🎷UNT Lovetting Lyle; Lunchables under attack; Being funky was no picnic

American Aero, a fixed-based operator at Fort Worth Meacham International Airport, has agreed to be purchased by Modern Aviation. American Aero operates on a 31-acre FBO campus with 247,000 square feet of hangar and office space, and the largest open ramp on the field of more than 11 acres. American Aero’s 8,600-square-foot FBO was designed to maximize safety, efficiency, and comfort.

Lockheed Martin won a contract worth up to $4.1 billion from the U.S. government's Missile Defense Agency to continue development of its battle command system. The Command and Control, Battle Management and Communications (C2BMC)-Next system is a hardware and software interface for the ballistic missile defense system used by the U.S. defense forces for coordinated responses to emerging threats.

Tarleton State University will celebrate the naming of its College of Business in honor of Dr. Sam Pack on Thursday. Pack provided the largest cash gift - more than $10 million - in school history. He owns Five Star Ford dealerships in Carrollton, North Richland Hills, Dallas and Lewisville, Five Star Chevrolet in Carrollton and Five Star Subaru in Grapevine. He also co-owns six luxury dealerships in Tulsa.

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American Airlines signed a sizeable agreement with Airbus for multiple avionics systems and airframe upgrades on 150 A320ceo aircraft in its in-service fleet. 

To assist aerial coverage for Fort Worth police, the city is spending nearly $4 million to purchase a Bell 505 helicopter and customize it for missions. It will be air support's second helicopter.

ZAMA Health, a 2022 participant in the Fort Worth-based TechStars Physical Health cohort, has been acquired by Volt Athletics, an AI-powered strength training platform for individuals and teams.  

Credit card delinquency rates reached their highest level on record in Q4 2023, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia. "Firms recording the worst 30+, 60+, and 90+ account-based days past due levels," the report said, warning that stress among cardholders was underscored in payment behavior.

Snippets:

• Small business sentiment is the lowest in more than a decade.

• What happens if you don’t file your taxes by April 15. (WSJ gift article)

• Consumer Reports is urging the Feds to remove Lunchables from the free and reduced lunch program because of high amounts of sodium and elevated levels of heavy metals.

Retail openings:

• Discount retailer TJX Companies has opened its first Homesense store in Texas at Alliance Town Center. TJX operates TJ Maxx, Marshalls and HomeGoods. A Homesense store in Southlake will open later this year.

• Japanese apparel retailer Uniqlo will open five stores in Texas, including one at The Parks Mall in Arlington by the end of the year, according to The Dallas Morning News. Uniqlo has 2,400 stores worldwide and was founded in Hiroshima, Japan, as a family unisex casual clothing brand under Unique Clothing Warehouse.

• Walmart Health is opening 18 locations this summer and fall in Texas, 10 in D-FW. Most are adjacent to Walmart Supercenters. A clinic typically offers same-day primary care, dental, behavioral health, labs, x-rays, community health, and telehealth.

Restaurant roundup:

• Canadian coffee shop chain Tim Hortons’ first location in Tarrant County will be in Saginaw with an opening date later this year.

• Fort Worth brewpub Funky Picnic will close on April 27 after a five-year run in the Near Southside.

Below is a sampling of topics from this week’s Motley Fool column. To read all the Fool's gold, click here.

• The Fool answers readers' questions about where interest rates are headed and how tax inversions work. 

• This week’s stock pick is Chewy, a pet e-commerce company. Its profits are growing, and it just opened the first of its planned veterinary clinics.

• The Fool gives tips on selecting mutual funds and ETFs.

Daily digit: 100 million pounds - the amount of produce sourced annually by grocer H-E-B from Texas growers.

Believe it or not: Costco has held a hot dog and soda combo’s cost of $1.50 since 1985. If the hot dog deal had kept pace with inflation, it would be nearly $4.50 today. It’s a loss leader for Costco, and here’s why it does it.

Announcements:

• First Financial Bank: Names Dave Monaghan Market President-Trophy Club.

• UNT Health Science Center: Promotes Noah Drew to Associate Vice President of Research Operations.

• Fiesta Bowl: Names Judy Bernas, senior associate dean and chief communication and strategy officer for the Anne Burnett Marion School of Medicine at TCU, Chair for the 2025 and 2026 games.

• Jordan Elizabeth Harris Foundation: Names Kristi Wiley Vice President-Programs. 

• Ben E. Keith: Adds Carol Kiburz as SVP-Human Relations.

• American Warrior Association: Hires Rattana Mao as Director of Program Development.

• National Medal of Honor Museum Foundation: Hires Grace Brown as marketing communications coordinator.

Last poll results: What is the most important advice you would give to a younger version of yourself? Do what you love (12%), Choose the right partner (35%), Don’t neglect your education (8%), Stay true to your principles (18%), Believe in your potential (16%), Other (10%).

Advice from poll readers:

• “Invest early in life.”

• “Live your values, support the success of others, persist.”

• “You're usually good at what you love, perfect it, learn more about it. You work for a long time, do something you love and it's not work.”

• “I put others needs before my own and accepted that the "life" that gets in the way was the reason for not continuing my education. Girl, "life" happens while you are growing - suck it up and get your degree!”