In brief: American Apparel receives multimillion-dollar investment from Standard General

NEW YORK – American Apparel Inc. announced late Wednesday it had reached a deal with investment firm Standard General to receive an investment of up to $25 million to bolster the clothing chain’s finances. It will also mean a shake-up in the board.

The deal will help pay off a $10 million loan from investment firm Lion Capital, which made a formal demand for payment Monday. Lion Capital claimed that the chain defaulted under its credit agreement because the Los Angeles-based clothing chain ousted its founder and CEO Dov Charney.

As part of the shake-up of the board, five of its seven members including Charney will voluntarily step down. The departing directors will be replaced by two new directors chosen jointly by Standard General and the current board, and three new directors chosen by Standard General.

Boeing, Emirates Airline finalize $56 billion deal

NEW YORK – Boeing has finalized a $56 billion agreement to build 150 777X aircraft for Dubai’s Emirates Airline.

The order’s value is based on list prices, which can vary greatly after negotiations.

The 777X is a larger and more fuel-efficient model of Boeing Co.’s popular 777 wide-body, and Emirates is the world’s largest operator of those planes.

Emirates Airline also has purchase rights for an additional 50 aircraft. If exercised, it could raise the value of the deal to about $75 billion, again, at list prices.

Production of the 777X is expected to start in 2017, with first delivery targeted for 2020.

Price of oil continues to fall despite unrest

NEW YORK – The price of oil fell for the ninth straight day Wednesday as global supplies continue to flow despite unrest in the world’s most important oil-producing region. The prolonged drop could lead to lower gasoline prices for U.S. drivers in the weeks ahead.

In the Middle East, the insurgency in Iraq is far from resolved but hasn’t halted oil exports. The fighting now seems unlikely to spread to Iraq’s major oil fields.

Libyan crude exports appear poised to surge after an agreement between the government and local militias cleared the way for export terminals to open. And U.S. production continues to soar.

“We in the U.S are sitting on a ton of crude oil,” said energy analyst Stephen Schork of the Schork Group. “We’re at the point in the season we have a lot of supply and demand is about to fall.”

U.S. benchmark crude fell $1.11 Wednesday to close at $102.29 in New York.

Mexico passes limits on phone, TV companies

MEXICO CITY – The lower house of Mexico’s Congress approved tough restrictions on dominant companies in the country’s telephone and television sectors early Wednesday after 20 hours of debate and discussion.

The new rules must still be signed into law, but they have already forced the nation’s leading telephone carrier to offer to sell off part of its business.

The lower house passed the enabling legislation on a 318-107 vote; it imposes fee limits and infrastructure-sharing requirements on any company that controls more than half the market in sectors like telephones, Internet or television. The rules were already passed by the Senate but must still be signed into law by President Enrique Pena Nieto, whose party supports the measures.

Billionaire Carlos Slim’s America Movil phone company announced Tuesday that it will sell off unspecified assets and businesses to get the company below the 50 percent limit.