Business briefs, October 24

Published October 24, 2007 at midnight

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NATIONAL

Neumann Homes files for bankruptcy; Denver market cited

Neumann Homes Inc., a large home builder in Chicago, Denver, Detroit and Wisconsin, is filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection because of the slump in housing markets.

The company announced late Monday that it had been unable to secure adequate funding to operate its business and had closed its sales, production and customer service offices.

The builder also said it had laid off most of its employees, but did not give a number.

Chief Executive Kenneth Neumann blamed the situation on a "significant downturn" in housing markets in Detroit, Chicago and Denver.

ON THE PITCH Nike will acquire Britain's Umbro PLC for $582 million, the companies announced Tuesday, as the U.S. apparel and shoe maker seeks a larger presence on soccer fields worldwide.

Nike Inc., through its subsidiary Nike Vapor Ltd., agreed to pay $3.94 in cash for each Umbro share, a 61 percent premium over the closing price on Oct. 17.

RAISES SOUGHT The pilots union at American Airlines said Tuesday it was seeking pay raises to make up for inflation since 1992, which the union estimated at more than 33 percent.

The proposal is larger than a 30.5 percent increase request made by previous union leaders in May.

A company spokeswoman said the proposal would dramatically increase pilot costs and make American Airlines less competitive with other carriers.

SUIT SETTLED Morgan Stanley has agreed to settle a bias suit filed on behalf of black and Hispanic brokers in northern California for $16 million.

Morgan Stanley agreed to set up a $16 million settlement fund for more than 1,000 claimants in the class-action suit.

DATA DEAL Verizon Wireless, whose subscribers spend the most in the U.S. on wireless data, agreed to stop deceptive marketing of its Internet service and reimburse customers $1 million for wrongful account termination.

WORLD

U.K. cops close site to stop pirated music

British and Dutch police shut down Oink.com, the world's biggest Web site that leaks pirated albums before their release date, two U.K. music industry groups said.

The Web site's 24-year-old operator was arrested Tuesday by a U.K. organized-crime unit, and its servers were seized by Dutch police in Amsterdam last week, according to a statement by the London-based International Federation of the Phonographic Industry.

LOCAL

Exercising options brings former bank CEO $21.2 million

Former U.S. Bancorp CEO Jerry Grundhofer sold $21.2 million of the company's stock Friday through Tuesday, according to federal filings.

Grundhofer, who remains on the Minneapolis-based company's board, exercised 672,548 options, paying $14.6 million, and sold the shares for a profit of $6.6 million.

Grundhofer retired from his CEO position Dec. 12.

HABITAT HELPERS Qdoba Mexican Grill said it donated $10,000 to the Denver chapter of Habitat for Humanity and will donate employee volunteer time to build a home in Englewood for a Sudanese refugee family.

MSHOPPER READY Verizon Wireless said it will offer Boulder-based mShopper on its mobile Web service.

MShopper's catalog includes more than 9 million products from hundreds of online merchants.

ECONOMY

Pace of retail sales could slow in October

U.S. retail sales in October may rise slower than previously forecast as stores continue offering discounts before the holiday shopping period to attract shoppers facing higher costs.

Sales at stores open at least a year may increase 2 percent, down from an earlier estimate of 2.5 percent last week, the International Council of Shopping Centers and UBS Securities LLC said Tuesday.

Retailers reduced prices on more items to lure consumers facing higher gas and food prices and the worst U.S. housing slump in 16 years. Target Corp. lowered its October sales forecast Monday. Wal-Mart Stores Inc., the world's largest retailer, cut prices on 15,000 items for the holidays.

"Customers have become too conditioned to buy on sale due to the excessive promotions run throughout the third quarter," said Ann Poole, an analyst at Nollenberger Capital Partners Inc. in New York, in a note Monday.

Comparable sales for last week compared with a year earlier increased 2.2 percent, the ICSC and UBS survey showed.

The Johnson Redbook Index, another measure of U.S. retail sales, rose 2.1 percent last week from a year earlier. The index measures same-store sales at general-merchandise retailers representing about 9,000 locations. ICSC and UBS look at a representative sample of about 50 retail chains.

THIS JUST IN

• The Colorado Business Committee for the Arts is accepting nominations through Nov. 12 for its 21st annual Business for the Arts Awards. To nominate a company, go to cbca.org/programsawards.asp and complete the short application.

• Aurora Housing Authority received the Eagle Award and People's Choice Award for outstanding leadership and accomplishments related to affordable housing and supportive services in Colorado at the 19th annual Housing Colorado NOW! Conference in Vail.

• Denver-based GroundFloor Media Inc. has moved to 1923 Market St.

• The Denver office of Gibson Dunn & Crutcher LLP received the Rocky Mountain Children's Law Center's inaugural Outstanding Volunteer Law Firm of the Year Award for its dedication to the organization.

• Denver-based Accruit elected Joseph C. Lane, of New Canaan, Conn., to its board of directors.

• Real Estate Libraries, a database of real estate for sale in Colorado, added Lucinda Bowers as general manager, and Julie Turken, Jayne Walerius and Christine Clark as business development managers.

• Mary Coussons-Read joined the Denver office of Corporate Psychological Management LLC as a principal and coach.

• David Wiener was named adviser relations manager at CollegeInvest, a not-for-profit division of the Colorado Department of Higher Education.

• The National Cancer Institute awarded a $150,000 contract to Littleton-based ADA Technologies to research and develop a low-cost antibody array system for early detection and diagnosis of breast cancer.

• Devil's Thumb Ranch in Tabernash appointed Jim Nielsen to vice president/general manager.

• SearchAdNetwork, a division of Denver-based Location3 Media Inc., received the ECHO Award for a pay-per-click management campaign created for Vongo, an online movie-download company, during the Direct Marketing Association 2007 Conference and Exhibition .

• Superior-based Key Equipment Finance promoted Michael A. Mount to senior vice president in the company's credit organization.

• Broomfield-based ColdSpark appointed Don Gammon as senior vice president of worldwide sales.

Rocky staff and wire reports

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