Microsoft on Tuesday unveiled the Xbox One, an entertainment console meant to be the one system households will need for games, television, movies and other entertainment.As if anyone needed further confirmation of Navistar International Corp.’s departure from Fort Wayne, a local real estate firm has the company’s property up for sale.
BND Commercial has listed the Fort Wayne Truck Development and Technology Center at 2911 Meyer Road at $4.1 million. The operations cover 345,000 square feet on 142 acres, according to BND’s website listing.
Navistar is investing $205 million to establish a new headquarters and technology and parts operations in suburban Chicago. The company is taking with it at least 1,400 truck and engine design jobs that had been in Fort Wayne.
Mike Coil, bargaining chairman for United Auto Workers Local 2911, said about 400 employees are left at the local plant, although not all represented by the UAW.
The five-building facility includes office, manufacturing and warehouse space. Navistar began its local phase-out two years ago.
Retail sales offset manufacturing slip
Solid sales reports from retailers Thursday took some of the sting out of weak June manufacturing data.
A preliminary compilation by the International Council of Shopping Centers of 20 retailers found revenue in stores open at least a year rose 4.6 percent in July, higher than the 3 percent to 3.5 percent the ICSC expected.
But companies placed fewer orders with U.S. factories in June than May. The Commerce Department said orders fell 0.5 percent, the third decline in four months.
Also, the number of Americans seeking weekly unemployment benefits rose by 8,000 last week to a seasonally adjusted 365,000, the Labor Department said in a separate report. The four-week average, a less volatile measure, fell for the sixth straight week to 365,500, the lowest since March 31.
Technical glitch cuts trading firm’s value
A technical problem that briefly threw dozens of stocks into chaos Wednesday will cost Knight Capital Group $440 million, the trading firm said Thursday.
Knight’s own stock plunged for a second day, erasing 75 percent of its value in two days.
The company said it is pursuing ways to raise money to fund the expense, raising questions about the firm’s viability. And at least two financial institutions announced they had halted trading with Knight, at least temporarily.
Frontier makes push in southern Indiana
Frontier Communications Corp. is making a push to provide high-speed Internet to Hoosiers, primarily in the southern part of the state.
The company is partnering with Hughes Network Systems, a satellite networks and services supplier. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Germantown, Md.-based Hughes will allow Frontier to reach “several hundred thousand households and small businesses within markets previously unserved or underserved by all broadband providers,” the company said in a statement.
A Frontier official said Fort Wayne remains an integral part of its growth strategy. After Rochester, N.Y., the Summit City is the company’s largest market. Frontier will continue to offer its FiOS and DirecTV, said Roscoe Spencer, regional public affairs officer.
Package prices for the new satellite service have not been set, he said.
