Business in brief: Weyerhaeuser to convert to trust
Federal Way, Wash. – Weyerhaeuser Co. said Tuesday its board has approved a conversion of the forest products giant into a real estate investment trust, letting the company take advantage of major tax benefits.
Weyerhaeuser has been under pressure for years to lower its income tax rate – which totals 35 percent – by becoming a REIT. The investment trusts distribute at least 90 percent of their taxable income to shareholders as dividends each year and then can deduct those dividends from corporate taxable income. In many cases, REITS will pay out all of their taxable income and owe no corporate tax at all.
The company said the conversion may occur as soon as next year, depending on the economic recovery and changes in tax policy.
Shares rose 60 cents to close at $43.11, earlier reaching a 52-week high of $46.80.
Associated Press
Albertsons settles racism lawsuits
Denver – The Albertsons grocery chain will pay $8.9 million to 168 black and Hispanic workers who said they were subjected to racial taunts and graffiti-laced bathrooms depicting lynchings and swastikas, federal officials said Tuesday.
The money is part of a settlement between Albertsons and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, which represented the workers in three lawsuits involving the company’s warehouse distribution center in suburban Denver.
“Settlements this size don’t come down the pipe every day,” said Andrew Winston, the EEOC attorney who handled the cases.
Associated Press
Online Herald solicits ‘voluntary payments’
Miami – The Miami Herald is asking readers of its Web site to voluntarily pay for the privilege, a new wrinkle in newspapers’ ongoing battle to increase revenue from their online operations.
A link posted Tuesday at the bottom of online stories directs readers to a separate page that accepts credit card information. The page asks readers to consider a “voluntary payment” for the content on the Herald’s site.
The McClatchy Co. newspaper has cut hundreds of employees in recent years as the weekday circulation of its print edition has fallen by almost 25 percent in the past year and 14 percent on Sundays.
But the paper says 5 million different readers visit its Web site each month.
Associated Press
Best Buy reports third-quarter boost
New York – Customers snapping up electronics and gift cards for the holidays boosted Best Buy’s third-quarter profit, but the nation’s largest electronics retailer said Tuesday that shoppers are focused on prices, particularly of TVs and computers.
Best Buy predicted consumers will stay that way in the fourth quarter, squeezing its profit margin. Still, Best Buy Inc. raised its annual profit and revenue forecasts and said both traffic and shoppers’ average spending rose from a year ago.
Sales at Best Buy stores that have been open at least one year – a key retail measure – rose more than 10 percent Thanksgiving weekend, CEO Brian Dunn said in a conference call with analysts. Half the gain came from higher traffic and half from customers spending more.
Associated Press