In Brief
CARSON CITY
High court denies petition to topple power plant approval
The Nevada Supreme Court denied a petition Tuesday by the state consumer protection bureau to overturn a regulatory board's approval of a power plant project.
In a nine-page ruling, a three-judge panel said the Public Utility Commission's action allowing Nevada Power Co. to build the Harry Allen natural gas-fired generating plant in Southern Nevada was supported by evidence and testimony.
The consumer bureau had argued the PUC failed to adequately consider a less expensive plan to buy the nearby Apex Plant when it approved the power company's plan to build the $682 million Harry Allen project in 2008.
The consumer bureau, part of the attorney general's office, asked the commission to reconsider. When regulators declined, bureau lawyers filed a petition in state court seeking a judicial review of the proceedings, which also was denied. They then appealed to the Nevada Supreme Court.
As investors seek safety, prices for gold settle at record
Gold prices settled at a record high Tuesday as investors looked for a safety net after sorting through a batch of mixed economic news.
Gold for delivery in December also got a helping hand from a weaker dollar as it rose 14.8 percent to settle at $1,310.30 an ounce on the Chicago Board of Trade.
It's the latest in a series of recent record-setting days for gold as investors seek alternatives to the jittery stock market as prospects for the economy remain uncertain. Many analysts expect the price to continue to climb.
NEW YORK
Added stores help increase quarterly profits for Walgreen
Walgreen Co., the largest drugstore chain in the U.S., said Tuesday its profit rose 8 percent in the fiscal fourth quarter as it boosted sales by adding more than 500 stores.
The Deerfield, Ill., company reported net income of $470 million, or 49 cents per share, for the quarter. That's up from $436 million, or 44 cents per share, a year earlier. Analysts on average expected earnings of 44 cents per share, according to a Thomson Reuters poll.
Revenue rose 7.5 percent to $16.87 billion from $15.7 billion as the company continued to expand, also topping analysts' $16.84 billion average estimate.
SAN FRANCISCO
To expand news production, AOL will buy TechCrunch
AOL Inc. said Tuesday that it will buy technology blog TechCrunch and its sister sites for an undisclosed amount in a bid to expand its news production.
AOL CEO Tim Armstrong and TechCrunch founder Michael Arrington made the announcement onstage at TechCrunch's Disrupt conference in San Francisco. They signed the acquisition agreement in front of the audience.
The deal includes the flagship TechCrunch blog, which Arrington began in 2005 as a channel for startup news. It also includes blogs such as MobileCrunch, CrunchGear and CrunchBase.
According to TechCrunch's website, more than 10 million people visit its sites each month.
TechCrunch will remain in San Francisco, and Arrington said he expects to stay with the company for at least three years.
ATLANTIC CITY
Executive Juliano leaving Trump Entertainment
Mark Juliano, who guided Trump Entertainment Resorts out of its third Chapter 11 filing, is leaving the company.
The Atlantic City casino company announced Tuesday it will replace him with Robert Griffin, president and CEO of MTR Gaming Group Inc., which owns casinos in West Virginia, Pennsylvania and Ohio.
He is expected to take over in late October or early November.
Marc Lasry, Trump Entertainment's board chairman, praised Griffin as "an experienced gaming executive with extensive knowledge of the industry and hands-on operational experience."
Juliano, who worked as president of Caesars Palace in Las Vegas before joining Trump in 2005, did not immediately return a call seeking comment Tuesday.
He also serves as president of the Casino Association of New Jersey.
WASHINGTON
Justice Roberts sells off stock holdings in Pfizer
The Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday that Chief Justice John Roberts Jr. recently sold his stock holdings in Pfizer Inc. The move clears him to participate in two cases involving the drug maker that are pending on the Supreme Court's docket.
Roberts, through a court spokeswoman, told the Journal that he sold his Pfizer holdings Aug. 31.
Roberts' participation, the Journal said, means the court will be less short-handed in the coming Pfizer cases, which will be without new Justice Elena Kagan.
She is recused in the Pfizer cases, the Journal said, and is sitting out several cases this term because she was involved with them when she served as U.S. solicitor general.
KANSAS CITY, Mo.
Hallmark, Hilton settle lawsuit over card's use of catch phrase
Hallmark Cards Inc. says a greeting card using Paris Hilton's "that's hot" catch phrase and image was meant as a parody. But the celebrity socialite apparently didn't appreciate the humor.
The Kansas City-based greeting card giant and the hotel heiress have reached a settlement in a 3-year-old lawsuit over the card, a company spokeswoman said Tuesday.
The deal was sealed, and Hallmark spokeswoman Julie O'Dell declined to provide details. Hilton's lawsuit had sought a half-million dollars.
"All I can say is we did settle," O'Dell said. "We were able to reach a mutually acceptable conclusion."
Hilton's attorneys had said the company misappropriated Hilton's image and her catch phrase, which she trademarked in 2007, months before the lawsuit was filed against Hallmark.
