Deal gives firm some breathing room: Lamar Media, a division of Lamar Advertising, has gotten a break on its debt ratio requirements in exchange for agreeing to pay higher financing cost and reducing its revolving credit line. The Baton Rouge-based company will now pay 3.5 points over the London interbank-offered rate, instead of the 1.25-point spread that existed. Its revolving loans have been cut from $400 million to $200 million. An analyst told Bloomberg the deal gives the billboard company “adequate headroom” for the next year, and the higher interest rates won’t reduce cash flow.
An encouraging sign: Wholesalers cut their inventories in February by the steepest amount in more than 17 years, while sales rose for the first time since the summer, encouraging signs that companies might be getting their inventories under control. The Commerce Department wholesale inventories dropped 1.5% in February, the most on records dating to January 1992 and more than double analysts’ expectations. Sales at the wholesale level rose 0.6%, the first increase since June and a sharp reversal from January’s revised 2.4% drop. That shows retailers and other businesses have begun to replenish their supplies.
Back in the workforce: A survey found that 41% of workers who were laid off in the past three months have found permanent, full-time jobs, while another 8% got part-time work. The CareerBuilder.com survey of more than 800 laid-off workers found that men and employees between the ages of 35 and 44 were most likely to find work, while women and workers between 18 and 24 were less likely to find work. CareerBuilder officials say employment opportunities exist in healthcare, education, sales and technology.
