Business briefs: Ace Hardware buys Jensen Distribution
Ace Hardware Corp. has bought Spokane-based Jensen Distribution Services for an undisclosed amount, the two companies announced on Monday.
Jensen Distribution was founded in 1883 and employs 254 people, CEO Mike Jensen said in an email.
His son and daughter, Chris Jensen and Micah Dunlap, will remain with the company after the acquisition and “run the business as they do today,” according to a news release. Mike Jensen will retire after serving as CEO of the company for 25 years.
Jensen Distribution is a wholesale hardware distributor with about $150 million in wholesale revenue and more than 2,000 customers in 11 Western states, the release said.
Through the acquisition, Ace Hardware, a retailer-owned cooperative based in Oak Brook, Illinois, will provide hardware to independent lumber, paint, nursery, industrial and hardware outlets, the release said.
Jensen said the company’s name won’t change. Jensen Distribution was called Jensen-Byrd until the mid-1990s – a name that’s still emblazoned on a brick warehouse in Spokane’s University District that has become a focal point for redevelopment versus demolition. The warehouse is now owned by Washington State University.
Morgan Stanley says employee stole data
NEW YORK – An employee of Morgan Stanley’s wealth management business stole information on about 350,000 clients and posted some of it on the Internet, the investment bank said Monday.
The bank said it found the stolen data on about 900 clients online on Dec. 27. The personal data have been taken down and the U.S.-based employee has been fired.
The employee shared client names and account numbers but did not reveal passwords, Social Security numbers or credit card information, Morgan Stanley said. A bank spokesman said the employee was likely attempting to sell the clients’ information, which is why the employee posted only a fraction of the data online – to give potential buyers a sneak peek.
The bank said it hasn’t discovered losses suffered by any client and is strengthening security.
U.S. coal-related deaths fell to record low in 2014
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – The nation’s coal mines set a record for the lowest number of on-the-job fatalities last year, with 16, the federal mining agency said Monday.
There were two fewer deaths than the previous low of 18 in 2009, according to the U.S. Department of Labor’s Mine Safety and Health Administration. Forty miners died in 2014 in all mines, which include metal and nonmetal operations.
The most common causes of mine deaths last year involved hauling equipment and machinery.
The total number of coal mines operating in the U.S. fell to 1,701 last year, from 1,944 in 2010, according to MSHA.
Despite the mine closings, nationwide coal-employment numbers are similar to what they were in the early 2000s, when there were twice as many annual deaths, MSHA said.
Spain’s job numbers up for first time in years
MADRID – The number of people registered as employed in Spain has risen by 417,574 in 2014 compared with the previous year, the first annual increase since 2007 and the latest sign that the country is recovering from its economic crisis.
The Labor Ministry said Monday that the number of people employed at the end of 2014 was 16.8 million.