🎁Who gave away $6.1B? A stampede of rate hikes!

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Frontier Airlines is adding nonstop flights to 13 U.S. cities from D-FW Airport in April and May. Included are Charlotte, Chicago, Detroit, Fort Myers, Grand Rapids, Houston, Indianapolis, Los Angeles, Nashville, Salt Lake City, Omaha, Portland, and the Twin Cities. Frontier announced additional flights to existing routes -- D-FW to Cleveland, New York City, Puerto Rico, Jamaica and Puerto Vallarta.

HIG Holdings LLC, an entity tied to Fort Worth-based insurance brokerage Higginbotham, has raised more than $39 million in equity, according to a filing. Higginbotham has used acquisitions to branch out from Texas and build its network. Last year, the firm completed 11 deals.

Fort Worth-based AyuVis Research, a clinical-stage, bio-pharmaceutical company developing a new generation of immunotherapies to address inflammation and infection, has received FDA acceptance for its AVR-48 Investigational New Drug application and will proceed with a Phase 1 clinical trial. In pre-clinical tests, AVR-48 has shown the power to prevent inflammation and tissue damage, promote new lung cell growth, quiet the storm when the immune system produces too many inflammatory signals, and remain effective against multi-drug resistant infections.

Rage or respect? Read what ARCHITECT Magazine has to say about the modified Quonset hut look in the Near Southside. 

Stamp prices rise to 68 cents this weekend — the fifth hike in less than three years. This probably won’t be the only stamp price increase in 2024, either. Last fall, officials attributed the aggressive price increases to “inflationary pressures on operating expenses and the effects of a previously defective pricing model.” Translation: We're losing money faster than ever.

Arnulfo “Trey” Sánchez III, chef at Vaqueros Texas Bar-B-Q in Grapevine, is a semifinalist in the 2024 James Beard Foundation's Best Chef: Texas. The awards recognize restauranteurs, authors, chefs and journalists. Vaqueros Texas Bar-B-Q is open Thurs-Sun at Hop & Sting Brewery. Other D-FW chefs who made the list of 20 were: Misti Norris, Petra & the Beast, Dallas; Anastacia Quiñones-Pittman, José, Dallas; Regino Rojas, Purépecha, Dallas; Rich Vana, The Heritage Table, Frisco. In addition, David Uygur, chef at Lucia in Dallas, made the nationwide semifinalist list of 20 Outstanding Chefs, and La Casita Bakeshop, in Richardson, is among 20 nationwide semifinalists for Outstanding Bakery.

Fort Worth is adding $17.2 million from the sale of the downtown Central Library to the general fund and $50,000 to the FY2023-2027 Capital Improvement Program. A permanent downtown library location is undecided, but an interim location will open at City Hall at 200 Texas St. The city also will lease space at 9336 Clifford Street for a new branch library.

The Texas Comptroller has implemented changes for 2024 about reporting requirements for entities transacting business in Texas, according to attorney Preston Polk at Cantey Hanger. In July 2023, the legislature passed Senate Bill 3, which increased the no tax due threshold to $2.47 million of annualized total revenue. Senate Bill 3 also provides that entities under this threshold no longer must file a No-Tax Due Report; all that is required is filing a Public Information Report. Failure to file the Public Information Report can result in forfeiture of an entity’s right to do business in Texas.

General Motors confirmed its OnStar insurance is being rebranded GM Insurance. Here is the 48-word quote why: “Shifting to the GM Insurance name and branding will drive increased product awareness and understanding among GM customers and allows us to better reach these customers at key milestones in the vehicle ownership life cycle, ultimately providing an auto insurance product that is safer, smarter and more personalized,” said Andrew Rose, President of GM Insurance and Executive VP at GM Financial. 

The Navy has finalized its award of 15 positions on a five-year contract with a $245.9 million ceiling that covers research and development work on undersea systems. Among the award recipients are Elbit Systems of America, Lockheed Martin and L3Harris Technologies. 

Three North Texas educators spent part of their holiday break in the hospital to give the most precious gift of all – life. At Texas Health Harris Methodist Hospital Fort Worth, the teachers underwent surgery to donate a kidney to someone in need.

Non-profits, listen up: Schwab Charitable says owners of Donor Advised Funds granted $6.1 billion to charity during 2023, an increase of 31% compared to 2022. Donors supported more than 127,000 charities with 1+ million grants.

New business applications in Texas between December 2022 and December 2023 rose 4.4%. Colorado (+115%), North Dakota (+37.7%) and Iowa (+33.7%) had the highest YOY change according to Census Bureau data. Georgia (-9.9%) and Louisiana (-8.6%) dropped most. Colorado’s growth was driven in part by the cost of a new business filing, which temporarily dropped from $50 to $1.

Quick hits:

• This Euless baby clothing company was rattled by how it treated an employee who had an adopted baby recovering in the NICU. The CEO's response on TikTok didn't help.

• Why is the federal government slow-trafficking a BNSF proposal for checking braking systems when everyone seems to want it? 

• Filings by Textron showed revenues from its Bell helicopters segment rose to $1.1 billion in the fourth quarter of 2023, up 31% year-over-year. Deliveries rose to 91 versus 71.

Believe it or not: Billboard reports that one of every 15 vinyl albums sold in the U.S. last year was a Taylor Swift record.

Nothing to do with business: Baby names that are expected to trend in 2024 and those that could be extinct.

People on the move:

• Lancarte Commercial Real Estate: Appoints Paul Tesdal Managing Director

• Goodwill North Central Texas: 2024 Board Chair is Patrick Gotcher, retired, and Chair-Elect/ Treasurer is Jerry Thompson, Inwood Bank

• Aspen Wealth Management: Hires John Stephens as Chief Operating Officer

Snippets:

• Five TED Talks that will make you smarter and more persuasive.

• If you use any of these six phrases daily, you’re “genuinely happier” than most, according to “happiness experts.” 

Last issue’s poll: Which of the remaining teams do you predict will be this year’s Super Bowl winner? Answers: Chiefs (30%), Ravens (28%), 49ers (23%), Lions (19%).