The Austin Times

A Multicultural News Source

UFC owners turn $2 million into $4 billion

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The sale dwarfs previous sales of any sports franchise. The Los Angeles Dodgers was bought out of bankruptcy for $2.1 billion in 2012, making it the largest sales price on record for a single franchise. Close behind was the $2 billion purchase of the Los Angeles Clippers by former Microsoft (MSFT, Tech30) CEO Steve Ballmer in 2014. UFC was launched in 1993 and purchased for just $2 million in 2001 by casino operators Lorenzo and Frank Fertitta. Chairman and CEO Lorenzo Fertitta said it was … [Read more...]

Macy’s is in serious trouble

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Donald Trump may have reason to gloat on Twitter again about the latest troubles facing Macy's -- the iconic retailer that dumped Trump's clothing line last year. Macy's reported sales for the first quarter on Wednesday that fell more than 7% from a year ago and missed forecasts. The company also lowered its sales and earnings outlook for the year. Same-store sales -- a key measure of financial health at retailers that looks at sales for stores open at least a year -- have now fallen for … [Read more...]

Wall Street pares dramatic losses in turbulent action

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Wall Street dropped on Monday in tumultuous action, but stocks managed to rebound sharply from much heavier losses. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) skidded 162.1 points, or 0.95%, to 16304.60, the S&P 500 (^GSPC) dropped 23.2 points, or 1.2%, to 1947.8, and the Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) fell 25.5 points, or 0.6%, to 4679.3. Despite the selling, the markets actually bounced back substantially from the lows of the day within less than an hour of the opening bell. For example, the … [Read more...]

Governor: Puerto Rico near ‘death spiral’

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Puerto Rico is teetering near a "death spiral" as it nears a government debt default, its governor says. Puerto Rico can no longer make payments on its $73 billion in debt, according to Governor Alejandro Garcia Padilla, who warns the island is perilously close to entering a "death spiral" "The debt is not payable ... there is no other option. This is not politics, this is math," Garcia Padilla told the New York Times in an interview published Sunday evening. "But we have to make the economy … [Read more...]

OPEC isn’t scared of $40 oil

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OPEC won't rush to cut oil production even if prices fall as low as $40 per barrel, one of the cartel's members said Sunday. The energy minister for the United Arab Emirates told Bloomberg at a Dubai conference that the middle eastern oil producers believe "the market will stabilize itself." "We are not going to change our minds because the prices went to $60 or to $40," Suhail Al-Mazrouei said. Even as it has watched prices dip, OPEC declined to cut back on production at its November … [Read more...]

Kmart opens before breakfast on Thanksgiving

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Stores will open at 6 a.m. on Turkey Day, beating most other big box retailers to the punch. Sears (SHLD), which is owned by the same company, as well as Macy's (M) and Kohl's (KSS) aren't opening their doors until 6 p.m. that evening. Other stores, including Costco (COST) and Nordstrom (JWN), have said they'll remain closed the entire day, kicking off their holiday shopping on Black Friday. Kmart has actually been open on Thanksgiving Day for the past 23 years. But last year some … [Read more...]

U.S. fast-food workers protest, demand a ‘living wage’

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Fast-food workers went on strike and protested outside McDonald's, Burger King and other restaurants in 60 U.S. cities on Thursday, in the largest protest of an almost year-long campaign to raise service sector wages. Rallies were held in cities from New York to Oakland and stretched into the South, historically difficult territory for organized labor. The striking workers say they want to unionize without retaliation in order to collectively bargain for a "living wage." They are … [Read more...]

Unemployment falls to 7.4 percent, black joblessness hits low for the year

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U.S. employers added 162,000 jobs in July, the fewest since March. The gains were enough to lower the unemployment rate to a 4½ -year low of 7.4 percent, a good sign in an otherwise lackluster report The Labor Department said Friday that unemployment fell from 7.6 percent in June as more Americans found jobs. Still, the economy created 26,000 fewer jobs in May and June than previously estimated. Americans worked fewer hours in July, and their pay dipped. The figures suggest weak economic … [Read more...]

U.S. employers add 175K jobs, rate up to 7.6 pct.

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U.S. employers added 175,000 jobs in May, a gain that shows hiring is improving at a still-modest but steady pace. The Labor Department said Friday that the unemployment rate rose to 7.6 percent from 7.5 percent in April. The increase occurred because more people began looking for work, a healthy sign. About three-quarters found jobs. The rest added to the ranks of the unemployed. The government revised the job figures for the previous two months. April's gains were lowered to 149,000 from … [Read more...]

Forbes Five: Hip-Hop’s Wealthiest Artists

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Sean “Diddy” Combs rose to mainstream fame in the late 1990s rapping about his desire for Benjamins, otherwise known as $100 bills. A decade and a half later, he might need to consider some larger denominations—McKinleys, Clevelands and Madisons, perhaps—to express his wealth. Diddy ranks No. 1 on this year’s Forbes Five, our list of hip-hop’s wealthiest artists, with an estimated net worth of $580 million. The bulk of the Bad Boy Records founder’s wealth comes from non-musical ventures, … [Read more...]

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