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Month: May 2023

Group 1 CEO Kenningham views some car dealerships as overpriced

Group 1 CEO Kenningham views some car dealerships as overpriced

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Group 1 Automotive Inc. is calling out some dealership sellers who it believes are pricing their businesses unrealistically high.

“There is a certain portion of sellers that have unrealistic expectations,” Group 1 Automotive CEO Daryl Kenningham said during the company’s first-quarter earnings call last week. “I always like to tell people, we will never win a bidding war, but we try to stick to discipline with what we will pay for a group of stores.”

Group 1, of Houston, is pursuing acquisitions as a big part of its growth strategy. It’s also using capital for share buybacks and investment in growth areas such as service and technology.

Its latest acquisition of Estero Bay Chevrolet in Estero, Fla.,  in the first quarter is expected to add an estimated $150 million in annual revenue.

More acquisitions are likely in the months ahead, but Group 1 is avoiding transactions in which sellers are asking exorbitant prices, Kenningham said. They’re not realistic, he added, because they don’t factor in future performance expectations. read more

SeaWorld: Pipeline coaster opens May 27 with previews starting May 12

SeaWorld: Pipeline coaster opens May 27 with previews starting May 12

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SeaWorld Orlando‘s annual passholders will get their first rides aboard Pipeline roller coaster starting May 12, the theme park announced Monday.  The previews will be rolled out in phases, determined by the level of annual pass.  The coaster’s opening day, when it becomes available to the general public, will be May 27, according to the SeaWorld website and a video released on social media Monday morning.

Only people with platinum level passes will be able to ride Pipeline May 12-15.  Then gold level passes are added May 18-20. Silver passholders join the previous groups May 21-23, then bronze May 23-25. On May 26, Fun Card owners round out the previews.

The park touts Pipeline as a “surfing” coaster. Passengers will not be seated but will instead be standing on the surfboard-inspired ride vehicle with over-the-shoulder harnesses. There’s an inversion and multiple moments of airtime involved.

Pipeline, located between Bayside Stadium and the front entrance of the park, tops out at 60 mph, and its highest hill is 110 feet.  The ride’s rail is 2,950 feet.  Visitors must be at least 54 inches tall to ride. read more

Florida gas prices down 6 cents from last week

Florida gas prices down 6 cents from last week

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Florida gas prices are getting lower.

Fuel supplies are mostly recovered after the record flooding in South Florida, according to AAA.

On Sunday, gas prices were an average of $3.65, which is 6 cents lower than last week and 7 cents lower than the 2023 high.

“In addition to stabilizing fuel supplies in Florida, the fuel market has cooled off in recent weeks,” said Mark Jenkins, spokesman, AAA – The Auto Club Group. “Oil prices are on a 2-week streak of declines which should enable gas prices to steadily decline through the week.”

Florida markets with the most expensive gas are West Palm Beach-Boca Raton ($3.84), Naples ($3.74) and Homosassa Springs ($3.71).

Florida markets with the cheapest gas are Crestview-Fort Walton Beach ($3.30), Pensacola ($3.31) and Panama City ($3.32).

Regulators seize First Republic Bank, sell to JPMorgan Chase

Regulators seize First Republic Bank, sell to JPMorgan Chase

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NEW YORK  — Regulators seized troubled First Republic Bank early Monday and sold all of its deposits and most of its assets to JPMorgan Chase Bank in a bid to head off further banking turmoil in the U.S.

San Francisco-based First Republic is the third midsize bank to fail in two months. It has struggled since the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank and investors and depositors had grown increasingly worried it might not survive because of its high amount of uninsured deposits and exposure to low interest rate loans.

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation said early Monday that First Republic Bank’s 84 branches in eight states will reopen as branches of JPMorgan Chase Bank and depositors will have full access to all of their deposits.

Regulators worked through the weekend to find a way forward before U.S. stock markets opened. Markets in many parts of the world were closed for May 1 holidays Monday. The two markets in Asia that were open, in Tokyo and Sydney, rose.

“Our government invited us and others to step up, and we did,” said Jamie Dimon, chairman and CEO of JPMorgan Chase. read more