News money 2008-07-08 Andanh.com

Churchill, Fla. horsemen agree on purses and slots Tue, 08 Jul 2008 03:55:00 EST
An agreement announced yesterday by Churchill Downs Inc. between its Miami-area racetrack and Florida horsemen resolves disputes over this year's purses and revenues from future slot machines.

Homeowners will feel LG&E increase more Tue, 08 Jul 2008 04:26:00 EST
Louisville Gas & Electric Co. announced plans last week to file for a 2 percent increase in its overall base electric rate.

Oil prices down nearly $4 Mon, 07 Jul 2008 22:29:00 EST
Oil prices tumbled nearly $4 a barrel yesterday, erasing many of last week's record gains as concerns about possible supply disruptions eased.

Prius solar cooling may be next Mon, 07 Jul 2008 22:29:00 EST
Toyota's Prius gas-electric hybrid will become even greener next year with solar-powered air conditioning on some high-end models, The Nikkei business newspaper reported yesterday.

McCain, Obama make economic pitches Mon, 07 Jul 2008 22:29:00 EST
Barack Obama and John McCain agree on this much: The economy is staggering under the Bush administration, and Americans are hurting. But who's to blame and how best to fix it?

GM may try to sell some brands Mon, 07 Jul 2008 22:30:00 EST
General Motors is reviewing its brands and may try to jettison some to raise money as it burns through cash at an alarming rate.

Q: I don't have a bank account or credit cards. Can I still get a mortgage? Mon, 07 Jul 2008 22:30:00 EST
A: Having a bank account helps establish credit, but mortgage financer Freddie Mac says lenders can approve you for a mortgage even if you don't have a bank account or credit cards.

Business People Mon, 07 Jul 2008 22:00:00 EST
Professional services, financial services and award announcements are in today's Business People. Submit new items at courier-journal.com/businesspeople Sign up for the daily Business People newsletter at courier-journal.com/newsletters.

Analyst's optimism helps lift Kindred stock Mon, 07 Jul 2008 22:31:00 EST
Better results from acute-care hospitals and nursing facilities and lower malpractice and litigation costs will lead to stronger performance for Kindred Healthcare, a Friedman Billings Ramsey analyst said yesterday.

Microsoft backs Icahn's bid to oust Yahoo board Mon, 07 Jul 2008 22:31:00 EST
Microsoft threw its weight behind investor Carl Icahn's effort to dump Yahoo's board, saying yesterday that a successful shareholder rebellion would encourage the software maker to renew its bid to buy Yahoo's Internet search engine or possibly the entire company.

GM might dump brands Tue, 08 Jul 2008 02:14 EDT

DETROIT . General Motors Corp. is reviewing its brands and may try to jettison some to raise money as it burns through cash at an alarming rate.

But industry analysts say buyer interest in the brands most likely to be sold, Buick, Hummer, Saab and Saturn, may be low because of a U.S. sales downturn brought on by high gasoline prices and a slow economy.

Also, analysts say, there are individual problems with some of GM's weaker nameplates.

GM, which has eight brands, said last month that it was reviewing Hummer for possible sale. The company on Monday denied that other nameplates are under review.

Stocks rise on decline in oil, Bernanke talk Tue, 08 Jul 2008 15:35 EDT
Wall Street turned higher Tuesday as oil prices dropped sharply for the second straight day and investors were encouraged by the possibility of more help for the ailing financial system. The Dow Jones industrials gained more than 100 points.

Crude prices tumbled, falling $5.33 to settle at $136.04 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, bringing oil's two-day drop to more than $9.

"We do have some good news, and that's oil," said Kim Caughey, equity research analyst, Fort Pitt Capital Group. Still, she said, "there are a lot of things to worry about. We need to see gasoline prices coming down to take the pressure off consumers. ... The microeconomies of North America are being affected by the price of gas, and that's a concern."

The average U.S. retail price of a gallon of gasoline remains at a record $4.108, according to AAA auto club, the Oil Price Information Service and Wright Express.

The retreat in crude oil also arrives amid escalating worries about deteriorating lending conditions and the still-slumping housing market. Late Monday, cash-strapped IndyMac Bancorp Inc. said it is no longer accepting new mortgage loan submissions and is cutting 3,800 jobs - more than half its work force. IndyMac shares fell 31 cents, or 44 percent, to 40 cents a share.

Pending home sales fall 4.7 percent Tue, 08 Jul 2008 11:11 EDT
A measurement of pending home sales fell to the third-lowest reading on record in May as the housing market's recovery continued to prove elusive.

The National Association of Realtors' seasonally adjusted index of pending sales for existing homes fell 4.7 percent to 84.7 from an upwardly revised April reading of 88.9. The index was 14 percent below year-ago levels.

"The overall decline in contract signings suggests we are not out of the woods by any means," NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun said in a statement.

Home sales are considered pending when the seller has accepted an offer, but the deal has not yet closed. Typically there is a one- to two-month lag before a sale is completed.

Wall Street economists surveyed by Thomson/IFR had predicted the index would come in at 87. The index, which sunk to a record low of 83 in March, stood at 98.5 in May 2007. A reading of 100 is equal to the average level of sales activity in 2001, when the index started.

Oil extends slide into 2nd day, losing over $5 Tue, 08 Jul 2008 15:35 EDT
Oil tumbled more than $5 a barrel Tuesday in its second big drop this week, hurling crude back to levels not seen since June 26 as traders wary about the health of the global economy cashed in gains from oil's recent rally.

Light, sweet crude for August delivery fell $5.33 to settle at $136.04, after earlier slumping as low as $135.14. The decline followed a $3.92 slide on Monday.

The market's bearish turn this week erases, at least for the time being, the effect of a rally that pushed prices past $145 in a string of record-setting sessions before the Fourth of July.

Analysts attributed much of the recent sell-off to profit-taking, saying traders were cashing in on the previous week's gains. A stronger dollar also helped keep prices lower by discouraging investors from pumping more money into commodities.

At the same time, concerns about global oil supply disruptions subsided and fears that the economic slowdown is spreading moved to the forefront.

Prius might be getting new feature Tue, 08 Jul 2008 02:14 EDT

TOKYO . Toyota's ecological Prius gas-electric hybrid will become even greener next year with solar-powered air conditioning on some high-end models, The Nikkei reported Monday.

The solar panels on the roof of the new Prius model will provide 2 to 5 kilowatts of electricity, the major Japanese business daily said in a report without citing sources.

Toyota Motor Corp. plans to purchase the panels from Japanese electronics maker Kyocera Corp., the newspaper said.

Toyota spokesman Paul Nolasco declined to comment, saying the company doesn't discuss product plans.

Decline of honeybees is conference topic Tue, 08 Jul 2008 02:14 EDT

CHARLESTON, W.Va. . The buzz around Marshall University this week will be about the importance of honeybees.

About 300 beekeepers were expected to join 12 vendors and dozens more presenters at the Heartland Apiculture Society's annual conference starting Thursday in Huntington, W.Va.

Speakers will educate conference visitors about bees and stress their importance at a time when honeybee populations continue to decline, farmers face increased production costs and consumers could ultimately have to pay more for produce.

.People really have become very much aware of the importance of the honeybee in the last two to three years and the problems we may face if we don't bring them back,. said Gabe Blatt of Huntington, president of the Heartland Apiculture Society.

Business Notes Tue, 08 Jul 2008 07:47 EDT

national

Microsoft backs Icahn's effort to sack Yahoo's directors

Microsoft Corp. threw its weight behind investor Carl Icahn's effort to dump Yahoo Inc.'s board, saying Monday that a successful shareholder rebellion would encourage the software maker to renew its bid to buy Yahoo's Internet search engine or possibly the entire company. The unexpected endorsement gives Icahn a carrot to dangle before Yahoo shareholders as he wages an acrimonious campaign to replace Yahoo's nine directors at the company's annual meeting Aug. 1. It marks the first time that Microsoft has publicly sided with Icahn since the billionaire investor launched his attempted coup nearly eight weeks ago. The two sides decided they could work together after Icahn held .frequent. discussions with Microsoft Chief Executive Steve Ballmer and some of his top lieutenants during the past week, according to a letter that Icahn sent Monday to Yahoo shareholders.

Anheuser say InBev offer too low

Three ways to curb cell phone spam Tue, 08 Jul 2008 02:14 EDT

Even if you don't pay for text messaging, you can still receive unwanted solicitations on your cell phone. From the August 2008 Consumer Reports magazine, here are three tips to prevent that:

Take immediate action . Call your carrier to complain. It might offer a quick fix. Check to ensure your e-mail or messaging settings are at the highest level of protection

Join the National Do Not Call Registry. You can register your cell phone free at www.donotcall.gov.

Beware of downloads. Just as with your computer, some downloads can prove hazardous to your phone's health. Certain ring tones and games from third parties can open you up to increased spam and even identity theft.

Ka-ching! Consumers borrow mostly on credit cards Tue, 08 Jul 2008 15:35 EDT
Consumers boosted their borrowing in May, mostly reflecting heavy credit card use to finance their purchases.

The Federal Reserve reported Tuesday that consumer credit increased at an annual rate of 3.6 percent in May, roughly the same pace as logged in the prior month.

The pickup pushed total consumer debt up by $7.8 billion to $2.57 trillion. That was a bit more brisk than the $7 billion over-the-month increase economists were expecting.

The increase was led by much stronger demand for a category called revolving credit, which is primarily credit cards. Use of revolving credit rose at a 7.1 percent pace in May. That compared with a cutback in such credit of 0.5 percent in April.

Still, the longer-term trend shows that consumers have been forced to charge more of their purchases on credit cards as banks have tightened lending standards on other types of loans.

Fed plans new rules to protect future homebuyers Tue, 08 Jul 2008 15:30 EDT
The Federal Reserve will issue new rules next week aimed at protecting future homebuyers from dubious lending practices, its most sweeping response to a housing crisis that has propelled foreclosures to record highs.

Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke spoke of the much-awaited rules in a broader speech Tuesday about the challenges confronting policymakers in trying to stabilize a shaky U.S. financial system. To that end, Bernanke said the Fed may give squeezed Wall Street firms more time to tap the central bank's emergency loan program.

To prevent a repeat of the current mortgage mess, Bernanke said the Fed will adopt rules cracking down on a range of shady lending practices that has burned many of the nation's riskiest "subprime" borrowers - those with spotty credit or low incomes - who were hardest hit by the housing and credit debacles.

The plan, which will be voted on at a Fed board meeting on Monday, would apply to new loans made by thousands of lenders of all types, including banks and brokers.

Under the proposal unveiled last December, the rules would restrict lenders from penalizing risky borrowers who pay loans off early, require lenders to make sure these borrowers set aside money to pay for taxes and insurance and bar lenders from making loans without proof of a borrower's income. It also would prohibit lenders from engaging in a pattern or practice of lending without considering a borrower's ability to repay a home loan from sources other than the home's value.

GM, Ford report strong China sales Tue, 08 Jul 2008 06:56 EDT
General Motors and Ford reported first-half sales grew strongly in China's booming auto market Tuesday, a rare bright spot for global automakers.

GM said sales of its Buick, Chevrolet and Cadillac brands rose 12.7 percent from the first half of last year to 590,126 vehicles. Ford Motor Co. said its sales rose 21 percent from the year-earlier period to 172,411 vehicles.

Growth was weaker than the stunning rates reported in 2007, when Ford's China sales grew by 30 percent. But they still were far stronger than in North America, where automakers are idling factories amid a severe sales downturn.

"The Chinese vehicle market has continued to grow in 2008, setting a new first half sales record," said Kevin Wale, president of GM China, in a written statement.

Auto sales have been driven by fast-rising incomes in an economy that is forecast to grow by at least 9 percent this year.

Chinese Dir