Avis rental cars at airports to sport P&G “smile packs”
Cincinnati – Travelers stripped of carry-on toiletries because of heightened airport security will find a consolation gift when they pick up Avis Rent A Car vehicles in the nation’s major airports.
Cincinnati-based Procter & Gamble Co. has donated “smile packs” with its Crest toothpaste, mouthwash and floss that Avis will leave on the front seats of cars at 25 U.S. airports starting today, Avis spokeswoman Susan McGowan said.
Some hotel chains also are giving guests expanded offerings of free toiletries when they check in, as companies move quickly to soothe harried travelers and earn some goodwill with freebies.
Omni Hotels, which operates the Omni Interlocken in Westminster, said it is replenishing nearly all forms of liquid and gel “basics” to accommodate guests who were required to relinquish them at airports.
McGowan said P&G contacted the rental-car company Friday to discuss a partnership, in reaction to stepped-up security that drastically expanded carry-on bans in the aftermath of a thwarted terrorist plot in London to blow up U.S.-bound planes using liquid explosives.
“It’s the least we can do after a long day of travel and losing products that you’ve paid for,” P&G spokeswoman Tonia Elrod said.
DENVER
Apartment complex sold for $118 million
Post Properties Inc., a U.S. owner and developer of apartment buildings, said it sold a 696-unit complex in Denver for about $118 million.
The sale of Post Uptown Square, 1950 Pennsylvania St., included about 34,000 square feet of retail space, Atlanta-based Post Properties said Tuesday.
Post Properties didn’t identify the buyer.
BROOMFIELD
MWH Global to head project in California
Broomfield-based MWH Global, an environmental engineering, program management and construction firm will act as project manager of a $5.5 million program designed to help the city of Pasadena, Calif., gain insight into the lifecycle management of its water and power systems, the company said.
LOS ANGELES
CBS to offer reruns for free on Internet
CBS Television will begin showing episodes of several new and returning prime-time shows for free on the Internet, becoming the second network to do so.
CBS already sells downloads of episodes on Apple Computer Inc.’s iTunes Music Store and Google Inc.’s video store. In May, it launched an advertising-supported online channel called “innertube” to stream programming created for the Web.
ATLANTA
Builders drive gain in Home Depot profit
Home Depot Inc., the world’s largest home-improvement retailer, said second-quarter profit rose 5.3 percent on higher sales to professional builders. Full-year earnings will be at the low end of its forecast as consumer spending slows, the company said.
Net income increased to $1.86 billion, or 90 cents, from $1.77 billion, or 82 cents, a year earlier, Atlanta-based Home Depot said Tuesday in a statement. Sales rose 17 percent to $26 billion from $22.3 billion.
BENTONVILLE, Ark.
Wal-Mart “education” effort targets critics
Wal-Mart Stores Inc., fighting attacks by politicians over what it pays workers, said it will begin a “voter education” program that supplies employees with information to counter criticism.
Wal-Mart said it sent Iowa employees 18,000 “fact check” letters and plans to deliver 47,000 more to workers in South Carolina, New Hampshire and Nevada, where early presidential primaries and caucuses are likely to occur.
RALEIGH, N.C.
H&R Block takes heat for tax-refund loans
Managers of three state pension funds with holdings in H&R Block Inc. urged the financial company Tuesday to reform its practice of giving high-interest loans in anticipation of federal tax refunds.
“We are concerned that continuing to sell high-interest loans … to the customers least able to afford them is not only a dubious practice, but potentially places our long-term investments at risk,” the group representing North Carolina, New York and Connecticut wrote.
NEW YORK
Outage hits YouTube, but site makes top 50
The video-sharing site YouTube.com suffered an outage Tuesday, the same day a Web measurement company said the site had broken into its list of the Internet’s top 50 for the first time.
Few details on the outage were available. Although the company’s website had greeted visitors, “We’re currently putting out some new features, sweeping out the cobwebs and zapping a few gremlins,” an e-mail from YouTube blamed a temporary database problem.
WASHINGTON
High gasoline prices fuel exporter profits
Motorists angry about high gasoline prices are quick to point their fingers at oil companies reporting record profits, but oil-producing nations such as Saudi Arabia also are benefiting just as handsomely.
High oil prices are expected to bring export earnings in excess of $500 billion to the six member nations of the Gulf Cooperation Council, according to a report Tuesday from the Institute of International Finance. The GCC countries are Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, United Arab Emirates, Oman, Bahrain and Qatar.
ST. LOUIS
Monsanto to acquire rival seed company
Monsanto Co. will pay $1.5 billion in cash to purchase Delta and Pine Land Co. in a merger of two of the world’s largest seed companies, a move that would end a long-standing legal dispute stemming from a failed merger eight years ago.
“It’s admittedly a transaction with some history, and some complexity,” Monsanto chairman, president and chief executive Hugh Grant said Tuesday.
HOUSTON
Procedural move aids lawyers for Lay
The judge who presided over Enron Corp. founder Ken Lay’s two criminal trials has paved the way for his lawyers to legally clear his name.
In a ruling issued last week and made public Tuesday, U.S. District Judge Sim Lake approved a request from Lay’s lawyers to substitute the late company founder’s estate for Lay himself in court proceedings so the entity can act on his behalf.
CHICAGO
United seeks approval for flights to Beijing
United Airlines on Tuesday announced it has applied for daily nonstop service between Washington, D.C., and Beijing.
