IN BRIEF

TTF Helicopters seeks bankruptcy protection

TTF Helicopters LLC, which provides aerial tours of the Grand Canyon, has sought bankruptcy protection from creditors after the recession caused an almost 10 percent drop-off in visitors to Las Vegas.

Roseland, N.J.-based TTF Helicopters, whose Las Vegas-based units provide chopper tours of the Grand Canyon and boat rides on the Colorado River, listed as much as $10 million each in assets and debts in its Feb. 27 Chapter 11 filing in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Newark, N.J.

The company sought court protection because of a "lack of cash flow due to the unprecedented global economic downturn, which has hindered the tourist industry, especially in Las Vegas," company President Steven Trenk said in court filings.

TTF Helicopters cut its 157-employee work force by 54 percent in 2008 hoping to avoid a bankruptcy filing, Trenk said.

CARSON CITY

Finalists named for tourism panel post

Gov. Jim Gibbons on Monday got the names of three finalists for the $117,000-a-year job of director of the Nevada Commission on Tourism, in line for a dramatic cut under his proposed budget.

The commission forwarded the names of Pasquale Barone, who has been managing director of global sales for Eos Airlines in Purchase, N.Y.; Dann Lewis, who was transportation and tourism manager in the Maine Department of Transportation; and Tom Jensen with Windermere Real Estate in Washington state.

Gibbons has final say on the appointment.

LV Sands cooperates with Chinese inquiry

Las Vegas Sands Corp., the operator of casinos in Macau said it's cooperating with a Chinese foreign-exchange inquiry into some payments made to vendors.

The State Administration of Foreign Exchange in China asked for documents relating to some payments made by units "established to conduct nongaming marketing activities in China and to create goodwill in China and Macau for the company's operations in Macau," the Las Vegas-based company said in a regulatory filing.

Ron Reese, a Las Vegas Sands spokesman, said: "Currency exchange in the People's Republic of China is highly regulated. We do not believe the resolution of this matter will have a material adverse effect on our business."

WASHINGTON

Interest rates decline in Treasury auction

Interest rates on short-term Treasury bills fell in Monday's auction to the lowest levels in a month.

The Treasury Department auctioned $31 billion in three-month bills at a discount rate of 0.28 percent, down from 0.3 percent last week. Another $29 billion in six-month bills was auctioned at a discount rate of 0.44 percent, down from 0.495 percent last week.

GENEVA

Geneva Motor Show will feature big debuts

The Geneva Motor Show will feature more than 130 world premiere presentations as the auto industry tries for a few days at least to dispel some of the gloom clouding its future.

Greener technology is taking a prominent place at the show. General Motors Corp.'s European Adam Opel GmbH subsidiary will roll out the new Ampera, the European relative to the North American Volt, a plug-in hybrid with an onboard gasoline engine.

GM envisions getting a 600-mile range with the technology it calls an electric vehicle range extender.

Volvo will unveil the C30, a car that can run with four different kinds of fuel.

The Swiss design firm Protoscar is presenting an electric concept car called Lampo, Italian for "electrical current."

WASHINGTON

Freddie Mac chief making quick exit

The government-appointed chief executive of Freddie Mac announced Monday that he is stepping down just sixth months into the job. Associates said he was frustrated with the intense scrutiny by federal regulators and the short leash they keep the company on.

David Moffett's resignation comes amid growing losses at the McLean, Va.-based mortgage-finance company. Freddie Mac must decide whether it should follow the path of a private firm trying to make its way back to profitability or that of a government agency whose overriding goal is carrying out public policy.

CHICAGO

HSBC stops writing consumer loans in U.S.

HSBC PLC, Europe's biggest bank, said Monday it will no longer write new consumer loans in the United States and will shut down its U.S. lending unit over the next five years. The decision, caused by the subprime mortgage market's collapse, will cost 6,100 U.S. jobs.

The announcement came as London-based HSBC reported a 70 percent drop in 2008 net profit and said it would raise $17.7 billion in new capital through a share issue.

NEW YORK

Treasury prices rise as traders seek safety

Warren Buffett may be warning of a Treasury bond bubble, but investors took their cues from the stock market Monday. Treasury prices rose.

In late trading, the benchmark 10-year Treasury note rose 1.31 points to 99. Its yield fell to 2.91 percent from 3.04 percent late Friday.

The 30-year bond rose 2.03 to 97.75. Its yield rose to 3.65 percent from 3.72 percent.