PG&E reassured

After its stock plummeted over its possible role in California’s deadly wildfires, the state’s largest utility won back some investor confidence Friday after its chief regulator offered a backstop.

Shares in Pacific Gas and Electric Co., which serves most of the state’s northern half, had plunged over concerns that it could face insolvency over liability claims arising from the fires.

Analysts upgraded the stock after the president of the California Public Utilities Commission said it would take into account any financial liabilities PG&E incurred from the fires when setting rates. Michael Picker said the commission had authority to do so under a state law enacted in September.

Court OKs Sears selling best stores

Sears Holdings Corp. can begin trying to sell its best-performing stores after receiving court approval Thursday for its plans to auction off assets.

Last month, the retailer said it believed it could avoid liquidation by reorganizing around a smaller group of profitable stores, which it intended to sell to a new owner to continue operating.

Judge Robert Drain of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York said he would sign off on the company’s plans for auctioning those stores, including a timeline that would require Sears to find an initial bidder by Dec. 15.

Other potential buyers would have to submit bids by Dec. 28, and the auction would be conducted Jan. 14, according to a bankruptcy court motion.

The court filings did not say how many stores would be included in the sale. Sears said about 400 of its stores are profitable, and it is reviewing others.

ESL Investments, the hedge fund run by Sears Chairman Edward Lampert, had been in talks with the company about buying a large group of stores.

At a court hearing last month, an attorney for Sears said ESL was a “likely bidder.”

A committee of Sears’ unsecured creditors asked questions in court filings whether those stores would be viable.