News money 2008-08-04 Andanh.com

Business helps clients get best deal on energy Sun, 03 Aug 2008 22:53:00 EST
After nearly seven years under the ownership of out-of-town firms, Louisville-bred Fellon-McCord & Associates is a privately owned, locally controlled business again.

Don't add to employees' stress by sharing yours Sun, 03 Aug 2008 22:54:00 EST
Sales are down, customers are paying late, and vendors are raising their prices. That's a combination likely to raise stress levels for most small-business owners -- who can pass on their anxiety and create a stressful atmosphere for employees.

re: Carol A. Dawson, equal opportunity guide Sun, 03 Aug 2008 22:54:00 EST
"To provide 'never boring' training to employers -- both government and private industry -- about their obligations to be in compliance with Equal Employment Opportunity and Affirmative Action laws and regulations.

Lack of sick leave ill omen for many workers Sun, 03 Aug 2008 22:55:00 EST
For perhaps five times in the last 15 years, Manuela Mendez has had to drag herself to work at a fast-food restaurant in La Mirada, coughing and congested.

Women rise to top in tech industry Sun, 03 Aug 2008 22:55:00 EST
Sen. Hillary Clinton nearly snagged the Democratic presidential nomination. Danica Patrick became the first female winner in IndyCar history. German Chancellor Angela Merkel has emerged as a major figure in world affairs.

Business People Sun, 03 Aug 2008 21:42:00 EST
Arena, telecommunications and board 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.

SCORE blog targets women entrepreneurs Sun, 03 Aug 2008 22:56:00 EST
SCORE, Counselors to America's Small Business, has started the Women's Success Blog. Four women SCORE leaders offer insights and advice on issues facing women entrepreneurs at womensblog.score.org.

Batting your eyes could lead to total strikeout Sun, 03 Aug 2008 22:57:00 EST
Negotiators who complimented their adversaries and who were instructed to be "playful" were actually losers at the bargaining table compared with those who played it straight, according to a recent study.

Humana reports slight drop in 2Q earnings Mon, 04 Aug 2008 07:19 EDT
Health insurer Humana Inc. reported a slight drop in second-quarter profit Monday caused by a double-digit decline in premiums from its Medicare prescription drug plans, which offset solid growth in its Medicare Advantage and commercial segments.

Humana's results for the three months ended June 30 still outperformed Wall Street expectations, and the company raised its earnings-per-share projection for the full year.

Louisville-based Humana earned $209.9 million, or $1.24 per share, in the second quarter, down 3 percent from $216.8 million, or $1.28 per share, a year ago. The performance beat Humana's own earnings-per-share projection of $1.15 to $1.20.

The company said results from its stand-alone Medicare prescription drug plans - with premiums down 14 percent to $905 million - were better than expected.

Analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial had expected profit of $1.18 per share.

Sales down at casual dining restaurants Mon, 04 Aug 2008 01:54 EDT

Sales are down at the Applebee's restaurants operated by Lexington-based Thomas . King. Fewer customers are coming through the doors, and they are spending less than before.

Most other operators of casual dining restaurants are in the same boat, says Mike Scanlon, the company's president and CEO and Lexington's former vice mayor.

.I don't think we are having a recession; I don't think we are having a depression; I think we are having a correction,. Scanlon said last week.

Triggered by rising energy prices and changing consumer attitudes, the restaurant industry is seeing .significant economic and cultural changes. that will be long lasting, he said.

Ky. woman was 50, bored when she started Skirt! Mon, 04 Aug 2008 01:54 EDT

Nikki Hardin says if her career was seen as a road under construction, you'd see lots of detours, exit ramps and dead ends.

In 1994, the Kentucky native was a 50-year-old freelance writer with no money and bored with life in Charleston, S.C.

Hardin dreamed of starting a liberal women's magazine, but lacked the business skills. That year, against improbable odds, she launched Skirt!, a monthly publication for women about their work, families, health and recreation. Now owned by Morris Publishing Company, Skirt! is licensed locally by the Lexington Herald-Leader and distributed in eight Central Kentucky counties. Hardin remains publisher.

She will speak Tuesday at the Wyatt Women's Network Series at the Kentucky Theatre. Reached at her office last week, Hardin talked about the magazine and her Kentucky visit.

Kentucky by the numbers: 93.0 Mon, 04 Aug 2008 01:54 EDT

Lexington received a tax index score of 93.0 in the small-sized city category of KPMG International's study, released last week, of cities with the most favorable tax structures for business. The study examined taxes such as property, income, capital and sales. The 93.0 score means Lexington's tax costs are 7 percent below the U.S. national average of 100.0. Small cities . defined as populations between 100,000 and 500,000 . ranking above Lexington were Saginaw, Mich. (92.0), Cheyenne, Wyo. (92.1), Cedar Rapids, Iowa (92.1), Sioux Falls, S.D. (92.8), and Shreveport, La. (92.9).

Personnel file Mon, 04 Aug 2008 01:54 EDT

Education

Georgetown College: H.K. Kingkade has been named director of the college's newly created office of religious life.

Health care

WKYT-27 takes news ratings lead Mon, 04 Aug 2008 01:54 EDT

WKYT-27 has wrestled away the local news viewership lead from WLEX-18, according to the most closely watched measure of television viewing.

In the recently released May ratings book by Nielsen, the CBS affiliate won a majority of time slots, including the 6-7 a.m. newscast that the station hadn't won in more than a decade.

.I think it's still a competitive playing field, and there are still two distinct choices for people to make on news .... said WKYT general manager Wayne Martin. .(But) it clearly indicates that what we're doing has both stability ... and now shows momentum also..

The victory came as part of a gloomy report on viewership, however. Each station saw its household ratings slide in a majority of time slots. WLEX saw massive drops at certain hours, leading managers at the station to write off the book as a fluke.

WTVQ anchor on indefinite medical leave Mon, 04 Aug 2008 08:26 EDT

WTVQ-36 morning anchor Tom Kenny is on indefinite medical leave from the ABC affiliate following complications from what was to have been a routine knee surgery.

Kenny was last on the air June 13 and planned to be off for a week and a half because of arthroscopic surgery on his right knee.

Kenny's athletic background in basketball, baseball, and track and field had worn out the knee over the years, he said, causing a torn meniscus that necessitated the procedure.

Six days after the surgery, though, symptoms began that resulted in doctors diagnosing him with a staph infection.

Kentucky Money Market Mon, 04 Aug 2008 10:17 EDT

Conventions Mon, 04 Aug 2008 07:34 EDT

Events scheduled for Lexington, including headquarters and expected attendance:

National Rural Letter Carriers Association: Through Sunday, Hyatt Regency Lexington, 3,000.

U.S. Equestrian Federation, 2008 USA Pony Finals: Friday through Aug. 18, Marriott Griffin Gate Resort, 1,200.

Kentucky Society of Professional Engineers, 2008 Partnering Conference: Aug. 18-20, Griffin Gate Marriott Resort, 225.

Rich begin feeling the pain in down economy Mon, 04 Aug 2008 07:48 EDT
The rich are sharing your financial pain - and contributing to it.

It may have taken longer and it may not be as acute, but there are early hints that the economic slump is crimping the lifestyles of the wealthy.

They are investing more conservatively, spending less on luxury goods and are being more thrifty with their credit cards. Many are asking their personal shoppers and private-jet travel providers to seek the best deals rather than over-the-top extravagances.

That news may produce a shrug from many people who have lost their jobs or homes in this economy. The problem is that when the wealthy get stingy, it trickles down to the rest of us.

"It's a sluggish economy, and its difficulties are felt all over," said Joseph DiRenzo, a married 38-year-old father of three who left a hedge fund two years ago to enter commercial real estate.

Oil prices drop nearly $4 after storm threat eases Mon, 04 Aug 2008 15:23 EDT
Oil prices closed at their lowest level in nearly three months Monday, plunging after Tropical Storm Edouard appeared unlikely to threaten oil and natural gas facilities in the Gulf of Mexico.

Also weighing on prices was a report by the Commerce Department that consumer spending fell in June as shoppers dealt with higher prices for gasoline, food and other items. That fed investors' beliefs that a U.S. economic slowdown is forcing Americans to cut back on energy use.

Light, sweet crude for September delivery fell $3.69, or 2.9 percent, to settle at $121.41 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. It was crude's lowest settlement price since May 5. Earlier, prices plummeted more than $5 to $119.50, the lowest level since May 6. Crude has now fallen in six of the last nine sessions and has shaved 18 percent off its trading record of $147.27 reached July 11.

Natural gas futures also fell sharply, dropping 70.9 cents, or 7.55 percent, to $8.68 per 1,000 cubic feet. And gasoline futures fell 8.43 cents, or 2.73 percent, to $3 a gallon.

The dramatic dive in oil came shortly after traders learned that Edouard, aiming for the coasts of Texas and Louisiana, likely would not damage offshore oil and natural gas drilling platforms that sit in the storm's path.

Stocks pull off lows as oil falls sharply Mon, 04 Aug 2008 15:23 EDT
Stocks pulled off their lows to trade mixed Monday after a big drop in oil prices offset some of investors' concerns about a government report on inflation.

Light, sweet crude fell $3.63 to $121.47 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange after Tropical Storm Edouard seemed unlikely to threaten oil and natural gas facilities in the Gulf of Mexico. Oil dipped below $120 for the first time since early May.

The drop in oil appeared to erase some of investors' worries over a Commerce Department report Monday that an inflation gauge tied to consumer spending rose by a sharp 0.8 percent in June, reflecting higher gasoline prices. That was the biggest jump in the indicator since a 1 percent rise in February 1981.

The data came in the department's report on consumer spending, which fell 0.2 percent in June after removing the effects of higher prices. The increase in inflation offset some of the billions in dollars in checks sent to taxpayers as part of the government's economic stimulus plan.

Before the drop in oil and other commodities, the report fed investors' growing concerns about the impact of rising prices on consumers, whose spending is the lifeblood of the economy. Consumers have been hit by rising energy prices so oil's decline helped ease some the market's concerns.

Rising prices beat down consumer spending in June Mon, 04 Aug 2008 14:53 EDT
Consumer spending, after adjusting for inflation, fell in June as shoppers were hit with the second biggest increase in prices in nearly three decades.

The Commerce Department reported Monday that consumer spending dipped by 0.2 percent in June, after removing the effects of higher prices, the poorest showing since a similar drop in February.

The higher prices reflected a big surge in gasoline costs and helped to drive an inflation gauge tied to consumer spending up by 0.8 percent in June, a monthly increase that has been exceeded only once since 1981. This price gauge jumped by 1 percent in September 2005 after Hurricane Katrina shut down oil production along the Gulf Coast.

The big rise in inflation ate up a part of the billions of dollars in stimulus payments delivered during the month. Personal incomes rose by a tiny 0.1 percent in June following a giant 1.8 percent increase in May.

Stocks pulled off their lows after a big drop in oil prices because of concerns about weak consumer spending.

Motorola snares Qualcomm's Jha for handset unit Mon, 04 Aug 2008 13:13 EDT
Motorola Inc. snagged Sanjay Jha, the chief operating officer of Qualcomm Inc. and a star of the wireless industry, to head its handset division as that unit prepares to become an independent company.

Jha will also be co-chief executive of the parent company, sharing the responsibility with incumbent Greg Brown until the spinoff next year. Brown will take responsibility for Motorola's other two divisions.

Motorola shares rose 89 cents, 10 percent, to $9.70 in afternoon trading Monday.

Brown said Jha "brings a whole host of different ingredients to the table," including customer relationships, technical expertise and leadership abilities.

Jha, 45, has a doctorate in electronic and electrical engineering. In addition to being Qualcomm's chief operating officer, he was president of the Qualcomm division that made chips for cell phones.

Bark for the maid Mon, 04 Aug 2008 09:42 EDT

Joan Palmore was concerned when she took her miniature schnauzer Gracie to Uptown Hounds Luxury Resorts for the night, worried that Gracie wouldn't eat. She might pout.

Palmore was in for a surprise the next day.

A down-in-the-dumps dog? Hardly.

.She came prissing out of there like a queen,. Palmore said. Palmore was so pleased with the experience that Gracie now goes to Uptown Hounds two days a week for day care.

Clocking in at 781 days . but who's counting? Mon, 04 Aug 2008 01:54 EDT

Pearse Lyons is an Irishman.

.The Irish are the laziest men in the world,. he told the Kentucky Chamber's Economic Summit and .Annual Meeting on Tuesday.

(You could almost hear someone say, .How lazy are they?.)

.We always marry pregnant women,. he said, without missing a beat.

Loose Change Mon, 04 Aug 2008 07:32 EDT

Chinese Dir