GROCERY
Pricing set at Giant Eagle
Pittsburgh-based grocer Giant Eagle said that as of Thursday prices on a variety of “seasonal” items became part of what it calls its “Low Price Lock” campaign.
It marks the third such program the retailer has offered.
TRADE SHOW
Manufacturing Mart in May
A manufacturing supply chain trade and networking show, Manufacturing Mart 2013, will take place 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. May 14 and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. May 15 at the John S. Knight Center in downtown Akron.
The show is aimed at manufacturing and supply chain professionals.
Last year’s show attracted 140 exhibitors with more than 3,000 people attending, said organizers at Cleveland-based Manufacturing Mart.
Cost to attend both days is $10; cost to attend a networking reception is $95.
For more information, go to www.mfgtradeshow.com.
RETAIL
Penney gets advice, good news
J.C. Penney has hired the Blackstone Group to help it raise much-needed cash, a person briefed on the matter said, as the embattled retailer tries a turnaround after replacing its chief executive.
The long-struggling company is seeking to revive its battered fortunes with greater urgency after the troubled 17-month tenure of Ron Johnson, the former head of Apple’s retail operations, as chief executive.
He was fired Monday and replaced with Myron E. Ullman III, his predecessor.
Analysts have estimated that Penney could burn through as much as $1 billion this year. It is unclear how the company and Blackstone’s advisory arm will seek to raise the money, though potential options could include selling additional equity or some of the real estate that the retailer owns.
Penney got some welcome news Friday: The company can sell — for now — some goods designed by Martha Stewart that were destined for shelves this spring, a New York State Supreme Court judge ruled.
Rival department store chain Macy’s Inc. had sought to bar J.C. Penney Co. from selling some items designed by Martha Stewart under the name JCP Everyday. Macy’s has an exclusive deal with Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia to sell some categories of items under the Martha Stewart name.
The ruling lets Penney sell the items, which are labeled JCP Everyday and don’t carry the Stewart name, until the lawsuit is fully decided.
Macy’s said it plans to appeal the ruling.
ENERGY
California fracking debated
California’s dream of billions in windfall oil revenue from the Monterey shale deposit that runs through the center of the state might fall short as its complex geology rewards industry efforts with only mixed results.
The formation is vast yet disjointed, partly because of the state’s earthquakes, and can be too unpredictable to make drilling economical, even with developments in hydraulic fracturing techniques known as fracking, said Jason Marshall, chief deputy director of the state Conservation Department. The agency regulates the industry.
A University of Southern California study projected as many as 2.8 million jobs and $24.6 billion in state and local tax revenue by 2020 from development of the oil shale. The 1,750-square-mile deposit extends southeast of San Francisco, from about Modesto to Bakersfield, at an average depth of 11,000 feet.
British earthquake study
Hydraulic fracturing used to access oil and gas from rock and shale hasn’t caused “significant” earthquakes, according to a Durham University study.
“Hydraulic fracturing is not a significant mechanism for inducing felt earthquakes,” Richard Davies, director of the United Kingdom university’s energy institute, said in a statement. “The size and number of felt earthquakes caused by fracking is low compared to other man-made triggers such as mining, geothermal activity or reservoir water storage.”
Drilling by Cuadrilla Resources Ltd. caused two tremors in 2011 in northwest England, leading to an 18-month moratorium on the method known as fracking, which uses water, chemicals and sand to blast underground rock and release trapped fuel.
AUTO INDUSTRY
Safety, steel use debated
U.S. Steel Corp., the country’s largest producer by volume, said the steel industry will emphasize safety to consumers as it tries to fend off the use of alternative materials in the auto industry.
Automakers are looking to materials such as high-strength steel, aluminum and magnesium to reduce vehicle weight and cut fuel consumption to help meet stricter U.S. rules.
Compiled from staff and wire reports