News money 2008-08-17 Andanh.com

Executive West hotel gets a makeover Sat, 16 Aug 2008 22:43:00 EST
As a child of the Great Depression, the late Al J. Schneider built a hotel empire in Louisville using a strategy that emphasized penny pinching. His daughter, Mary Moseley, said that her father didn't see a need to replace a table if it still had four legs.

Film is wake-up call on deficit Sat, 16 Aug 2008 22:41:00 EST
A private-equity billionaire, a former federal government official and a Baltimore newsletter editor have made a documentary film that they hope can do what an endless parade of policy papers has not: Persuade Americans that debt has created a looming economic crisis that would make the Great Depression look like a market correction.

Researchers seek power from exhaust Sat, 16 Aug 2008 22:41:00 EST
The stinky, steaming air that escapes from a car's tailpipe could help Americans use less gasoline. Researchers are competing to meet a challenge from the U.S. Department of Energy: Improve fuel economy 10 percent by converting wasted exhaust heat into energy that can help power the vehicle.

NBC's online Olympics ambitious, but not TV Sat, 16 Aug 2008 22:32:00 EST
NBC Universal is running an unprecedented 3,600 hours of Olympics coverage on television and the Internet, most of it live online, letting fans track their favorite sports in a way not possible even if they'd gone to Beijing.

Borrowing from 401(k) can cramp retirement Sat, 16 Aug 2008 22:37:00 EST
Would you still put money in a tax-advantaged retirement fund if you couldn't touch it until you retired? And when I say you couldn't touch it, I mean you couldn't take out loans or withdraw funds under any circumstances.

How you can check Web site's credentials Sat, 16 Aug 2008 22:37:00 EST
Can I tell if a Web site is legitimate and who's behind it?

Bank giant posts 3rd loss in a row Sat, 16 Aug 2008 22:38:00 EST
Citigroup posted a $2.5 billion second-quarter loss that was smaller than expected. It was the third loss in a row for the largest U.S. banking company by assets.

Going against the grain Sat, 16 Aug 2008 22:35:00 EST
It's one of the rare occasions when it's OK to gawk at the flaws of the very old. Designers and architects are plucking wood from old barns and other structures to give new projects a dose of character that otherwise can be hard to come by.

Tailoring investments for monthly payments Sat, 16 Aug 2008 22:35:00 EST
If you're like most Americans, you have bills to pay every month. So wouldn't it be nice if your investments paid you each month instead of each quarter or six months?

Business People Sun, 17 Aug 2008 04:44:00 EST
PROFESSIONAL SERVICES Beacon Enterprise Solutions Group has announced the following hires: John Beauchamp, project manager; Paul Carlisle, director of carrier services; Kimberly Conklin Cyrus, marketing coordinator; Darla Quillen, carrier support associate; Starla Shepherd, service director; Zola Ann Vernon, senior account executive; and Greg Guilford, director of financial reporting. BOARD The Episcopal Church Home board of trustees recently elected the following officers: Llewellyn P. Spears, president; Joanna Panning, vice president; G. Joe Norris, treasurer; and Anne S. Vanderburgh, secretary. Named as trustees for three-year terms were: Kathy Brown, W. Thomas Cooper, Craig Lynch, John G. Treitz Jr., Ellen van Nagell and Donald Wood. CERTIFICATION Chris Hennessey, Joseph McKune and Brandon White of Insuramax in Louisville recently earned the Certified WorkComp Advisor designation, conferred by the Institute of WorkComp Professionals.ASSOCIATION Dr. Jack Rose, of Murray, was elected president of the Kentucky YMCA Youth Association for the 2008-2010 fiscal years. — Chris Quay 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.

AP IMPACT: Weak rules cripple appraiser oversight Sun, 17 Aug 2008 14:16 EDT
As soaring home prices set the stage for America's great housing meltdown, a critical step in making sure those home sales were a fair deal - the real estate appraisal - was undermined from within.

After the nation's last major banking disaster, Congress set up a system to catch rogue appraisers. Their game: inflating the value of homes at the direction of equally unscrupulous real estate agents and mortgage brokers, whose commissions are determined by the size of the deals.

But a six-month Associated Press investigation found that the system is crippled by both the bumbling of its policemen and their inability to effectively punish those caught committing fraud.

And despite ample evidence appraisers are pressured into inflating home values - sometimes to prices in support of loans that are more than buyers can afford - the federal regulators charged with protecting consumers have thus far made a conscious choice not to act.

"The system is completely broken," Marc Weinberg, the former acting director at the federal agency charged with monitoring the appraisal industry, told the AP before he retired earlier this year. "It's amazing that the system ever worked at all."

Kosher meatpacker struggles after immigration raid Sun, 17 Aug 2008 14:21 EDT
Three months after the nation's largest immigration raid, chickens and beef carcasses are again moving down the line at Agriprocessors' sprawling kosher meatpacking plant, but managers acknowledge that business still isn't back to normal.

The biggest problem is hiring people to replace the 389 workers arrested by immigration agents, managers told The Associated Press. More than 1,000 people worked at the plant before the May 12 raid.

And then there's the possibility that the state attorney general could file charges against the company following an Iowa Labor Commission investigation that alleged 57 cases of child labor law violations.

"Sure, it is challenging," said Chaim Abrahams, a manager at Agriprocessors. "Running a plant day to day no matter what is challenging. But we are ambitious and determined to restore it.

"And we're doing it with a smile."

Qwest, unions keep talking; workers remain on job Sun, 17 Aug 2008 15:46 EDT
Qwest Communications International Inc. and members of its largest union were working on scheduling time Sunday to sit down for further negotiations after a labor contract expired.

The talks come a little more than a week before the start of the Democratic National Convention in Denver, where Qwest is providing phone and Internet services. Qwest also is providing service to the Republican National Convention that begins Sept. 1 in St. Paul, Minn.

Workers represented by the Communications Workers of America had voted to authorize a strike if needed, but CWA organizing coordinator Al Kogler said no strike had been called when the contract expired after 11:59 p.m. Saturday.

"We need to do a little regrouping this morning," Kogler said Sunday. He said they'll keep pursuing a contract as long as they're at the table.

Qwest spokesman Bob Toevs said Saturday night that company executives were hopeful the sides would reach a tentative agreement this weekend, and said he thought talks Sunday were possible.

Inflated appraisal nearly cost family its home Sun, 17 Aug 2008 13:36 EDT
After 25 years as a doorman on Manhattan's Upper East Side, Carl Petrone was ready to retire from the cold winters and his daily commute.

Petrone and his wife, Marie, wanted a home someplace warm, and found it in North Carolina - a red-brick tri-level on a quiet, tree-lined street. It was bigger than their tiny place in New York and came with the right price.

The home was appraised at $114,500. The real estate agents dropped the price by $6,000 to make the sale. "We thought it was a steal," Marie Petrone remembers.

It was a steal - a steal from the Petrones.

As the couple would discover, they were the unwitting victims of an unscrupulous appraiser and - as uncovered by a six-month Associated Press investigation - a poorly designed system unable to keep up with such dishonesty.

Chinese Dir