💸Holt's move jolts bank landscape; Kinley growing, Paragon dealing; Sabre loves its PLAYtime.

BNSF Railway said it has reached a tentative 5-year agreement with the International Association of Sheet Metal, Air, Rail and Transportation Workers (SMART) union. If ratified by union members, it provides a 3.5% average wage increase per year and includes improvements in healthcare benefits and provisions that offer railroaders more vacation days earlier in their career.

According to the Dallas Business Journal, the parent company of Addison-based Liberty Capital Bank has agreed to merge with Southwestern Bancorp Inc., the holding company for Boerne-based Texas Heritage Bank. The combined financial institution will have more than $640 million in assets, roughly $548 million in deposits and almost $454 million in loans. Holt Lunsford is Founder and Chairman of Liberty Capital Bank, and owner of Holt Lunsford Commercial, with offices in Fort Worth, Dallas and Houston.

Lockheed is putting funds toward early development work on the JASSM cruise missile, which could “significantly” expand the missile’s reach past the JASSM and the Long-Range Anti-Ship Missile variants being produced for the Air Force and Navy, said Michael Rothstein, Lockheed’s vice president of air weapons and sensors.

It hasn't been a good year for American Airlines stock. Yahoo Finance takes a look at it potentially having bottomed out.

Arlington-based Kinley, a 129-year-old company, has opened specialized, regional offices in Houston, Kansas City, Denver, and Seattle, though each will have full project capabilities. The specialties are electrical and energy, railroads, aviation and commercial building. Kinley says it has created 35 jobs at this point. 

Arlington approved its 2025 operating budget that includes a property tax rate increase, the first since 2004. The $722 million budget has a 1-cent tax rate increase worth an estimated $4.1 million. 

ECI Software Solutions has announced an integration of its EvolutionX that enables office technology businesses to deliver a fully personalized customer experience through a B2B e-commerce platform with real-time data.

Fort Worth-based Paragon Energy Solutions, a supplier of safety-related products and components for the nuclear industry, has agreed to become the exclusive North American representative of IMI Process Automation's valves and other related equipment. Doug VanTassell is President and CEO of Paragon. 

The new Texas Business Court will be housed at the Texas A&M School of Law-Fort Worth. John Goff writes why it is a significant milestone.

GameStop CEO Ryan Cohen agreed to pay a nearly $1 million penalty to settle the U.S. Federal Trade Commission's claim that he failed to immediately report a 2018 acquisition of more than $100 million worth of Wells Fargo & Co voting shares. Cohen waited three years to notify the agency after he amassed shares above the $100 million reporting threshold.

Southlake-based Sabre has signed a multi-year distribution agreement with PLAY Airlines, an Icelandic low-cost carrier that operates out of Ontario. PLAY is continuing to grow its presence in key markets -- the Nordics, the U.S. and Canada.

Tarrant County College Chancellor Elva LeBlanc and Dallas College Chancellor Justin Lonon received the North Texas Commission 2024 Education Leadership Award. TCC and Dallas College last month signed an agreement to help fill the region’s high-demand jobs. The colleges will consider economic development centers for emerging technologies and a consortium to fill healthcare vacancies.

Plano-based Pizza Hut is offering 25 job seekers in New York City a chance to print their resumes onto pizza boxes and have them delivered to potential employers. According to the chain’s CMO: “Who could possibly ignore a resume when it’s delivered as a delicious pizza?”

Texas Education Commissioner Mike Morath said next year, lawmakers should ban the use of cell phones in public schools across the state. 

Stocks and ETFs traded on exchanges can be quoted in half-penny increments under rules unanimously approved by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. “The one-penny minimum has become outdated,” SEC Chair Gary Gensler said.

The owner and manager of the cargo ship that caused the Baltimore bridge collapse recklessly cut corners and ignored known electrical problems, the Justice Department alleged in a lawsuit seeking to recover more than $100 million that the government spent to clear the underwater debris and re-open the city’s port.

Snippet: Fed rate cut - what it means for bank accounts, CDs, loans, and credit cards.

Significant stat: Michelle Crim of Dynamic Development Strategies shares this about repeat donors … According to the Association of Fundraising Professionals, donor retention rates in the U.S. are alarmingly low, with an average of just 44% of donors returning each year. Gift retention rates — meaning donors who give again within a year — hover around 49%. Nearly half of all donors are unlikely to make a second gift.

Daily digit: $7.1 million - Price for the most expensive home listed for sale in Fort Worth. It’s a 5 bedroom, 5.5 bath, 9,100+-sq ft home close to TCU and a short walk from Colonial Country Club. Included is a 700-bottle wine room and a 725-sq ft guest house.

Announcements: 

• United Way of Tarrant County: Appoints Bill Johnson Director of its Mission United program.

• White Rhino Coffee: Names Maddie Sanders Senior Marketing Manager.

• Simpli.fi: 2024 Digiday Technology Awards winner for Best Location Data Platform.

• Brackett & Ellis: Adds attorney James Sanders, a Baylor School of Law graduate.

• Victory Awning: Announces Peyton Hiett and President Chandry Mankze to lead woman-owned company, replacing founders Larry Buck and Earl Guantt.