Business in brief: Eliassen to head Itron Inc. board

Jon Eliassen, former CEO of the Spokane Area Economic Development Council, has been named chairman of Itron Inc.’s board, effective Jan. 1.

LeRoy Nosbaum, Itron’s former CEO and current chairman, will retire after 13 years with the company, which provides metering and data collection technologies for energy and water utilities, according to a news release.

Nosbaum “leaves Itron well-positioned to take advantage of the opportunities that are happening in this industry,” current CEO Malcolm Unsworth said in the release.

Eliassen has been on the Itron board for more than 20 years. Before heading the EDC, he worked for Avista Corp. as chief financial officer.

Nosbaum was named Itron CEO in 2000 and led the Liberty Lake company through numerous acquisitions.

Staff report

Pepsi’s Super Bowl ad streak will break at 23

Purchase, N.Y. – Pepsi’s Super Bowl streak is over after a 23-year run.

Ads for the drinks won’t appear in next year’s Super Bowl on CBS. Instead, the company plans to shift ad dollars to a new marketing effort that’s mostly online.

Pepsi was one of the biggest advertisers in last year’s game and has advertised every year since 1987.

Associated Press

Mortgage rates rise for a second week

McLean, Va. – Mortgage rates rose for the second consecutive week.

The average fixed rate on a 30-year mortgage was 4.94 percent this week, up from 4.81 percent last week, Freddie Mac said Thursday.

The average rate on a 15-year fixed mortgage rose to 4.38 percent from 4.32 percent last week.

Associated Press

FedEx says economy has hit turning point

Memphis, Tenn. – FedEx says the economy has “reached a turning point,” but a full recovery could still be a long way off.

The world’s second-largest package delivery company issued a tepid outlook for the quarter that ends in February, saying it’s not sure if strong holiday season shipping volume will hold up.

Both FedEx and rival UPS are key indicators of the nation’s economic strength because they carry a wide range of business and consumer goods.

FedEx said Thursday its earnings for the quarter that ended in November fell 30 percent from a year ago, and its forecast for the fiscal third quarter fell well below what Wall Street was expecting. FedEx predicts earnings of 50 to 70 cents per share this quarter, well under analysts’ estimates of 84 cents per share.

In the September-to- November period, FedEx Corp. earned $345 million, or $1.10 per share, compared with $493 million, or $1.58 per share, a year earlier.

Associated Press