. The average wages range from $15 to $50 an hour. There are more than 8,000 openings now on the list in the 10 counties surrounding Austin, and that number is projected to increase to almost 66,000 over the next decade. Read more: Austin Statesman
Submitted 1 years 328 days ago

Wacker Chemical's chief executive said Monday the company's solar plant near Charleston, Tenn., could turn out bigger and come on line faster than originally planned. Wacker CEO Ingomar Kovar told the first 60 or so employees hired by the company that the factory may bring on a total of 700 employees, up from 650 announced earlier. "In the next 12 to 18 months, we could be up to 700," he said at Chattanooga State Community College, where the group began its initial day of training. Read more: Chattanooga Times Free Press
Submitted 1 years 328 days ago

NASHVILLE -- An attorney for an association representing some of America's biggest retailers says the group may file suit if state officials don't require Amazon to collect sales taxes when the company begins using two Tennessee-based distribution centers now under construction. "Do my clients have standing to bring an action in court? In my opinion we do," said Bill Hubbard, a Nashville-based attorney for the Retail Industry Leaders Association, which includes Wal-Mart, AutoZone and other major retailers battling Amazon on Internet tax-collection issues nationwide. "And yes," said Hubbard, "I think the court is a potential remedy for my client." Read more: Chattanooga Times Free Press
Submitted 1 years 328 days ago

Borders Group Inc. told La Vergne officials Monday that the company will close its distribution facility on Walden Books Drive and eliminate 283 positions. The closing will begin Aug. 15 and conclude by Sept. 1. “No employees will be offered comparable jobs at any nearby company facility,” the company told the city in a written notice. Borders announced last week that it will close all of its stores nationwide, which eliminate roughly 10,700 jobs, including those at two remaining Borders stores in Middle Tennessee, in Brentwood and Clarksville. Read more: The Tennessean
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(Reuters) - Regions Financial Corp's (RF.N) second-quarter profit topped expectations as the bank set aside less money for real estate-related loan problems. Revenue was flat, and the bank's loan book shrank, mirroring results at other U.S. regional banks, which are struggling to boost revenue amid weak loan demand. Credit issues were particularly burdensome for the Birmingham, Alabama-based Regions. It has bad mortgages in states where home prices have plunged, including Georgia and Florida, and is the only one of the 19 largest U.S. banks that has not repaid its U.S. government bailout aid, totaling $3.5 billion.
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Employment in the oil and gas industry in Texas has soared above the 2008 high achieved before the recession and is poised to continue growing, according to the Texas Alliance of Energy Producers Texas Alliance of Energy Producers Latest from The Business Journals Oil & gas: RR Commission changes could hurt industry Texas energy indicator ticks upward Texas energy indicator ticks upward Follow this company . At a briefing in Houston Monday, Karr Ingham, petroleum economist for the alliance, revealed the mid-year results for the Texas Petro Index, which tracks the industry’s ups and downs. According to the index, total Texas oil and gas industry employment reached about 224,200 in June ­— a 15 percent increase from June 2010. Read more: Houston Business Journal
Submitted 1 years 328 days ago

Everything is bigger in Texas — including job growth. That's the conclusion of an analysis of nonfarm jobs between June 2006 and June 2011 from U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics by On Numbers, a feature of The Business Journals, a division of American City Business Journals American City Business Journals Latest from The Business Journals Analysis: Ohio job loss among worst since mid-2006 Seattle has plenty of social business people Ohio in top 10 worst for job losses Follow this company . On Numbers reported that Texas added 537,500 nonfarm jobs during that period, nearly 10 times as many as second-place finisher Louisiana, which added 55,900 jobs. North Dakota topped the country in percentage gain at 11,84 percent. Texas had a 5.35 percent overall increase in jobs during that period. Read more: Houston Business Journal
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Alabama ranks 38th in the nation for job creation, according to the latest On Numbers study of information from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. The study looked at raw and percentage changes in employment between the midpoints of 2006 and 2011. It also measured year-by-year trends since 2006. Alabama saw five-year percent change of -5.67 percent, meaning the state lost 112,500 jobs. As of June 2011, Alabama has 1,870,100 nonfarm jobs. Read more: Birmingham Business Journal
Submitted 1 years 328 days ago