Telect has no plans to move from Spokane area, officials tell employees

Telect officials Monday held a company-wide meeting to tell workers they have no plan to move the company’s headquarters from the Spokane area.

CEO Wayne Williams told company employees a Spokesman-Review story, quoting his father, Bill Williams, was misleading and created the impression of discord between them.

The elder Williams, chairman of the manufacturing company, was quoted saying Telect would move its main operations out of Washington at some point.

Wayne Williams, however, said no such plans are under discussion.

“We have actively sought potential subleases and/or buyers for all our Liberty Lake buildings,” Wayne Williams told company workers in an e-mail. “That does not mean we are moving out of Liberty Lake; only that with the right set of circumstances, we would move out of our current buildings and into something smaller locally.”

Last year Telect acquired a company based in Plano, Texas, near Dallas. Williams noted in the e-mail that, “Dallas is a telecommunications hub and it benefits our business to have a facility there. But that does not mean we are moving our headquarters to Plano.”

CdA Mines Corp. income rises

Higher metals prices and lower taxes helped Coeur d’Alene Mines Corp. report fourth quarter income of $13 million.

Coeur d’Alene Mines’ earnings, released Monday, amounted to 5 cents per share during the fourth quarter, compared with a loss of $12.9 million, or 6 cents per share, during the fourth quarter of 2003.

Coeur d’Alene Mines lost $12.2 million for the entire 12-month period, compared with a net loss of $66.2 million in 2003. The company’s 2003 losses included charges related to the early repayment of debt.

Higher gold and silver prices helped bolster the company’s income. Silver prices averaged $6.82 per ounce in 2004, compared to $4.89 the year before. Gold prices also rose, to $410 last year, up from $345 in 2003.

Coeur d’Alene Mines also benefited from an $11.2 million gain associated with tax and accounting issues.

Gas prices up 6 cents a gallon

Washington The retail price of gasoline rose 6 cents last week to average $2.06 per gallon nationwide, the Energy Department reported Monday.

That’s the highest average price since the peak last May. The jump in retail gasoline prices coincides with a recent rally in gasoline futures and as crude oil futures hover near $55 a barrel.

The government survey said the average price nationwide of regular-grade unleaded gasoline rose 5.7 cents last week to $2.056 per gallon. Prices are 33.2 cents higher than a year ago and less than a penny shy of the average for the week ended May 24 — $2.064 per gallon.

Pump prices are highest on the West Coast, averaging $2.228 per gallon, and cheapest on the Gulf Coast, averaging $1.968 per gallon. In the Midwest, gas averages $2.054 per gallon.

Kraft increases coffee prices

Kraft Foods Inc. said Monday it has increased the price of its Maxwell House roast and ground coffee by 12 percent for a 13-ounce can to cover rising raw material costs.

It was the second coffee price increase in the past few days. On Friday, Procter & Gamble Co. boosted prices for its Folgers ground coffee, also citing the need to cover the higher cost of green, or unroasted, coffee beans.

After P&G’s move, analysts had predicted that other companies likely would follow suit.

Pat Riso, a spokeswoman for Kraft’s coffee division in Tarrytown, N.Y., said the suggested list price of the Maxwell House 13-ounce can was raised on Saturday from $2.29 to the new $2.57. Retailers determine the prices charged at stores.

Kraft also increased the price of its Maxwell House instant coffee by 10 cents for an 8-ounce jar.