ROGELIO V. SOLIS / Associated Press
Ruben Castro clears a table at La Fiesta Braval, his Mexican restaurant in Laurel, Miss. Business at the eatery has soared since an immigration raid Monday at the nearby Howard Industries Inc. electronics plant. Several other restaurants run or staffed by Hispanics have closed as their mainly immigrant employees fear returning to work.
SAVE AND SHARE
Posted on Thu, Aug. 28, 2008
Business news in brief
In the Region
Pa. bankruptcies increase 12 percent
Bankruptcies in Pennsylvania shot up more than 12 percent in the last year as a vicious mix of stagnant hiring, mounting credit card debt, and rising mortgage payments spurred financial struggles. Federal figures released yesterday showed that 31,494 Pennsylvania residents and businesses sought bankruptcy protection in the 12 months ended June 30. The figure rose more than 12 percent over the bankruptcy filings during the 12 months before that, although that rate paled next to the increase nationally of 29 percent. - AP
Charming Shoppes posts loss
Charming Shoppes Inc., Bensalem, said it had swung to a fiscal second-quarter loss as it faced a weak retail environment and hefty onetime costs. Charming Shoppes said that, for the quarter ended Aug. 2, it had lost $8.3 million, or 7 cents a share, compared with a profit of $18.3 million, or 14 cents a share, a year earlier. The company posted a loss from continuing operations of $3.7 million, or 3 cents a share. Included in those results was an after-tax charge of $5.8 million, or 5 cents a share, related to the severance package for its former chief executive officer, Dorrit J. Bern. Charming Shoppes also said it had taken a charge of $3.5 million during the quarter from consolidation and streamlining efforts. Sales fell 6.6 percent, to $648.6 million from $694.4 million. Shares closed down 52 cents, or 9.25 percent, at $5.10. - AP
AstraZeneca may face suits, court rules
AstraZeneca P.L.C. and other drugmakers can be sued by California medical clinics over allegations the companies overcharged county-operated facilities entitled to discounted drugs, a federal appeals court ruled. AstraZeneca has major operations near Wilmington. The clinics argued they had a right to sue AstraZeneca, Pfizer Inc., and more than seven other drug companies for reimbursement and to enforce contracts giving them access to discounted drugs. "We are confident the evidence will show that AstraZeneca charged the counties properly discounted prices and fully complied with its obligations, and that we will prevail in any future judicial proceedings," an AstraZeneca spokeswoman said in a statement. - Bloomberg News
Attorneys' fees capped in Vioxx cases
The federal judge overseeing much of the massive litigation over the withdrawn pain reliever Vioxx capped fees for plaintiffs' attorneys at a relatively low 32 percent of the $4.85 billion settlement, saying he had to ensure fees were reasonable. Vioxx-maker Merck & Co. Inc. has major operations in the Philadelphia area. U.S. District Judge Eldon Fallon, whose court is in New Orleans, wrote in an order that while the limit was below the usual 33.3 percent to 40 percent that lawyers collect when they take cases on a contingency, it would not result in "a paltry award" for the lawyers. "Limiting attorneys' fees to 32 percent of the net recovery means that the attorneys in this case will receive more than $1.55 billion," Fallon wrote. - AP
Elsewhere
Fannie Mae replaces two executives
Fannie Mae has replaced its finance chief and chief business officer in a management shakeout. Chief financial officer Stephen Swad will leave the mortgage financier and be replaced by David Hisey, the company said in a statement. Chief business officer Robert Levin will retire and be replaced by Peter Niculescu. Shares of Fannie and the smaller Freddie Mac have tumbled more than 85 percent this year, and their debt costs climbed amid concern they lacked enough capital to weather the biggest housing slump since the Great Depression. - Bloomberg News
United to cut 1,550 flight attendants
United Airlines will eliminate 1,550 flight-attendant jobs as it cuts 7,000 positions and grounds planes to stem losses from record fuel bills. The furloughs will affect about 10 percent of United's attendants and will be effective Oct. 31, the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA told members on its Web site. United, with headquarters in Chicago, is allowing attendants to volunteer to leave from Sept. 8 to 22. - Bloomberg News
SEC may impose accounting-rules switch
The Securities and Exchange Commission may force some U.S. companies to switch to international accounting rules in six years, a step it says will lower compliance costs and make U.S. firms more competitive. SEC commissioners approved a "road map" that might require large corporations to abandon U.S. accounting standards by 2014. Under the plan, about 110 companies would start following international rules even earlier. Meshing U.S. financial regulations with rules adopted by other countries has been a priority for SEC Chairman Christopher Cox, who says companies will be able to reduce expenses by eliminating duplicate accounting. - Bloomberg News
Chrysler eyes changes for Dodge Viper
Chrysler L.L.C. said it was weighing options for its iconic Dodge Viper sports car, which could include a sale of the nameplate. The Auburn Hills, Mich., automaker is mulling strategic options for the Viper and has been approached by parties "interested in exploring future possibilities with Viper," chairman and chief executive officer Bob Nardelli said in a statement. A Chrysler spokesman declined to name the parties. He said the review was part of a move toward focusing on Dodge's core nameplates. - AP
FAA: Most flights normal after glitch
The Federal Aviation Administration said most flights around the country were back to normal yesterday after a software malfunction delayed hundreds of flights Tuesday. The Northeast was hardest hit by the delays, which were prompted by a glitch at a Hampton, Ga., facility that processes flight plans for the eastern half of the nation. The FAA said the source of the computer-software malfunction was a "packet switch" that "failed due to a database mismatch." According to the FAA, 646 flights were delayed as a direct result of the problem. In a 24-hour period the FAA processes more than 300,000 flight plans in the United States, the agency said. - AP
Yields mixed on money market funds
The average seven-day yield on taxable money market funds was 1.86 percent this week, down from 1.87 percent last week, according to iMoneyNet Inc. The average yield on tax-free funds was unchanged at 1.21 percent. - Rhonda Dickey
email this
print this
