June 25, 2009 (FinancialWire) — OGE Energy Corp. (NYSE: OGE) said that its midstream pipeline subsidiary, Enogex LLC, has sold $200 million of 6.875 percent five-year senior notes.
Enogex plans to apply the net proceeds from the sale of the new notes to pay the purchase price in a tender offer for its 8.125 percent senior notes due 2010.
Any net proceeds from the issuance of the new notes not used in the tender offer will be used to repay borrowings under Enogex's revolving credit facility.
Oklahoma City-based OGE Energy is the parent company of Oklahoma Gas and Electric Co., which serves more than 772,000 customers in a service territory spanning 30,000 square miles in Oklahoma and western Arkansas.
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June 25, 2009 (FinancialWire) — Herman Miller, Inc. (NASDAQ: MLHR) has acquired healthcare furnishings maker Nemschoff, Inc. through a combination of $32 million in cash and the issuance of 2,041,666 Herman Miller shares.
Nemschoff posted revenues of more than $90 million in 2008. The company's shareholders may be entitled to an additional payment based on the performance of the entity, as well as Herman Miller's share price, over the next two-year period.
Sheboygan, Wisconsin-based Nemschoff is a manufacturer of healthcare furnishings, with a specific focus on soft seating and the patient care environment. Nemschoff products are also specified in the commercial office and education markets.
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June 25, 2009 (FinancialWire) — China Architectural Engineering, Inc. (NASDAQ: CAEI) (Current Market Cap: $68.17 Mil.), a company that designs, engineerings, fabricates and installs building envelope systems, said it has entered into an agreement with Shanghai Nine Dragon Co., Ltd. to undertake the various projects located in the Nine Dragon Resort in Zhejiang.
The projects include a hotel, a marine park and villas. The total project value is expected to exceed $500 million, according to China Architectural. They projects are scheduled to begin in the second half of 2009 and be completed within three years.
Zhuhai, China-based China Architectural Engineering is engaged in the design, engineering, fabrication and construction of structural exterior cladding systems.
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June 25, 2009 (FinancialWire) — The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. (NYSE: HIG) has completed its acquisition of Federal Trust Corp. for $10 million in cash. The transaction closed on June 24.
Federal Trust Corp. is a unitary thrift holding company and is the parent company of Federal Trust Bank, a federally-chartered savings bank that operates 11 full-service offices in Seminole, Orange, Volusia, Lake and Flagler Counties, Florida.
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June 25, 2009 (FinancialWire) — Omnicom Group Inc. (NYSE: OMC), together with its finance subsidiaries, has priced a public offering of $500 million of senior notes. The notes will mature on July 15, 2019.
The notes will bear interest at a rate of 6.250 percent per annum, will be the joint and several unsecured and unsubordinated obligations of Omnicom Group, Omnicom Capital and Omnicom Finance.
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June 25, 2009 (FinancialWire) — IDT Corp. (NYSE: IDT) (Current Market Cap: $38.92 Mil.) that it has closed on the purchase of the outstanding 49% of its Union Telecard Alliance, LLC joint venture from the Gomez Family Trust for $6.9 million.
UTA has been the distributor of IDT prepaid calling cards in the United States. The company utilizes a network of more than 850 sub-distributors that sell to retail outlets throughout most of the United States.
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June 25, 2009 (FinancialWire) — Time Warner Cable Inc. (NYSE: TWC) has priced a $1.5 billion public offering of 63/4% debentures due 2039. The sale is scheduled to close on June 29.
The company said it plans to use the net proceeds to repay a portion of the amounts outstanding under Time Warner Cable's existing bank credit facilities.
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June 25, 2009 (FinancialWire) — The Kodiak Energy, Inc. (TSX Venture: KDK) (OTCBB: KDKN) of directors has approved the granting of stock options to directors, officers and other personnel to acquire an aggregate of 4.33 million common shares at an exercise price of $0.28 per share, the market closing price on June 23, 2009.
Of the total options granted, 3.6 million were granted to directors and officers and 730,000 to employees and consultants.
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June 25, 2009 (FinancialWire) — Sonic Technology Solutions Inc. (TSX Venture: SNV) reported that the company and Shell Canada Energy have jointly filed a patent application for the recovery of bitumen from oil sands.
The patent application was filed jointly under a collaboration agreement between SonoOil and Shell. SonoOil is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Sonic working with Shell to develop oil sand extraction process innovations.
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June 25, 2009 (FinancialWire) (By Frank Kollar) — Shares of JC Penny Inc (NYSE: 
June 25, 2009 (FinancialWire) — Dr. Joe Duarte (
FirstAlert[tm] 6/25: Steady Fed
The Dow Jones industrial average ended the trading session 23.05 points lower, to close at 8,299.86. It was dragged down by losses Boeing (NYSE: BA), United Technologies (NYSE: UTX) and others.
The Standard & Poor's 500-stock index, however, rose 5.84 points, to close at 900.947. The Nasdaq composite index gained 27.42 points on the day, to end at 1,792.34.
Investors were cheered by news from the Fed, which ended its two-day open market policy meeting on Wednesday. As expected by most, the committee decided to hold its federal funds rate target at 0% to 0.25%. The FOMC included a forecast for "a gradual resumption of sustainable economic growth."
There was bad news on the housing front: U.S. new home sales dropped 0.6% in May, disappointing analysts. However, U.S. durable goods orders were up in May, by 1.8%.
Home improvement stocks will be down again in 2009, but a bright future may lie ahead, according to BusinessWeek's Christopher Palmeri. "Some investors think home improvement businesses could recover more quickly than home builders," says Palmeri, with fewer big-ticket renovations in the works but bigger consumer consumers spending on paint and carpeting, "particularly with all the foreclosed homes trading hands."
Palmeri sees stocks like Fidelity Select Construction and Housing Portfolio, Leggett & Platt, Mohawk Industries, Sherwin Williams and Stanley Works standing to benefit from the trends.
But where will they get the money?
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