The daily business briefing: January 22, 2024
1. FAA recommends inspections of another Boeing 737 model
The Federal Aviation Administration late Sunday urged airlines to inspect door plugs installed on another Boeing jet model. The second model, the 737-900ER, has the same door plug design as the 737 Max 9, which came under scrutiny after one of the panels blew off on an Alaska Airlines flight on Jan. 5, forcing the jetliner to make an emergency landing. The FAA grounded 171 737 Max 9 jets pending inspections and recommended that airlines examine door plugs in the older 737-900ER models as an "added layer of safety." Boeing shares fell nearly 3% in premarket trade Monday. The Boeing 737-900ER has more than 11 million hours of operation, but Boeing said it "fully" supports "the FAA and our customers in this action." The New York Times, CNN
2. Macy's rejects Arkhouse takeover offer
Macy's announced Sunday it had rejected a $5.8 billion purchase bid submitted by Arkhouse Management and Brigade Capital Management on Dec. 1. Macy's said Arkhouse's offer to buy Macy's shares it doesn't already own for $21 a share showed a "lack of compelling value" for the struggling department store company. Macy's said last week it was closing five more stores and cutting 3.5% of its workforce. Arkhouse has said it might raise its offer or take the matter to shareholders. Macy's shares surged after initial reports on the bid to take the company private but later gave up a big chunk of the gains. The stock closed Friday at $17.63, putting the company's market capitalization at $4.8 billion, according to The Wall Street Journal. Axios, The Wall Street Journal
3. Russian energy company idles fuel terminal after drone attack
Russian energy company Novatek said Sunday it has suspended operations at its giant Ust-Luga Baltic Sea fuel export terminal due to a fire started by an apparent Ukrainian drone attack. Novatek ships oil and gas products to international buyers from its complex on the Gulf of Finland. The company did not say how long the terminal would be out of commission or how many tankers would be stuck waiting for it to reopen. Russia put other critical infrastructure facilities in the surrounding Leningrad region on high alert after the attack, which the Interfax-Ukraine news agency, citing unidentified sources, said was the work of Ukraine's security services. Reuters
4. Stock futures rise after S&P 500's Friday record high
U.S. stock futures rose slightly early Monday, putting the S&P 500 in a position to add to its all-time high from Friday. Futures tied to the S&P 500 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average were up 0.4% and 0.2%, respectively, at 7 a.m. ET — although changes in futures don't necessarily indicate where stocks are headed at the opening bell. Nasdaq futures were up 0.6%. The S&P 500 broke its intraday and closing records on Friday after surging back from losses earlier in the week. The Dow and the tech-heavy Nasdaq also gained in the tech-driven rally. All three of the main U.S. benchmark indexes are now positive in 2024. CNBC, Morningstar
5. Percentage of teens working reaches highest level since 2009
An increasing number of high schoolers are working after-school and summer jobs these days as more part-time work becomes available, The Washington Post reported Sunday. At least 250,000 more teens are employed now than before the start of the coronavirus pandemic. In 2022, 37% of 16- to 19-year-olds had a job or were looking for one, the most since 2009, according to the Labor Department. Economists said a gradual shift toward more teen employment was supercharged by the abundance of post-pandemic jobs in businesses like restaurants and stores amid a tight labor market. "They're energetic and ready to work, which wasn't really the case with the previous generation of millennials," Albuquerque pizzeria owner Nilo Gonzalez told the Post. The Washington Post
