U.S. auto sales; Dov Charney closer to retaking American Apparel; Twitter scores at World Cup
This morning, automakers are releasing their monthly sales figures for June. Chrysler said U.S. sales rose 9.2% last month thanks to strong sales of its new Jeep Cherokee SUV, Ram, Dodge and Fiat brands. It was its best June since 2007.
BNP Paribas agreed to pay a record $8.9 billion to settle allegations of sanctions violations with U.S. prosecutors. As part of the deal, the French bank pleaded guilty to one count of falsifying business records and one count of conspiracy. BNP also agreed to suspend parts of its U.S. dollar-clearing operations for one year, beginning in 2015.
American Apparel (APP) founder and ousted chairman Dov Charney is gaining ground on trying to take back his company. It was revealed last night that Charney acquired an additional 17% stake in the company through a partnership with hedge fund Standard General. Along with the 27% Charney already has, his total stake in the company is about 44%. The Financial Times reported that Charney has also rallied the support of some smaller investors. American Apparel instituted a one-year poison pill to make it difficult for anyone to buy a large stake in the company.
We want to hear from you. Do you think Dov Charney has a good chance of taking back American Apparel? Vote in our poll, leave a comment below, or on Twitter.
Speaking of Twitter (TWTR), June was a good month for the social network. Its share price was up about 29% for the month. The company broke a record on Saturday during the World Cup soccer match between Brazil and Chile. Almost 389,000 tweets were posted the minute after a penalty kick that kept Brazil in the tournament. A Sterne Agee analyst said that soccer tournament is helpful for Twitter's near-term trends and it has improved confidence in the company’s long-term user growth.
