LONGMONT
Swedish company buys Case Logic
Case Logic Inc., Longmont- based maker of DVD storage cases and mobile phone holders, has been purchased by Thule AB, a Swedish manufacturer of roof racks and other car accessories.
Case Logic has 250 employees and annual revenue of about $140 million, Thule said in the statement Monday. The company’s statement didn’t specify the value of the transaction.
DENVER
2009 global sports convention coming
The Metro Denver Sport Commission announced Monday that Denver has been selected to host SportAccord 2009, a gathering of International Sports Federations, Olympic committees and cities hosting major sports events and businesses.
The seventh annual International Sports Convention is the first to be hosted in North America. Roughly 1,200 delegates will come to town March 23-27, 2009, from more than 60 countries.
COLORADO SPRINGS
ExpressJet Airlines launches first flights
ExpressJet Airlines on Monday launched the first flights from Colorado Springs under its own name.
The airline started nonstop flights from Colorado Springs to Los Angeles/Ontario and Sacramento, Calif., with 50-seat aircraft. It will begin flying from Colorado Springs to San Diego on May 7.
ExpressJet Holdings started ExpressJet’s independent operation earlier this year. Colorado Springs is one of 24 cities the airline has said it will fly to.
DENVER
Chipotle founder paid $1.7 million in 2006
Chipotle Mexican Grill paid Steve Ells, the company’s founder and chief executive, a total of $1.7 million in 2006, according to a filing Monday with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Ells earned $461,738 in salary, $514,571 in option awards and $741,000 through Chipotle’s nonequity incentive plan.
Monty Moran, Chipotle’s president and chief operating officer, earned $2.2 million in total compensation in 2006.
GRAND JUNCTION
Walker Field applies for air service grant
Grand Junction’s Walker Field Airport Authority applied for a $405,000 Small Community Air Service grant, saying it is underserved and overpriced.
The application said the Grand Junction community will fund 11 percent of the total proposed air service program and has formed a public-private partnership to support the proposed air service.
WASHINGTON
U.S., Europe officials agree to “Open Skies”
U.S. and European officials signed an agreement Monday relaxing limits on airline service between Europe and the U.S., enabling airlines that had been barred from flying some routes to do so next year.
The agreement, known as “Open Skies,” is designed to allow European and American airlines to fly any route between any city in Europe and any city in America.
NEW YORK
Report says Wal-Mart abuses U.S. labor laws
Wal-Mart’s exploitation of weak U.S. labor laws interferes with workers’ rights to organize and violates the human rights of its employees, according to a report by Human Rights Watch, an independent nongovernment organization.
In a 210-page report released Monday, Human Rights Watch said Wal-Mart uses an arsenal of sophisticated tactics – some of which it says are illegal- aimed at thwarting union organization and creating a climate of fear for its 1.3 million U.S. workers.
Wal-Mart dismissed the study’s allegations as untrue and unsubstantiated.
SUNNYVALE, Calif.
Yahoo buys online advertising exchange
Yahoo Inc. added another weapon in its high-stakes duel with richer Internet rival Google Inc. on Monday by buying online advertising exchange Right Media Inc. for $680 million.
Although the cash-and-stock price is well below the $3.1 billion that Google recently agreed to pay for online ad distributor DoubleClick Inc., Right Media didn’t come cheaply for Yahoo. In October, Right Media was valued at $200 million based on Yahoo’s $40 million payment for a 20 percent stake in the company.
RICHMOND, Va.
Circuit City says first quarter may yield loss
Circuit City Stores Inc., the second-largest U.S. electronics retailer, said it may post a first-quarter loss as rivals cut prices on flat-panel television sets. The loss may be $80 million to $90 million before taxes.
Sales fell “substantially below-plan” this month, the Richmond, Va.-based company said Monday in a statement.
WASHINGTON
Treasury auctions $25 billion in T-bills
The Treasury Department auctioned $13 billion in three-month bills at a discount rate of 4.785 percent and an additional $12 billion in six-month bills at a rate of 4.820 percent.
The discount rates reflect that the bills sell for less than face value. For a $10,000 bill, the three- month price was $9,879.05, while a six-month bill sold for $9,756.32.
CHICAGO
United Airlines deal puts Coke on menu
United Airlines is switching from Pepsi to Coke, entering a new five-year beverage agreement with The Coca-Cola Co. that will go into effect today.
