DOUGLAS COUNTY
Western Union Co., the nation’s largest money-transfer company, won a court stay to keep Arizona from seizing money sent from its outlets in 28 other states to a region of Mexico, chief executive Christina Gold said Wednesday.
Western Union, which was spun off from First Data Corp. last week, disclosed Sept. 22 that Arizona Attorney General Terry Goddard had obtained a seizure warrant as part of a probe into drug and immigrant smuggling. Goddard sought to block most money transfers of $500 or more to 26 locations in Sonora, even if the senders and recipients had no ties to Arizona.
Other business briefs
BROOMFIELD
N.M. bank purchases owner of Heritage
First State Bancorp, a bank that serves the Southwestern U.S., agreed to buy Front Range Capital Corp., the Broomfield- based owner of Heritage Bank, for $72 million in cash.
With 13 offices in the Denver area, Heritage will add about $450 million in assets to Albuquerque-based First State’s $2.6 billion, First State said Wednesday. First State operates seven branches of its First Community Bank in Colorado. It will rename the Heritage branches.
DOUGLAS COUNTY
CH2M Hill, lenders set up credit accord
Douglas County-based CH2M Hill and its subsidiaries have entered into a senior unsecured revolving-credit agreement with Wells Fargo Bank and several other lenders.
The agreement provides for a $250 million revolving-credit facility that will remain in effect until Sept. 29, 2011, and includes an option to increase the borrowing by $100 million.
DENVER
United Western Center sale finalized
United Western Bancorp Inc., through its subsidiary Matrix Tower Holdings LLC, has completed the sale of United Western Financial Center, formerly known as Matrix Financial Center, at 17th and California streets, for $27.25 million. The buyer was not disclosed.
In connection with the sale, United Western Bank agreed to lease back about 62,500 square feet of office space in the 1960s- vintage building for 10 years.
DENVER
DIA on-time arrivals, departures fall in Aug.
Denver International Airport ranked fourth in on-time arrivals in August, down from second in the same month a year ago, according to data released Wed nesday from the Bureau of Transportation Statistics.
DIA’s on-time departure performance fell to No. 8 from No. 5 in the same period. The bureau also reported that the mishandled-baggage rate increased to 8.08 bags per 1,000 passengers in August 2006 from 6.4 bags per 1,000 passengers a year earlier.
FLINT, Mich.
Ex-Kmart CEO, CFO ordered to stand trial
A federal judge has ordered former Kmart chief executive Charles Conaway and former financial chief John McDonald to stand trial on accusations they misled investors about the retailer’s financial problems before its 2002 bankruptcy filing.
In an order dated Friday, U.S. District Judge Paul Gadola in Flint rejected Conaway and McDonald’s request to dismiss a civil complaint that the Securities and Exchange Commission filed in August 2005.
BENTONVILLE, Ark.
Wal-Mart lowers sales-growth estimate
Wal-Mart Stores Inc., the world’s largest retailer, unexpectedly lowered its estimate Wednesday for September U.S. comparable-store sales growth to 1.3 percent after discovering mistakes in calculations at 235 locations.
The company as recently as last week said sales for the month increased 1.8 percent.
LONDON
BP says oil output continuing to drop
BP Plc, Europe’s second-largest oil company, said production fell for a fifth consecutive quarter as reduced output from its Prudhoe Bay field in Alaska added to startup delays in the Gulf of Mexico.
Third-quarter output dropped 0.6 percent from a year earlier, to 3.80 million barrels a day of oil and gas, the London-based company said in a statement.
GOLDEN
NREL, Chevron form alliance on biofuels
The Golden-based National Renewable Energy Laboratory and Chevron Corp. announced Wednesday a strategic research alliance to advance the development of renewable transportation fuels.
Chevron Technology Ventures LLC, a subsidiary of Chevron Corp., and the NREL have signed a five-year agreement to research and develop new production technologies for biofuels.
Researchers from Chevron and the NREL will collaborate on projects to develop the next generation of technologies to convert cellulosic biomass such as forestry and agricultural wastes into biofuels such as ethanol and renewable diesel.
SANTA CLARA, Calif.
Sun CEO asks feds to ease disclosure rules
Sun Microsystems Inc. chief executive Jonathan Schwartz asked U.S. regulators to relax corporate disclosure rules so he can announce company news on his personal blog.
“If we have material news to disclose, we have to hold an anachronistic telephone conference call or issue an equivalently anachronistic press release,” Schwartz wrote in his online diary Monday. “I would argue that none of those routes are as accessible to the general public as a blog, or Sun’s website.”
