News money 2008-05-10 Andanh.com

Tobacco getting harder to buy Fri, 09 May 2008 22:11:00 EST
Cigarettes are getting harder to find. More retail chains are dropping them, and for the first time, officials in a few states want to ban pharmacies from selling them.

Oil prices continue to climb Sat, 10 May 2008 02:06:00 EST
Oil rose above $126 a barrel for the first time yesterday in New York trading, bringing its advance this week to nearly $10, as investors questioned whether a possible confrontation between the U.S. and Venezuela could cut exports from the OPEC member.

FedEx trims its earnings outlook Fri, 09 May 2008 22:11:00 EST
FedEx cut its fiscal fourth-quarter earnings expectations yesterday, blaming continuing increases on fuel costs. The UPS competitor, based in Memphis, Tenn., said it expects profits of $1.45 to $1.50 per share for the three months ending May 31, down from the previous $1.60 to $1.80 range.

Are mortgage rates high or low right now? Fri, 09 May 2008 22:13:00 EST
A: Compared to a year ago, they're a little lower. Mortgage company Freddie Mac says the average in the Southeastern states this past week was 6.04 percent with a fee amounting to 0.3 percent of the loan, down from 6.10 percent a year ago with a 0.7 percent fee.

Business People Fri, 09 May 2008 22:20:00 EST
HEALTH CARE Norton Healthcare has named Douglas Pollefeyt as manager of Data Recovery/Continuity. Norton Hospital has named Cynthia Todd as nurse manager. Norton Physician Services has named Matthew Ayers as associate vice president, Rita Flanagan as manager of credentialing and Deborah Lockridge as practice manager II. Norton Suburban Hospital has named Laureen Terry-Hughes as nurse manager. MISCELLANEOUS Bruce and Shellie Webb of Jeffersonville, Ind., have opened Mathnasium, The Math Learning Center, a new franchise operation at 3001 Charlestown Crossing, Suite 2, in New Albany, Ind. The specialized center's personnel meet individually with children of all ages after school to help improve their math skills, academic performance and confidence. The professionals also offer SAT testing preparatory courses. — Stephanie Zeller Items can be submitted at courier-journal.com/businesspeople Color photos should be in jpeg format (200 dpi). Photos should be at least 2 inches by 3 inches and bear the person's name.

Business Digest Fri, 09 May 2008 22:16:00 EST

Business Watch Fri, 09 May 2008 22:14:00 EST

Tent caterpillars worst since 2001 Sat, 10 May 2008 06:05 EDT
Eastern tent caterpillars are at the highest levels seen in the Bluegrass since 2001 but there have been no reports of foal deaths linked to the caterpillars, as there were that year.

The University of Kentucky College of Agriculture has issued an alert that caterpillars are on the move and warns farms to keep pregnant mares out of fields bordered by cherry trees or other potential hosts for the next several weeks.

In 2001, Kentucky was hit by waves of foal losses. Hundreds of foals were born dead or dying, and thousands of mares aborted in the early stages of pregnancies. About 30 percent of the state's Thoroughbred crop from 2001-02 was lost, and all breeds suffered an estimated $336 million in economic damage.

The mysterious epidemic of what came to be known as mare reproductive loss syndrome has been strongly tied, through UK research, to massive infestations of eastern tent caterpillars. Scientists found that mares could inadvertently ingest the hairy caterpillars; the hairs can cause tiny punctures in the digestive tract that let in bacteria that compromise the foals.

UK's Livestock Disease and Diagnostic Lab has not seen any MRLS cases this year.

Churchill Downs to cut purses by 20% Sat, 10 May 2008 02:04 EDT
Churchill Downs racetrack says it has been forced to cut purses by 20 percent because of a dispute over distribution of simulcast racing and Internet betting with two horsemen's groups.

The Kentucky horsemen want Churchill Downs to delay the purse cut for 30 days so both sides can discuss the need for it.

Marty Maline, executive director of the Kentucky Horsemen's Benevolent and Protective Association, said they requested a meeting Friday with racetrack president Steve Sexton but have not received a response.

Sexton announced the 20 percent cut in prize money Friday morning. It is scheduled to go into effect May 14. Purses for Churchill's fall meet could be affected as well.

Maline said that if they can't arrange some kind of negotiations, the Kentucky HBPA plans a general meeting, probably Tuesday, to discuss options with trainer and owner members.

Catastrophic plan to cost companies less Sat, 10 May 2008 02:04 EDT
Small and medium-size employers looking to save money on health benefits could buy catastrophic health insurance for their employees under plans that UnitedHealthcare has begun marketing in Kentucky and Colorado.

The high-deductible Catalyst Choice plans offer employees the option of upgrading to more robust benefits -- such as network coverage for doctor visits, lab tests and emergency care -- at their own expense.

The plans, targeted at companies with as many as 250 employees, are the kind of insurance offering that more employees might begin to see as employers try to ease the pressure of rising health costs.

Catastrophic plans, designed to cover major medical events, offer a more affordable alternative to employers that might be facing costs so high that they are considering dropping health insurance benefits altogether, said Debra Spano, spokeswoman for UnitedHealthcare.

Between 2000 and 2005, the percentage of businesses offering health insurance dropped from 69 percent to 60 percent, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation. Since then, the decline in companies offering coverage seems to have leveled off, said Gary Claxton, a Kaiser vice president.

BUSINESS NOTES Sat, 10 May 2008 02:04 EDT
KENTUCKY

LOUISVILLE FORD TRUCK PLANT TO CLOSE FOR MONTH OF JULY

A union official says Ford's truck plant in Louisville will shut down for the month of July instead of its traditional two-week hiatus during the summer. UAW Local 862 Vice President Todd Dunn said temporary employee layoffs are scheduled to begin this month on the body and paint lines at the plant and could roll into August. He said the whole plant will be shut down in July. Ford spokeswoman Angie Kozleski confirmed that rotating, weeklong layoffs are scheduled to begin this month. Dunn says about 3,400 union members work on the body, paint and final trim lines of the plant. While on furlough, UAW workers typically receive about 90 percent of their pay. The Louisville truck plant makes the F-150 Super Duty trucks. In April, Ford said it sold 21 percent fewer F-Series Super Duty trucks than the same month a year before. Ford and the state of Kentucky reached a deal last fall to invest $200 million at the Kentucky Truck Plant. The agreement will give the automaker $60 million in tax savings over the next decade.

NATIONAL

CLEAR CHANNEL EARNS HIGH ASSET SALES

March trade deficit drops by bigger-than-expected amount Sat, 10 May 2008 14:42 EDT
The U.S. trade deficit narrowed sharply in March as demand for imports fell by the largest amount since the last recession was ending. Analysts forecast that trade would continue to be one of the economy's few bright spots this year.

The March deficit totaled $58.2 billion, down 5.7 percent from February, the Commerce Department reported Friday. It was a much larger improvement than had been expected.

The smaller deficit was driven by a 2.9 percent drop in imports, which reflected widespread weakness in demand as consumers, battered by a severe housing slump, a credit crisis and soaring gasoline prices, cut back on their purchases of both domestic goods and imports. It marked the biggest one-month decline in imports since December 2001, when the country was struggling to emerge from the last recession.

Many analysts believe the country has fallen into another recession, although the better-than-expected trade performance prompted some economists to project that growth will be revised up from the barely discernible 0.6 percent rate reported last week to a slightly more respectable 1.1 percent rate for the first three months of this year.

That could mean the country will be able to avoid a full-blown downturn, although growth at that level would still be viewed as a so-called growth recession in which the economy does not expand fast enough to prevent unemployment from rising.

Stocks decline as AIG reveals need for cash, oil surges Sat, 10 May 2008 07:06 EDT
Wall Street ended the week with a big decline as investors grappled with two of the biggest threats to the economy: fallout from turmoil in the credit market and surging energy prices. All three major indexes suffered losses for the week.

Insurer American International Group Inc. helped send the Dow Jones industrial average down about 120 points after posting a wider-than-expected first-quarter loss that rekindled anxiety about the strained state of the global financial system.

AIG reported it lost $7.81 billion - its second straight quarterly loss - and revealed plans to raise $12.5 billion in the coming months. The world's largest insurer, like many of its peers in the financial services sector, has seen its investments in the credit markets plunge in value.

Meanwhile, rising crude oil prices remained a source of worry for investors, as they had much of the week and in recent months. Oil futures rose above $126 a barrel for the first time, further stoking Wall Street's concerns about inflation that could curtail consumer spending. Light, sweet crude rose as high as $126.20 on the New York Mercantile Exchange before settling at a record $125.96. For the week, oil jumped nearly $10.

Phil Orlando, chief equity market strategist at Federated Investors said investors retreated primarily because of the AIG news.

Tips for workers facing layoffs Sat, 10 May 2008 06:05 EDT
If you're worried about your job, don't panic . get prepared. Here are six ways to prepare for a layoff, from Kate Lorenz, an editor at CareerBuilder.com, an online job-search site.

Get organized. Take home personal files and locate copies of your performance appraisals and other personnel records. Update your r.sum. so that it reflects all of your recent accomplishments and newly acquired skills.

Get what's coming to you. Schedule your checkups and tend to any dental or medical issues while you're still insured -- especially if you've already met your deductibles. If you've got a flexible spending account, turn in all outstanding claims to avoid forfeiting any balances. In addition, know exactly how much vacation and floating holiday time you have coming.

Get connected. Spend at least one to two hours a day networking. Call your potential references, friends, former co-workers and clients. Attend your professional association meetings.

Get searching. Visit the Web sites of any relevant trade and professional associations as well as companies where you'd like to work. Check print and online job postings to see what requirements are being asked for and note any gaps in your experience or skill base.

UnitedHealthcare markets new health plan in Kentucky Fri, 09 May 2008 13:25 EDT
Small and medium-size employers looking to save money on health benefits could buy catastrophic health insurance for their employees under plans that UnitedHealthcare has begun marketing in Kentucky and Colorado.

The high-deductible Catalyst Choice plans offer employees the option of upgrading to more robust benefits -- such as network coverage for doctor visits, lab tests and emergency care -- at their own expense.

The plans, targeted at companies with as many as 250 employees, are the kind of insurance offering that more employees might begin to see as employers look to ease the pressure of rising health costs.

Catastrophic plans, designed to cover major medical events, offer a more affordable alternative to employers that might be facing costs so high that they are considering dropping health insurance benefits altogether, said Debra Spano, spokeswoman for UnitedHealthcare.

Between 2000 and 2005, the percentage of businesses offering health insurance dropped from 69 percent to 60 percent, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation.

Dairy Queen tries out Sweet Deals in Kentucky Fri, 09 May 2008 02:05 EDT
A mix-and-match value menu that includes desserts is being tried out as DQ Grill & Chill and Dairy Queen's answer to rising gasoline and food prices.

Offered through a promotion called Sweet Deals, the menu is being tested at 35 Kentucky DQ Grill & Chill and Dairy Queen locations, including several in Lexington.

"It's going to run at least through the end of the year. If it does well, we feel like it will become part of our core menu," said Billy Rose, who represents the restaurants participating in the promotion and others on the International Dairy Queen Franchisee Advisory Council.

With "gas prices doing what they're doing, the cost of goods going where they're going," parent company International Dairy Queen felt the need to make such a move, said Rose, who owns DQ Grill & Chills in Richmond and Berea.

Customers may pick two items for $3, three for $4 or four for $5 from the nine-item menu. The nine items are the Dairy Queen burger, hot dog, chicken wrap, french fries, onion rings, salad, beverage, sundae and soft-serve cone.

Toyota expects dip in profits Fri, 09 May 2008 02:05 EDT
Toyota Motor said Thursday that the slowdown in the U.S. economy is likely to cause its first annual profit drop in nine years, accelerating a shift by it and other Asian car manufacturers into emerging markets such as China, Latin America and the Middle East.

Toyota, now in a dead heat with General Motors to be the world's largest car company, said most of its recent profit growth has come in new markets such as Brazil, China and Russia. It said that growth helped offset sluggish sales in the United States, traditionally Toyota's largest and most profitable market, and other mature economies, such as Europe and Japan.

"Our profit structure has become more geographically balanced, with growing contributions from resource-rich countries and emerging countries," Toyota's president, Katsuaki Watanabe, said in a statement.

This shift has been partly driven by the faltering prospects of the United States market. Declining American sales, along with the weakening dollar and rising material prices, prompted Toyota to forecast a 27.2 percent decline in net profit to $12.5 billion during the current fiscal year, which ends March 2009. Last month, Honda Motor projected an 18 percent drop in net profit this fiscal year, citing similar reasons.

Still, Toyota appeared to be faring better than its American rivals. GM lost $3.3 billion in the first quarter. Ford had a surprise profit of $100 million for the same period but expects to lose money this year as the U.S. auto market deteriorates.

Complex farm bill ready but faces veto Fri, 09 May 2008 02:05 EDT
Weary congressional negotiators on Thursday completed a comprehensive farm bill that confronts a presidential veto threat amid complicated election-year politics.

After missing many deadlines, lawmakers unveiled a five-year, $286 billion package that includes record spending on fruits and vegetables, combined with crop-subsidy reforms that critics consider inadequate.

The bill also would give tax breaks to owners of racehorses, a provision added by Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky.

Animal rights groups criticized the provision, saying Congress shouldn't help the industry in the wake of Kentucky Derby runner-up Eight Belles having to be euthanized last weekend.

The bill's long-term future remains unclear in the face of President Bush's anticipated veto.

TAXES ARE DIFFERENT IF YOU'RE SELF-EMPLOYED Fri, 09 May 2008 02:05 EDT
Though the tax season is over, some people must continue to pay taxes year-round: the self-employed. If you are in this situation, you can save yourself time and money with these four tips:

Educate yourself on the self-employment tax. The surest way to save on your bill at year's end is to fully understand the tax laws. The best resource is the Internal Revenue's Web site, IRS.gov.

Consider computerizing your record-keeping. Record-keeping is essential for accurately estimating your quarterly payments and for filing your end-of-the-year tax return. Two popular programs are Microsoft Money Plus and Intuit Quicken Home and Business 2008.

Make your estimated payments on time. The self-employed have no income withheld from their paychecks. They must estimate their income, minus deductions, and pay tax on these estimates four times a year. Pay on time to avoid late penalties.

Establish a retirement plan. Contributions to certain kinds of plans can be deducted from your tax bill. Consider a Keogh plan if your business has employees. You can refer to IRS Pub 560 for more information on retirement plans for the self-employed.

NGAS reports higher earnings Fri, 09 May 2008 06:22 EDT
Lexington-based NGAS Resources Inc. reported higher earnings and lower revenues Thursday for the first three months of 2008.

NGAS also said it is shifting most of its Eastern Kentucky drilling to so-called horizontal wells that can bypass underground coal mines and other obstacles to reach previously untapped gas deposits.

NGAS reported earnings of $163,189, or 1 cent a share, for the 2008 first quarter, compared with a loss of $254,264, or 1 cent a share, for the same period a year ago.

Revenue totaled $17.65 million for the 2008 quarter versus $17.9 million a year earlier, the company said.

The decline was due to an expected decrease in contract drilling revenue that was not completely offset by a 26 percent increase in oil and gas revenue, and a 31 percent gain in transmission revenue.

News Corp. withdraws bid to buy NY newspaper Newsday Sat, 10 May 2008 20:22 EDT
News Corp., the media conglomerate controlled by Rupert Murdoch, has withdrawn its bid to purchase the Long Island paper Newsday, a News Corp. spokeswoman said Saturday.

The decision to revoke the offer came just days after Murdoch confidently predicted he would clinch a deal to buy the newspaper within a week.

News Corp. had offered about $580 million for the daily newspaper, one of the country's biggest, but it was competing against rival bids from Cablevision Systems Corp. and New York Daily News owner Mortimer Zuckerman. Cablevision had reportedly made an offer of $650 million for the paper, now owned by the Tribune Co.

News Corp. spokeswoman Teri Everett didn't immediately elaborate on why the company revoked its earlier offer, but she hinted at the potentially higher price tag, saying, "It became uneconomical for us to continue." Murdoch had indicated earlier that he wouldn't raise his bid.

A deal would have made News Corp. an even bigger giant in New York media. The company already owns The Wall Street Journal and the New York Post, plus two area television stations.

Brokerages demystify options trading as way to ride markets Sat, 10 May 2008 16:47 EDT
For Kim Snider, it only takes one word to send participants in her monthly investment workshops into a near panic. The Dallas-based financial adviser gets the same reaction, without fail, every time she suggests using options as a way to protect stock portfolios and make money.

"Peoples' eyes roll to the back of their heads; they are absolutely horrified," she said. "There is still a pervasive myth that options are complicated and risky."

That might be quickly changing. The options market once baffled investors who felt using puts and calls to bet on stock moves was tantamount to a Wall Street craps game. These days, online brokerages and financial advisers are pitching more investor-friendly ways to use options - and that's led to a significant growth in their popularity.

Some 281.7 million total options contracts exchanged hands in April, up 43 percent from last year, according to the Options Industry Council. The high growth is part of a trend experienced over the last several years, and an increasing amount of individual investors are taking part.

One reason for the options boom is that more individual investors are managing their investments online; options are more readily available on the Internet than when they were sold through brokers in the past. Options also feed on Wall Street volatility, which has gone up significantly in the past year.

Young widower pushes for change in Mass. life insurance law Sat, 10 May 2008 20:33 EDT
When Jenny and John Crowley learned they were having a baby, they did the responsible thing: they bought life insurance.

Barely in their 30s, they passed the insurance company's physicals, applied for a $500,000 policy for Jenny and a $1 million policy for John, and thought they wouldn't have to worry about it for decades.

The Savings Bank Life Insurance Co. of Massachusetts was so taken with the Crowleys, the company used a photograph of their newborn daughter swaddled in a yellow blanket on the cover of one of its brochures.

Just one year later, Jenny was dead of an aggressive form of breast cancer, and when John tried to start his life anew as a single father, SBLI rejected his claim for it to pay his wife's policy. The company claimed that even though doctors said Jenny was healthy, she must have been sick before they agreed to insure her.

"I took solace in the fact that I had this life insurance policy that was designed to protect me financially. Without that, it put a lot of stress on me," John Crowley said. "Financially, I was thinking about how am I going to care for my daughter, how am I going to be a mom and a dad? It's a very rough and kind of scary situation."

Children's Place allows former CEO's acquisition talks Sat, 10 May 2008 06:56 EDT
The board of Children's Place Retail Stores Inc. said Friday it has approved a request from its former chief executive Ezra Dabah to work on a proposal to acquire the company with a private equity firm.

Dabah had asked the board's permission to bypass shareholder acquisition laws that could otherwise preclude Golden Gate Private Equity Inc.'s participation in an offer.

Dabah said in February he wanted to buy the children's clothing retailer for about $578 million. According to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Dabah sent a letter revealing his intentions to offer, along with the equity firm, $24 per share in cash.

The stock closed Friday up 66 cents, or 2 percent, to $29.40.

Children's Place said in a statement Friday it granted the request so it could evaluate all its strategic options.

Asset sales boost Clear Channel profit; Deal still in limbo Sat, 10 May 2008 07:16 EDT
Clear Channel Communications Inc., a major radio and outdoor advertising company, reported higher first-quarter earnings Friday on asset sales but operating results were flat, reflecting weak demand for radio advertising.

The San Antonio, Texas-based company is battling its lenders in court as it tries to go private, and says it's not sure when the $19.5 billion deal will close, if at all.

Clear Channel earned $799.7 million, or $1.61 per share, in the first three months of the year, versus $102.2 million, or 21 cents per share, in the same period a year ago.

Revenues rose 4 percent to $1.56 billion from $1.51 billion, but excluding the effects of foreign exchange swings revenues would have risen 1 percent.

Clear Channel just completed the sale of its TV station group in March for $1 billion and is in the process of shedding 275 radio stations as part of the pending transaction to take the company private.

Chinese Dir