Mohawk Industries buys Foss Floors

The world's biggest floor covering manufacturer is buying three more plants in Northwest Georgia to help expand its residential carpet and rug business.

Calhoun, Georgia-based Mohawk Industries announced last week it has entered into an agreement to purchase Foss Floors, which it will merge into the Mohawk Home business.

Founded in 1954, Foss sells to national home centers and other manufacturers with products that are differentiated from traditional tufted and woven manufacturing. Mohawk said adding non-woven production will provide a felt-like surface that can be used for indoor or outdoor applications. Foss will keep its current leadership team, headed by Brian Warren.

In a joint memo to employees, Mohawk Flooring North America President Paul De Cock and Mohawk Home President Rocky Casteel said Foss "has a great team of people" and "we believe it will be an excellent complement to our existing Mohawk Home business.

"We have witnessed their commitment to customers, product innovation, safety and sustainability; and we are confident this will be a successful partnership, with many opportunities to learn from one another as we go forward," De Cock and Casteel said in a statement. "In every product category, we are committed to being the best in the industry, delighting our customers with quality and service and providing a full array of flooring solutions for today's consumer."

Delta Air Lines orders Boeing 737 MAX jets

Delta Air Lines is adding the Boeing 737 MAX to its fleet with an order for 100 of the jets.

Delta ordered the 737 MAX 10, the largest model of the MAX family, along with an option for 30 more of the aircraft. The narrow-body jets to be delivered starting in 2025 will be used to replace older, less fuel-efficient aircraft in Delta's fleet of more than 800 aircraft.

It marks Delta's first Boeing order in about a decade, after the airline shifted its attention to European aircraft manufacturer Airbus with a series of major orders in recent years. The 100 737-10s are worth about $13.5 billion based on their list price, though airlines typically negotiate steep discounts for bulk orders.

However, the 737-10 has still not been certified by the Federal Aviation Administration. Aviation Week reported this month that Boeing could cancel its development of the 737-10 if Congress does not extend a deadline for changes to the flight deck alerting system. Delta said it expects the 737-10 to be certified in 2023, but it can shift its order to another model of the MAX family of jets if there is a delay.

The uncertainty comes after the Boeing 737 MAX was grounded for nearly two years after two fatal crashes. Delta at the time was one of the only major U.S. carriers that did not fly MAX aircraft. The Federal Aviation Administration in 2020 cleared the jet to return to the skies after a 20-month review and changes to design, software and training.

"These new aircraft provide superior operating economics and network flexibility, and the agreement reflects our prudent approach to deploying our capital," said Delta CEO Ed Bastian in a written statement. The airline plans to fly the 737-10 from its hubs in Atlanta, New York, Boston, Detroit, Minneapolis-St. Paul, Seattle and Los Angeles.

Bank of America profits fall 32%

Bank of America's second quarter profits fell 32%, the latest major U.S. bank to report a dip in earnings after a strong 2021.

But the country's second largest bank still reported higher revenues this quarter, increasing from $21.5 billion to $22.7 billion year over year, largely due to higher interest rates and an increased level of lending.

Quarterly profit fell to $6.2 billion, or 73 cents per share, the bank reported Monday, compared with a profit of $9.2 billion, or $1.03 a share, in the same period a year earlier.

Profits last year were boosted after the bank releasing billions of dollars from its loan loss reserves, which is money the bank set aside in the pandemic to cover potentially bad loans.

JPMorgan Chase, Wells Fargo and Citigroup all reported double-digit profit declines last week, citing similar reasons.

FirstBank earnings drop in 2nd quarter

FB Financial Corp., the parent company of the Nashville-based FirstBank, reported lower earnings in the second quarter due to the phase out of one of its mortgage programs.

The Nashville-based bank holding company, which operates the sixth biggest bank in metropolitan Chattanooga, reported net income of $19.3 million, or 41 cents per diluted common share, in the three months ended June 30. That was less than half the earnings by the bank in the same period a year ago and 44.6% less in net income than the previous quarter. Reported results during the second quarter were impacted by $12.5 million of mortgage restructuring charges related to the previously announced wind-down of the direct-to-consumer mortgage delivery channel and a $2 million loss from changes in fair value on the commercial loans held for sale portfolio.

Adjusted net income was $30.1 million, or 64 cents per diluted common share, compared to 88 cents per diluted common share in the same quarter last year. Despite the drop in earnings, FirstBank President Chris Holmes said "the core bank produced outstanding loan growth, good noninterest-bearing deposit growth, and strong credit metrics."

"Our strong capital ratios and core earnings momentum position us well for potential economic headwinds over the coming quarters," Holmes said in the second quarter results released Monday.

Yellen calls out China for its trade practices

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen says the U.S. and South Korea should deepen their trade ties to avoid working with countries that unfairly use their market positions. And she called out China by name.

In remarks prepared for delivery Monday, she said countries like China cannot be allowed to use their market position in key raw materials, technologies, or products "to disrupt our economy or exercise unwanted geopolitical leverage."

Yellen represented the U.S. at the Group of 20 finance minister meetings on Indonesia's resort island of Bali and made stops in Tokyo, Japan and Seoul, South Korea. She avoided visiting China.

— Compiled by Dave Flessner

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