SanLuisObispo.com: Business Headlines

The four cities that best weathered the recession

Fri, 19 Mar 2010 12:22 PDT

Call them the Final Four: The four large cities that have made it through the Great Recession with the smallest increases in unemployment.

Minneapolis, Buffalo, Oklahoma City and Rochester, N.Y., don't have much else in common. But a government report shows they've had the smallest increases in joblessness over the past two years among cities with at least 1 million people.

None of the four relies on heavy manufacturing industries, such as autos or steel, which have been hit hard by the downturn. And all have avoided the extremes of the housing boom and bust that devastated much of California, Florida and Nevada.

Bair says Senate bill must be tweaked

Fri, 19 Mar 2010 12:22 PDT

The head of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. says loopholes need to be filled in new Senate legislation to ensure an end to the disastrous "too-big-to-fail" approach that brought the government rushing in to bail out big banks in the financial crisis.

FDIC Chairman Sheila Bair said Friday her agency has concerns about parts of the Senate bill unveiled this week, which "seem to allow the potential for backdoor bailouts" through the powers of the Federal Reserve.

The bill would create a powerful Financial Stability Oversight Council to monitor the health of the financial sector and prevent firms from becoming "too big to fail." It could place big, interconnected financial institutions under the Fed's supervision.

Landscapers see dollar signs after a long winter

Fri, 19 Mar 2010 11:57 PDT

Landscapers are hoping an extra-white winter along the East Coast means they'll be seeing a lot of green by repairing the damage left behind.

A series of strong storms plagued the seaboard from Virginia on up this winter. Record snowfall was recorded in cities including Baltimore, Philadelphia, Wilmington, Del., Washington and Atlantic City, N.J.

Hurricane-strength winds blew through New England last month, and flooding also plagued the area.

Pay package for Travelers Cos. CEO rises 20 pct

Fri, 19 Mar 2010 11:57 PDT

Travelers Cos. gave its CEO a pay package worth $20.1 million last year, a 20 percent raise over his 2008 pay as the property and casualty insurer benefited from a conservative investment approach.

Over half Jay Fishman's pay package came from restricted stock and stock options, which totaled $10.9 million, compared to $10.2 million the previous year, according to an Associated Press analysis of a company filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Fishman's base salary of $1 million did not change, but his performance-based cash bonus rose to $7.5 million, up 50 percent from $5 million in 2008.

Summary Box: FDA to review already-OK'd device

Fri, 19 Mar 2010 11:57 PDT

WHAT HAPPENED: In a rare move, the Food and Drug Administration has decided it will again review Menaflex, a knee implant it had approved in 2008. The agency plans to convene a panel of experts next week to revisit the safety and effectiveness of the device.

THE BACKGROUND: FDA leadership concluded the implant was approved, despite objections by FDA staff scientists, due to pressure from lawmakers in the device maker's home state, New Jersey.

WHO'S AFFECTED: Approximately 210 patients in the U.S. have had Menaflex implanted.

Summary Box:EADS considers new tanker bid

Fri, 19 Mar 2010 11:44 PDT

THE NEWS: European aerospace company EADS NV says it will consider bidding for a big contract to build the U.S. Air Force's next generation of aerial tankers.

DROPOUTS: EADS North America and Northrop Grumman had dropped out of the bidding against U.S. Boeing Co., saying the terms appeared to favor Boeing's smaller plane.

DEADLINE: The Pentagon gave contractors 75 days to submit a new bid. EADS is asking for 90 and may bid alone or with a partner.

US rig count increases by 20

Fri, 19 Mar 2010 11:19 PDT

The number of rigs actively exploring for oil and natural gas in the U.S. increased by 20 this week to 1,427.

Baker Hughes Inc. said Friday that 939 rigs were exploring for natural gas and 474 for oil. Fourteen were listed as miscellaneous. A year ago this week, the rig count stood at 1,085.

Of the major oil- and gas-producing states, Oklahoma and Texas gained five rigs, Louisiana gained four, California, Colorado and West Virginia each gained three, Alaska gained two and North Dakota gained one. New Mexico lost two rigs and Pennsylvania lost one. Arkansas and Wyoming were unchanged.

Visteon retirees file emergency motion on benefits

Fri, 19 Mar 2010 10:44 PDT

By By RANDALL CHASE -- Former workers for auto parts supplier Visteon Corp. are pushing ahead with their fight to preserve their retiree health and life insurance benefits.

The retirees filed an emergency motion Thursday asking a federal judge in Delaware to halt the company's plan to terminate benefits for some 2,100 people who worked at two Visteon plants in Indiana on April 1.

The emergency motion asks that the company specifically not be allowed to terminate benefits for 840 retirees who are not eligible for Medicare until their appeal of a bankruptcy judge's decision is heard.

HRPT Properties boosts size of public offering

Fri, 19 Mar 2010 10:44 PDT

HRPT Properties Trust increased the size of a public offering of common stock by 10 million shares to 30 million shares.

The real estate investment trust also said late Thursday that it priced the offering at $7.25 per share.

HRPT plans to use the offering's net proceeds to pay back outstanding amounts under a $750 million revolving credit agreement and for general corporate purposes such as potential acquisitions.

Summary Box: Yelp under fire in business' lawsuits

Fri, 19 Mar 2010 10:29 PDT

THE ALLEGATIONS: Since late February, at least three lawsuits seeking class-action status have been filed against Yelp, a site that asks people to review businesses. The cases claim that reviews on Yelp are manipulated, depending on which companies pay to advertise on the site and which don't.

WHAT YELP SAYS: Yelp denies the claims. It says reviews can come and go from a business' listing on the site because it uses an automated program to weigh reviews and filter out ones that seem untrustworthy.

WHAT IT COULD MEAN: If the cases stick or are followed by more, they could taint Yelp's reputation as a leader in online reviews.

Interest rates rise as stocks push lower

Fri, 19 Mar 2010 11:19 PDT

By By IEVA M. AUGSTUMS -- Interest rates fell in the bond market Friday as renewed concerns about Greece's ability to pay its debts left investors questioning how strong the global economy is.

Traders took safety in Treasurys Friday as worries about Greece's ability to handle its massive debt load sent U.S. and overseas markets down. The lack of significant economic news gave investors little additional direction.

The yield on the 10-year Treasury note maturing in February 2020 fell to 3.66 percent in trading Friday from 3.68 percent late Thursday. Its price rose 4/32 to 99 21/32. The yield of the 10-year note is linked to interest rates on mortgages and other consumer loans.

ALL BUSINESS: Don't blame shorts for Lehman demise

Fri, 19 Mar 2010 10:19 PDT

By By RACHEL BECK -- Remember when everybody blamed short sellers for the demise of Lehman Brothers?

Short sellers were immoral. Their greed brought capitalism to its knees. What they were doing was downright un-American.

Well, a new 2,209-page report goes into excruciating detail about the collapse of the Wall Street firm that helped trigger the financial meltdown.

FCC seeks comment on rules for TV-cable talks

Fri, 19 Mar 2010 10:59 PDT

By By JOELLE TESSLER -- Federal regulators are seeking public comment on a petition by cable, satellite and phone companies that want more clout in negotiations with TV broadcasters over programming.

Friday's move by the Federal Communications Commission follows a series of disputes over the fees that cable companies pay broadcasters to transmit their signals. Broadcasters have begun demanding more for those signals as advertising revenue has weakened in recent years.

The most recent breakdown in negotiations caused Cablevision subscribers to miss the first 15 minutes of the Oscars when the ABC station in New York pulled its signal from the cable system. Other standoffs have pitted Time Warner Cable against News Corp.'s Fox stations, and Mediacom Communications Corp. against Sinclair Broadcasting Group.

Palm shares dive after sales shortfall

Fri, 19 Mar 2010 10:14 PDT

Palm Inc. shares plunged Friday after the handheld device maker's latest quarterly report raised questions about the its turnaround effort.

The company's stock was down $1.52, or 26.9 percent, at $4.13 in afternoon trading. The stock earlier set a new year low of $4.08. Its previous bottom of $5.29 was set Wednesday.

Palm's latest results showed tepid sales of its smart phones. The company shipped 960,000 devices during the fiscal quarter ended Feb. 26, but customers only bought 408,000.

The9 says its president will step down in May

Fri, 19 Mar 2010 10:14 PDT

Chinese online game developer The9 Ltd. said Friday that its president, Xiaowei Chen, is stepping down when her contract expires on May 16.

The company said Chen is leaving for "personal development" reasons but did not elaborate. A message left with the company was not immediately returned.

The9 said CEO Jun Zhu will take over Chen's responsibilities.

Baker Hughes, BJ Services to reconvene meetings

Fri, 19 Mar 2010 10:09 PDT

Shareholders of oil services company Baker Hughes Inc. and BJ Services Co. voted Friday to adjourn their meetings until the end of the month, as both sides continue to see antitrust approval for the sale of BJ Services to Baker Hughes.

The deal - valued at $5.5 billion - has received approval from foreign jurisdictions. But it has not yet received the required approval from the antitrust division of the U.S. Department of Justice.

The companies said in a news release they are working toward getting that approval.