IN BRIEF

Casino case to stay in Miami for now

Some local subcontractors of the Fontainebleau Las Vegas were denied Wednesday their motion to move the Chapter 11 case from Florida bankruptcy court in Miami to Nevada.

"The court ... determines that transferring venue of these cases to Nevada would not promote the economic and efficient administration of the bankruptcy estates," U.S. Bankruptcy Judge A. Jay Cristol in Miami said in his order.

A local group of creditors asked for the change, saying the Nevada bankruptcy court is the appropriate place to hear the case since the case will have a significant effect on Southern Nevada and 715 of the project's creditors are in Clark County. The judge said the creditors account for less than 5 percent of the amount of claims.

The case, however, could still be moved to Las Vegas under a separate motion.

Cristol in the order set an evidentiary hearing for Aug. 17 to determine venue by establishing the debtors' principal place of business for the 180 days prior to the June 9 bankruptcy filing.

Planet Hollywood seeks job applicants

Planet Hollywood Worldwide Resorts on Wednesday said the Planet Hollywood Towers, a luxury resort going up next to the company's Planet Hollywood Resort, is recruiting applicants for 800 available jobs.

In a statement, the company said it is taking applications for hourly and salaried positions in hotel operations, housekeeping, food and beverage, security, facilities and guest services for the towers, which will include 1,200 suites and 28 penthouses. The company said it's taking reservations for a mid-October opening.

To find workers, the company will hold a two-day job fair July 30 and July 31.

On July 30, the company will take applications for housekeeping and public-area jobs from for 9 a.m. to noon, and applications for facilities and security jobs from 3 to 5 p.m.

On July 31, the company will take applications for food and beverage, front office and front services jobs from 9 a.m. to noon and applications for management jobs from 3 to 5 p.m.

Job seekers can visit phtowers.com and click on "employment" to learn more about specific jobs or apply online.

Homeowners can meet lenders at workshop

Hope Now Alliance will hold a free workshop Friday and Saturday in North Las Vegas for people who may be at risk of foreclosure.

The workshop gives homeowners a chance to meet face-to-face with mortgage lenders and a HUD-certified counseling agency to work on a solution to help them stay in their home.

Workshop hours are 2 p.m. to 8 p.m. Friday and 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday in the Scottsdale Ballroom at Aliante Station, 7300 Aliante Parkway.

Information regarding qualification for the Obama Administration's Making Home Affordable Program will also be available.

STUTTGART, Germany

Supervisory board for Porsche holds meeting

Porsche Automobil Holding SE's supervisory board held a special meeting late Wednesday, as rumors swirled about a possible takeover by Volkswagen AG, according to a person with knowledge of the talks.

The meeting was held a day before the board of Porsche SE -- which owns Porsche AG and a 51 percent stake in Volkswagen -- planned an extraordinary meeting to talk about the future of both of the companies.

The board of Volkswagen also planned a separate meeting today.

Eli Lilly, Pfizer top forecasts, lift outlooks

Drugmakers Eli Lilly and Pfizer both topped Wall Street expectations for second-quarter earnings and raised their profit outlooks for the full year.

Pfizer said its net income in the quarter ended June 28 was $2.26 billion, or 34 cents per share. That's down from net income of $2.78 billion, or 41 cents per share, a year earlier.

Lilly earned $1.16 billion, or $1.06 per share, in the second quarter, up from $958.8 million, or 88 cents per share, a year earlier.

Both companies raised their full-year earnings forecasts. Lilly now expects adjusted earnings of $4.20 to $4.30 per share this year versus a prior range of $4 to $4.25 per share.

Pfizer now expects adjusted earnings-per-share in a range of $1.90 to $2, up from $1.85 to $1.95.

Chamber helps make drug card available

The Las Vegas Chamber of Commerce on Wednesday announced a partnership with Nevada Drug Card to provide significant savings on prescription drugs to Nevada residents.

In a statement, the chamber said Nevada Drug Card is free to all residents and provides pharmacy savings of up to 75 percent on prescription drugs, with average savings of roughly 30 percent. The program has no restrictions, membership requirements, income requirements or age limitations.

Nevadans can download a free card, search drug pricing and find participating pharmacies at www.nevadadrugcard.com. The card is accepted at more than 50,000 pharmacies nationwide.

The chamber said Nevada Drug Card was launched to help make prescription medicines more affordable, particularly for uninsured and underinsured Nevadans.

The chamber said people who can't get the card online can visit any Albertsons/Sav-on pharmacy and ask the pharmacist to process their prescriptions through the Nevada Drug Card.

ATLANTA

Delta, AirTran report contrasting results

Delta Air Lines Inc. and AirTran Airways posted contrasting financial results, but had a similar message Wednesday about the state of the airline industry: A near-term revenue recovery is unlikely.

Delta's second-quarter loss was equivalent to 31 cents a share, compared with a loss of $1.04 billion, or $2.64 a share, a year earlier when Delta recorded a big noncash charge related to the decline in the carrier's market value.

Excluding merger-related expenses, Delta would have lost $199 million, or 24 cents a share, in the latest quarter.

Revenue rose 27 percent to $7 billion from $5.5 billion a year earlier before Delta completed its acquisition of Northwest.

AirTran's second-quarter profit was equivalent to 56 cents a share, compared to a loss of $14.8 million, or 14 cents a share, a year earlier.

Revenue fell to $603.7 million from $693.4 million.

NEW YORK

Goldman Sachs Group buys back warrants

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. said Wednesday it has repurchased warrants given to the U.S. Treasury under the Troubled Asset Relief Program for $1.1 billion.

The investment bank said it believes the value of the warrants, as determined by the Treasury, was fair.

As part of the Treasury's $10 billion preferred stock investment in the bank last fall, the government received warrants that would have enabled it to buy Goldman shares at a set price in 10 years.

Goldman has already paid back the $10 billion loan, as well as paying $318 million in preferred dividends on the investment.

WASHINGTON

Cancer-causing toxins in electronic cigarettes

Federal health officials said Wednesday they have found cancer-causing ingredients in electronic cigarettes, despite manufacturers' claims the products are safer than tobacco cigarettes.

The Food and Drug Administration said testing of products from two leading electronic cigarette makers turned up several toxic chemicals, including a key ingredient in antifreeze.

FDA scientists said they tested 19 varieties of cigarettes, half of which contained forms of nitrosamine, a carcinogen known to cause cancer in humans. Many products which claimed to contain no nicotine actually had low levels of the stimulant.

Berkshire Hathaway cuts stake in Moody's

Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Inc. reduced its stake in Moody's Corp. by 17 percent after the ratings firm reported seven straight quarterly profit declines. Moody's shares fell 10 percent.

Buffett's firm sold about 8 million shares of the ratings company on the open market this week, Omaha, Neb.-based Berkshire said Wednesday in a regulatory filing. Berkshire remains Moody's largest shareholder, Bloomberg data shows.

Buffett has said Moody's damaged its brand as ratings proved inaccurate, and that he doesn't rely on any outside help in evaluating the creditworthiness of his investments.