IN BRIEF
NV Energy lawsuit may yield refund for valley customers
Local power utility NV Energy has filed a lawsuit that could result in a refund for its Southern Nevada customers.
NV Energy filed the complaint in Washoe County District Court. The lawsuit seeks to overturn a Nevada Department of Taxation finding that NV Energy isn't entitled to a refund of use taxes it paid on coal it bought from 2002 to 2006 to fire its Nevada power plants. NV Energy wants a refund of $14.4 million in Southern Nevada and $11.5 million in Northern Nevada, plus interest. A portion of the refunds would go to consumers, while a separate entity would receive a share due to joint-venture and power-purchase arrangements.
The Taxation Department denied the use-tax refund because NV Energy bought the coal from mines in Utah, Wyoming and Colorado, so the company didn't have to pay the net-proceeds levy that comes with buying resources mined in Nevada.
NV Energy contends that Nevada law prevents the state from charging use tax on the purchase of coal from mines outside Nevada. NV Energy also holds that imposing a use tax on the utility's out-of-state coal purchases puts it at a competitive disadvantage to utilities that use Nevada-produced fuel sources and thus don't have to pay a sales or use tax on that energy.
Las Vegas apartment vacancy rises slightly in November
CB Richard Ellis brokerage in Las Vegas reported apartment vacancy rose to 11.28 percent in November, up from 11.19 percent in October.
Class C, or low-end apartments, showed 14.14 percent vacancy for 28,070 units; Class B was 12.08 percent vacancy for 43,000 units; and Class A vacancy was 7.97 percent for 34,703 units.
Average asking rent for an apartment in Las Vegas is $840 a month, according to a third-quarter report from Applied Analysis. That's down from $857 the previous quarter and $890 a year ago.
With rents at a level not seen since first quarter 2006 and unemployment at a record-high 13 percent, apartment properties continue to see a downward trend in rental income, the report said.
The highest average rents were found in the southwest valley at $994 a month, with the lowest rents in the northeast at $708 a month. Occupancy was highest in the southeast (92.4 percent) and lowest in the northwest (89 percent), Applied Analysis reported.
ATLANTIC CITY
Resorts Atlantic City nearly completes ownership shift
Don't pay your mortgage, and eventually the bank will own your home. That's what's likely to happen to Resorts Atlantic City, which enjoys a special spot on the national gambling scene as the first U.S. casino outside Nevada.
Unable to make debt payments for more than a year, Resorts late Wednesday had nearly finished handing itself over to a newly formed company consisting of its main lenders, including Wells Fargo.
The ownership transfer follows Resorts' agreement to let its lenders have the casino if they cancel nearly $381 million in debt.
Documents were being exchanged and signed Wednesday evening, but a spokesman for the state Casino Control Commission said all the necessary paperwork may not be signed until this morning.
The new company, RAC Atlantic City Holdings LLC, says it wants to sell Resorts Atlantic City quickly. But with financing tight and consumers, including gamblers, still holding onto their wallets, that may not happen soon.
WASHINGTON
Wholesale inventories boosted during October
Businesses unexpectedly added to wholesale inventories in October, breaking a record string of 13 straight declines. It was a hopeful sign that companies will begin restocking depleted store shelves and help bolster the fragile economic recovery.
Wholesale inventories rose 0.3 percent in October, the Commerce Department said Wednesday, beating economists' expectations of a 0.5 percent decline. Inventories fell 0.8 percent in September.
Wholesale sales rose 1.2 percent in October, also stronger than the 0.7 percent rise economists expected. It followed a 1.3 percent increase in September and marked the seventh straight month that sales at the wholesale level have risen.
CHARLOTTE, N.C.
Bank of America repays relief program money
Bank of America Corp. said Wednesday it has repaid the entire $45 billion it owed U.S. taxpayers as part of the Troubled Asset Relief Program.
Bank of America, which announced its agreement with the U.S. Treasury to repay TARP last week, funded the repayment through a combination of cash on hand and the sale of $19.29 billion of securities that would convert into common stock. The stock increase remains subject to shareholder approval.
In a statement, CEO Ken Lewis said the company cleared a key hurdle in demonstrating the economy's broader health, and said the bank looks "forward to continuing to play a key role in the economic recovery."
ATLANTA
Delta Air Lines executive sees more revenue improvement
Delta Air Lines Inc. expects the improving revenue environment to continue in the months ahead, though sales of premium seats remain pressured.
Chief Financial Officer Hank Halter told investors at a conference Wednesday in New York that Delta's revenue per available seat mile likely will grow sometime in 2010's first half. He said the rate of decline has slowed.
Analysts are watching airlines' revenue projections carefully as an indicator of when the economic recovery may gain steam.
Horizon Casino in Mississippi reduces operations and staff
The Horizon Casino, the only gaming house in downtown Vicksburg, has cut back its operations and let some employees go.
The Vicksburg Post reports the casino, on a riverboat at the City Front, has shut down two floors and all table games, such as blackjack and craps.
The owner, Tropicana Entertainment, referred questions to Mayor Paul Winfield. Winfield's office said layoffs were confirmed by the company but only as "in excess of 20 but less than 100."
Tropicana also owns Lighthouse Casino in Greenville and properties in Las Vegas and Atlantic City.
The casino opened as Harrah's in 1993 as the state's first hotel-casino combination and as Vicksburg's second casino.
