Business briefs, September 19

Published September 19, 2006 at midnight

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NATIONAL

Holiday sales seen rising 5 percent this year

Holiday sales are expected to rise 5 percent this year, less than the 6.1 percent in the year-ago period, as consumers face high energy costs, rising interest rates and a cooling housing market, the National Retail Federation said Tuesday.

The world's largest retail trade association estimates that total retail sales for the combined November and December period should reach $457.4 billion, compared with $435.6 billion in the year-ago period.

Owens Corning plan to exit bankruptcy OK'd

A federal bankruptcy judge approved Owens Corning's plan for emerging from bankruptcy this fall, more than five years after the building materials maker sought protection from creditors over health claims related to its asbestos products.

As part of the plan, the Toledo, Ohio-based company will pay more than $5 billion to asbestos claimants and as much as $2.27 billion to holders of bank debt.

Home Depot to add 1,000 employees

The Home Depot Inc., the nation's largest home improvement store chain, says it is hiring more than 1,000 new employees across the country as part of its latest effort to improve its stores.

The Atlanta-based company said it is seeking in particular applicants with specialty, skilled trades and professional contracting backgrounds.

T-bill interest rates lowest since June

Interest rates on short-term Treasury bills fell in Monday's auction to the lowest levels since June.

The Treasury Department auctioned $18 billion in three-month bills at a discount rate of 4.815 percent, down from 4.820 percent last week. Another $16 billion in six-month bills was auctioned at a discount rate of 4.920 percent, down from 4.935 percent last week.

The three-month rate was the lowest since these bills averaged 4.800 percent on June 12. The six-month rate was the lowest since 4.815 percent on June 5.

LOCAL

MacDermid hires adviser to assess buyout

Denver-based chemical company MacDermid said a special committee of its board of directors hired Merrill Lynch as its financial adviser to evaluate a buyout offer from its CEO and his private-equity partners. On Sept. 5, Daniel H. Leever and Court Square Capital Partners delivered a proposal letter to purchase all of MacDermid's stock for $32.50 per share. The company has not yet responded, and it said Monday that "no decisions have been made."

UNC business dean is Baldrige chair-elect

Joe Alexander, dean of the University of Northern Colorado's Kenneth W. Monfort College of Business, was named chair-elect of the board of directors of the Foundation for the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award Inc.

His appointment comes almost two years after the Monfort College of Business became the first business school to earn the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award. West Highland development planned

Duey Kratzer, owner of the Mondo Vino wine store at West 32nd Avenue and Lowell Boulevard, on Monday announced plans for a mixed- use development a few blocks away on a parking lot at 32nd and Julian Street, which he hopes will include a small neighborhood grocery store or an upscale deli.

The development in the West Highland neighborhood would include 14 condos that are likely to be priced from $290 to $340 per square foot.

(A longer version of this story is at RockyMountainNews.com.)

Oregon cities win Qwest franchise case

Nine Oregon cities won a ruling Monday against Qwest Communications over millions of dollars in franchise fees for the use of city streets by telecommunications companies.

Portland City Commissioner Dan Saltzman called it a "major victory for public rights" in a five-year legal battle against Denver-based Qwest, which had refused to pay any fees for its infrastructure on and under city streets. "Companies that use city streets for their wires, their pipes or for their conduits must compensate the citizens of that city for the privilege," he said. Qwest officials had no immediate comment.

ECONOMY

Builder confidence hits 15-year trough

Confidence among U.S. home builders fell to a 15-year low this month as sales slowed and profits dropped, according to a private survey released Monday.

The National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo index of builder confidence fell to 30 from a revised 33 in August, the Washington, D.C.- based association said. A reading below 50 means most builders view conditions as poor. It was the eighth consecutive monthly drop.

Profits are dropping at builders including KB Home and Lennar Corp. as they offer incentives such as stainless steel appliances to entice buyers. The housing slump is curbing economic growth and will let Federal Reserve policymakers keep interest rates unchanged as they meet this week, economists say.

"It's a very precipitous decline, as demand is slowing, inventory has ballooned to record levels, and now builders have to move it," said Eric Green, chief market economist at the securities arm of Countrywide Financial Corp. in Calabasas, Calif. "Residential construction is becoming a headwind for the economy instead of a tailwind." The confidence survey asks builders to characterize current sales as "good," "fair" or "poor" and to gauge prospective buyers' traffic and their expectations for the next six months.

Economists polled by Bloomberg News forecast a reading of 31 this month, according to the median of 22 projections, which ranged from 29 to 34. This month's index was the lowest since February 1991.

• The U.S. current-account deficit widened more than forecast last quarter to the second-largest on record as the trade gap expanded and the Treasury Department paid more interest to overseas investors.

The $218.4 billion shortfall in the current account, the broadest measure of trade because it includes transfer payments and investment income, followed a revised $213.2 billion first-quarter gap, the Commerce Department said Monday in Washington.

THIS JUST IN . . .

• Camping World, a retailer of RV and outdoor supplies and accessories, announced the opening of a new SuperCenter in Longmont, just off the Interstate 25 exit.

• The Outlets at Castle Rock will host a "Shopping Extravaganza" on Sept. 30 to raise money for Care & Share Food Bank, Highlands Ranch Volunteers for the Children's Hospital, Special Olympics and Women's Crisis & Family Outreach Center. A $20 ticket includes lunch, activities and entertainment.

• Lowe Enterprises Investors has acquired a 138,000-square-foot office building in the Inverness Business Park for Lowe Enterprises Real Estate Income and Growth Partners, a $201 million value-added investment fund that targets commercial and multifamily investments nationwide. The $19.2 million acquisition from US Property Fund GmbH & Co. KG of the four-story building at 10333 E. Dry Creek Road is the firm's second office purchase this year in the southeast Denver area.

• Boulder-based Webroot Software, a provider of anti- spyware software for consumer, enterprise and SMB markets, announced a distribution agreement with Ingram Micro Inc., a technology distributor.

• ControlPath Inc., a metro-area developer of automated compliance management solutions, said that St. Petersburg, Fla.-based First Advantage Corp., a global risk mitigation and business solutions provider, has selected the ControlPath Compliance Suite 3.0 as the central software component of its company-wide Security Risk Management program.

• Light Reading's Byte and Switch, an online storage networking publication, named Boulder-based Spectra Logic BlueScale Encryption the winner of the first Big Bytes Award in the Storage Network Security category.

• Boulder-based Aztek Networks (formerly Aztek Engineering), a provider of Emergency Stand Alone switching and IP gateway products, on Monday announced the closing of $6.6 million in Series A funding. The financing, co-led by Sequel Venture Partners and Grotech Capital Group, will fund development and introduction of the company's innovative Remote Switch Gateway product line. The Telecommunications Development Fund also participated in the round. Tim Connor, partner with Sequel Venture Partners, and Joseph Zell, general partner with Grotech Capital Group, will join Aztek Networks' board of directors.

• Denver-based Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc. will open three new eateries this month: at Interstate 70 and Tower Road in Aurora; across from the Fitzsimons campus in Aurora; and at West Colfax Avenue and Wadsworth Boulevard in Lakewood.

• Castle Rock-based ZeroNines Technology Inc., a provider of information security, said it has reached a definitive agreement with Sequiam Corp. through its wholly owned subsidiary, Sequiam Biometrics Inc., to co-develop a biometrically secure e-mail and data storage portal for MyFailSafe.com.

Compiled from News staff, The Associated Press, Bloomberg News, Scripps Howard News Service

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