Everett-based Valley Electric Co. has purchased D.W. Close Co., one of the region’s largest electrical contractors, the companies announced Wednesday. Terms of the sale were not released. D.W. Close, which has 165 employees and annual revenues of $28 million, specializes in construction, design and maintenance services for commercial and industrial companies. It previously was owned by Illinois-based MYR Group.
Wall St. breaks out champagne
Uncork the Cristal, break out the beluga. It’s bonus time on Wall Street. Bonuses for employees of the city’s financial services firms are expected to total $15.9 billion – a sum that works out to an average windfall of $100,400 for the industry’s 158,000 employees, according to a survey released Wednesday.
Fannie Mae’s woes not over
The forced departure of Franklin Raines as chief executive of Fannie Mae hardly ends the turmoil at the nation’s second largest financial institution. Civil, criminal and congressional investigations are under way as the mortgage giant’s interim managers begin what could be a lengthy process of cleaning up the books and re-establishing the mortgage lender’s credibility. But in good news for consumers, analysts said Wednesday they did not believe Fannie Mae’s troubles would cause any disruptions in the nation’s $8 trillion mortgage market.
GM plans more worker buyouts
General Motors Corp. plans to offer another round of early retirement offers and buyout packages to its U.S. salaried workers early in 2005, the company said Wednesday. GM, the world’s largest automaker, declined to say how many of its 38,000 U.S. salaried employees would receive the offers. GM, like some other automakers and suppliers, has been shrinking its work force in recent years in the face of declining market share, weak automotive profits and mounting health care and pension costs.
Blockbuster cuts its online prices
Blockbuster Inc. is cutting the cost of its monthly online rental service, the latest salvo in a price war with Netflix Inc. and Wal-Mart Stores Inc. Blockbuster, the largest movie-rental chain in the country, said Wednesday it was cutting the price of a monthly subscription to its online ordering, mail delivery service to $14.99 from $17.49. The Dallas-based company said it was also expanding its online inventory to 30,000 titles from 25,000. A similar service from Wal-Mart costs $15.54 a month, and $17.99 at Netflix.
From Herald staff
and news services
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
