Business briefs, February 27

Published February 27, 2007 at midnight

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NATIONAL

SEC looking into Citigroup tax issues in 2000 bank deal

Citigroup Inc. said the Securities and Exchange Commission is investigating tax issues stemming from the New York bank's 2000 acquisition of a financing company.

Citigroup said in its annual report, filed late Friday, that the SEC's investigation involves "the treatment of certain specific tax reserves and releases during the period 2000 to 2004 related to the Associates businesses acquired in the 2000 fourth quarter."

In September 2000, Citigroup bought Associates First Capital Corp., a financing company that now is a Citigroup subsidiary.

GAP CLOSES DIVISION Struggling clothing retailer Gap Inc. is closing its 19 Forth & Towne stores after only 18 months.

The San Francisco company said Monday that, despite a strong initial performance, the brand, a chain of upscale fashion stores aimed at women over 35, wasn't "demonstrating enough potential to deliver an acceptable long-term investment."

LEHMAN CHAIR'S SALARY Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. Chairman and Chief Executive Richard Fuld made $40.6 million in compensation last year after leading the nation's fifth-largest investment house to near-record profits, according to a regulatory filing on Monday.

RETURN POLICY In a break with its policy of allowing customers to return goods at any time for a full refund, Costco Wholesale Corp. is setting a firm return period of 90 days for consumer electronics.

UNITED, PILOTS AGREE United Airlines reached an agreement with its pilots union that gives the world's second-largest carrier staffing flexibility and the pilots better working conditions.

LOCAL

New pipeline takes care of gas backlog

A new pipeline carrying natural gas through Wyoming has helped alleviate the backlog in the state, resulting in higher prices, according to the Wyoming Pipeline Authority.

The first stage of the Rockies Express Pipeline, which eventually will carry natural gas from Colorado and Wyoming to Ohio for distribution to markets in Midwestern and Eastern states, has been completed.

Although that first leg only runs from Wamsutter to the Cheyenne Hub and currently is carrying gas from Colorado, the effect has been to raise prices throughout the state.

RADIOACTIVE MISTAKE A Utah company faces a $6,500 fine after one of its drivers left radioactive material unattended overnight when he stopped at a bar in Casper for a drink and was later arrested after getting in a traffic accident.

Universal Testing LLC, based in Clearfield, Utah, fired the driver and declined to give his name, as did the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

NORDSTROM SETS DATE Nordstrom, in a Monday earnings call, said it plans to open its previously announced 140,000-square foot-store in the Cherry Creek mall on Oct. 19.

LAYOFFS OVER Brocade Communications Systems has completed most of the job cuts it planned following the company's acquisition of Broomfield-based McData Corp.

Brocade's chief financial officer, Richard Deranleau, told Wall Street analysts in a conference call the "vast majority" of the layoffs have been done. In January, Brocade, a Silicon Valley data-storage company, informed Colorado labor regulators it planned to chop McData's work force by 270, or nearly 50 percent, over the next six months.

ECONOMY

Gasoline prices continuing to push higher

The average U.S. price for regular gasoline at the pump rose 8.7 cents in the past week, to $2.383 a gallon, a government report showed.

Prices in the week ended Monday were 12.9 cents a gallon higher than a year ago, according to the report from the U.S. Energy Department in Washington.

In Colorado, the average price for a gallon of regular unleaded was $2.326 on Monday, nearly 23 cents higher than a month ago and 11.5 cents more than a year ago, according to AAA's fuelgaugereport.com.

• Former U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan warned Monday that the American economy might slip into recession by year's end. He said the U.S. economy has been expanding since 2001 and that there are signs the current economic cycle is coming to an end.

"When you get this far away from a recession invariably forces build up for the next recession, and indeed we are beginning to see that sign," Greenspan said via satellite link to a business conference in Hong Kong.

• Interest rates on short- term Treasury bills were unchanged in Monday's auction, with three-month bills remaining at the highest level in more than six years.

The Treasury Department auctioned $21 billion in three-month bills at a discount rate of 5.035 percent, the same as last week. An additional $17 billion in six-month bills was auctioned at a discount rate of 4.950 percent, also the same as last week. The three-month rate for this week and last was the highest since they averaged 5.090 percent on Jan. 22, 2001.

THIS JUST IN...

• Randy Udall, the director of Aspen-based Community Office for Resource Efficiency, will discuss "Renewable Energy Possibilities: Offsets to Traditional Sources," at 7:30 p.m. today in the Gates Common Room, Palmer Hall, on the Colorado College campus in Colorado Springs. For more information, call 719-389-6607.

• The Denver Botanic Gardens elected its 2007 board of trustees: Jerry Ladd, chairman; Barbara Baldwin, secretary; Scott Wylie, vice chair of finance; Dale Mingilton, treasurer; and Carol Tierney, vice chair. Howard Gelt, Heather Miller, Heather Tooker and Judy Sellers were elected members-at-large of the executive committee, and Hal Logan as the immediate past chairman.

• Arapahoe Community College faculty members Annette Bigalk, Erica Johnson, Jim Cannata and Dave Trott were honored as Distinguished Faculty for the 2006-2007 academic year, and Mary Sloan was named 2007 Outstanding Faculty Member of the Year.

• Cathey Finlon, chairwoman and chief executive officer of McClain Finlon, an independently owned advertising agency based in Denver, will serve on the board of directors of the American Association of Advertising Agencies as director representative of the Western region for a three-year term.

• Centura Health has named Terry Forde chief executive officer of Parker Adventist Hospital.

• LuciData Inc., a provider of internal threat management and computer forensic investigative services, added Beth Ann Taylor as an account executive in the Denver office.

• Holland & Hart named Steven M. Gutierrez as chairman of the firm's labor and employment practice group.

• Roberta's Chocolates of Colorado won the People's Choice Award for Best Candies and Chocolates at the second annual "Best of Denver, Say it With Chocolate," tasting competition.

• The National Association of Home Builders selected two projects from Denver-based Kephart as finalists in the Pillars of the Industry Award: Riverbend in Peekskill, N.Y., and 100 Park Avenue in Denver.

• Westminster-based Blue Sun Biodiesel LLC appointed Susan D. Engquist the company's vice president and chief financial officer.

Rocky staff and wire reports

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