IN BRIEF

Convicted cheater put in 'Black Book'

Nevada gambling regulators have permanently banned a convicted cheater from entering casinos in the state.

Nevada Gaming Commission Executive Secretary Brian Duffrin in Carson City said Thursday the panel unanimously approved Michael McNeive's inclusion in "The List of Excluded Persons" for the state, also known as the "Black Book."

McNeive became the 36th person on the list. Duffrin says he didn't appear at the commission hearing on a recommendation by the state Gaming Control Board.

McNeive pleaded guilty to having a cheating device at Harrah's Laughlin in 2001. In 2003, he pleaded guilty to trying to cheat a slot machine at a Rite Aid drugstore in Las Vegas.

The list dates to 1960, when regulators created it to combat organized crime.

Las Vegas Hilton gets loan extension

The owners of the Las Vegas Hilton have some financial breathing room after extending the maturity date of its $250 million loan to June 1, 2011, a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission said.

The loan originated in May 2006 and was set to mature in May 2008. It was extended until June 2, 2009. Since June 2, the property has been negotiating the extension. The original loan was for two years with three one-year extensions.

The original loan was used to pay in full a prior $200 million loan that was used for the property's purchase in June 2004.

The owners have made payments and fees totaling $16.25 million connected with the loan amendment, with another $5.03 million due Oct. 30.

Los Angeles-based real estate firm Colony Capital owns 60 percent of the property and Goldman Sachs affiliate Whitehall Street Real Estate Funds controls the rest. The loan amendment with Goldman Sachs Mortgage Co. was disclosed to the federal government on Wednesday.

The 2,956-room hotel-casino reported last week a net loss of $10.6 million and a revenue decline of 40 percent in the second quarter.

LV Sands applies to trade on Asian board

Las Vegas Sands Corp. said Thursday it had formally applied with the Hong Kong Stock Exchange for a listing on the main board of the Asian stock market.

In a brief filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, the operator of The Venetian and Palazzo and three resorts in Macau said the timing and terms of the initial public offering are still to be determined.

In a note to investors, JPMorgan gaming analyst Joe Greff said Las Vegas Sands could raise up to $2 billion by offering up to 30 percent equity in its Macau casinos to back the IPO. Last week, Las Vegas Sands' lenders in Macau gave the company some relief in its loan covenants, which is paving the way for the Hong Kong listing.

Las Vegas Sands has said proceeds from the IPO would be used to resume construction of the company's hotel-casino projects on Macau's Cotai Strip region that were halted last November due to financing issues.

SEATTLE

Some prices rise, some decline at Starbucks

Starbucks Corp. is raising prices on certain harder-to-make beverages -- and cutting the costs for simpler ones like a plain cup of coffee, the company said Thursday.

The price hikes, on average between 10 and 15 cents and as much as 30 cents, took effect Thursday.

"This is as a part of our comprehensive approach to providing the value while balancing our business responsibilities," spokeswoman Valerie O'Neil said.

The increases will be added to "complex" drinks, like the company's frothy blended Frappuccino.

More basic beverages -- the latte and plain coffee, among others -- will see prices decreased by 5 to 15 cents.

More prices will increase under the plan than will be lowered or remain the same.

Starbucks won't say how many cities were affected by Thursday's increase but said the price hikes will eventually roll out nationwide in the coming months.

CHICAGO

Sears Holdings reports loss for second quarter

Once a mainstay in American shopping culture, the parent of Sears and Kmart stores took another step backward Thursday, announcing a surprising second-quarter loss that dimmed hopes about the ailing merchant's future.

Although Sears Holdings Corp. is paying down debt and has a $1.3 billion cash war chest -- enough to give investors confidence in its financial footing for now -- experts say it desperately needs to end years of declining sales if it wants to stay viable.

The company lost $94 million, or 79 cents per share -- its third loss in six quarters -- reversing a profit of $65 million, or 50 cents per share, a year ago.

Sales fell 10.9 percent to $10.55 billion from $11.76 billion.

DETROIT

Undaunted traders keep buying GM stock

Whether it's a matter of ignorance or greed, people are still buying General Motors stock, even though the company and the government have warned that the shares will someday be worthless.

Investors are picking up millions of shares every day, thinking they'll profit from what is really a hodgepodge of outdated factories and a pile of debt left behind when the new General Motors Co. exited bankruptcy court protection.

Instead, they could end up losing money very quickly. The price of the shares, now below $1, has ratcheted up or down as much as 50 cents in one day.

On Thursday, investors traded 13.9 million shares, and the stock closed at 85 cents, down 4.12 percent.

The old GM stock had a higher trading volume than big, viable companies like retailer CVS Caremark Corp., banker Capital One Financial Corp. and consumer products maker Procter & Gamble Co.

DETROIT

Fiat CEO plans Chrysler model cuts

At a Jeep factory in Toledo, Ohio, workers fear that Chrysler's new Italian management will scrap one of the two models they make, costing some of them their jobs.

The same anxiety is felt at Chrysler Group LLC plants around the country as Fiat SpA CEO Sergio Marchionne, who now controls the company, readies a new plan that will include cutting redundant models and adding smaller Fiats to the lineup.

Marchionne has ordered U.S. executives to come up with model cuts so a particular car or truck is sold only under one of the company's three brands, Chrysler, Dodge or Jeep.

At the 2.1 million-square-foot Toledo North Jeep plant, which makes the Dodge Nitro and Jeep Liberty midsize sport utility vehicles, workers are worried that Marchionne will cut the slow-selling Nitro to focus on the Liberty.

"It's not a high volume of sales," said Dan Henneman, chairman of United Auto Workers Local 12, which represents the north plant's 1,100 hourly workers. "We know that for sure. We look at the orders daily for what we build at the plant."

Former UBS manager indicted in crackdown

A former UBS AG manager and a Swiss attorney were indicted Thursday in a widening U.S. crackdown on bankers and lawyers who helped wealthy Americans hide their assets from the U.S. Internal Revenue Service.

Hansruedi Schumacher, a Neue Zuercher Bank manager who once ran the cross-border business for UBS, and Matthias Rickenbach, a Zurich lawyer, were charged with helping Americans evade taxes on UBS and NZB accounts. Two UBS bankers and five of the bank's clients were previously charged with tax crimes in the United States.

The indictment came one day after UBS, the largest Swiss bank, agreed to reveal data on 4,450 accounts to settle a U.S. lawsuit seeking names of Americans suspected of evading taxes. The IRS is pursuing bankers and lawyers beyond UBS, said Commissioner Douglas Shulman.