IN BRIEF
Hard Rock Hotel will hire 800 more workers
The Hard Rock Hotel will hire 800 more workers by the end of the year to complete staffing for the property's $750 million expansion, the property announced late Tuesday night.
The niche property, which will open two new hotel towers and other amenities, has already hired 400 workers this year.
The positions to be filled include on-call dealers, housekeeping staff, bellmen, front desk and room reservation agents, and environmental services attendants.
The Hard Rock Hotel will soon announce dates for job fairs to be held at the property through the summer.
CHARLOTTE, N.C.
Insurer AIG will sell off New York headquarters
The embattled insurer American International Group Inc. is selling its headquarters building in New York and a nearby building in a deal expected to close at the end of this summer, a person familiar with the matter said Wednesday.
But the person said that AIG is not disclosing the price or who the buyer is. The person asked for anonymity because the sale has not been made public yet.
The buildings are at 70 Pine Street and the adjacent 72 Wall Street in lower Manhattan.
SIOUX FALLS, S.D.
Oil prices decline after report on stored stock
Oil prices dove Wednesday after a government report on unused crude in storage suggested the monthlong rally in energy prices may have been premature.
After rising for seven straight days and threatening to break the $70 barrier, benchmark crude for July delivery tumbled 3.5 percent, or $2.43, to $66.12 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
The catalyst was a report from the Energy Department's Energy Information Administration, which said crude in storage rose by nearly 3 million barrels, which is about 20 percent above year-ago levels.
Meanwhile, gasoline prices rose by more than 2 cents overnight to hit $2.548, according to auto club AAA, Wright Express and Oil Price Information Service. That's more than 11 cents higher than last week and well above the $2.07 that gasoline cost just a month ago.
WASHINGTON
Fed chairman calls for deficit reduction
Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke on Wednesday urged Congress and the administration to cut record-high budget deficits, warning that they could erode investor confidence and endanger the economy's long-term health.
Bernanke's comments came as concerns grow at home and overseas about the United States' mounting red ink.
The White House estimates that the government will rack up an unprecedented $1.8 trillion budget deficit this year. That would be more than four times last year's all-time high.
Bernanke acknowledged that Congress and the administration face "formidable near-term challenges" that must be addressed as they take steps to stabilize the financial system, reduce home foreclosures and spur banks to lend more freely. The success of these efforts will be crucial to turning the economy around.
Passenger traffic rises for Allegiant Air in May
With the rest of the tourism industry in economic torpor, Las Vegas-based Allegiant Air just keeps gaining steam, increasing passenger traffic more than 20 percent in May.
The leisure-oriented airline that specializes in flights from small towns to Las Vegas, Arizona and Florida increased scheduled service 25.8 percent to 434,501 arrivals and departures.
It also managed to decrease average stage-length -- the distance of a given flight -- by 3.2 percent to 854 miles, which boosts profit potential through lower fuel costs and quicker turnarounds.
Allegiant's load factor, the percentage of full seats on a given flight, also surpassed 90 percent. Full flights also add to profitability.
Allegiant Travel Co., the airline's parent, released the traffic data Wednesday morning.
Greenberg Traurig will add 17 lawyers to staff
The multinational law firm Greenberg Traurig said Wednesday that it would add 17 lawyers to its Las Vegas office.
Among the 17 are former partners and shareholders in local powerhouse firm Kummer Kaempfer Bonner Renshaw & Ferrario, including Mike Bonner, Tom Kummer, John Brewer and Mark Ferrario.
The local office of Florida-based Greenberg Traurig has 42 lawyers with the additions.
The new hires also add practices in gaming law, mergers and acquisitions, federal securities law and appellate law to Greenberg Traurig's existing practices such as intellectual property law, entertainment and Internet law and business reorganization managers.
NEW YORK
Chrysler sale of assets to Fiat halted by court
A federal appeals court has halted Chrysler's sale of the bulk of its assets to Italy's Fiat pending an appeal by a trio of Indiana state pension and construction funds.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit said late Tuesday it will hear arguments in the case Friday in New York, according to the Indiana treasurer's office. Chrysler LLC had hoped to close the sale by the end of week, pending regulatory approval.
Chrysler has maintained that the deal with Fiat Group SpA is its only hope of avoiding selling itself off piece by piece. If the sale doesn't close by June 15, Fiat can pull out of the deal.
NEW YORK
Economic enthusiasm wanes; Treasurys rise
Treasury prices recovered Wednesday as stock investors reined in their enthusiasm about the U.S. economy.
The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note fell to 3.54 percent from 3.64 percent as its price rose 0.75 points to 96.47.
The yield on the 30-year bond fell to 4.44 percent from 4.49 percent late Tuesday as its price rose 0.72 points to 96.72.
