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An investment fund associated with Amalgamated Bank, which bills itself as "America's Labor Bank," made the proposal because of Lexmark's performance during the past year, attorney Con Hitchcock said.

The company has seen its stock price fall to lows near $26 in recent months from highs in the $70s in late 2006. Its performance ranked it near the bottom of an index monitored by Amalgamated Bank, said Hitchcock, who presented the shareholder proposal.

The proposal is only a recommendation, so Lexmark is not required to adopt it.

Chairman and chief executive Paul Curlander told Hitchcock at the conclusion of the meeting that the board will "consider this input very seriously" and "right now, that's really all we have to say."

After finally getting a welcome break from the wet weather, Hagan and other corn growers were rushing this week to make up for lost time - knowing more delays could result in lower yields in the fall.

"They're in the 'go' mode right now," Kenny Perry, agricultural extension agent in Graves County in western Kentucky, said Thursday. "They're excited to finally be getting into the fields."

Persistent rains turned spring planting into a series of starts and stops, unlike a year ago when Hagan was wrapping up corn planting by now. By Thursday, about a third of his 2,500 acres of corn was in the ground.

"If the weather will straighten up, we can get a lot done and still be all right," said Hagan, who farms with his son Jonathan in Union, Henderson and Webster counties in western Kentucky.

"We're also interested in your intellectual facilities, in your research and development and all of the things that accompany the automotive industry and its success," Beshear said at the Marriott Griffin Gate Resort.

But studies have shown that a common complaint among businesses about states such as Kentucky is a poorly educated work force. And Beshear's request comes as the state budget whacks funding for higher education.

The state ranks 47th in percentage of adults with a college degree, one of a number of statistics noted in a recent study by the Center for Business and Economic Research at the University of Kentucky.

"Obviously, in order to attract businesses that are going to do research and development, they need to have a work force that can do that type of work," said Ken Troske, director of the UK center. "And that's generally a more educated work force."

Honda Motor Co.'s quarterly net profit plunged 86 percent compared with the same period a year ago because of a corporate tax levied on its Chinese joint venture, at 25.4 billion yen ($244.2 million). Quarterly sales edged down 1 percent to 3.056 trillion yen ($29.4 billion).

Meanwhile, Mitsubishi Motors Corp.'s profit during the same period dropped 37 percent 13 billion yen ($125 million), despite a 12 percent rise in quarterly sales, to 734.8 billion yen ($7.07 billion).

Mitsubishi cited the closing of an Australian factory in the southern city of Adelaide earlier this year. It had operated the plant for 28 years.

Mazda Motor Corp. was an exception, reporting a 48 percent jump in profit on strong overseas sales on way to a record annual profit. The Japanese affiliate of Ford Motor Co. reported a 46.8 billion yen ($450 million) profit for the quarter through March, and a rise in quarterly sales of 1.2 percent to 969.5 billion yen ($9.3 billion), partly on strong demand for the Mazda 6 in Europe.

Workers in favor of unionizing took their fight public again a little more than a year ago but have been quiet since the end of last year.

"There's only so much you need to bring out to the public's attention," said John Williams, one of the leaders. "Everything else is in-house. What we're doing right now is the in-house stuff."

Williams also said there has not been any discussion on waiting to see whether a Democratic president would push through the Employee Free Choice Act. That proposal would allow unionization after employees sign cards authorizing such representation, eliminating the need for signed cards and a vote.

"It's not like we're waiting for that to happen because we still have to reach out to the people who are employed by Toyota," Williams said.

Instead of hanging on to the pieces as souvenirs, many are turning them over to pawnbrokers, coin shops and specialized firms that buy "dental gold," hoping to cash in on the metal's historic run to $1,000 an ounce.

"People are really cashing in. If a dentist passes away, their kids come in with a big pile of good teeth," said Scott Taber, owner of Taber Coins, a Shrewsbury, Mass., coin dealer that buys dental gold and sells it to a gold smelter. He said he used to see only a few customers a month selling gold teeth but now gets that many each week.

A gold crown typically uses about 1/10 of an ounce of 16-karat gold, which would fetch around $40 to $50 at today's prices, Taber said. Heavier pieces can bring several hundred dollars, he said.

That sounds good to Ann Davis, 63, a retiree in Rock Island, Ill., who had gold caps and a bridge removed nearly 40 years ago and has held on to them ever since.

MARATHON TO CLOSE LUBE PLANT

Marathon is closing a lube plant in Catlettsburg as part of a decision to stop producing the base materials for motor oils and other types of lubricating oils. Spokeswoman Linda Casey said the finished products have become increasingly complex and the price of crude oil and costs involved with selling the products haven't made it economical. The operations in Catlettsburg are part of a larger plant with 800 employees. All of the affected employees "will continue working in the refinery in other positions," she said.

CHURCHILL, OTHERS SUE OVER OFF-TRACK BETTING

Churchill Downs Inc., Calder Race Course in Miami and Churchill Downs Technology Initiatives Co. Thursday filed suit against the Thoroughbred Horsemen's Group and the Florida Horsemen's Benevolent and Protective Association. The suit alleges violations under the Sherman Antitrust Act and is a result of the two groups' refusal to approve the distribution of Calder races to off-track betting sites outside of Florida, including Internet wagering companies.

The administration on Friday placed the nine countries on a "priority watch list" that will subject them to extra scrutiny and could eventually lead to economic sanctions - if the administration decides to pursue complaints before the World Trade Organization.

In addition to China and Russia, the other seven countries targeted were Argentina, Chile, India, Israel, Pakistan, Thailand and Venezuela.

The administration named another 31 countries to a lower-level watch list, indicating it has concerns about copyright violations in those nations but they don't warrant the highest level of scrutiny.

Because of improvements in their efforts to protect U.S. intellectual property rights, four countries - Egypt, Lebanon, Turkey and Ukraine - were taken off the "priority" list where they were last year and placed on the lower-level watch list.

After slumping early in the session in response to weak consumer confidence and a spike in oil prices, investors seemed to turn their attention to broader signs, including the week's generally satisfactory earnings reports, that suggested that government efforts to steady the economy appear to be working. That shift in focus sent stocks up late in the day.

Although the Reuters/University of Michigan consumer sentiment index came in with its lowest reading since the early 1980s, Tom Lydon, president of Global Trends Investments in Newport Beach, Calif., said companies' first-quarter reports convinced investors that "overall, things aren't all that bad."

"I think a lot of people went into the weekend feeling they didn't want to be on the short side," Lydon said.

The consumer sentiment index fell to 62.6 for April from 69.5 a month earlier, reflecting Americans' concern about rising energy and food prices.

The situation looks even worse for the fiscal year that begins July 1 in most states.

"Whether or not the national economy is in recession - a subject of ongoing debate - is almost beside the point for some states," said the report to be released Friday by the National Conference of State Legislatures.

The weakening economy is hitting tax revenue in a number of ways: People's discretionary income is being gobbled up by higher food and fuel costs, while the tanking housing market means people are spending less on furniture and appliances associated with buying a house.

The situation is grim in Delaware, with a $69 million gap this year, and bleak in California, with a projected $16 billion budget shortfall over the next two years, the report said. Florida does not expect a rapid turnaround in revenue because of the prolonged real estate slump there.

Democrats said they were glad the rebate checks were about to go out, but suggested that multinational oil companies were not among the businesses the stimulus package was originally designed to help.

"Starting Monday, the effects of the stimulus will begin to reach millions of households across our country," Bush said Friday in remarks on the South Lawn of the White House.

Those first rebates will be directly deposited into people's bank accounts. The Internal Revenue Service had been saying direct deposits wouldn't start until next Friday. Bush said paper checks would begin going out on May 9, a week earlier than previously announced.

"The money is going to help Americans offset the high prices we're seeing at the gas pump, the grocery store, and also give our economy a boost to help us pull out of this economic slowdown," Bush said.

Wheat for May delivery rose 8.75 cents to $8.18 a bushel; May corn added 10.75 cents to $5.87 a bushel; May oats fell 4 cents to $3.725 a bushel; May soybeans added 5.25 cents to $13.54 a bushel.

Beef and pork futures traded higher on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange.

June live cattle rose 0.35 cent to 93.02 cents a pound; May feeder cattle added 0.18 cent to $1.072 a pound; May lean hogs gained 0.65 cent to 75.3 cents a pound; May pork bellies rose 0.45 cent to 78.05 cents a pound.