Two restaurants close for lunch hours

Two downtown Spokane restaurants reduced their business hours starting August 1 to exclude lunchtime service.

Catacombs Pub in the Montvale Hotel on 110 S. Monroe St. is now open from 5 p.m. to midnight Saturday through Thursday and 5 p.m. to 1 a.m. Fridays.

Manager Eric Lewis said the restaurant closed its lunch hours to concentrate more on dinner.

Niko’s Greek Restaurant and Wine Bar at 725 W. Riverside Ave. has reduced its hours to 4 p.m. to 10 p.m. Sunday through Wednesday, and 4 p.m. to 11 p.m. Thursday through Saturday. The restaurant will open for lunch only for group reservations numbering 15 people or more.

Manager Pauline Riley said the new hours reflect a reinvention of the restaurant, which has served lunch downtown for 20 years, allowing it to focus on its dinner service.

“There are a lot of people who are very disappointed,” she said. “But there’s a lot involved with basically starting your day at eight and going until 12 at night.”

Marilyn’s on Monroe, a casino and lounge at 900 W. Sprague, remains closed. It opened in March and closed in June. Co-owner Haig Kelegian Jr. declined to comment on Marilyn’s.

China to ban foreign TV channels for ‘safety’

Beijing China will bar new foreign television channels and step up censorship of imported programming, the Culture Ministry announced, adding to a sweeping effort to tighten the communist government’s control over popular culture.

In an effort to “safeguard national cultural safety,” the government also will tighten controls over the 31 foreign television satellite broadcasters that hold licenses to operate in China, the ministry said on its Web site in a statement dated Wednesday.

The government also will ban new licenses for companies to import newspapers and magazines, electronic publications, audiovisual products and children’s cartoons, the ministry said. It said new limits will be imposed on the number of foreign copyrighted products that Chinese companies are allowed to publish.

The announcement adds to a mounting campaign over the past two years to tighten control over popular culture and keep out material that communist leaders worry is spreading politically and socially dangerous influences.

The measures are a dramatic step back from more liberal rules unveiled late last year to open China’s media market. They are likely to be a major disappointment for broadcasters that hope for access to China, a country with 400 million television sets.

Average 401(k) balance hits five-year high

New York The average 401(k) account balance rose 10 percent in 2004, reaching a five-year high of $61,000, according to preliminary study data provided by Fidelity Investments.

“It’s a combination of market action and net contributions,” said Steve Deschenes, executive vice president of institutional retirement services with Fidelity, a Boston investment firm.

Still, the average 401(k) balance remains below 1999 levels of $64,000. In 2000, when the stock market bubble burst, the average 401(k) balance fell to $55,000 and continued to spiral downward until it hit $44,000 in 2002. The average balance began to tick higher again in 2003 when it again hit $55,000, according to Fidelity data.

The study was based on an analysis of 10,800 defined-contribution plans, which represents about 8.6 million participants.

Boeing consolidates jobs; 140 jobs affected

Wichita, Kan. In the wake of the sale of its commercial aircraft operations here, Boeing Co. announced Thursday that it was consolidating some support services in its Integrated Defense Systems plant in Wichita. The move affects 140 jobs.

“Their jobs will be shifted out of Wichita to other locations,” said Boeing spokesman Forrest Gossett. “In all candor, we expect some employees will receive layoff notices.”

Affected employees were notified Thursday by managers, but the company has not determined how many will lose their jobs or will be offered jobs at other major Boeing sites, Gossett said.

The support jobs involve computing and network operations, supply chain services, employee staffing and services, and financial services. The work being consolidated did not directly support the Wichita operations, Gossett said.

With the consolidation, Boeing will employ between 3,750 and 3,800 at its Wichita defense business. The company is now hiring aircraft mechanics and engineers, he said.

Microsoft names new COO

Redmond, Wash.

Microsoft Corp. on Thursday said it has named Kevin Turner, former president and chief executive of Sam’s Club, as the software company’s new chief operating officer.

Turner, 40, who has also served as chief information officer for Wal-Mart Stores Inc., parent of Sam’s Club, will join Microsoft on Sept. 8.

Steve Ballmer, Microsoft chief executive, cited Turner’s background in global technology, sales, marketing and services in announcing his appointment.

The company said Kevin Johnson, current group vice president of worldwide sales, marketing and services, will work closely with Turner to ensure a smooth transition. He will continue in that role through Microsoft’s fiscal quarter ending Sept. 30.

Following the transition, Johnson will be named to a new senior executive role, Microsoft said.