Ruby Tuesday may sell its business
Ruby Tuesday said it will explore strategic alternatives including a sale or merger, and that a key sales figure fell in the latest quarter.
The restaurant chain said it’s at the start of its strategic review and it doesn’t plan to make more public comments until the process is completed. It said it can give no assurances to the outcome or timing. Its shares surged nearly 18 percent in after-hours trading.
The company reported preliminary results for the quarter ended Feb. 28, with sales down 4 percent at established locations. The metric is considered a key indicator of financial health because it strips out the volatility of newly opened and closed locations.
Ruby Tuesday Inc. operates more than 600 restaurants in 42 states and 14 countries, including local outlets in Hixson and Athens, Tenn., Fort Payne, Ala., and Calhoun, Ga.
Gas, oil prices fall as production rises
Gasoline prices fell by nearly 2 cents per gallon in Chattanooga last week to $2 per gallon as a glut of oil continued to drive down oil prices.
According to a GasBuddy.com survey of 170 service stations in Chattanooga, the average price of regular gas fell by 1.9 cents in Chattanooga to $2 per gallon, or 29 cents per gallon less than the U.S. average. The drop left gas prices about where they were a month ago in Chattanooga, although they remain nearly 23 cents per gallon higher than a year ago.
“A sudden plunge in the price of oil is likely to weigh on gas prices, at least temporarily,” said Patrick DeHaan, senior petroleum analyst for GasBuddy.com. “I remain optimistic that the annual spring rally at the pump could be less severe than expected, but remain cautious as it remains difficult to know where the new path will lead oil prices in the week ahead.”
On the New York Mercantile Exchange Monday, April West Texas intermediate crude oil fell another 9 cents to $48.40 per barrel.
Yahoo names McInerney as new CEO with bonus
Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer will be replaced when the firm is sold to Verizon and what remains becomes an investment company called Altaba.
Board member Thomas McInerney, 52, a former executive with internet firm InterActiveCorp and Ticketmaster, will take her place, Yahoo said in a Securities and Exchange Commission filing Monday.
Mayer will receive a golden parachute of $23,011,325, according to a proxy statement Yahoo filed Monday. It was not immediately clear why that figure was lower than the $55 million Yahoo specified in an earlier proxy statement.
On March 1, Yahoo announced that because of the data breaches, its board had stripped Mayer of her $2 million annual bonus for 2016 and she had forfeited her 2017 annual equity grant of at least $12 million in restricted stock and stock options.
Board says Puerto Rico must cut pension costs
A federal control board on Monday said Puerto Rico needs to cut its public pension system by 10 percent, furlough tens of thousands of government workers and eliminate Christmas bonuses if it cannot generate other kinds of savings amid an economic recession.
The seven-member board created by Congress to oversee the U.S. territory’s finances voted unanimously to add those measures to a 10-year fiscal plan presented by the island’s governor. The measures will be implemented if the government fails to find other ways to cut spending and generate revenue.
Board members said the spending cuts will be necessary so the government will have enough funds to pay for essential services such as education, health and public safety.
“Puerto Rico is about to capsize,” said board member David Skeel. “The island is overwhelmed by debt. Puerto Rico is in real danger of running out of money for even the most basic essential services.”