Business briefing, January 15

Rocky staff and wire reports

Published January 15, 2008 at 12:05 a.m.

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Kenneth Buckius

Jaasi Munanka

NATIONAL

Citigroup expected to report write-down of up to $20 billion

Citigroup Inc. is expected to announce a sizable dividend cut, cash infusion of at least $10 billion and write-down of as much as $20 billion in mortgage-related investments as part of its fourth-quarter earnings report, The Wall Street Journal reported.

Vikram Pandit, Citigroup's new chief executive, also is expected to unveil a cost-cutting plan today that likely will include substantial job cuts. The moves are part of his push to shore up the company's finances, including by replenishing its depleted capital.

PRICE CUT Toshiba Corp., hurt by the defection of Warner Bros. to Sony Corp.'s high-definition DVD technology, cut the U.S. price of players using its own standard by as much as 50 percent.

The entry-level HD DVD player now sells for $149.99, down from $299.99 previously, the Tokyo-based company said Monday in a statement.

Two weeks ago, Time Warner Inc.'s Warner Bros. said it would drop Toshiba's format in May and sell high-definition DVDs only in Sony Corp.'s Blu-ray standard.

GOOGLE UPGRADE Google Inc. upgraded its home page for Apple Inc.'s iPhone, adding features to e-mail and calendar programs and allowing users to customize the site with their favorite applications.

Google, owner of the most- popular Internet search engine, is counting on services for the iPhone and other mobile devices to lure more advertisers.

GENENTECH EARNINGS Genentech Inc. barely scraped past Wall Street's expectations Monday as the biotech giant renowned for its phenomenal growth posted a 6 percent rise in fourth-quarter profits. Last year, Genentech posted a 75 percent surge in fourth-quarter profits.

The company earned $632 million, or 59 cents a share, compared with profit of $594 million, or 55 cents a share, during the same period a year earlier. Revenue rose to $2.97 billion from $2.71 billion.

RECORD AD PRICES American Idol, the most-watched show on U.S. television, is capitalizing on its popularity and a strike in Hollywood to set records for advertising prices.

Even before TV writers walked out Nov. 5, News Corp.'s Fox network commanded at least $780,000 for advance 30-second spots.

Commercials bought now are priced in the low $900,000s, up about 50 percent from a year earlier, said buyers, who asked not to be named because the figures aren't public.

LOCAL

2,600 well permits in Garfield County

Natural gas drilling in Garfield County accounted for 40 percent of all oil and gas well permits issued in Colorado last year.

The Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission said Monday nearly 6,400 well permits were issued in 2007, and nearly 2,600 were for Garfield County.

GOLD PRODUCERS Shares of Barrick Gold Corp. and Newmont Mining Corp., the world's two largest gold producers by output, may rise more than previously expected this year as record metal prices boost profits, Citigroup Inc. analysts said in a report.

Toronto-based Barrick may rise to $62 a share, 29 percent higher than an earlier price target, and Denver-based Newmont may reach $67, 24 percent higher, analysts led by John Hill said in a note to clients. Gold may rise as much as 11 percent to $1,000 an ounce this year, Citigroup said.

MOVIE ADS National CineMedia Inc., operator of the largest movie-theater advertising network, agreed to show Warner Bros. ads and behind-the- scenes clips on the studio's films.

The programming will be shown in movie theaters before scheduled films begin, Centennial-based National CineMedia said Monday. Warner Bros. will provide original programming and ads for coming features Fool's Gold and Speed Racer. Warner Bros., owned by Time Warner Inc., joins Sony Corp. and General Electric Co.'s Universal Pictures in placing ads with National CineMedia.

BALL CONTRACT Ball Aerospace & Technologies won a $49 million Air Force contract to support government research into human thought processes and other factors that influence warrior decision making.

The Boulder-based Ball Corp. unit will provide engineering services to support Air Force research in cognitive sciences, and human capabilities and vulnerabilities. The research aims to help commanders, warriors and military support personnel make effective decisions.

VIRTUAL WORKPLACE Boulder attorney Dave Elchoness has launched VRWorkplace, a corporate consulting and training facility, in Second Life, an online virtual world.

VRWorkplace includes office and meeting space, an amphitheater, a coffee house and an amusement park. VRWorkplace was one of the sites featured by Forrester Research in a report last week titled "Getting Real Work Done in Virtual Worlds."

STOCK PURCHASE Liberty Media Holding bought 14 million shares of IAC/InterActiveCorp from a single holder at $24.25 a share and entered into a standstill agreement with IAC. Douglas County-based Liberty now holds about 30 percent of the economic value of IAC shares.

THIS JUST IN

* Gov. Bill Ritter will share his key priorities for promoting and growing Colorado's economy in 2008 at the 21st annual Economic Forecast Breakfast presented by Wells Fargo, Clifton Gunderson LLC and the South Metro Denver Chamber Economic Development Group. The event will be from 7:30 to 9 a.m. Thursday at the Denver Marriott City Center, 1701 California St.

* The National Institutes of Health selected Donna Bates Boucher, president of Denver-based Bates Group, to serve a four-year term on its Council of Councils.

* Rachel Benedick was promoted to associate vice president of convention sales for the Denver Metro Convention & Visitors Bureau.

* Merchant & Gould, an intellectual property law firm in Denver, added John Burke and George Matava as partners, George Lewis as a senior associate, David St. John-Larkin as an associate and Heather Kroona as a patent agent.

* Denver-based Sagebrush Realty Development launched Bella Terra, a national RV resort chain.

* EDAW in Denver, a land and environment-based planning and design firm, added Ryan Godderz and Cameron Berglund to its Landscape Architect studio; Rachel Miller, Tara Low and Matt Cummings to its Environmental Planning studio; and Nina Padilla, Denise Anderson and Caitlin Wirt to its accounting and administrative team. John MacDonald, Brett Marracini, Allison Santoro and Barbara Toler were promoted to associates.

* The UPS Foundation awarded $128,000 to the American Indian College Fund, headquartered in Denver, for scholarships benefiting American Indian students.

* UMB Bank Colorado, a charter bank of UMB Financial Corp., hired Kenneth Buckius as senior vice president for UMB Corporate Trust.

* IMA of Colorado Inc., a subsidiary of the IMA Financial Group, donated $20,000 to four nonprofit organizations: the Kempe Foundation, Big Brothers Big Sisters of Colorado, Gateway Battered Women's Services and Colorado I Have A Dream Foundation.

* Denver-based Davis Partnership Architects promoted Joe Lear, David Daniel, Fred Pax, Chris Klein, John Worgan and Cheryl Dornak to associates, and Jim Parker, Curtis Cox, Janette Ray and Steve Haave to senior associates.

* Hogan & Hartson LLP attorney Jaasi Munanka was selected to participate in the 2008 Downtown Denver Leadership Program.

* Denver-based Steele Street Bank & Trust promoted Brian R. Wilkinson to president.

* Cranium Studio, a multidisciplinary design firm, moved to 2217 Champa St.

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