Business briefs
0 Comments | Charleston Gazette, The, Jul 15, 2005
Handlebars prompt baby strollers recall
The following product has been recalled:
* About 2,200 baby strollers, manufactured by Sycamore Kids Inc., because the handlebar can crack or break while in use, causing it to detach and posing a risk of injury to young children. The recalled stroller models are the Mountain Buggy Urban Single and Urban Double Jogging strollers. They were sold in baby furniture and baby product stores nationwide and through Web retailers from December 2004 through July 2005. For more information, call the company at (866) 524-8805 or visit www.mountainbuggyusa.com or www.cpsc.gov.
Consumer prices level, spending rises in June
WASHINGTON – Consumer prices in June were well-behaved for a second month, while consumer spending revved up overall economic activity.
Two government reports released Thursday showed that inflationary pressures were contained in June. At the same time, consumers hit the shopping malls and dealer showrooms, spurred by the start of summer and attractive auto incentives.
The Labor Department said the Consumer Price Index was unchanged in June, compared with a decline of 0.1 percent in May. That had been the first outright drop in 10 months.
The spotty performance over the past two months came from sharp declines in gasoline and other energy products, and helped to ease fears that inflationary pressures might be mounting.
Delta leads way in airlines’ fares hike
ATLANTA – Delta Air Lines Inc. blamed persistently high fuel costs Thursday as the nation’s third-biggest carrier raised the cap on its most expensive fares by $100, a move that was quickly matched by several rivals. Airline stocks rose on the news.
Atlanta-based Delta boosted the cap on one-way walk-up fares to $599, up from $499, for economy class and to $699 for first class. The move comes six months after the company announced a ticket price overhaul designed to draw in more business travelers.
The adjustment affects full-fare walk-up and some three-day advance purchases. United Airlines and Continental Airlines matched the move, and other rivals said they were studying it.
Following the nationwide launch of Delta’s fares program in January, other major carriers lowered their most expensive fares as well.
Vioxx trial lawyer labels firm’s ethics ‘Merck-y’
ANGLETON, Texas – The nation’s first Vioxx-related lawsuit to go to trial opened Thursday with the plaintiff’s lawyer contending that Merck & Co. traded its mission of treating sickness for relentless marketing and pursuit of profits.
Attorney Mark Lanier displayed the phrase “Merck-y ethics” on a large screen and promised to skewer the judgment of a company he said knew the popular painkiller could be dangerous years before a study showed it could double risk of heart attack or stroke. That study prompted Merck to voluntarily remove it from the market last year.
In a much more subdued presentation, Merck lawyer David Kiernan, who is also a surgeon, urged jurors to keep an open mind as Merck seeks to show the company didn’t rush a lucrative drug to market and slip shoddy science past the Food and Drug Administration to pump up profits.
Lanier is representing Carol Ernst, whose husband died in his sleep four years ago of an arrhythmia, or irregular heartbeat.
Bush courts N.C. towns in proposed CAFTA pact
BELMONT, N.C. – After suffering through thousands of job losses when textile plants closed after the North American Free Trade Agreement, the people of North Carolina’s mill towns can’t be expected to rally behind another free-trade deal.
But President Bush is coming today to ask for their support anyway. Faced with a threat from Chinese manufacturers and grasping for anything that might turn around the struggling textile industry, some members of his audience may be willing to take a chance.
That’s the Central American Free Trade Agreement, passed last month by the Senate and facing a close upcoming vote in the House. While both of the state’s senators voted in favor of the pact, House members from North Carolina are divided. So are leaders in the state’s textile industry, some of whom invited Bush to Belmont.
Compiled from wire reports.
Qwest CFO guilty of insider trading
DENVER – A former Qwest Communications International Inc. chief financial officer pleaded guilty Thursday to a single count of insider trading, becoming the highest-ranking officer to admit to wrongdoing in a scandal that forced the telephone company to erase billions of dollars in revenue.
Robin Szeliga, 44, faces up to 10 years in prison and a $1 million fine, though sentencing guidelines recommend a term of 15 to 21 months. U.S. District Judge Walker D. Miller delayed formal acceptance of the plea until a Nov. 4 hearing.
Szeliga admitted to improperly selling 10,000 shares of Qwest stock in 2001 for a net profit of $125,000. She sold the stock at $41 per share in April 2001 based on what the government said was nonpublic information
mountain buggy double stroller