Business news

Lifestream gets OK to sell new product

Post Falls

Lifestream Technologies received clearance from the federal Food and Drug Administration to sell a cholesterol monitor and health risk assessment, company officials announced Tuesday.

The monitor measures individual’s risk of a heart attack with a three-minute cholesterol test, and assessment of additional risk factors, including gender, age, weight, blood pressure, diabetic status and smoker/non-smoker.

Lifestream officials said the product underwent a year of FDA testing. They expect to begin marketing the patented device at the end of June.

Clothing manufacturer opens in Sandpoint

Sandpoint Molehill Mountain Equipment Inc., a manufacturer of children’s outdoor clothing, recently moved here from Colorado.

The new retail store, design studio and warehouse is located at 207 N. First Ave. Owner Doug Faude and his wife honeymooned in North Idaho 13 years ago. Several years ago, the Bonner County Economic Development Corp. hooked up with him at a trade show and began courting the company.

The EDC wants to recruit outdoor equipment manufacturers to Sandpoint as part of its strategy for diversifying the local economy, said Mark Williams, the EDC’s executive director. Outdoor equipment is a $6 billion industry, with most manufacturers centered in Colorado, the Seattle and San Francisco Bay areas.

Molehill Mountain Equipment has hired several people, and employed up to 10 people in the past.

Ex-Rite Aid president will be on probation

Harrisburg, Pa. A former Rite Aid president whose secret tapes helped prosecutors build a case against his colleagues in a billion-dollar accounting scandal at the drugstore chain was sentenced Tuesday to two years’ probation.

Timothy J. Noonan, 62, is the only one of five Rite Aid defendants sentenced so far not to receive a prison term. He was also fined $2,500 and ordered to perform 100 hours of community service.

The former chief operating officer and president retired in 2000 after 30 years with the nation’s third-largest drugstore chain.

Noonan pleaded guilty to withholding information from the company’s internal investigators. In return, federal prosecutors recommended probation.

Judge orders delay of Enron Corp. trial

Houston A federal judge has pushed back the first Enron Corp. criminal trial until August because the proceedings could last more than five weeks.

U.S. District Judge Ewing Werlein told the court Monday after meeting privately with defense attorneys and prosecutors that the trial would have to recess for “several weeks” if it didn’t conclude by his desired finish date of July 9. He didn’t mention it in court, but his vacation is scheduled to start July 12.

The case involves four former Merrill Lynch executives and two former midlevel Enron executives charged with conspiracy. They’re accused of helping push through a sham sale of electricity-producing Nigerian barges to the brokerage in 1999 to help the energy company appear to have met earnings targets.

Werlein rescheduled the case for Aug. 16.

FedEx Express gets postal contract

Washington, D.C. FedEx Corp.’s FedEx Express unit received a contract to handle guaranteed international deliveries for the U.S. Postal Service, a deal that was previously held by DHL Worldwide Express.

Financial terms weren’t disclosed when the contract was announced Tuesday.

“We evaluated a number of international delivery providers and the review showed that FedEx offers the best combination of price, service, brand recognition and cost/network efficiencies,” said Postal Service chief marketing officer Anita Bizzotto.

Under the Global Express Guaranteed contract, FedEx will transport and deliver international packages with guaranteed delivery dates to about 190 countries.

HP chief says firm seeing strong growth

New York Computer giant Hewlett-Packard Co. will have created $7 billion in internal growth this year when its fiscal 2004 ends in October, chief executive Carly Fiorina said Tuesday.

“In essence, we created an organic growth company the size of EMC,” Fiorina said during a meeting with analysts. She was referring to EMC Corp., a maker of data-storage systems that had revenue of $6.24 billion last year.

Organic, or internal, growth excludes the effects of acquisitions.

Earnings-per-share growth this year and in the next couple of years will be more than 20 percent, Fiorina said.

JetBlue to purchase 30 jets from Airbus

New York JetBlue Airways Corp. said it plans to exercise options to buy 30 Airbus A320 aircraft.

The discount carrier did not disclose financial terms when announcing the decision on Tuesday.

The move means JetBlue now has firm orders for 123 A320s and holds options on 50 more.

For now, the Forest Hills, N.Y.-based airline’s fleet consists of 60 A320s. It expects to receive nine more this year and delivery of up to 17 a year until 2012.

The A320, a single-aisle aircraft that typically seats 150, is made by Airbus North America Holdings, a subsidiary of Airbus S.A.S. of France.

Kimberly-Clark will spin off some divisions

Dallas The board of Kimberly-Clark Corp. has approved a plan to spin off the company’s Canadian pulp and paper operations, which account for less than 3 percent of revenue.

The board also approved the buyback of 25 million shares of stock over the next several years.

Kimberly-Clark, which makes Kleenex tissues and Huggies diapers, said Tuesday that the spinoff of pulp and paper operations will allow it to focus on its core consumer products.

The spinoff will include Neenah Paper, the company’s fine paper business, Technical Paper, its specialty paper business, and pulp and timber operations in Canada. self end