Amazon, J.C. Penney, Exxon Mobil, Tenet: Friday's Business Briefing

Your lunchtime look at D-FW business [Your lunchtime look at D-FW business] October 27,  2017  Prefer the online view? It's [here](. Follow us on Twitter: [@DMNBiz]( Large storage tanks situated in retention ponds are surrounded by rainwater left behind by Hurricane Harvey at ExxonMobil's refinery in Baytown, Texas, Wednesday, Aug. 30. (Tom Fox / Staff Photographer) The Big Story Hurricane Harvey impact was a small blip in Exxon Mobil earnings Despite Hurricane Harvey, which led to the temporary closings of Exxon Mobil refineries and chemical plants along the Gulf Coast, the company's earnings jumped 50 percent in the July-September quarter. That tracked closely with other major U.S. oil companies affected by one of the nation's worst hurricanes. The high winds and flooding temporarily shut down operations but barely hurt their bottom lines. And in some case, refiners likely profited, according to analysts. [Irving-based Exxon](, the biggest U.S. oil company, beat analyst expectations to earn $3.97 billion in net income, up from $2.65 billion during the same period last year. That improved performance more than covered the $160 million in damages and losses caused by Harvey-related shut downs. -[Jeff Mosier]( Plus: [Find more on energy companies and their imact on North Texas]( SPECIAL OFFER [special offer unlimited digital access]( The Latest - Airlines: Hurricanes, rising fares and Hawaii among the takeaways from [Southwest, American earnings]( - Health care: Grand Prairie-based [ADHD drug maker]( considers $287 million all-cash offer - Technology: Looking to score an [iPhone X](? Early rush extends delivery to just before Christmas - Retail: [CVS looks to buy Aetna](, as Amazon is poised to disrupt the pharmacy business - Real estate: Dallas [office tower]( near Love Field sells to California buyer Advertisement Tenet Healthcare Corp.'s headquarters in downtown Dallas (Tenet Healthcare) Health care Tenet Healthcare to cut 1,300 jobs, predicts big third-quarter losses Tenet Healthcare will cut about 1,300 jobs as part of a cost-reduction initiative to save $150 million on annual operating expenses. The Dallas-based hospital operator also expects to report a net loss from continuing operations of approximately $366 million in third quarter. [Tenet made the announcement in a press release Friday]( that details its preliminary financial results for third quarter, which will be formally released in just over one week. "We are moving quickly and decisively to improve financial results and returns for our shareholders," said Ronald A. Rittenmeyer, executive chairman and CEO. -[Sabriya Rice]( More on Tenet Healthcare - [Tenet CEO Trevor Fetter departs earlier than expected]( - [Health care giant HCA may be in the mix for Tenet, analysts say]( - [Find more stories on the health care industry]( Elsewhere in Texas - Construction: Post-Harvey home repair [permits](quadruple (Houston Chronicle) - Real estate: [Whataburger affiliate]( buys more land near airport (San Antonio Express-News) - Executives: [Pedernales Electric]( hires first-ever female CEO (Austin American-Statesman) - Energy: [Valero Corp](.’s profits surge 37 percent on higher post-Harvey gas prices (San Antonio Express-News) - Sports business: World Series a boon for [Houston's business](, self-image (Houston Chronicle) Outside the JCPenney department store at The Village at Fairview shopping center in Fairview, Texas Friday January 13, 2017. (Andy Jacobsohn/The Dallas Morning News) retail J.C. Penney warns of poor results as it slashed prices on slow-moving items J.C. Penney cut its outlook for full-year results on Friday saying it accelerated markdowns in the third quarter ended in October to move out slow-moving apparel, primarily in women's, its largest department. [The company said it now expects 2017 comparable store sales to be flat]( or down 1 percent versus its most recent guidance for sales to be up as much as 1 percent. Penney also slashed adjusted full-year earnings per share. Penney's shares are trading down more than 15 percent. Penney's early read on the third quarter could drag down other department store stock prices, which are already trading at historic lows. Plano-based Penney will report third quarter results on Nov. 10. -[Maria Halkias]( Plus: [Find more retail news]( A rendering of the potential Amazon headquarters in Boston shows the drive time to downtown, Harvard and the airport. (City of Boston) Featured Columnist: Mitchell Schnurman Why won't D-FW share its Amazon bid with the public? Boston and Toronto did Bids from Boston and Toronto say a lot about the cities and how they would fit with Amazon’s progressive culture. The company is an outspoken defender of immigrants’ rights, and the cities tout those strengths upfront. There's much more to learn. Did you know that Boston built America’s first subway and municipal library, and opened the first public beach? Or that a third of workers take public transit and that 16 percent walk or bike to the office? Boston has been the No. 1 U.S. city in energy efficiency since 2013 and wants to cut greenhouse gas emissions 25 percent by 2020. All this and more help explain why some senior Amazon executives are reportedly pushing Boston for HQ2. [The question is how D-FW measures up](— and whether we’ll ever know. More Mitchell Schnurman on Amazon - [Some in D-FW try to impress Amazon with higher-ed and transit]( - [Moody's sees three elements where D-FW comes up short]( - [If recruiting matters, Dallas is the nation's biggest talent magnet]( - [Will Texas and D-FW break the bank to land Amazon’s HQ2?]( Onboarding Who is getting hired and promoted - AT&T named Xavier Williams president of public sector and wholesale solutions. - ACADEMIC PARTNERSHIPS named Earl Frischkorn senior vice president, student success center. - BBG named Robert Moorman senior managing director of national compliance and quality assurance. - BEN E. KEITH CO. promoted David Werner to vice president of independent sales and marketing. - FIESTA RESTAURANT GROUP INC. named Charles Locke president of Taco Cabana. Senior vice president Danny Meisenheimer will also become president of Pollo Tropical. Plus: [Find more executive changes]( Follow DFW stocks: [See how top North Texas stocks performed](, as well as the oil and gas markets and major stock exchanges. DFW Top 100 Places to Work 2016: The Dallas Morning News and Workplace Dynamics partner each year to feature the [Top 100 workplaces](, based on ratings by the people who work at them. The 2017 ranking is in progress. Advertisement 👋  That's all for today! For up-to-the-minute business news and analysis, check out [DallasNews.com/Business](. 💖 Share the love: If you like this newsletter, please forward this email to a friend and [check out our other newsletters here](. 📧 Do you have feedback on this newsletter? Send your thoughts, questions, praise and corrections to our Business Editor Paul O'Donnell at [podonnell@dallasnews.com](mailto:podonnell@dallasnews.com?subject=Newsletter%20Feedback). 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