In Brief
Gold futures advance to record price; spot price climbs
Gold for December delivery rose $9.10 to settle at another record high of $1,355.10 an ounce.
TheStreet.com reported that the gold price traded as high as $1,356.30 and as low as $1,341.10 during Monday's session.
On the New York Mercantile Exchange on Monday, gold prices rose $9.10 to $1,353.30.
"Buyers are using gold and silver to hedge possible losses in purchasing power," RBC Capital Markets Senior Vice President George Gero told TheStreet.
The Wall Street Journal reported that gold prices have surged 24 percent in the past year. Meanwhile, according to the Journal, New York metals research firm CPM Group is predicting global production will grow 3 percent this year.
Analyst sees trouble ahead for MGM Resorts International
One gaming analyst wasn't buying MGM Resorts International's 15 percent increase in its stock price last Friday and is predicting troubles for the Strip casino giant.
In a research note to investors before trading opened on the New York Stock Exchange on Monday, Hudson Securities gaming analyst Robert LaFleur said MGM Resorts' one-day price hike was due solely to the positive August casino revenues reported by Nevada gaming regulators.
On the Strip, where MGM Resorts operates 10 hotel-casinos, gaming revenues jumped 21.1 percent in August. LaFleur said the news sparked a huge rally for many shares within the gaming sector.
On Monday, shares of MGM Resorts fell 8 cents, or 0.59 percent, to close at $13.48.
"Given MGM's lingering balance sheet challenges, we find it hard to imagine a scenario where the shares stage a sustainable and meaningful breakout from these levels," LaFleur said. "The strong August data is a positive development, but it doesn't negate MGM's lingering balance sheet issues."
He said the biggest matter facing the casino operator is its $13 billion of long-term debt.
HONOLULU
Consulting services firm says Hawaii tourism recovering
Hawaii's tourism industry continues to recover from the Great Recession, according to the results of a new survey by a hotel, tourism and real estate consulting services firm.
Hospitality Advisors LLC said Monday that its survey found statewide hotel occupancy averaged 75.7 percent in August, a 6.3 percent increase over August 2009. In contrast, the latest Las Vegas figures show 82 percent occupancy.
It says the average daily room rate rose by 1.8 percent to $181.49 for August.
The firms says the rate increase combined with the occupancy gains to lead to an 11.1 percent increase in Hawaii's room revenues per available room, or RevPAR, to $137.39.
Hospitality Advisors says August results capped a relatively strong summer for 2010 compared with last year's weak summer season due to the severe economic downturn.
NEW YORK
Gymboree agrees to be bought for $1.8 billion by Bain Capital
Children's clothing retailer Gymboree Corp. has agreed to be bought by asset management firm Bain Capital for $1.8 billion in what would be the sixth-largest private equity deal of the year.
Gymboree said Monday that the deal is for $65.40 per share, a 24 percent premium to Gymboree's Friday closing stock price of $52.95. The retailer, based in San Francisco, currently has about 27.3 million shares outstanding.
The news did not come as a surprise; speculation about a potential acquisition had been brewing for a few weeks. Last week a report from The New York Post said Gymboree was seeking a deal between $55 and $60 per share, which the proposed buyout from Bain Capital exceeds. Aside from Bain, the report said KKR, Apax Partners, Irving Place Capital and Apollo Management were all potential bidders.
LONDON
Heathrow Airport reports busiest September on record
Heathrow Airport has reported its busiest September ever, underscoring hopes of a resurgence in the aviation industry.
Airports operator BAA said Monday that 6.22 million people flew from the airport -- Europe's busiest -- last month. That's an increase of 7.6 percent compared to September 2009.
BAA says that much of the rise was driven by a bounce back in business travel as the global recovery picks up pace, with airlines also restarting routes and flights that were axed at the height of the recession.
The most popular routes were to New York, Dubai and Dublin.
BAA says traffic across all six of its British airports -- Heathrow, Stansted, Southampton, Glasgow, Edinburgh and Aberdeen -- rose 3.3 percent year over year to 9.99 million.
GM disputes critics who say Volt isn't a true electric car
General Motors Co., the largest U.S. automaker, is disputing accusations that its low-emission Chevrolet Volt is a hybrid and not a true electric vehicle a month before the car goes on sale, Bloomberg News reported.
Auto critics Edmunds.com, Motor Trend and Popular Mechanics have said that during heavy acceleration the Volt uses its gasoline engine to power an electric generator which helps turn the wheels, similar to how hybrids run. GM said on its website that the car is an extended-range electric vehicle, not a hybrid like Toyota Motor Corp.'s Prius.
GM has promoted the $41,000 Volt as an electric vehicle to give it an image boost over hybrid-electric cars such as the Prius. The Detroit-based automaker has said for three years that the Volt would always run on electric power and more recently said it would average 230 miles per gallon. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency hasn't rated that number, and GM said many consumers may get lower fuel economy.
Bloomberg News said Monday that GM said the engine does assist in driving the car through an electric generator.
Critics at Popular Mechanics and Edmunds both wrote that they consider the Volt a plug-in hybrid and not the electric vehicle that GM has touted for years. The Edmunds review of the car had the headline: "GM Lied: Chevy Volt is not a true EV."
