Wet Seal, the California-based retailer of young women’s clothing, plans to open a new store in Everett Mall by the fall. Construction is already under way on the new store, located near Steve &Barry’s, which opened Wednesday in the mall’s south wing. Wet Seal has more than 450 stores across the U.S., including one in Lynnwood’s Alderwood mall.
Bothell biotech raises $26 million
Northwest Biotherapeutics Inc. said Friday that it has placed nearly 15.8 million shares of its common stock with foreign institutional investors, raising about $26 million for the Bothell biotechnology company. Also, the company executed a reverse stock split that combines every 15 shares of Northwest Biotherapeutics’ stock into one share.
Blackstone shares rise 13 percent
Blackstone Group shares rose 13 percent in their stock market debut Friday, as investors scrambled for a piece of the sixth-richest initial public offering in U.S. history. Chief Executive Stephen Schwarzman now controls a firm whose market value stands at about $38 billion. His personal wealth also skyrocketed, with a 24 percent stake in Blackstone’s management partnership worth around $8 billion, on top of the roughly $449 million he was expected to cash out in the IPO.
Delphi wage pact may set pattern
Struggling auto parts maker Delphi Corp. reached a tentative wage-cutting agreement Friday with its largest union in what may set the pattern for future pay in the U.S. automotive parts industry. The deal, which still must be voted on by Delphi members of the United Auto Workers, was signed just before a 1 p.m. meeting between the UAW leadership and presidents of the union’s locals. Details of the agreement were not released, but Delphi said in a statement it’s a “significant milestone” in the company’s quest to emerge from Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.
Automakers’ plan called posturing
Claims by the three major domestic automakers that they must cut average wage-and-benefit costs by $30 per hour to compete with Asian rivals are merely pre-negotiation posturing, two top United Auto Workers officials told members Friday. In an Internet chat with union members, UAW President Ron Gettelfinger and Vice President Cal Rapson said they have heard reports of the $30-per-hour figure, but said they will not negotiate in the press. The men were responding to a question about how to make sure automakers survive without giving major concessions.
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