Hispanic Print Media files for bankruptcy
Denver-based Hispanic Print Media, publisher of La Voz Nueva newspaper, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection Aug. 31.
The state’s oldest and largest Latino newspaper will continue to publish while its parent company reorganizes, publisher and co-founder Wanda Padilla said in a filing.
Hispanic Print Media listed assets of under $50,000 and debts of under $500,000 in its filing in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Denver. It owes the Internal Revenue Service $144,000 in unsecured debt and owes its printer, Denver-based Barnum Printing and Publishing, $137,000.
Lockheed to purchase Louisville’s Coherent
Defense contractor Lockheed Martin Corp. said Thursday that it will buy the Colorado-based laser sensor company Coherent Technologies Inc. and fold the company into its Space Systems division in Waterton Canyon.
Louisville-based Coherent makes lasers for uses that include weather radar systems, tools that can detect chemical and biological agents and sensors that monitor wind. Terms of the deal were not released.
EchoStar to pay man in discrimination case
EchoStar Communications Corp. has agreed to pay $450,000 to a blind man whom it denied employment as a customer-service agent in 1999.
In May, a jury awarded Dale Alton and the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission $8 million, but the verdict far exceeded federal guidelines.
In a consent decree filed in federal court in Denver on Thursday, EchoStar also agreed to take steps to accommodate blind workers and avoid discrimination based on disabilities in the future.
Xcel backs out of deal for Lamar wind farm
Xcel Energy said a proposed 69-megawatt wind farm near Lamar in southeastern Colorado has fallen through because the turbines would be too expensive.
Prairie Wind Energy, a farmer-owned company that contracted with Xcel to build the wind farm, said it is negotiating with the utility giant in hopes of finding other ways to build the project.
CFOs predict little hiring in 4th quarter
A net 2 percent of chief financial officers in the Denver area expect to hire accounting and finance professionals in the fourth quarter of 2005, according to the most recent Robert Half International Financial Hiring Index.
Five percent of executives surveyed plan to add staff during the quarter and 3 percent anticipate reductions in personnel.
In a related report, Robert Half said a net 10 percent of chief information officers in the area expect to hire information-technology professionals in the fourth quarter.
MarkWest plan earns exchange compliance
MarkWest Hydrocarbon Inc. announced Thursday that it received a letter from the American Stock Exchange, advising that the exchange had accepted the company’s plan to bring it back into compliance with listing requirements by Oct. 15.
MarkWest is currently not in compliance because it has not filed quarterly and yearly statements with the Securities and Exchange Commission in a timely manner.
Possible VoIP deal sets back eBay shares
Shares of eBay Inc. fell 3.8 percent Thursday after published reports said the Web auction leader was in talks to buy Net telephony phenomenon Skype Technologies SA, a prospect some analysts found illogical.
EBay’s stock price fell $1.53 to close at $38.93 Thursday on the Nasdaq stock market after The Wall Street Journal reported that a price of $2 billion to $3 billion was being discussed in acquisition talks.
American Airlines denies safety breach
American Airlines put its passengers at risk and violated multiple federal air safety regulations in 2003 by allowing one of its jets to fly with a leaky fuel tank, according to a civil complaint filed by the U.S. attorney’s office in Brooklyn.
The complaint, which was made public Thursday, seeks more than $1 million in penalties against the airline. A spokesman for the airline denied the allegation, saying the jet in question had passed an inspection.
Murdoch to purchase IGN Entertainment
Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp. agreed to buy IGN Entertainment Inc., which runs websites for video-game fans, for $650 million to expand the company’s Internet business.
IGN’s sites include GameSpy.com and IGN.com as well as Rottentomatoes.com, a movie- fan site, the companies said Thursday in an e-mailed statement.
Wholesale stockpiles slip unexpectedly
Stockpiles at U.S. wholesalers unexpectedly fell in July for the first time in more than a year, led by a drop in supplies at computer-equipment, metals and pharmaceutical companies, a government report showed.
The 0.1 percent drop brought the total value of inventories to $352 billion and followed a revised 0.4 percent gain in June, the Commerce Department said.
Bank of America taps new financial chief
Bank of America Corp. named Alvaro de Molina its new chief financial officer Thursday to succeed Marc Oken, who announced his retirement.
