IN BRIEF
Unemployment claims call centers add hours
To help handle the high volume of calls for unemployment claims assistance, the Nevada Department of Employment, Training & Rehabilitation's unemployment insurance telephone claim call centers will hold special Saturday hours, taking calls from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. today and Oct. 17.
In a statement, the department said the expanded hours are part of an effort to serve unemployed Nevadans during a time of record unemployment. Nevada's unemployment rate hit a record 13.2 percent in August.
The call center numbers are:
•Southern Nevada, 702-486-0350
•Northern Nevada, 775-684-0350
•Rural Nevada and out-of-state 888-890-8211
The department said normal hours for its unemployment insurance telephone claim centers, 7:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Monday through Friday, will continue until further notice.
Galaxy Gaming gets firm's endorsement
A month after its initial listing on the Over-the-Counter Bulletin Board, Las Vegas-based table game provider Galaxy Gaming has picked up an endorsement from Wall Street.
The Green Baron Report, a micro-cap investor research firm with more than 750,000 subscribers, said Galaxy Gaming, traded under the symbol GLXZ, was its new stock pick.
"(Galaxy) is one we strongly suggest members accumulate as close to our profile price as possible for the long term," Green Baron told investors. "It is very possible Galaxy could rally to over $2 per share by year end, but we really think members should consider putting this one away. Galaxy is managed by who we believe are the best in the business, and they are focused intently on building shareholder value."
On Friday, shares of Galaxy closed unchanged at 50 cents.
NEW YORK
Citigroup selling commodities division
Citigroup Inc. is removing one of the irritants in its relationship with the government, its Phibro commodities trading division that is paying one trader an estimated $100 million this year.
The deal announced Friday carries a tradeoff for Citigroup: While the $250 million sale to Occidental Petroleum Corp. means a bit less government scrutiny, it also means the bank is losing hundreds of millions of dollars in annual income that could help repay $49 billion in bailout money.
Phibro, which makes most of its money through oil and natural gas trades, earned an average $371 million annually during the past five years. Citigroup sold it for about $250 million, which means Occidental could recoup its investment in less than a year.
A Citigroup official with knowledge of the deal said the bank wanted to dispose of Phibro by year's end.
Citigroup shares fell 2 cents, or 0.43 percent, Friday to close at $4.63 on the New York Stock Exchange.
VALLEY FORGE, Pa.
Vanguard temporarily closes fund to investors
Investment manager and mutual fund company Vanguard on Friday said it is temporarily closing its top-performing fund for 2009 to new investors.
The company called it a "cooling off" period for the $742 million Vanguard Capital Value Fund, which posted a total return of 68.5 percent through the first nine months of the year.
Vanguard said assets in the fund have more than tripled since the start of the year because of market appreciation and new investments.
WASHINGTON
August trade deficit narrows unexpectedly
The U.S. trade deficit unexpectedly narrowed in August as exports posted a small gain, while imports fell on a big drop in demand for foreign oil.
The fourth straight monthly rise in exports was a sign that the global economy has started to recover from a severe recession that began in the United States and spread to other parts of the world. But many economists expect the deficit to rise in coming months on the back of a rebounding U.S. economy, which will start importing more foreign products.
The Commerce Department said Friday that the trade deficit declined 3.5 percent to $30.7 billion, surprising economists who had expected higher oil prices to push the imbalance to $33 billion.
ATLANTIC CITY
Revenue falls more slowly for casinos
Revenue is still falling for Atlantic City's 11 casinos, but at least the plunge is slowing down.
Revenue from the gambling halls in September fell by 5.8 percent compared with a year ago. That was far better than the more than 16 percent drop recorded in August.
The casinos took in $335.4 million last month. Revenues increased at four casinos.
For the first nine months of the year, Atlantic City's casino revenues are down 14.2 percent.
How's this for eyeballs: 1 billion YouTube views
Google Inc.'s YouTube, the video Web site that's working to become profitable, said it is recording more than 1 billion views a day.
YouTube's bandwidth has increased along with the quality of videos shown on the site, Chad Hurley, the site's chief executive officer, said Friday in a blog posting. Google acquired the San Bruno, Calif.-based company three years ago for $1.65 billion.
Google's sites accounted for more than 10 billion videos viewed in the United States in August, 40 percent of the market, research firm ComScore Inc. reported. Microsoft Corp., its closest competitor, showed 546.5 million.
