The NYSE issues the notices to companies whose stock price falls below $1.00 per share. If the price is not bolstered, the company could lose it's listing on the exchange.
In the last year, Dana's stock price has tumbled from $12.00 per share, and has been trading in the 1.50 - .50 range since mid November.
A large portion of Dana's business is sales to automobile manufacturers, a troubled industry treated warily by investors of late. Coupled with that, Dana's FY-2008 Revenue Outlook fell short of analysts expectations, placing further downward pressure on the stock.
The company has been fighting to avoid bankruptcy for several years, and is in the midst of a two year reorganization. In March of 2006, Dana and 40 of its subsidiaries filed Chapter 11 reorganization petitions. Dana Holding Corporation was formed as part of the reorganization.
In response to the warning notice, the company issued the following statement today:
TOLEDO, Ohio, Dec. 19 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Dana Holding Corporation announced it was notified today by the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) that the company has fallen below its continued listing standards.
During a consecutive 30-day trading period - under NYSE rules - the average closing price of Dana's common stock must be a minimum of $1 per share and its market capitalization must equal or exceed $100 million.
Dana plans to notify the NYSE that it intends to resolve these matters. The company has six months to return its average share price above the required threshold, and 45 days to submit a plan demonstrating its ability to comply with the market capitalization standard. Under NYSE rules, Dana's common stock will continue to be listed on the exchange during this period, subject to ongoing monitoring and the company's compliance with other continued listing requirements.
Dana's operations, Securities and Exchange Commission reporting requirements, credit agreements, and other debt obligations are not otherwise affected by this NYSE notification.
In November, Dana announced it had reached an agreement with its lenders to restructure 1.3 billion dollars in loans. The news caused a brief uptick in the stock price, but it hasn't afforded any real market support.
Earlier this week, Dana announced plans stop production of GM parts at it's Longview plant until February 23rd, idling about 300 workers. The company said General Motors, one of it's largest buyers, was cutting production, bringing about the layoffs.
At it's peak, the plant employed between 500 and 600 people.
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Official wants increased educational focus to address the growing concern over a lack of skilled workers in Texas.
AUSTIN — There is a widening gap between the demand for skilled workers in Texas and the state’s ability to supply them, Texas Comptroller Susan Combs said today.
“Texas’ secondary and postsecondary education system is not meeting the demands of the current workplace,” Combs said. “Employers tell us that good paying jobs are going unfilled because they cannot find qualified workers. And we’re hearing from students about the value to them of programs at community and technical colleges. For Texas to remain an economic powerhouse, our education system needs added focus on career and technical training to fill available jobs.”
Today, Combs issued a new report, Texas Works, which examines the changing Texas job market and the growing shortage of workers with the technical skills required for many of the fastest growing jobs. The report recommends establishing a fund to help with startup costs for new technical training programs and eliminating obstacles that discourage students from pursuing career-technical education (CTE).
Texas has many community and technical colleges offering state-of-the-art training facilities and employment opportunities after just one or two years. But state funding of community and technical colleges has declined, not keeping pace with inflation and hampering schools’ ability to train the next generation of Texas workers. CTE courses can be expensive for a college, often requiring state-of-the-art technology and equipment, but the state does not provide funding for startup costs. To address this concern, Combs’ report makes two recommendations:
* Establish a $25 million Jobs and Education for Texas (JET) fund to provide support for postsecondary CTE courses, including startup funding for new programs.
* Link any incentive funding to measurable results to ensure the state receives a positive return on its investments.
Increasing state funding for community and technical colleges will not help the state achieve its goals if students don’t take advantage of these educational resources. Combs’ report says far too many Texas high school students fail to pursue postsecondary education. Texas Works has some recommendations to meet this challenge:
* Make more parents and students aware of all postsecondary educational options and the availability of financial assistance.
* As part of this effort, use data on education and employment to measure the benefits of CTE and publicize the results to make more people aware of its value.
* Ensure state graduation requirements and grade point average (GPA) calculation standards do not prevent or discourage high school students from enrolling in career and technology courses.
Combs’ report recommends greater flexibility in the state’s new “four-by-four” graduation requirements, which require all high school students take four years each of math, science, social studies and language arts. Many CTE courses do not count toward the “four-by-four” requirements, and grades in many CTE courses will not count toward students’ GPAs under a proposed uniform statewide grade point calculation system.
“Texas should ensure high school students have multiple pathways to graduation, preparing them for a variety of education and training options after high school,” Combs said. “While the state has done a good job of encouraging more students to pursue college degrees, it is critical that we do not discourage students who will not go to a four year college from attaining valuable training that will raise their standard of living and will have substantial economic benefits to Texas.”
In 2007, more than 80 percent of all Texas jobs did not require a bachelor’s degree. Neither did nearly 44 percent of the jobs paying wages above the state average. The U.S. Department of Education estimates that about 80 percent of the fastest growing occupations in the near future will require some postsecondary training, but not a bachelor’s degree.
The cost to obtain career training is relatively low. Two years of tuition and fees at a Texas community college cost an average of $3,800, compared to more than $26,000 for four years at a public university. A student who achieves an associate degree will earn an average of $340,000 more over a working lifetime than someone with just a high school diploma.
For Texas, the economic impact from the earnings of all workers with associate degrees and postsecondary technical certificates is estimated at $10.1 billion annually. Combs said the state’s economic strength depends on making the future success of every Texan a top priority.
“If we sacrifice the future productivity of a large number of our young people, we risk jeopardizing Texas’ economic future,” Combs said. “Without an adequate supply of skilled workers, Texas’ ability to attract and retain new businesses will suffer — meaning fewer companies to employ a growing population, lower economic output, lower personal income and poorer performance on other measures of economic health.”
Texas Works is available on the Comptroller’s Web site at www.window.state.tx.us/specialrpt/workforce.
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Meeting consensus is that Texas is well positioned to ride out the current economic downturn.
Dec. 17 AUSTIN – Gov. Rick Perry today met with leaders of key trade associations and labor unions to hear first-hand how the current national economic situation is impacting Texas’ industries and workers. This is the fourth meeting Gov. Perry has held with industry and state leaders to discuss the future of the Texas economy.
“Texas has created and maintained a business-friendly environment that continues to attract companies and support innovation and competitiveness,” Gov. Perry said. “As we continue to weather the turbulent national economy, maintaining our private and public collaboration is essential to ensuring future prosperity for all Texans.”
The governor was joined by representatives from several trade associations and worker’s unions, including the Texas Apartment Association, Texas Chemical Council, Texas Oil and Gas Association, Texas Travel Industry Association, Air Line Pilots Association, Associated General Contractors, and Plumbers and Pipe Fitters Union.
The diversity of Texas’ economy has prepared the state to withstand the current instability in the national economy, and stronger guidelines for home equity borrowing and lending have resulted in Texas retaining some of the lowest levels of mortgage defaults among the nation’s top 10 most populous states.
Thanks to disciplined, principled policies of limited growth in spending, low taxes and a reasonable regulatory climate, Texas continues to be a leader in job creation. From October 2007 to October 2008, the U.S. lost over 1.1 million net jobs while Texas created more than a quarter of a million net new jobs. Texas’ unemployment rate is nearly a full percentage below the national average, and the Lone Star State is home to more Fortune 500 headquarters than any other state in the nation.
While Texas remains in a substantially better economic position than other states in the turbulent national economy, Gov. Perry continues to work with the public and private sectors to identify opportunities to maintain and enhance Texas’ economic edge and competitive position in the global marketplace.
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After the resignation of Clint Rivers, the company announced Don Jackson, a longtime employee of rival Foster Farms, as River's successor.
PITTSBURG, Texas, Dec. 16 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Pilgrim's Pride Corporation today announced that its board of directors has named Don Jackson as its president and chief executive officer subject to approval of the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of Texas.
The board also appointed Lonnie Ken Pilgrim, its current chairman, as interim president until such time as Dr. Jackson's employment is approved by the bankruptcy court.
Dr. Jackson will join the company immediately on an interim basis. Prior to accepting his position with Pilgrim's Pride, he served as president of Foster Farms' poultry division, a leading poultry producer on the West Coast. He will assume the combined duties of Clint Rivers, the former president and chief executive officer, and Robert A. Wright, the former chief operating officer, both of whom resigned from the company today as part of its reorganization process under Chapter 11.
Dr. Jackson has been president of Foster Farms' poultry division, based in Livingston, California, since 2000. Prior to that, he served as executive vice president for foodservice of the former ConAgra Poultry Company in Duluth, Georgia. Before that he worked for 22 years for Seaboard Farms of Athens, Georgia, including four years as president and CEO of their poultry division. He received his bachelor of science degree from Arizona State University and his master's and Ph.D. degrees from Colorado State University.
"As Pilgrim's Pride begins the reorganization process, we believe the company and its stakeholders would be best served by a fresh perspective on the opportunities available to us through restructuring," said Lonnie "Bo" Pilgrim, senior chairman of Pilgrim's Pride. "Don Jackson is a proven leader with the essential skills and industry insight to position Pilgrim's Pride to emerge from Chapter 11 as a stronger, more efficient, and more focused company."
Mr. Pilgrim added: "Clint and Bob have both made tremendous contributions throughout their careers at Pilgrim's Pride, and we are grateful for their commitment and dedicated service during a very difficult time for our company and our industry. We wish both of them continued success in their careers."
As previously announced, the Company filed voluntary Chapter 11 petitions on December 1, 2008. The Chapter 11 cases are being jointly administered under case number 08-45664. The Company's operations in Mexico and certain operations in the United States were not included in the filing and continue to operate as usual outside of the Chapter 11 process.
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ETMC Home Health’s west and north divisions have been named to the 2008 HomeCare Elite, a compilation of the most successful Medicare-certified home healthcare providers in the United States.
This annual review has identified ETMC Home Health West as in the Top 100 of agencies and ETMC Home Health North as in the Top 500 of agencies, ranked by an analysis of performance measures in quality outcomes, quality improvement and financial performance. The data used for this analysis was compiled from publicly available information.
Independent information
“This recognition, based on independent, third-party information, is very gratifying to receive,” said Eddie Howard, ETMC’s vice president and chief operating officer for post acute services. “It demonstrates that the excellence our ETMC Home Health employees demonstrate every day in caring for their patients’ needs is exceptional and noteworthy among our peers in the home health industry.”
The 2008 HomeCare Elite rankings are the only performance recognition of their kind in the home health industry. These rankings are compiled each year by OCS, Inc., a leading provider of healthcare informatics, and DecisionHealth, publisher of …home health line, a respected home care industry newsletter.
“The 2008 HomeCare Elite winners exemplify a commitment to providing their patients with optimum care while performing at the highest level,” said Nancy Buller, Senior Director of Marketing Communications at OCS, Inc. "We congratulate ETMC Home Health West on being one of the Top 100 and ETMC Home Health North on being one of the Top 500 home care agencies in the country."
“DecisionHealth would like to congratulate the top HomeCare Elite agencies that achieved excellent clinical and financial outcomes by providing quality care to their patients,” adds Marci Heydt, Executive Editor of DecisionHealth’s Home Health Line.
The entire list of the 2008 HomeCare Elite agencies can be viewed by visiting the OCS web site at www.ocsys.com/HCE.
CHAP Accreditation
ETMC Home Health brings quality healthcare home to East Texans, and is accredited by the Community Health Accreditation Program (C.H.A.P.). It is staffed by fully trained, licensed and certified professionals and certified by both Medicare and the Texas Department of Health. ETMC Home Health nurses and aides visit homes throughout the counties we serve in the East Texas region.
Any individual or family may contact ETMC Home Health to schedule an evaluation. ETMC Home Health supplies skilled nursing care in the home and private nursing care for up to 24 hours a day whenever needed. Licensed physical therapists, occupational therapists and speech therapists are available to assist in the recovery process. Social workers locate necessary community support services for patients and their families. And home health aides assist patients with daily activities such as grooming, bathing and other personal hygiene needs. For more information, please call 1-800-256-7091.
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