News money 2008-08-01 Andanh.com

Going green A growing trend among homeowners Thu, 31 Jul 2008 23:39:00 EST
The bathroom tiles are recycled wine bottles. The hardwood floors are sustainable bamboo. And the sprawling garden gets sprinkled with rainwater collected in 300-gallon barrels.

New arena financing in works Fri, 01 Aug 2008 02:23:00 EST
The Louisville Arena Authority could consider a new financing plan for the proposed downtown arena by midmonth as officials continue to pursue ways to replace the deal that unraveled a week ago.

Economic data spur worries Thu, 31 Jul 2008 22:52:00 EST
The prospects for a quick economic recovery dimmed yesterday, with new data showing the economy grew at a slower-than-expected rate this spring despite some oomph from tax rebate checks -- and actually shrank late last year.

S&P drops U.S. automakers' ratings a notch Thu, 31 Jul 2008 22:42:00 EST
Standard & Poor's Ratings Services cut its ratings for all three of the U.S.-based automakers yesterday, citing fears about their mounting cash losses and continued deterioration of the domestic auto market.

Exxon Mobil profit is best ever Thu, 31 Jul 2008 22:53:00 EST
Exxon Mobil reported the fattest operating profit in U.S. corporate history yesterday but took a beating anyway -- from politicians railing against Big Oil, drivers bleeding cash at the pump and investors who expected more.

Visa, MasterCard benefit as use of debit cards rises Thu, 31 Jul 2008 22:42:00 EST
As Americans see their home values plunge, bills climb and credit lines shrink, they are swiping their credit cards less and their debit cards more -- and Visa and MasterCard are still raking in the fees.

Q: What's a good credit score? Fri, 01 Aug 2008 02:16:00 EST
A: Fair Isaac, which compiles FICO scores used by banks, says that mortgage lenders generally consider scores above 760 to be very low risk and worthy of the best interest rates.

Business People Thu, 31 Jul 2008 21:48:00 EST
Professional services, awards and miscellaneous 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.

Louisville-area prices for gasoline rising again Thu, 31 Jul 2008 23:02:00 EST
Drivers posting prices at courier-journal.com/gas reported stations that were charging in the mid-$3.60 range yesterday morning were up to $3.90 by the afternoon. The average Wednesday was $3.76.

Pay-equity bill passes in House Thu, 31 Jul 2008 23:35:00 EST
Democrats in the U.S. House of Representatives pushed through legislation yesterday that would give women new tools to combat pay discrimination.

Economic news is mixed Fri, 01 Aug 2008 01:49 EDT

Reports released Thursday offered more bad news for the sputtering U.S. economy, though a ray of hope came in a national GDP analysis.

Permits down for new homes

The downward spiral of new residential building permits continued in the first half of 2008 in the Lexington area.

There were 1,093 permits issued for new homes, a 37.7 percent decline from the same months of 2007.

Residential building permits continue to fall Fri, 01 Aug 2008 06:53 EDT

The downward spiral of new residential building permits continued in the first half of 2008 in the Lexington area.

There were 1,093 permits issued for new homes, a 37.7 percent decline from the same months of 2007.

All eight Central Kentucky counties surveyed showed declines, a trend that began in 2006.

Fayette County had a 43.2 percent drop in the first half of 2008, The Market Edge reported Thursday. There were 410 permits issued, compared with 722 in the first half of 2007, The Market Edge said.

Tobacco bill doesn't take changes in market into account, growers say Fri, 01 Aug 2008 02:54 EDT

Legislation approved by the House on Wednesday to give the Food and Drug Administration regulatory control over tobacco products fails to address the massive market changes of the last decade, growers and others say.

Cigarette makers no longer claim nicotine isn't addictive or that their products aren't harmful, and the bill doesn't take that into account. It also doesn't acknowledge scientific advances in the potential for .reduced-harm. products, an advocate said.

Scott Ballin, health and tobacco consultant with the Alliance for Health, Economic and Agriculture Development, said lawmakers are ignoring these issues because they complicate the bill.

.They want to see it in simple terms: Big Tobacco bad, FDA good,. he said.

Avoid these mistakes when hiring Fri, 01 Aug 2008 01:49 EDT

Looking to hire? Avoid these common mistakes:

. Don't hire someone just because you know them, including friends and family. They might expect a double standard. But if the person is right for the job, then that's the right choice.

. Avoid taking on a partner just because you can't afford to hire. If entering a partnership would more than double your business, it might be a good choice. Otherwise, consider outsourcing projects, or work on a fee basis.

. Stay away from hiring for hiring's sake. Generalists are rarely a good hire. The best way to add real value is to hire a person who can perform a certain role that your business needs most, and perform it well.

Exxon Mobil 2Q profit sets US record, shares fall Thu, 31 Jul 2008 22:40 EDT
Exxon Mobil Corp. reported second-quarter earnings of $11.68 billion Thursday, the biggest profit from operations ever by any U.S. corporation, but the results were well short of Wall Street expectations and its shares slumped 3 percent.

The world's largest publicly traded oil company said net income for the April-June period came to $2.22 a share, up from $10.26 billion, or $1.83 a share, a year ago.

Revenue rose 40 percent to $138.1 billion from $98.4 billion in the year-earlier quarter.

Excluding an after-tax charge of $290 million related to an Exxon Valdez court settlement, earnings amounted to $11.97 billion, or $2.27 per share.

Analysts on average expected Exxon Mobil to earn $2.52 a share on revenue of $144 billion, according to a survey by Thomson Financial. The estimates typically exclude one-time items.

Drug store sales boost CVS 2Q profit 7 percent Thu, 31 Jul 2008 10:06 EDT
Drug store and pharmacy operator CVS Caremark said Thursday its second-quarter profit grew 7 percent as sales at its retail drug stores rose.

CVS said its profit rose to $771.2 million, or 53 cents per share, in the quarter ended June 28, from $720.1 million, or 47 cents per share, a year earlier. Revenue increased 2 percent to $21.14 billion from $20.7 billion.

Excluding one-time costs such as acquisitions, the Woonsocket, R.I., company's profit came to 60 cents per share.

According to Thomson Financial, analysts expected 60 cents per share on $21.41 billion in revenue, excluding one-time items.

Shares of CVS rose 67 cents, or $3.43, to $20.23 in early trading.

W.Va. officials rip proposed shelter regulations Thu, 31 Jul 2008 20:16 EDT
Officials in West Virginia, the country's largest underground coal-producing state, lashed out Thursday against proposed federal regulations that would mandate airtight emergency refuges in more than 600 underground coal mines nationally.

Officials who helped craft West Virginia's own refuge rules criticized pieces of the federal Mine Safety and Health Administration's own proposal at a hearing in Charleston.

"I believe MSHA has missed the point," said Jim Dean, former interim director of the state Office of Miners' Health, Safety and Training. "MSHA seems to be more interested in protecting the shelter than protecting the miner."

Dean said West Virginia spent "tremendous time and effort" tapping the expertise of miners, mine operators, mine safety experts and others in developing its regulations, only to have MSHA draft unnecessarily conflicting rules.

MSHA's proposal would require chambers that are too large, too close together and stocked with too many supplies, said Dean, who accused the agency of being more concerned about comfort than keeping miners alive.

It's show and tell at the Expo Thu, 31 Jul 2008 06:45 EDT

Earnings Roundup Fri, 01 Aug 2008 01:49 EDT

Exxon-Mobil

Second Prior-yr. quarter period

Revenue $138.1B $98.4B

Net income $11.68B $10.26B

Business Notes Fri, 01 Aug 2008 06:49 EDT

National

Bristol-Myers Squibb offers $4.5 billion for partner ImClone

Bristol-Myers Squibb Co . on Thursday offered $4.5 billion in cash for its cancer drug partner, biotechnology company ImClone Systems Inc. , saying the two are .a natural fit.. .ImClone's board has yet to comment on the proposal, which offers its stockholders $60 per share, a 30 percent premium to ImClone's closing price of $46.44 Wednesday. Bristol-Myers, the world's No. 14 drug maker by revenue, already owns about 17 percent of ImClone. The two companies have been partners since September 2001 in developing Erbitux , which is approved for treating advanced colorectal cancer and head and neck cancers. ImClone shares surged beyond Bristol's offering price and rose $17.49, or 37.7 percent, to $63.93. Bristol-Myers shares fell 39 cents to $21.12.

MillerCoors rethinking craft-style lites

US stocks head for moderately higher open Fri, 01 Aug 2008 07:05 EDT
U.S. stocks headed for a moderately higher open Friday as investors awaited a key government reading on employment and a report on the health of the manufacturing sector.

Wall Street expects the Labor Department report will show the economy shed jobs for the seventh straight month in July. Economists polled by Thomson/IFR predict that payrolls shrank by around 72,000, beyond the 62,000 positions eliminated in June. So far this year, the economy has lost about 438,000 jobs.

Wall Street also expects the unemployment rate to have risen to 5.6 percent from 5.5 percent in June. The report is due at 8:30 a.m. EDT.

The employment report, often regarded as the most important economic reading on Wall Street, gives investors insights into the health of the consumer. People who have lost their jobs or are worried about being out of work are likely to spend less, a disturbing prospect for investors as consumer spending accounts for more than 70 percent of U.S. economic activity.

Investors are also awaiting a read on the manufacturing sector. Economists predict the Institute for Supply Management, a trade group of purchasing executives, will report that its manufacturing index fell to 49.2 in July from 50.2 in June. A reading above 50 signals expansion while a figure below 50 indicates contraction. In June, the index signaled growth for the first time in four months.

Cigna 2Q profit jumps 37 percent Fri, 01 Aug 2008 06:55 EDT
Health insurer Cigna says its second-quarter profit rose 37 percent on a jump in premiums and fees as the company's acquisition of Great West Healthcare boosted membership.

Profit rose to $272 million, or 97 cents per share, from profit of $198 million, or 68 cents per share, during the same period a year ago. Excluding one-time gains and charges, the company earned $1.08 per share in the latest quarter.

Revenue rose 11 percent to $4.86 billion from $4.38 billion.

The results easily beat the average estimates of analysts polled by Thomson Financial, who forecast profit of 97 cents per share on revenue of $4.76 billion.

Cigna expects adjusted profit between $4.05 and $4.25 for the full year, while analysts expect $4.17 per share.

Oil drops below $124 on weak US economy Fri, 01 Aug 2008 07:30 EDT
Oil prices kept falling Friday on expectations that slowing economic growth in developed countries will cut demand for crude products, such as gasoline and heating oil.

Traders were also awaiting the release later Friday of U.S. payroll and unemployment figures for June, as well as July car sales, for more signs of where the American economy is heading.

By midday in Europe, light, sweet crude for September delivery fell 57 cents to $123.51 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract lost $2.69 to settle at $124.08 a barrel on Thursday.

"The market is selling off because of the weak economic numbers out of the U.S.," said Tetsu Emori, commodity markets fund manager at ASTMAX Futures Co. in Tokyo. "Growth and oil demand is slowing in the U.S., Europe and Japan, and it's too optimistic to think emerging market demand will compensate for that."

The U.S. Commerce Department said Thursday that the country's gross domestic product rose just 1.9 percent in the second quarter despite government tax rebates aimed at boosting the economy. Economists had expected growth of 2.4 percent. The weak 1 percent GDP figure of the first three months of 2008 was also modified lower to 0.9 percent.

KBR 2Q profit falls sharply on charges Fri, 01 Aug 2008 07:05 EDT
Engineering and construction services provider KBR says its second-quarter profit fell sharply from a year-ago period boosted by asset sale gains, and also says results were hurt by hefty project charges and a jury award on a 2003 subcontract.

The Houston-based company, which split off from Halliburton in 2007, says net income for the quarter ended June 30 slipped to $48 million, or 28 cents per share, from year-ago profit of $140 million, or 83 cents per share. The 2007 period included $90 million worth of earnings related to its former stake in Devonport Management, and the latest period includes 18 cents per share worth of charges.

Revenue grew 24 percent to $2.66 billion from $2.15 billion in the second quarter of 2007.

Analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial expected profit of 36 cents per share on revenue of $2.32 billion.

Total reports profit up 38 percent in 2nd quarter Fri, 01 Aug 2008 07:15 EDT
The French energy company Total SA on Friday reported its profit climbed 38.7 percent in the second quarter, joining other oil companies in posting strong results as oil prices surged this past spring.

The world's fourth-largest oil and gas company said it earned 4.73 billion euros ($7.38 billion) in the three monrths ended June 30, up from 3.41 billion euros in the same period a year ago.

Sales in the second quarter rose 23 percent to 48.2 billion euros ($75.25 billion) from 39 billion euros a year ago.

Rival oil companies such as Exxon Mobil Corp. and Royal Dutch Shell have reported big second-quarter gains this week on high crude prices.

Oil futures prices peaked at a record high of $147.27 a barrel in New York on July 11, but have since backed off those levels as U.S. demand for gasoline has weakened. Light, sweet crude for September delivery fell to $123.23 a barrel in Singapore trading Friday.

Chinese Dir