April 11, 2020 at 1:33 a.m.
Ardagh seeks $200 million more
Business roundup
Ardagh seeks $200 million more
Ardagh Group, which recently announced it intended to raise $500 million from a bond sale, is seeking to borrow another $200 million, The Irish Times reported this week.
The Irish-led company is parent of glass container manufacturing plants in Dunkirk and Winchester.
The $200 million in additional bonds will be used to repay an existing line of credit, the company said.
“The extra $200 million it is borrowing will be at 5.25% interest and be classed as senior secured debt repayable in 2025, the same terms at which Ardagh is offering the $500 million,” The Irish Times reported.
Employing more than 16,000 in 50 factories in 12 countries, Ardagh’s focus is on glass and metal containers for the food and drink industry.
The company said last week that it expected earnings for the first quarter of 2020 to be in line with its forecast $270 million.
In a statement, the company added that its focus on selling to food and drink processors had helped ensure that demand for its products remained “resilient.”
Plant closes
A Tyson Foods Inc. pork plant in Columbus Junction, Iowa, has suspended operations after more than two dozen employees tested positive for COVID-19.
Tyson, parent of Tyson Mexican Original of Portland, told Iowa news outlets the closure was in effort to"minimize the impact on our overall production." Livestock originally scheduled for delivery to that plant is now being diverted elsewhere.
"Our meat and poultry plants are experiencing varying levels of production impact, due to the planned implementation of additional worker safety precautions and worker absenteeism," officials said in a statement on Tyson’s website. "For example, out of an abundance of caution, we have suspended operations at our Columbus Junction, Iowa, pork plant this week due to more than two dozen cases of COVID-19 involving team members at the facility. In an effort to minimize the impact on our overall production, we’re diverting the livestock supply originally scheduled for delivery to Columbus Junction to some of our other pork plants in the region. While these are challenging times, we remain committed to protecting our people while continuing to meet the needs of our customers and consumers across America.”
Ethanol impacted
Biofuels giant POET, parent of POET Biorefining-Portland, announced this week that it will idle production at its bioprocessing facilities in Chancellor, South Dakota, Ashton, Iowa, and Coon Rapids, Iowa, and delay the start-up of its new plant in Shelbyville, Indiana., as producers across the United States continue to grapple with the economic fallout of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
The operational changes are expected to reduce corn demand by 110 million bushels on an annualized basis, freezing 330 million gallons of ethanol production across the four facilities.
POET has also significantly slowed production at other facilities, further decreasing corn demand.
“Across the board, biofuel producers and our partners in the farm community face an unprecedented challenge,” POET founder and chief executive officer Jeff Broin said in a prepared statement. “From day one of this crisis, we have placed the highest priority on protecting the health and welfare of our workers, partners and farm suppliers. At the same time, we are working hard to ensure that every biorefinery remains well-positioned to support a strong and swift recovery once daily life returns to normal. That means responding dynamically to shifting conditions and optimizing production, market by market, as the situation evolves over the next few months.”
Ethanol producers across the country are slashing production amid the ongoing crisis, the company said in a press release. Nationally, some predict a decline in fuel demand of up to 55 percent. If these conditions persist, it will result in an annualized drop in ethanol demand of up to eight billion gallons or 2.7 billion bushels of corn.
“As always, we will continue monitoring the situation closely and working with team members at each plant to stay ahead of market changes as the situation continues to evolve day by day,” POET President and Chief Operating Officer Jeff Lautt said. “
Suing Walmart
The estate of a Walmart worker who died of COVID-19 is suing the retailer, alleging it failed to provide workers with protective masks and gloves, failed to suitably disinfect the store and failed to be straight up with workers about the risks they faced, Chicago news outlets reported.
Wando Evans, a 51-year-old man who was a Walmart associate for 15 years, died March 25. A second employee of Walmart’s Evergreen Park, Illinois, store died from COVID-19 complications four days later.
The lawsuit, which seeks unspecified damages, was filed in Circuit Court of Cook County.
Test expansion
Walgreens and CVS Health are working to offer drive-thru COVID-19 testing.
Walgreens is rolling out testing at 15 sites n seven states, Arizona, Florida, Illinois, Kentucky, Louisiana, Tennessee and Texas. The exact locations are still being worked out in collaboration with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, according to the company.
CVS Health said it was launching two offsite testing locations with Abbott Laboratories’ faster diagnostic kit and would be able to handle 1,000 tests per day. CVS’ two new drive-thru COVID-19 testing sites are in Georgia and Rhode Island. Up to four more locations will follow.
Sales down
McDonald's this week reported first-quarter comparable sales declined 3.4%, as it had to shutter stores and stick to delivery or take-out due to the coronavirus outbreak across the globe.
Analysts had expected same-store sales to drop 0.91% for the quarter that ended March 31.
On the list
Jay County native Mary Meeker has again been named to the Barron’s magazine list of the 100 most influential women in American finance.
“It has been more than 21 years since a Barron’s cover story crowned Mary Meeker ‘Queen of the Net,’ and she’s still sitting on the throne,” wrote Eric Savitz of Barron’s.
“When that story ran in December 1998, Meeker was the Internet analyst at Morgan Stanley. After a long run as the Street’s most influential pundit on all things Web, she left Morgan in 2010 to become a partner at the legendary venture capital firm Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers. Meeker launched a new group focused on investing in late-stage private companies and took stakes in businesses like Waze, Square, Lending Club, Ring, NextDoor, DoorDash, Pinterest and Peloton. In late 2018, Meeker left Kleiner to start Bond Capital, which launched with a reported $1.25 billion fund, and continues to invest in late-stage technology companies,” he wrote.
Meeker, 60, is a graduate of Jay County High School and earned her undergraduate degree at DePauw University. She is the daughter of the late J. Gordon and Catherine Meeker.
Senior hours
Effective Tuesday, April 14, the Verizon Authorized Retailer in Portland will reserve 9 to 10 a.m. on Tuesdays and Wednesdays for customers ages 65 and older and for those who are at a higher risk to contract coronavirus.
The change, along with the introduction of curbside services, was made to offer added protection for customers and guests.during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Irish-led company is parent of glass container manufacturing plants in Dunkirk and Winchester.
The $200 million in additional bonds will be used to repay an existing line of credit, the company said.
“The extra $200 million it is borrowing will be at 5.25% interest and be classed as senior secured debt repayable in 2025, the same terms at which Ardagh is offering the $500 million,” The Irish Times reported.
Employing more than 16,000 in 50 factories in 12 countries, Ardagh’s focus is on glass and metal containers for the food and drink industry.
The company said last week that it expected earnings for the first quarter of 2020 to be in line with its forecast $270 million.
In a statement, the company added that its focus on selling to food and drink processors had helped ensure that demand for its products remained “resilient.”
Plant closes
A Tyson Foods Inc. pork plant in Columbus Junction, Iowa, has suspended operations after more than two dozen employees tested positive for COVID-19.
Tyson, parent of Tyson Mexican Original of Portland, told Iowa news outlets the closure was in effort to"minimize the impact on our overall production." Livestock originally scheduled for delivery to that plant is now being diverted elsewhere.
"Our meat and poultry plants are experiencing varying levels of production impact, due to the planned implementation of additional worker safety precautions and worker absenteeism," officials said in a statement on Tyson’s website. "For example, out of an abundance of caution, we have suspended operations at our Columbus Junction, Iowa, pork plant this week due to more than two dozen cases of COVID-19 involving team members at the facility. In an effort to minimize the impact on our overall production, we’re diverting the livestock supply originally scheduled for delivery to Columbus Junction to some of our other pork plants in the region. While these are challenging times, we remain committed to protecting our people while continuing to meet the needs of our customers and consumers across America.”
Ethanol impacted
Biofuels giant POET, parent of POET Biorefining-Portland, announced this week that it will idle production at its bioprocessing facilities in Chancellor, South Dakota, Ashton, Iowa, and Coon Rapids, Iowa, and delay the start-up of its new plant in Shelbyville, Indiana., as producers across the United States continue to grapple with the economic fallout of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
The operational changes are expected to reduce corn demand by 110 million bushels on an annualized basis, freezing 330 million gallons of ethanol production across the four facilities.
POET has also significantly slowed production at other facilities, further decreasing corn demand.
“Across the board, biofuel producers and our partners in the farm community face an unprecedented challenge,” POET founder and chief executive officer Jeff Broin said in a prepared statement. “From day one of this crisis, we have placed the highest priority on protecting the health and welfare of our workers, partners and farm suppliers. At the same time, we are working hard to ensure that every biorefinery remains well-positioned to support a strong and swift recovery once daily life returns to normal. That means responding dynamically to shifting conditions and optimizing production, market by market, as the situation evolves over the next few months.”
Ethanol producers across the country are slashing production amid the ongoing crisis, the company said in a press release. Nationally, some predict a decline in fuel demand of up to 55 percent. If these conditions persist, it will result in an annualized drop in ethanol demand of up to eight billion gallons or 2.7 billion bushels of corn.
“As always, we will continue monitoring the situation closely and working with team members at each plant to stay ahead of market changes as the situation continues to evolve day by day,” POET President and Chief Operating Officer Jeff Lautt said. “
Suing Walmart
The estate of a Walmart worker who died of COVID-19 is suing the retailer, alleging it failed to provide workers with protective masks and gloves, failed to suitably disinfect the store and failed to be straight up with workers about the risks they faced, Chicago news outlets reported.
Wando Evans, a 51-year-old man who was a Walmart associate for 15 years, died March 25. A second employee of Walmart’s Evergreen Park, Illinois, store died from COVID-19 complications four days later.
The lawsuit, which seeks unspecified damages, was filed in Circuit Court of Cook County.
Test expansion
Walgreens and CVS Health are working to offer drive-thru COVID-19 testing.
Walgreens is rolling out testing at 15 sites n seven states, Arizona, Florida, Illinois, Kentucky, Louisiana, Tennessee and Texas. The exact locations are still being worked out in collaboration with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, according to the company.
CVS Health said it was launching two offsite testing locations with Abbott Laboratories’ faster diagnostic kit and would be able to handle 1,000 tests per day. CVS’ two new drive-thru COVID-19 testing sites are in Georgia and Rhode Island. Up to four more locations will follow.
Sales down
McDonald's this week reported first-quarter comparable sales declined 3.4%, as it had to shutter stores and stick to delivery or take-out due to the coronavirus outbreak across the globe.
Analysts had expected same-store sales to drop 0.91% for the quarter that ended March 31.
On the list
Jay County native Mary Meeker has again been named to the Barron’s magazine list of the 100 most influential women in American finance.
“It has been more than 21 years since a Barron’s cover story crowned Mary Meeker ‘Queen of the Net,’ and she’s still sitting on the throne,” wrote Eric Savitz of Barron’s.
“When that story ran in December 1998, Meeker was the Internet analyst at Morgan Stanley. After a long run as the Street’s most influential pundit on all things Web, she left Morgan in 2010 to become a partner at the legendary venture capital firm Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers. Meeker launched a new group focused on investing in late-stage private companies and took stakes in businesses like Waze, Square, Lending Club, Ring, NextDoor, DoorDash, Pinterest and Peloton. In late 2018, Meeker left Kleiner to start Bond Capital, which launched with a reported $1.25 billion fund, and continues to invest in late-stage technology companies,” he wrote.
Meeker, 60, is a graduate of Jay County High School and earned her undergraduate degree at DePauw University. She is the daughter of the late J. Gordon and Catherine Meeker.
Senior hours
Effective Tuesday, April 14, the Verizon Authorized Retailer in Portland will reserve 9 to 10 a.m. on Tuesdays and Wednesdays for customers ages 65 and older and for those who are at a higher risk to contract coronavirus.
The change, along with the introduction of curbside services, was made to offer added protection for customers and guests.during the COVID-19 pandemic.
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