Thursday, January 23, 2003
Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal

In Brief

Time share proposal pulled from agenda

A proposal to build a 54-story time share tower connected to the Showcase mall on the Strip was pulled from Wednesday's zoning and subdivision agenda of the Clark County Commissioners.

Commissioner Mary Kincaid-Chauncey had requested the item be held because she was out of town and wanted to hear the discussion.

It may be heard at the next zoning meeting on Feb. 5, a county official said.

Florida-based Westgate Resorts has proposed building the tower with 700 luxury units after purchasing development rights from the owners of the Showcase mall.

The $180 million project faces opposition from MGM Mirage, which owns the MGM Grand next to the mall. MGM officials said they're concerned about the size and scope of the project, including parking and setback requirements.

RENO

Sierra Pacific makes executive changes

Sierra Pacific Resources, the parent company of Nevada Power Co., announced two senior executive changes on Wednesday.

John Young, senior vice president of energy supply, resigned effective Feb. 28 to become senior vice president and chief operating officer of Exelon Power, a division of Exelon Generation. He will work in Kennett Square, Pa.

Michael Yackira, 51, formerly an executive with FPL Group, was named executive vice president of strategy and policy. He will join the Nevada utility company on Jan. 31.Until a successor is named for Young, he will be responsible for energy supply.

Yackira was with FPL Group, the parent of Florida Power and Light Co., between 1989 and 2000. He was president of FPL Energy, an independent power producer, and chief financial officer of FPL Group.

Southwest Gas declares dividend

Southwest Gas declared a first-quarter dividend of 20 1/2 cents per share payable March 3 to shareholders of record Feb. 18.

In a statement, the company said the dividend equates to 82 cents per share on an annualized basis.

Southwest Gas shares fell 51 cents, or 2.3 percent, Thursday to close at $21.70.

Shuffle Master OKs stock buyback plan

Shuffle Master, a Las Vegas gambling equipment manufacturer, said its board of directors authorized management to buy back to $20 million of Shuffle Master common stock in the open market under a new share repurchase program.

In a statement Wednesday, the company said it bought back 896,000 shares of common stock in fiscal 2002 at a cost of $16.3 million. Before this authorization, the company added it had bought an additional 310,000 shares in fiscal 2003 at a cost of $6.1 million.

NEW YORK

Bond prices rise; stock slump continues

Bonds rose higher again Wednesday as stocks dropped for a fifth straight session on more disappointing earnings reports.

The price of the benchmark 10-year Treasury note gained 0.44 points, or $4.38 per $1,000 in face value. Its yield, which moves in the opposite direction, fell to 3.92 percent from 3.97 percent Tuesday.

The 30-year Treasury bond increased 0.63 points to yield 4.86 percent, down from 4.89 percent Tuesday, Moneyline Telerate reported.

Yields on one-month Treasury bills were 1.15 percent as the discount fell 0.01 percentage point to 1.13 percent.