Mountain states likely to lead in tech hiring
A survey says the mountain state region – Colorado, Wyoming, Arizona, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico and Utah – is expected to lead the nation in technology hiring activity during the first quarter.
Twenty-four percent of chief information officers plan to expand their information technology departments and only 2 percent anticipate personnel cutbacks in the fourth quarter of this year, said a survey by Robert Half Technology, a company with offices in Denver.
Brewery offers two limited holiday ales
Lyons-based Oskar Blues Brewery will release two new hand-labeled beers aimed at the Colorado beer market this holiday season. Only 400 cases of the limited-release double India pale ale, called Gordon, and an American-style brown ale, christened Leroy, will be sold across the Front Range beginning Thursday.
Liberty ups its stake in Australian network
Austar United Communications Network Ltd., Australia’s third-largest pay-television network, said Castle Harlan Australian Mezzanine Partners plans to sell its stake in the company.
CHAMP, an Australian buyout firm, held 37 percent of Sydney-based Austar while Liberty Media Corp., controlled by billionaire John Malone, owned 43 percent. Shares in Austar have risen 28 percent this year and the company has a market value of $1.2 billion U.S.
Liberty Media will increase its holding by 14 percent to 51 percent as part of the transaction, Austar and CHAMP said in a statement Tuesday.
Lehman 4th-quarter earnings up 41 percent
Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc., whose profit growth outstripped its bigger Wall Street competitors this year, said fourth-quarter earnings rose 41 percent on gains in fixed-income trading and stock sales.
Net income in the three months ended Nov. 30 climbed to $823 million, or $2.76 a share, from $585 million, or $1.96, a year earlier.
Northwest sets flights for Aspen ski season
Northwest Airlines has finalized its flight schedule to Aspen through April 2, using a 69-passenger Avro RJ85 on Northwest Airlink carrier Mesaba for flights to Aspen from hubs in Minneapolis/St. Paul and Memphis.
From Dec. 15 to Feb. 15, Northwest will have two flights a day from Minneapolis/St. Paul to Aspen and a third flight on Saturday and Sunday. From Feb. 16 through April 2, Northwest will have two flights a day from Minneapolis to Aspen on Monday through Friday, four Saturday and three Sunday.
From Dec. 15 to Jan. 3, Northwest will have one flight a day from Memphis to Aspen. From Jan. 4 to Feb. 15, it will have one flight from Memphis to Aspen on Saturday and one flight from Aspen to Memphis on Sunday. For Feb. 16 through April 2, it will have one flight a day from Memphis to Aspen on Monday through Friday, one additional trip westbound Saturday and one additional trip eastbound Sunday.
Tribune Co. eyes $1 billion buyback
Tribune Co., publisher of the Los Angeles Times and Chicago Tribune newspapers, said it may repurchase another $1 billion in shares as its stock hovers near a four-year low.
Directors of the company voted to authorize the additional share repurchases at a regular meeting, Tribune said Tuesday.
SEC decision boosts Taser International
The Securities and Exchange Commission has recommended no enforcement action be taken against stun gun maker Taser International Inc. for safety claims it made about its weapons and an accounting issue it was investigating, the company said Tuesday. The news helped send the company’s shares up 15 percent in trading on the Nasdaq Stock Market, reversing only in part what has been a deep slide in Taser’s stock this year.
Hallmark subsidiary, coalition avoid suit
A subsidiary of Hallmark Cards Inc. that runs the cable TV Hallmark Channel has agreed to produce a number of television shows, specials and movies to avoid a lawsuit from a religious coalition.
Crown Media Holdings Inc., based in Studio City, Calif., said the National Interfaith Cable Coalition Inc. threatened to sue, saying the company and its parent, Hallmark Entertainment LLC, had breached a 2001 agreement to produce and finance the coalition’s programming.
Boeing rebound sends stock to record high
Boeing Co.’s stock hit an all-time high Tuesday, capping a nearly three-year ascent that reflects the aerospace firm’s rebound in commercial airplane sales and continuing strength in defense contracting.
Shares ended the trading session up 40 cents at $70.59, their highest closing price ever.
Retail discounts fail to make sales sparkle
Sales at U.S. retailers rose 3.2 percent in the second week of December from a year ago, slower than the previous week’s annual gain, even as chains boosted discounts to sell more coats and toys during the holiday shopping season.
The same-store sales results for the week ended Dec. 10 were released by the International Council of Shopping Centers.
