S-R raising cost of home delivery
The Spokesman-Review is raising the price of home-delivered subscriptions by 50 cents a month.
Starting Jan. 1, the new monthly subscription price will be $14.50 in Spokane and Kootenai counties and $15 in other parts of the newspaper’s 15-county circulation area. Those prices currently are $14 and $14.50, respectively.
Multimonth subscriptions won’t be affected by the higher prices until they expire and are renewed. Also unchanged are newsstand prices, at 50 cents on Monday through Saturday and $1.50 on Sunday; the price of an online subscription, at $7 a month; and the price of an electronic facsimile version of the newspaper, called NewsStand, at $12 a month.
The rising costs of gas, newsprint and health insurance are prompting the price increase, said Shaun O’L. Higgins, the newspaper’s director of sales and marketing.
Bob Thomas, circulation manager, said part of the price increase will go directly to newspaper carriers to help defray their higher fuel costs.
Craig plans meetings on 2007 Farm Bill
U.S. Sen. Larry Craig, R-Idaho, has scheduled several meetings to gather input from North Idaho residents about the 2007 Farm Bill.
The meetings are being held in conjunction with the Idaho Farm Bureau. Participants are encouraged to submit written testimony, if possible, to allow greater participation.
The meeting times and locations are as follows:
Sandpoint – 8 a.m. Jan. 3 at the Sandpoint Ranger Station, 1500 U.S. Highway 2.
Post Falls – 11 a.m. Jan. 3 at the University of Idaho Research Park, 721 Lochsa St.
Potlatch – 1 p.m. Jan. 10 at the Scenic 6 Park Community Hall, 125 Highway 6.
Genesee – 7 p.m. Jan. 10 at the Senior Center, 140 E. Walnut.
Lewiston – 9 a.m. Jan. 11 at the Idaho Fish & Game offices, 1540 Warner.
Maytag shareholders OK sale to Whirlpool
Newton, Iowa Maytag Corp. shareholders on Thursday approved the company’s sale to rival appliance-maker Whirlpool Corp., marking the end of independence for the iconic home appliance maker that failed to overcome cheaper competitors and a waning of its trademark image for dependability.
If authorized by the government, Whirlpool will buy Maytag, founded in 1893 by farm tool maker Fred Maytag, for about $1.79 billion in cash and stock.
Maytag shareholders will receive $21 a share, payable half in cash and half in a fraction of Whirlpool stock, depending on the value of Whirlpool shares when the deal closes.
UPS pilots will seek mediation release
Atlanta The union representing UPS Inc. said Thursday it will ask for release from federal mediation so it can strike, citing three years of contract negotiations with the world’s largest shipping carrier that have failed to reach an agreement.
The comments by the Independent Pilots Association were not unexpected after talks between the two sides concluded Thursday without reaching a deal.
Under the Railway Labor Act, the pilots can’t strike while under the direction of the federal mediator. The president of the union, however, has said the pilots will strike if released from mediation and no deal is reached after a 30-day cooling-off period.
UPS spokeswoman Peggy Gardner said Thursday the mediator has given no indication she would release the two sides from talks.
The company and its pilot union are grappling over pay, pensions, work rules and health benefits, among other things. According to UPS, the pilots have average annual salaries of more than $175,000.
Consumer spending, incomes up in Nov.
Washington Consumers’ spending and incomes posted solid gains in November, giving retailers hopes for decent Christmas sales, while a key economic forecasting gauge flashed encouraging signals for 2006.
The Commerce Department reported Thursday that personal incomes rose 0.3 percent in November and were up an even bigger 0.7 percent when inflation was removed. It was the best inflation-adjusted showing since July, when sales surged as consumers responded to attractive auto sales incentives.
Incomes last month increased a solid 0.3 percent, reflecting the fact that the economy created 215,000 jobs in November after two months in which thousands of jobs were lost along the hurricane-ravaged Gulf Coast.
In a further bounceback from the hurricanes, the Conference Board reported that its Index of Leading Economic Indicators rose a healthy 0.5 percent as seven of the 10 forward-pointing statistics showed strength.
The November gain followed an even bigger 1 percent rise in October as both months showed strength after a big slide in September related to the hurricanes.
CVS-Albertson’s negotiations break off
Boise Albertson’s Inc. is no longer considering a sale of the entire company, officials said late Thursday after CVS Corp. withdrew from talks to acquire the Sav-on and Osco drug chains.
The nation’s second-largest grocery store company said it will continue talks with bidders interested in buying its underperforming divisions.
CVS, a Rhode Island-based company that has more than 5,400 retail and specialty pharmacy stores nationwide, had canceled a planned conference call with analysts Thursday morning after reports that Albertson’s had broken off talks with a group of investors on selling the company.
Barrick Gold agrees to buy Placer Dome
New York Toronto-based Barrick Gold Corp., the world’s No. 3 gold producer, agreed on friendly terms to acquire Placer Dome Inc. after raising its offer for the Vancouver gold producer to $10.4 billion, the companies said Thursday. That deal prompted Vancouver-based gold producer Goldcorp Inc. to buy certain mining assets from Barrick for just under $1.49 billion in cash.
In Thursday trading on the New York Stock Exchange, Goldcorp shares rose 94 cents, or 4.8 percent, to close at $20.72; shares of Placer Dome fell 31 cents, or 1.4 percent, to close at $22.34; and shares of Barrick fell 10 cents to close at $27.12.