Business FYI: Tulsa not affected by CarMax layoffs

Oct 02, 2008 (Tulsa World - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) -- KMX | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating -- CarMax Inc. said Wednesday it is laying off more than 600 employees, or about 4 percent of its work force, as the auto retailer tries to cut costs due to a decline in car and truck sales.

CarMax spokeswoman Trina Lee said in a telephone interview that the reductions will not affect the company's stores in Tulsa or Oklahoma City.

The Richmond, Va.-based company said the reductions are in its service operations departments.

Mexicans are sending less money home

Money sent home by Mexicans living in the U.S. has registered its biggest drop since record keeping began 12 years ago.

The Bank of Mexico says remittances in August dropped 12 percent to $1.9 billion. That compares to $2.2 billion in August 2007.

The central bank said Wednesday that remittances had reached $15.5 billion in the first eight months of this year, 4 percent less than the same period the year before.

Remittances are Mexico's second-largest source of foreign income, next to oil exports.

ETP to help develop $1.3 billion pipeline

Kinder Morgan Energy Partners LP and Energy Transfer Partners LP agreed to jointly

develop a $1.3 billion line to transport gas from the Fayetteville Shale region in Arkansas.

The 187-mile Fayetteville Express Pipeline LLC project will originate in Conway County, Ark., and extend to Quitman County, Miss., the partnerships said Wednesday in a statement. The pipeline will have an initial capacity to move 2 billion cubic feet of natural gas per day. The partnerships expect the line to be in service by late 2010 or early 2011.

The project has 10-year shipping commitments with units of Southwestern Energy Co. and Chesapeake Energy Corp., the partnerships said.

LEAF plans biodiesel plant in Tulsa

A $7 million plant that would take yellow grease and turn it into biodiesel fuel is being planned for Tulsa.

Martha Hyde, chief executive for Living Earth Alternative Fuel, said she expects bond financing to be completed within two weeks for the plant. Two sites are under consideration.

She hopes to have the 20- employee facility running by April, with an annual production of 4.5 million gallons.

Copano to buy Texas pipeline

Copano Energy LLC will buy a 151-mile, 24-inch pipeline connection to the Williams Cos.' Transo system for $110 million, according to a press release Wednesday.

Houston-based Copano signed an agreement with Williams' Transco subsidiary to acquire the McMullen Lateral pipeline in southern Texas, according to reports.

The deal still needs regulatory approval. The Transco Pipeline is a natural gas transportation system that runs from the Gulf of Mexico to New York.

Dollar Thrifty shares rising after new low

Shares of Tulsa-based Dollar Thrifty Automotive Group Inc. rose 6 cents, or 3.1 percent, on Wednesday to close at $1.99.

Battered during the past week after a British travel partner declared bankruptcy, Dollar Thrifty shares dropped to a 52-week low of $1.75 on Tuesday. The company's shares have lost 92 percent this year.

On Tuesday, executives said the company's lenders approved changes to its credit terms through Nov. 30.

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