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Business briefing, April 29

Rocky staff and wire reports

Published April 28, 2008 at 8 p.m.

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Megan Carraway

Megan Carraway

Philip S. Mehler

Philip S. Mehler

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NATIONAL

American becomes latest carrier to tack on baggage surcharge

American Airlines on Monday became the latest carrier to announce that it would require passengers to pack light, or pay up.

The nation's biggest airline said it will charge passengers $25 for checking a second bag to help offset rising fuel costs.

This year, American, United Airlines, the nation's No. 2 carrier, Continental Airlines, Northwest Airlines, Alaska Airlines and JetBlue Airways have all announced charges for something that has been free since commercial airlines began flying.

KERKORIAN MAKES FORD OFFER Billionaire Kirk Kerkorian made yet another foray into the troubled automotive industry on Monday with an offer to expand his stake in Ford Motor Co. to 5.6 percent.

Kerkorian's investment company, Tracinda Corp., said in a news release that it sees signs the automaker's turnaround plan is working, and it plans to offer $8.50 per share in cash for up to 20 million additional shares.

* Ford reached a tentative three-year labor agreement with the Canadian Auto Workers more than four months early that would keep wages the same and give an Ontario plant an extra year, the union said.

The tentative three-year accord, which faces a ratification vote by CAW members at the automaker, also calls for workers to give up one week of vacation and doesn't allow Ford to reduce pay for new hires, the Toronto-based union said.

COX BUYS ONLINE AD FIRM Media conglomerate Cox Enterprises Inc., betting its future on Internet advertising as newspaper and television audiences shrink, plans to spend $300 million to buy a startup that helps Web sites pool their ad space.

The all-cash deal with Adify Corp. is to be announced today. With Adify, Cox gets a technology platform that can help Web sites more successfully sell higher-priced ads targeted to specific audiences, such as parents or travel enthusiasts, keeping brand-name advertisers from fleeing to larger Internet companies like Google Inc. and Yahoo Inc.

GM TO CUT PICKUP, SUV OUTPUT General Motors Corp., the world's largest automaker, said it's cutting production of 138,000 large pickup trucks and sport-utility vehicles this year at four plants in the U.S. and Canada because of slowing sales.

The plan, about 10 percent of this year's estimated North American production of such vehicles, includes idling shifts in July at pickup plants in Flint and Pontiac, Mich., and a Janesville, Wis., SUV factory and in September at an Oshawa, Ontario, pickup plant, the company said Monday.

VERIZON PROFITS CLIMB Verizon Communications Inc., the country's second-largest telecommunications company, said first-quarter earnings rose 9.8 percent as its wireless division signed up more new customers than rival carriers did.

Verizon earned $1.64 billion, or 57 cents a share, vs. $1.5 billion, or 51 cents, a year ago.

Revenue rose 5.5 percent to $23.8 billion from $22.6 billion.

Excluding one-time items, earnings were 61 cents per share, matching analyst expectations. Revenue fell slightly short of analyst expectations of $23.86 billion in revenue.

LOCAL

Contracting firm Phipps moves into new headquarters

Gerald H. Phipps Inc. has moved into new headquarters in Greenwood Village after 56 years in Denver.

The general contractor, whose projects include Invesco Field at Mile High and Children's Hospital, said it remodeled an existing building at Interstate 25 and Orchard Road with "energy efficiency, accessibility to light rail, convenience to metro locations and modernized technology."

The employee-owned Phipps, whose namesake owned the Denver Broncos from 1961 to 1981, also has offices in Fort Collins/Loveland and Colorado Springs.

FIRST DATA ACQUISITION Greenwood Village-based First Data said it will acquire InComm, a marketer and distributor of gift cards. Terms were not disclosed.

InComm had more than $300 million in 2007 net revenue and processed almost $8 billion in retail sales transactions. It says it's one of the largest distributors in the U.S. of gift cards, prepaid wireless products, reloadable debit cards, digital music downloads, content, games, software and bill payment solutions.

DISH UNVEILS HYBRID SYSTEM Dish Network said it will launch a hybrid satellite TV/fiber-to-the-home technology later this year targeted to owners of apartment, condo and other multiple-unit complexes.

The Dish Optical Network system is designed to support up to 128 subscribers within a complex and deliver up to 400 high-definition channels to each subscriber. The Douglas County-based satellite TV provider has said it plans to offer 100 high-definition channels by year-end.

QWEST, MEDICAL SCHOOLS Qwest Communications on Monday announced a multiyear agreement to provide Web-hosting services to the Association of American Medical Colleges, a not-for-profit association representing the faculty, students and resident physicians at U.S. medical schools and teaching hospitals. Financial terms weren't disclosed.

ECONOMY

The percentage of homes for sale that stood vacant in the U.S. set a record high in the first quarter of this year, the government said Monday.

The Census Bureau report shows that 2.9 percent of U.S. homes - excluding rental properties - were vacant and for sale, compared with 2.8 percent in the fourth quarter of 2007. It was the highest quarterly number in records going back to 1956.

That works out to 2.28 million properties, up from 2.18 million in the same quarter last year, according to the report.

The West had the biggest gain in vacancy rates among homeowners, rising to 3.2 percent in the January-March period from 2.6 percent in the same quarter a year earlier. Vacancy rates inched up in the Northeast and remained steady in the Midwest and South. The national vacancy rate, including new and existing homes, has been steadily rising since mid-2005.

Global Insight economist Patrick Newport called the report "worrisome." "The inventory problem has not gotten any better," he said.

The Census Bureau's report also said that the U.S. homeownership rate remained at 67.8 percent in the first quarter, down from a 2004 peak of 69.2 percent.

THIS JUST IN . . .

* CoBiz Financial added Julia Aulman as client support representative, Whitney Shupe as commercial lines account manager and Jasmine Tapia as loan operations collateral specialist.

* Slifer Smith & Frampton hired Rebecca Arthur and John Tensfeldt as associate brokers.

* Vishwanathan Iyer of the University of Northern Colorado's Monfort College of Business received the 2008 Hormel Meritorious Teaching Award from the Marketing Management Association.

* The National Federation of Independent Business named Gail Lindley the Solveras/NFIB Small Business Champion of the Year.

* Margy Wilson was appointed to the board of directors for Creating Caring Communities and Rocky Mountain Cancer Center Foundation.

* Sharon G. Barrett joined Cushman & Wakefield of Colorado Inc., a commercial real estate services firm in the Rocky Mountain region.

* The National Association of Environmental Professionals awarded Brian P. Kennedy the Environmental Excellence Award for Public Participation.

* Junior Achievement - Rocky Mountain Inc. awarded Brian Addy its Gold Leadership Award.

* S. A. Miro Inc. promoted Brian Heitman to associate in its structural department and Jason Carr to associate in the its civil department.

* Mark Ristow will replace Roger Behler when he retires as president of FirstBank of Vail on Wednesday.

* The Denver Metro Chamber of Commerce will host its Global Denver meeting on May 20th from 7:30 a.m.-9:30 a.m. at 1445 Market St. Information: 720-865-8004.

* GH Phipps promoted Charlie Graft to CEO, Kurt Klanderud to president and Bob Bustos to vice president of operations.

* Scottrade, an online investment firm, opened a branch office in Westminster at 2751 W. 120th Ave.

* SysTest Labs named Mark Phillips vice president for compliance services.

* Crimson Services' Denver office appointed Megan Carraway marketing coordinator to its sales and leasing team.

* Pacific Western Technologies Ltd. received a $9.1 million Environmental Protection Agency Rocky Mountain Arsenal Technical Oversight contract.

* Denver Health named Philip S. Mehler chief medical officer.

* Lynn Kelly of The Women's College of the University of Denver received the Trailblazer Award from the Association for Women in Communications.

* Denver-based OCI hired Archie Anderson as president.

* Rob Holway joined Vectra Bank Colorado as regional director for the corporate real estate division.

* Rocky Mountain Connections hired James LaFemina as vice president of sales and marketing and Shannon Lindquist as sales and operations coordinator.

* Richard Pickett joined the Greeley/Weld Small Business Development Center as director.

* Rossetti architectural firm hired Heather Rule Grady as business development manger.

* Stacy Rivera joined the Colorado League of Charter Schools as its director of communications.

* Mobile Energy Solutions LLC. hired Joshua J. Goldman as director of business development.

* Dunton Commercial Real Estate appointed Bobbie Walsh to senior vice president, director of property management.

* Robert J. Loew, board chair for Adams County Economic Development, was named 2007 Economic Development Volunteer of the Year by the Economic Development Council of Colorado.

* The Bureau of Land Management appointed Lynda Stelzer to head the agency's National Operations Center in Denver.

* The PrivateBank, a unit of PrivateBancorp Inc., opened a development office in Denver.

* Jennifer Eiteljorg joined the Denver Children's Advocacy Center board of directors.

* United Western Bank appointed John M. Falbo to senior vice president of energy banking.

* Colorado State Association of Health Underwriters awarded Barry Teeters, principal of Assured Benefit Solutions, its Distinguished Service Award.