Schwab's $350B weekend; Kitty roars; Airlines sue Biden admin

The surprise social media return of Kevin (Roaring Kitty) Gill, the trader who helped ignite the meme stock frenzy in 2021, sent GameStop shares skyrocketing 74% Monday and another 59% Tuesday. His X account had been dormant nearly three years before posting a cartoon of a gamer. Other meme stocks from the pandemic era are moving just as radically. AMC Entertainment, the movie theater operator, leaped 32% Tuesday.

Fort Worth last night was expected to approve the issuance of up to $230 million in bonds from issuer Red River Education Finance Corporation to Texas Christian University to finance and refinance the acquisition, construction and equipment of improvements to the campus. The city must approve issuance for the bonds to qualify them as tax-exempt obligations.

Westlake-based Charles Schwab announced it has completed the final round of client account transitions associated with the acquisition of Ameritrade. Last weekend, 1.8 million Ameritrade client accounts were transitioned, representing approximately $350 billion in assets—the final 10 percent of the Ameritrade client population. 

Trade group Airlines for America, Delta Air Lines, American Airlines, United Airlines, JetBlue Airways Corp., Hawaiian Airlines, and Alaska Airlines are suing the Biden administration over its new rule requiring airlines to disclose extra fees on purchases.

Dallas-based Direct Retail Partners wants a re-zoning change to build 423 apartments above commercial sites east of the intersection of U.S. 287 and Bonds Ranch Road. It is next to property for a new Kroger store and near land owned by grocery chain H-E-B.

Fort Worth has appointed City Manager David Cooke to the Board of the Multipurpose Arena Fort Worth, a privately created Texas non-profit corporation, which assists the city in agricultural pursuits and Dickies Arena. 

Fort Worth-based CG Environmental has been acquired by EnviroServe Inc., a national provider of environmental and waste management services. CG Environmental is a regional provider of specialty environmental remediation, emergency response, and waste management services across Texas, Colorado, Oklahoma, Missouri and surrounding regions. Its "Annihilator" solutions enable customers to clean up spills more efficiently on pavements than traditional solutions.

New art is blossoming at Meow Wolf Grapevine, but not inside the explorable house. The immersive, interactive exhibition is expanding past the entrance doors into the parking lot. Tin District artist Lauren Lewchuk will unveil a mural covering the parking lot area adjacent to Meow Wolf on May 27.

The North Texas Commission has re-launched the Emerging Leaders of North Texas program, which provides 20-40-year-old professionals with the knowledge and resources to enhance their professional development, be paired with a professional mentor, as well as an additional lens to learn about the North Texas region's exponential growth, challenges, and opportunities. Apply by May 20.

Fort Worth has started its planning for the 2025 budget, projected at $1.049 billion, a 3.5% increase. It is leaning heavily on a process called priority-based budgeting. Nine departments are using this method, by which some 323 programs are undergoing peer reviews to determine how they align with the City Council’s goals and priorities. Priority-based budgeting augments traditional budgeting with new vantage points to make data-driven decisions, FWLab Director Christianne Simmons said.

Restaurant report:

• Cisneros Restaurants Inc. announced it would move Los Vaqueros restaurant from its long-occupied location on North Main Street in the Stockyards, to a new location around the corner at 2501 Rodeo Plaza, opening on July 4.

• Plano-based Pizza Hut is entering the burger business with a better way to burger by introducing the Cheeseburger Melt, a parmesan-crusted thin crust melt that ditches the bun.

• Put a fork in it: Nearly 50 Red Lobster restaurants are closing nationwide, including two in Dallas of the seven in Texas. Tarrant County's three locations—Arlington, Fort Worth, and North Richland Hills—are remaining open. 

• The Taste of Southlake, benefiting Tarrant Area Food Bank is tomorrow at The Westin, from 5 to 8:30 pm. More than two dozen restaurants are participating. Tickets are $70 with two drink tickets, or $55 for food tastings only.

Highlights from the April housing report from the Greater Fort Worth Association of Realtors:

• The median home price in Tarrant County was flat from a year ago, at $350,000. In Fort Worth, the median price of $325,500 was down 3.2 percent year over year.

• Inventory continued its climb to 2.8 months in Fort Worth, up 0.8 months from April of 2023.

• Closed sales were up year over year in Fort Worth and Tarrant County by 8.7 percent and 8.8 percent, respectively.

• Days on the market in Fort Worth fell to 45 days, down 9 days from April of 2023.

• Active listings were up in Tarrant, Johnson, and Parker counties.

Believe it or not: Despite the threat of dislocated fingers and strained muscles, men compete in Germany’s unique national championship of “Fingerhakeln,” or finger wrestling.

Snippets:

• Illegal dumping, tax breaks and donkeys; Channel 11 I-team investigates an east Fort Worth property.

• U.S. consumer sentiment at six-month low; inflation expectations rise.

• Stand-up comedy has tripled in size during the last decade.

Announcements:

• Bank of Texas: Names Bill McCoy CEO of Fort Worth market.

• American Airlines: Hires Abigail Sigal as Senior Communications Specialist.

• Medical City Fort Worth: Names Benjamin Baggi assistant CFO. 

• UT-Arlington: Hires Lori-Lea Davis as executive assistant.

• Nanoscope Therapeutics: Hires Khandan Baradaran as Senior VP of Regulatory and Quality.

• Chisholm Trail Bookkeeping & Tax Services: Launched by Kim Middleton.

• Eosera: Hires Lindy Hagen as marketing associate.

• Balcom: Promotes Taylor Travis to account director.

Last poll results: What main dish should Texas be known for? The top three answers (out of 7 choices) were: BBQ (35%), Chicken-fried steak (27%), and Tex-Mex (16%).