Today’s BUSINESS MINUTE is brought to you by Minuteman Press:
The owner of the troubled Ellwood City Medical Center has filed for and been granted federal bankruptcy protection. Americore Health LLC, which now lists its headquarters as St. Louis, MO., filed paperwork Tuesday in U.S. bankruptcy Court in the Eastern District of Kentucky seeking Chapter 11 protection. The court granted the motion Wednesday. No word yet on what impact this petition will have on the hospital, located on Pershing Street in Ellwood City, and the remaining approximately 20 employees there. At least 152 workers there have been laid off in the last month.
The Wawa convenience store chain is facing a wave of lawsuits over a data breach that affected its 850 locations along the East Coast. Pennsylvania-based Wawa Inc. says it discovered malware on its payment processing servers this month before stopping the breach Dec. 12th. Wawa officials believe the malware had been collecting card numbers, customers names and other data since as early as March. The Philadelphia Inquirer reported Friday that at least six lawsuits seeking class-action status have been filed in federal court in Philadelphia. A Wawa spokesman declined to comment on the pending litigation.
Shares of Dick’s Sporting Goods soared 18% in early trading after the company reported strong earnings and raised its guidance for the third time this year. The company has pulled back on gun sales recently, which generated some consumer backlash, but Dick’s seems to have put that controversy behind it. Sales at stores open at least a year were up 6% in the quarter. Its operating earnings were up 33% in the period. Dick’s first said it would stop selling assault rifles and limit all gun sales to buyers age 21 and older in the wake of the Parkland, Florida, school shooting.Next, Dick’s pulled firearms and the rest of its hunting goods out of 135 of its 855 stores. And CEO Ed Stack said earlier this year that the stores that gave up the hunting business are actually posting stronger sales since they’re using the extra space to sell products that are in higher demand.
and….Oil prices are up sharply and major stock markets are falling after U.S. forces in Iraq killed a top Iranian general. The price of oil surged 3.6% and major indexes were down 0.8% in early trading . The drops came after a bullish start to the New Year and a blockbuster gain in 2019. News of the death of Gen. Qassem Soleimani prompted expectations of Iranian retaliation. The S&P 500 fell 24 points, or 0.8%, to 3,233. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 241 points, or 0.8%, to 28,627. The Nasdaq lost 72 points, or 0.8%, to 9,020. Bond prices rose.