FRI. 05/16/08
Housing rescue deal stalls in Senate
WASHINGTON (AP) - A key senator postponed action yesterday on a homeowner rescue package that could help half a million strapped borrowers get government-backed mortgages as negotiators inched toward a bipartisan deal.
Water works
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) - When it comes to comfort, Kirk Christie’s cows have it all: a new barn, a flat-screen television and waterbeds.
FCC rule
on media challenged
WASHINGTON (AP) - The Senate yesterday night voted to nullify a Federal Communications Commission rule that allows media companies to own a newspaper and a television station in the same market.
Apartments drive up housing construction gains
WASHINGTON (AP) - Construction of new homes posted the biggest increase in more than two years in April, a rare spot of good news amid the worst downturn in housing in more than two decades.
Economic data, oil send stocks higher
NEW YORK (AP) - The stock market notched its second straight daily advance
yesterday, with investors assuaged by a pullback in oil prices and some
better-than-expected economic data.
Republicans abandon Bush on farm bill vote
WASHINGTON (AP) - President George W. Bush’s calls for fiscal responsibility received scant notice this week on Capitol Hill. Fellow Republicans had something bigger on their minds: high prices for groceries and gasoline in an election year that is looking increasingly bleak for their party.
GE says it’s leaving appliance business
FAIRFIELD, Conn. (AP) - General Electric Co. said today it plans to sell or spin off its century-old appliance business.
Oilman Pickens bets billions on the wind
HARTFORD, Conn. - Maverick oilman T. Boone Pickens’ plan for a mammoth wind farm in the Texas Panhandle is a $2 billion bet that Congress will extend a tax credit critical to the environmentally friendly industry.
TEST DRIVE
NISSAN GT-R
By RICHARD WILLIAMSON
Scripps Howard News Service
To experience the full, gut-churning potential of Nissan’s 2009
GT-R, you have to ride shotgun with Tochio Suzuki.
UNDER THE HOOD
CV boot repair might be put off until later
By BRAD BERGHOLDT
McClatchy-Tribune News Service
Q: I was just told by my lube shop that one of my car’s CV boots is split and needs to be replaced. They showed me how it was oozing grease and said the expensive CV joint inside would wear out quickly if I didn’t have them fix it right away.
Garage crafts show cars out of classic Cadillacs
By MICHAEL HILL
of The Associated Press
WAPPINGERS FALLS, N.Y. - In a repair shop packed with Cadillacs - the classic kind with fins, whitewall tires, curvy chrome bumpers and V-8 engines that get miles per gallon you can count on your fingers - Elsa Nicodemus showed off a favorite.
Thieves target catalytic converters for precious-metal content
Driven by soaring metal prices, thefts of the anti-pollution devices on cars
and trucks have taken off in the past year.
THURS. 05/15/08
Family has deep farming roots
McClatchy Newspapers
PALESTINE, Ill. - Rob Walker is 28, and his brother, Michael, is 23 - young enough to dream of life away from home but old enough to know they don’t want to end up anywhere else.
Wisconsin whey out of California’s league
MILWAUKEE (AP) - Cheeseheads don’t need to be bleu: Experts said predictions that California will soon overtake Wisconsin as the nation’s top cheese producer are unlikely to come true.
Lawmakers pass bill targeting scrap metal thieves
JEFFERSON CITY (AP) - Missouri lawmakers have approved a measure making it easier for law enforcement officers to track scrap metal dealers that have been plundering copper and aluminum.
Embarq may drop wireless customers
KANSAS CITY (AP) - Embarq Corp. will hold onto its wireless customer base for the time being, but could hand it over to another carrier next year, the company’s chief financial officer said yesterday.
WED. 05/14/08
Home sales continue slow pace
By JUSTIN WILLETT
Tribune business editor
Real estate agent Sean Moore sees reason to be hopeful about the local housing market.
YOUR OFFICE COACH
Happy hours could turn out to be beneficial
By MARIE G. McINTYRE
McClatchy-Tribune News Service
Q: I often feel like an outsider in this office. I am 61 years old, slightly overweight and have gray hair. All my co-workers are in their 20s and 30s. The whole group goes out for "happy hour" once every six weeks. My boss’s boss came up with this idea, and he always attends.
Entrepreneurs bypass banks
By ANGELA TABLAC
St. Louis Post-Dispatch
ST. LOUIS - A pending $35,000 loan will determine the fate of Mohammad Abdolrezagh’s business plans.
Sexes are not equal in terms of startup success
By JOYCE SMITH
McClatchy Newspapers
KANSAS CITY - Men might be from Mars and women from Venus when it comes to relationships, but how about when it comes to entrepreneurship?
TUES. 05/13/08
Employment center holds business fair
By the Tribune’s staff
Job Point is hosting a business fair on Thursday. The event is free and open to the public and is scheduled for 9:15 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Cosmo Community Building, 1715 Burlington St.
Schnucks announces Spanish olive recall
By the Tribune’s staff
Mario Camacho Foods has recalled Schnucks-brand Spanish olives in a 5.75-ounce jar with Universal Product Code 04131819003 and a "best by" date of Feb. 6, 2011.
PC INFO
Programs fix up music lovers’ files
By SCOTT A. MAY
For many people, personal computers have replaced home stereos as their primary source of musical entertainment. It’s pretty amazing when you think about it - with one machine you can upload, download, rip, burn, play and organize an entire library of digital music.
Technology tops textbooks in special Kansas classrooms
By EMILY BEHLMANN
The Garden City Telegram
GARDEN CITY, Kan. - Textbooks? That’s so old school to some fourth-graders at Gertrude Walker Elementary School.
Server farms spreading across U.S.
By SCOTT CANON
McClatchy Newspapers
KANSAS CITY - A new kind of farm is popping up. Tucked away on small plots on America’s back roads, it cultivates no soil or seed.
Sprint revenue falls as subscribers leave
KANSAS CITY (AP) - Sprint Nextel Corp.’s Dan Hesse had little good news to share yesterday on the eve of addressing his first shareholder meeting as chief executive of the wireless carrier.
BUSINESS CALENDAR
MON. 05/12/08
DEBT ADVISER
Ask collector for receipt
By STEVE BUCCI
Bankrate.com
Dear Debt Adviser, I am trying to repair my credit. I now have
three older accounts in collections and have the ability to pay all off in full.
What is the best way to go about doing this? Can I simply call and make the
payment over the phone? Or do I need to get something in writing - and if so,
what?
Thousand-dollar smile
NEW YORK (AP) - Dazzled by the bull market in gold, people are digging through drawers for old dental caps, fillings and bridgework they saved years ago and selling them at prices that would make the tooth fairy blush.
SAT. 05/10/08
PROFILE: FREDERICK VOM SAAL
A perfect storm
By ABRAHAM MAHSHIE
of the Tribune’s staff
After 11 years researching bisphenol-A and sounding the alarm about the dangers
of the chemical that is used in the production of polycarbonate plastic,
University of Missouri Professor Frederick Vom Saal got a chance to reach a
nationwide audience with an appearance on NBC’s “Today” show two weeks
ago.
STREET TALK
T-shirt shop takes pride in printing one at a time
By JUSTIN WILLETT
Tribune business editor
There’s a new T-shirt shop in the former Missouri Shirt Co. leasehold on South Ninth Street, but it’s nothing like the store it replaced.
THE ENTREPRENEUR NEXT DOOR
Nanotechnology transfer no small feat for couple
By MARY PAULSELL
Nanotechnology once was confined to the realm of science
fiction, conjuring up visions of miniaturized submersibles coursing through the
veins of medical patients, as in the ’60s sci-fi flick "Fantastic
Voyage."
FUNNY BUSINESS
GRAND OPENING: NEW BUSINESS IN COLUMBIA
C.J.’S HAIR DESIGN
WEEK IN REVIEW
TOP DRAWER
BIZ BOOKS: A WEEKLY PEEK AT WHAT'S ON THE
SHELVES
Chess strategy can yield good business moves
By CECIL JOHNSON
McClatchy-Tribune News Service
Novice chess players, says chess aficionado and versatile businessman Bob Rice, look at a chessboard and see a confrontational array of kings, queens, bishops, rooks, knights and pawns - but grandmasters see something else there.
Check at work before taking leave for new baby
By TALI ARBEL
AP Business Writer
Q: We just had a baby. Do we get time off to spend with the newborn?
Open house tactics need some updates
McClatchy Newspapers
MILWAUKEE - These are your mother’s open houses.
fri. 05/09/08
Housing aid deal faces Bush veto
WASHINGTON (AP) - They’re trapped in loans they can’t afford and saddled with more debt than their homes are worth.
The politics of oil
NEW YORK (AP) - Oil rose above $126 a barrel for the first time today, bringing its advance this week to nearly $10, as investors questioned whether a possible confrontation between the United States and Venezuela could cut exports from the OPEC member.
OPEC blames weak dollar
Detroit Free Press
WASHINGTON - The president of OPEC said yesterday that a weak U.S. dollar driven by economic problems was chiefly responsible for record-high U.S. energy prices and that increasing supply would do little to reduce the pain at the pump for American drivers.
Farm bill
future is clouded
WASHINGTON (AP) - Married couples with joint incomes of up to $1.5
million from their farm operation could still qualify for crop subsidies under a
five-year, $300 billion farm bill compromise that would boost the Department of
Agriculture’s food and farm programs.
House votes to make coins cheaper
WASHINGTON (AP) - The House voted for cheaper change yesterday, the kind that would make pennies and nickels worth more than they cost to make and save the country $100 million a year.
Stocks rise slightly despite oil prices
NEW YORK (AP) - Wall Street closed a quiet session with a moderate advance yesterday, with energy and other commodities companies leading the market as oil prices extended their record-breaking run.
March trade deficit drops by 5.6 percent
WASHINGTON (AP) - The U.S. trade deficit narrowed sharply in March as demand for imports fell by the largest amount since the last recession was ending.
Top three air carriers increase fuel charges
NEW YORK (AP) - The three biggest U.S. carriers said yesterday they have again raised ticket prices, this time by $20 roundtrip, to recoup rapidly rising fuel costs.
GM paying up to help end axle maker strike
DETROIT (AP) - General Motors Corp. has agreed to kick in up to $200 million to help bring an end to a bitter 10-week strike at parts supplier American Axle and Manufacturing Holdings Inc.
Shoppers seek shelter from storm in bulk
NEW YORK (AP) - Caught in the maelstrom of higher gas and food prices, Americans - even more affluent ones - are seeking shelter in wholesale clubs and discount apparel chains.
TEST DRIVE
Audi RS4
By RICHARD WILLIAMSON
Scripps Howard News Service
The 2008 Audi RS4 is a high-performance sedan for
a racing enthusiast who might have bought a Mitsubishi Evo if he weren’t so
darned rich.
UNDER THE HOOD
Code-breaking skill handy when shopping for tires
By BRAD BERGHOLDT
McClatchy-Tribune News Service
Q: I just started shopping for a new set of tires and am bewildered by all the numbers used to list each tire.
