TransCanada, the company trying to build the disputed Keystone XL pipeline in the U.S., submitted a new application for the project Friday after changing the route to avoid the environmentally sensitive and groundwater-rich Sandhills region in Nebraska. TransCanada’s pipeline would carry oil from tar sands in western Canada to a company hub in Steele City, Neb. From there, the project would link up with other pipelines operated by the company to carry oil to refineries on the Texas Gulf Coast. President Barack Obama blocked the pipeline earlier this year, citing uncertainty over the Nebraska route — a decision that drew fire from Republicans and industry groups.
Berkshire Hathaway’s 1Q profit doubles
Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Inc. says its first-quarter profit more than doubled because its insurance units avoided major disaster losses and the paper value of its derivative contracts improved. Berkshire said Friday that it generated $3.245 billion net income, or $1,966 per Class A share. That’s up from last year’s $1.511 billion net income, or $917 per Class A share. Last year’s results were hurt by $1.1 billion in insurance losses from the Japanese earthquake and tsunami, Australian floods and the New Zealand earthquake.
Debt drives plane maker to bankruptcy
Economic turbulence that has shrunk the market for business jets forced Hawker Beechcraftof Wichita, Kan., to file for bankruptcy protection this week. Hawker Beechcraft’s plan would write an estimated $2.5 billion in debt off its books and eliminate almost $125 million in annual cash interest expenses. Hawker Beechcraft Corp.was purchased in a highly-leveraged deal at the peak of the general aviation market, just before the market tanked. Hawker Beechcraft employs some 7,400 people, with roughly 4,700 working at its Wichita facility.
Qantas puts Airbus superjumbo on hold
Australian flagship carrier Qantas Airways Ltd. says it is delaying delivery of two Airbus A380 planes to curb costs. The airline said Friday it would not take delivery of the A380s as scheduled in 2013. That would help it cut capital expenditure by $400 million. Instead, the double-decker superjumbos will arrive during the 2016-17 fiscal year. Qantas in February deferred for six months the delivery of the first of 50 Boeing 787 Dreamliners it had ordered.
Sprint CEO cuts his pay by $3.25M
Sprint Nextel CEO Dan Hesse on Friday said he’s cutting his 2012 pay by $3.25 million after shareholder complaints about how his 2011 pay was calculated. Sprint’s board bases the CEO’s pay on the company’s performance, but departed from its guidelines last year to exclude the cost of selling the iPhone. That boosted Hesse’s pay. “I do not want … to penalize Sprint employees for the company’s investment with Apple,” he said.
From Herald News Services
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