IN BRIEF
SEATTLE
Costco Wholesale says earnings up in quarter
Shares of Costco Wholesale Corp. soared Wednesday after the warehouse club retailer reported a 5 percent jump in its fiscal fourth-quarter earnings, driven by a rebound in same-store sales growth, cost-cutting and a tighter returns policy for electronics.
Net income for the 16 weeks ended Sept. 2 rose to $372.4 million, or 83 cents per share, compared with $355.6 million, or 75 cents per share, a year earlier. Results were hurt by a one-time charge of $35.8 million, or 8 cents per share, reflecting a change in how the company accounts for deferred membership fee revenue.
Revenue rose 3 percent to $20.48 billion from $19.88 billion.
The company operates four stores in Southern Nevada.
Pilots at American threaten to strike
American Airlines pilots are threatening to confront the world's largest carrier "on the picket line" during contract talks that will focus on pay and productivity.
Allied Pilots Association officers included the threat in a letter to executives of AMR Corp.'s American. The letter expresses frustration with what the union calls the Fort Worth, Texas-based carrier's push to continue joint efforts to cut costs and boost productivity while ignoring its members' concerns.
American is trying to contain labor costs, its largest expense, as it negotiates new contracts with its three biggest unions. Union workers accepted $1.6 billion in wage, job and benefit cuts in 2003 to save AMR from bankruptcy. Rivals such as UAL Corp.'s United Airlines and Delta Air Lines later slashed their labor costs while under bankruptcy protection.
CLARKSBURG, W.Va.
DuPont told to supply medical monitoring
DuPont Co. must provide medical monitoring for about 7,000 residents who were exposed to arsenic, cadmium and lead contamination from a waste site at a former Harrison County smelter, a jury said Wednesday.
The verdict came in the second phase of the trial of a class action lawsuit filed by 10 residents of Spelter who accused DuPont of deliberately dumping dangerous heavy metals on an industrial site there.
The jury found that DuPont must finance medical monitoring for the next 40 years, said Mike Papantonio, who represents the residents.
"This provides some security for families and their children that DuPont was unwilling to voluntarily provide," he said in a prepared statement.
DuPont spokesman Tim Ireland said the company will continue to defend itself.
DENVER
Vail Resorts food will go additive-free
Skiers and snowboarders lunching at Vail Resorts' restaurants this winter will find a wide array of all-natural burgers, hot dogs and even yogurt without a hint of chemical additives.
The nation's largest ski operator said Wednesday that it will shift away from artificially enhanced products to address increasing consumer demand for healthier food.
Nearly all the lunch offerings at 40 restaurants in the company's five ski resorts will consist of natural and organic products beginning this season. The company typically serves about 2.5 million lunches each winter at Vail, Breckenridge, Beaver Creek and Keystone in Colorado and Heavenly in California.
Vail Resorts has partnered with Coleman Natural Foods and WhiteWave Foods, which manufactures Horizon Organic and Silk products, for the new venture.
LONDON
Cadbury Schweppes will spin off U.S. unit
Cadbury Schweppes PLC appeared to end months of speculation about the future of its U.S. beverage business, announcing Wednesday it would spin off the maker of Snapple and Dr Pepper rather than sell it.
Cadbury said it would issue shares to its own shareholders and list the business on the New York Stock Exchange after faltering credit markets made a sale difficult.
NEW YORK
Treasury prices static amid rate speculation
Treasury prices were little changed Wednesday as investors adjusted to an emerging consensus that the Federal Reserve is unlikely to cut interest rates this month.
The benchmark 10-year Treasury note closed unchanged at 100.78 with a yield of 4.65 percent, unchanged from Tuesday's close.
