Real estate forum to be held Thursday

Real estate professionals will gather in downtown Spokane Thursday morning to hear about the state of the regional market.

The 2005 Real Estate Market Forum will be held from 8 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. at the Spokane Convention Center, 334 W. Spokane Falls Blvd.

The topics to be covered include the state of the residential market in Spokane and Kootenai counties and real estate investment in both counties. Special-interest topics will include the waterfront market, mixed-use development in Coeur d’Alene and regional water issues.

Richard Villelli will deliver a keynote address about the factors driving the strong regional market. His company, Villelli Enterprises, is a real estate investment, management, brokerage and development company.

The forum will also focus on the “somewhat surprising” regional job growth over the past year, featuring labor market analysts from Washington and Idaho, forum organizers said in a news release.

For additional information, call the Spokane Association of Realtors at (509) 326-9222.

Computer glitch delays dozens of flights

Chicago Dozens of United Airlines flights were delayed Monday morning when the carrier’s reservations computer failed, the airline said.

The computer breakdown affected more than 50 domestic flights, mostly those flying into or out of Chicago and Denver, United spokesman Jeff Green said. Delays stretched to as long as 70 minutes, he said.

The computer shut down for 45 minutes, United said. The airline attributed the breakdown to a server connection problem.

Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport and Denver International Airport are two of five main hubs for UAL Corp.’s United, which has its headquarters adjacent to O’Hare in Elk Grove Village, Ill.

Brent crude futures up 53 cents

Vienna, Austria Brent crude futures rose in light trading Monday, with a holiday in the United States keeping the New York Mercantile Exchange closed and many investors on the sidelines.

Brent for April delivery rose 53 cents to $46.87 a barrel on the International Petroleum Exchange.

“The next thing to look for is what happens when Nymex reopens tomorrow,” said Kevin Norrish, head of commodities research at Barclays Capital in London.

Norrish said traders would likely focus on expectations of what the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries might do at its next meeting March 16 when the Nymex resumed trading after the Presidents Day holiday.

“There is still lack of clarity over what OPEC is likely to do,” he said, suggesting some second-guessing ahead of whether the group would opt to reduce output or keep the status quo at its meeting in Isfahan, Iran.

OPEC acting Secretary-General Adnan Shihab Eldin has said the group may cut up to 1 million barrels a day. But Nigeria and fellow OPEC member Algeria have suggested no major reductions are needed.

LM Ericsson announces layoffs

Stockholm, Sweden Wireless equipment maker LM Ericsson said Monday it would close one of its Swedish facilities and lay off 393 workers, citing its development of new technologies.

The company said it would close its production and design facility in Nynaeshamn and move the production to facilities in central Sweden. Of the unit’s 463 workers, 70 will be transferred, but the remainder will be laid off.

“Because the components are getting more advanced and fewer, the work content has decreased,” said Jan Wassenius, head of production.

The company employs more than 51,500 workers worldwide.

Shares of Ericsson were unchanged at 19.80 kronor ($2.83) in Stockholm trading.

The decision was announced shortly after the company, the world’s largest supplier of equipment for wireless phone networks, saw Fitch Ratings raise its debt rating to investment grade.

Fitch cited the company’s profitability in recent months, coming after two years of declines because its customers cut back on orders for its products. Ericsson engineered a cost-cutting program, shedding thousands of jobs and becoming leaner. Since then, the telecom industry has rekindled and new orders have been coming in.

Other ratings companies, including Moody’s Investors Services and Standard & Poor’s, still rate the company at below investment grade.