CHICAGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Fitch Ratings has downgraded the Issuer Default Ratings (IDRs) on J.C. Penney Co., Inc. and J.C. Penney Corporation, Inc. to 'CCC' from 'B-'. A full list of rating actions follows at the end of this press release. KEY RATING DRIVERS Higher than expected cash burn in 2013: The rating downgrades reflect higher than expected cash burn in 2013 and Fitch's concern that the ...

EASTON, Pa.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Paragon Technologies, Inc.: October 1, 2013 Dear SED International Shareholders: On September 30, 2013, SED International Holdings (NYSE MKT:SED) announced one of its worst financial performances in its 33 year history. In 12 months, SED lost nearly $16 million. Of even greater concern is the 67% permanent loss – equivalent to $16.8 million or $3.14 per share – of ...

AUSTIN, Texas--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Westech Capital shareholders vote resoundingly to return John J. Gorman IV to the Board, along with his new slate of Directors...

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Pfizer Inc. today announced the election of Shantanu Narayen to its Board of Directors, effective September 27, 2013. Mr. Narayen also was appointed to the Corporate Governance and Science and Technology Committees of Pfizer’s Board. Mr. Narayen, 50, is the President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Adobe Systems Incorporated and serves on Adobe’s Board of ...

VOORHEES, N.J.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--American Water has been named to the 2013 Dow Jones Sustainability North America Index (DJSI), the second consecutive year the company received this honor.

NEW YORK & NEWPORT BEACH, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--GMI Ratings, the leading provider of research on environmental, social, governance (ESG) and accounting-related risks affecting the performance of public companies, today announced that executives from GMI and from leading index provider, FTSE, will be speaking today at GMI’s Conference: The Future of Corporate Reform. GMI’s President and CEO ...

LOUISVILLE, Ky.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Humana recognized on Dow Jones Sustainability Indices for seventh consecutive year - Indices recognize Humana’s leadership in environmental, social and economic performance.

CHICAGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Fitch Ratings has assigned a 'BBB' rating to Nabors Industries Inc.'s new issuance of $350 million of 2.35% senior unsecured notes due 2016 and $350 million of 5.10% senior unsecured notes due 2023. The rating Outlook remains Negative. KEY RATING DRIVERS The ratings reflect Nabors's leverage, free cash flow (FCF) and capex profile, and position as a major onshore rig ...

Engaged Capital, LLC (“Engaged Capital”), an investment firm specializing in small and mid-cap North American equities and beneficial owner of approximately 5.1 percent of the common stock of AeroVironment, Inc. (“AeroVironment” or the “Company”) (NASDAQ:AVAV), today sent a letter to the Company’s Board of Directors (the “Board”), included below and also filed today with an amendment to its Schedule 13-D...

NEWPORT BEACH, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Engaged Capital, today sent a letter to the AeroVironment’s Board of Directors, included below and also filed today as an amendment to its SEC form 13-D...

LEBANON, Tenn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Cracker Barrel Announces Board Changes; Unanimously Rejects Proposed Nominations of Biglari and Cooley

GENEVA--(BUSINESS WIRE)--MSCI Inc. (NYSE: MSCI), a leading provider of investment decision support tools worldwide, including indices, portfolio risk and performance analytics and corporate governance services, announced today the results of the August 2013 Quarterly Index Review for the MSCI Equity Indices – including the MSCI Global Standard, MSCI Global Small Cap and MSCI Micro Cap Indices ...

PRINCETON, N.J.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--IXP Corporation, a prominent national provider of public safety and security solutions, announced its new executive leadership team: William E. Metro as chairman and chief executive officer; Lawrence D. Consalvos as president and chief operating officer; and Amy Onder as senior vice president and general counsel. Mr. Metro and Mr. Consalvos were original ...

BOCA RATON, Fla.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Office Depot sends letter to shareholders highlighting Board's progress and momentum on merger with OfficeMax.

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Coppersmith Capital Management, LLC (“Coppersmith”) today announced that both Institutional Shareholder Services (“ISS”) and Glass, Lewis & Co. (“GL”), the two leading independent proxy voting and corporate governance advisory firms, recommend that the stockholders of Alere, Inc. (NYSE: ALR) (“Alere”) vote on Coppersmith’s BLUE proxy card for the election of ...

RENO, Nev.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Unwired Planet, (Nasdaq: UPIP), today announced that Philip A. Vachon was appointed chairman of the company’s board of directors and chairman of the company’s Intellectual Property Committee. Mr. Vachon replaces Peter Feld, who will continue to serve on the board of directors. “We would like to thank Peter for his tremendous work and dedication to Unwired Planet over ...

BISMARCK, N.D.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--MDU Resources Group, Inc. (NYSE:MDU) today announced that Mark A. Hellerstein and William E. McCracken have been elected to the company’s board of directors, effective August 1.

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--NYSE Euronext today announced that it has joined the United Nations’ Sustainable Stock Exchanges (SSE) initiative, which aims to explore how exchanges can work together with investors, regulators, and companies to enhance corporate transparency on Environmental, Social and Corporate Governance (ESG) issues and encourage responsible long-term approaches to investment ...

LOUISVILLE, Ky.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Porter Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ: PBIB), parent company of PBI Bank, announced today that Maria L. Bouvette will retire as Porter Bancorp’s Chairman of the Board and CEO, and as Chairman of the Board of PBI Bank on July 31, 2013. Effective with Ms. Bouvette’s retirement, W. Glenn Hogan is expected to be elected Chairman of the Board of Porter Bancorp, and John T ...

WILMINGTON, Del.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--DEADLINE ALERT: Rigrodsky & Long, P.A. Reminds Shareholders of Uni-Pixel, Inc. of Upcoming Deadline

DALLAS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Kosmos Energy Ltd. (“Kosmos”) (NYSE: KOS) announced today that John R. Kemp III intends to retire as Kosmos Energy’s Chairman. Kemp will continue to serve in his current capacity until a successor is named. Kosmos’ Board of Directors has initiated a search process to identify a new Chairman. Kemp joined the Company’s Board as an independent director in 2005. Subsequently ...

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--MarketAxess appoints Lesley Daniels Webster to its Board of Directors

Patrick A. Bond of Charleston, W.Va., is the first West Virginian to become a National Association of Corporate Directors (NACD) Fellow.

Coppersmith Capital Management, LLC, the fifth-largest stockholder of Alere, Inc. (NYSE: ALR) (“Alere”) along with the members of its Section 13(d) group, owning approximately 5.8% of the shares outstanding, today sent a letter to Alere in response to the recent filing of Alere’s preliminary proxy statement and the disclosure that Alere has nominated four new directors for election to its Board of Directors