News money 2008-06-29 Andanh.com

Minimum wage increases to $6.55 Tuesday Sun, 29 Jun 2008 03:43:00 EST
Kentucky's minimum wage increases to $6.55 an hour Tuesday, and state officials say the change will give a pay boost to an estimated 68,000 of the state's lowest-paid workers.

Soaring gasoline prices drive Segway interest Sun, 29 Jun 2008 03:11:00 EST
Paul Feeney didn't commute with the Segway his parents gave him for Christmas in 2005 until he moved close to work in Columbus, Ohio, this spring. The battery-powered, energy-efficient scooter makes the 1.4-mile commute fun, the 35-year-old Sun Microsystems sales representative said.

Drama taps online search Sat, 28 Jun 2008 21:46:00 EST
They are an unquestionably bizarre set of Internet search terms: Mange. Human mold. White camellia. Dying Elmo. Could those words also be clues to finding a missing person?

Web help eases crises Sat, 28 Jun 2008 21:48:00 EST
When he was diagnosed with kidney cancer last year, Dave deBronkart needed an easy way to keep his far-flung friends and family updated. So did the president of the American Medical Association when he fell ill months ago.

Tapping retirement savings isn't a painless fix Sat, 28 Jun 2008 21:50:00 EST
Investors' anxiety about the economy and rising prices for gasoline, food and other necessities has some thinking about tapping retirement savings to ease current financial troubles.

Act fast if you're facing a job loss Sat, 28 Jun 2008 21:51:00 EST
If you have lost your job or are facing a layoff, you need a plan for coping financially. This is especially true if you haven't been able to build an emergency fund or you've been living too high.

Use savings account as overdraft protection Sat, 28 Jun 2008 21:50:00 EST
My bank offers overdraft protection. Should I use it?

Cost controls boost quarterly profit Sat, 28 Jun 2008 21:50:00 EST
Walgreen Co. said its fiscal third-quarter profit rose 2 percent, helped by higher sales of generic medicines and tight cost control. Chief Executive Jeffrey A. Rein called the latest quarter's results "solid," adding, "At a time when Americans are searching for value and convenience, we're one of the retailers they're turning to."

AT&T moving headquarters from San Antonio to Dallas Sat, 28 Jun 2008 21:49:00 EST
AT&T, the nation's largest telecommunications company, said it is moving its corporate headquarters to Dallas from San Antonio for easier access to customers and operations around the world.

How to play interest rates Sat, 28 Jun 2008 21:48:00 EST
Most of the market seems to be preparing for the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates as early as September, although some analysts are skeptical that the central bank would risk such a move so soon, BusinessWeek.com reports. So what's an investor to do?

Business Notes Sat, 28 Jun 2008 02:31 EDT

Kentucky

Oil futures hit record price as dollar declines against euro

Oil futures climbed to a record at almost $143 a barrel Friday as the dollar weakened against the euro, confirming expectations that the falling greenback, a major factor in crude's stratospheric rise, will extend its decline and add to oil's appeal. Light, sweet crude for August delivery rose as high as $142.99 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange before pulling back sharply in a spate of late-day profit-taking to settle up 57 cents at a record $140.21. On Thursday, the contract shot past $140 and rose more than $5 to a new settlement record. The latest record came as the dollar fell against the euro in afternoon trading, having traded roughly unchanged for much of the day.

Effects of stimulus payments are seen

Chinese investor pays $2.1M to eat with Buffett Sat, 28 Jun 2008 23:27 EDT
A Chinese investment fund manager won the chance to have lunch with billionaire Warren Buffett by bidding $2.1 million in the most expensive charity auction ever held on eBay.

Zhao Danyang of the Hong Kong-based Pureheart China Growth Investment Fund won the auction, which ended Friday evening with a bid of $2,110,100.

A spokeswoman for the Glide Foundation, which receives all the proceeds from the auction, identified the winner Saturday.

It appears that Zhao and Buffett share a similar investment philosophy. But Zhao could not be reached Saturday, and no one answered the phone at Buffett's Omaha office.

The auction will provide a significant boost to Glide, which provides social services to the poor and homeless in San Francisco. The foundation operates on a $12 million annual budget, spokeswoman Denise Lamott said.

Calif fire deals big blow to Big Sur tourism Sat, 28 Jun 2008 21:52 EDT
Many of the rustic inns, restaurants and art galleries that dot the rugged Central Coast are nearly deserted this weekend at the height of the tourist season as a huge wildfire threatens Big Sur.

The blaze had charred nearly 42 square miles as of Friday in the Los Padres National Forest and destroyed 16 homes in the Big Sur area, one week after it was started by a lightning storm that also ignited more than 1,000 wildfires from the Central Coast to the Oregon state line.

On Saturday, President Bush issued an emergency declaration for California and ordered federal agencies to assist in firefighting efforts in several counties including Monterey, which includes Big Sur. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger asked the declaration on Friday, saying fires had charred more than 400 square miles.

Firefighters braced for the possibility of more lightning in Northern California during the weekend.

The Big Sur fire was only 3 percent contained. Firefighters concentrated on protecting more than 500 homes and other buildings threatened by the blaze and let the wildfire rage virtually unchecked in remote mountain wildernesses.

New market a gathering spot in recovering N.O. Sat, 28 Jun 2008 09:22 EDT
Temporary farm markets deployed in parts of New Orleans recovering from Hurricane Katrina have given residents access to fresh fruit, vegetables, meat and seafood.

For residents of the Lower 9th Ward, the market there has become something more. It is a gathering place in a neighborhood where neighbors have been slow to return.

In the Lower 9th, they don't just shop. They talk about food, their families, the rebuilding of their homes and how frustrating life after Katrina can be.

"It's rough," said Vibiana Thomas, who had just attended church one recent Sunday and walked to the nearby farm market in the parking lot of a derelict KFC/Long John Silver's restaurant.

"It's a big inconvenience to not have a grocery store or a drug store," she said, holding a bag of zucchini, which she said she would saute in tomato sauce and garlic and top with parmesan cheese. "These markets are wonderful. It's a big help."

Chinese Dir