✈️Pilots can party; Blowback on buybacks & Skiplagging

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🗞️NEWS OF THE DAY:

Westlake to get new luxury neighborhood: A residential development in Westlake is closer to breaking ground south of the Plaza at Solana. Called Solana Hills by Houston developer Lovett, it totals approximately 33 acres, with 59 homes starting at $1.2 million.

What would Amon say? Fort Worth-based LanCarte Commercial finalized an investment sale of a 50,000-square-foot industrial property at 11126 Shady Trail Parkway in Dallas. Three buildings and 18 units are on a nearly 3-acre site.

The National Science Foundation has provided $800,000 in funding to UT-Arlington Electrical Engineering Professor Yan Wan to develop an open-networked, airborne computing platform for drones. Used by first responders, the "robots in the air" can help find disaster victims, guide rescuers and more.

Following up on its downsizing announcement, Westlake-based Charles Schwab Corp. said it plans to cut jobs and close or downsize some corporate offices to save $500 million annually. It also expects to incur initial expenses of about $400-to-$500 million from employee compensation, benefits and facility exit costs.

The Fort Worth City Council approved yesterday an $18 million incentive package for the construction and operation of a new e-commerce regional headquarters and distribution center in North Fort Worth. The 1901-founded McMaster-Carr sells over 700,000 tools, hardware, and industrial items to plants across the U.S. It plans to invest at least $360 million in a newly constructed regional HQ in North Fort Worth, creating 250 new jobs.

Blowback on buybacks: Business groups, led by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, have sued to vacate the requirement that companies disclose their rationale for repurchasing stock, arguing it violates protections against compelled speech, according to Bloomberg Law. Other federal agencies could be affected. “A loss here for the SEC will be a loss for the kind of protective regulation that the United States has enjoyed for decades and decades,” Georgetown Law professor David Vladeck said.

American Airlines has sued Skiplagged, accusing the company of deceiving passengers. AA alleges that the website tricks passengers into thinking they’re getting “access to some kind of secret ‘loophole’” while in some cases actually charging them more money than if they booked with the airline. The loophole goes by several names — skiplagging, hidden-city ticketing and point-beyond ticketing — all of which refer to the practice of booking a flight with a layover and then getting off at the layover city instead of traveling to the final destination.

Grapevine-based Solo Brands, known for its "fire" product, Solo Stove, announced it acquired portable air-conditioning innovator IcyBreeze on July 1. The purchase price is reported to be $30 million.

The City of Fort Worth will purchase 140 dormitory units from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in its first community land trust for affordable housing. The 15-acre property at West Drew Street and McCart Avenue eventually could be sold to a nonprofit that will run the first community land trust. 

Are any doctors in the house? Remote Area Medical, in partnership with HSC, will provide free dental, vision and medical care Nov. 4-5 at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. If you can volunteer, click here.

Big picture: Remote work has fallen off of its peak since the pandemic, but it's shown remarkable staying power. About 35% of workers with jobs that could be done remotely are working from home all of the time, down from 43% in January 2022 and 55% in October 2022.

Greg Anderson, the Deputy Chancellor, Finance and Operations for the University of North Texas, has resigned, effective October 27. He wants to be closer to family in the Bryan / College Station area. He has been affiliated with the UNT System since June 2016.

🩴🩴PEOPLE ON THE MOVE:

• Clarus: Appoints Gil Gibson President and CEO

• JTaylor: Promotes Haley Adams to Partner within Consulting Services

• Camp Fire First Texas: Names Jenny Wester Vice President of Youth Development

• Balcom Agency: Hires Wallace Cruz as Multi-Media Art Director

• Stream Realty Partners: Promotes Matt Dornak to Partner

✂️SNIPPETS:

• Banks don’t love rich mortgage borrowers as much as they used to. (WSJ gift article)

• You may be saving the Texas environment with your EV, but it's going to cost you an extra $200 per year under a new state law.

• The sale of homes priced at $2 million+ soared by 53% in July in DFW.

• Lawmakers weigh tax rule ‘backslide’ for Venmo, PayPal users. Some are pushing to increase the IRS reporting threshold of $600 for Form 1099-K, which covers third-party business payments.

• The dog days of summer are boom times for divorce. If you think budgeting and saving are hard in this economy, imagine splitting up in it.