Weekly interest and loan rates | Northwest stock contest 2003 Tax tips | Consumer affairs | Home values

Business Digest
U.S. will refund $1 billion to Boeing in tax settlement

E-mail this article Print this article Search archive

CHICAGO — Boeing will receive a $1.1 billion refund from the U.S. government for a settlement of tax disputes from 1992 to 1997.

The refund follows a routine review of taxes paid in previous years.

The settlement may increase fourth-quarter net income by $700 million, or 87 cents a share, Boeing said in a regulatory filing. Cash generated by the company's operations in the fourth quarter will increase by $1.1 billion, it said.

Chicago-based Boeing last month forecast a net loss for 2003 of 12 cents to 2 cents a share and cash flow from operations of $2 billion to $2.5 billion. That forecast didn't reflect the tax settlement. In 2002, the company had net income of $492 million, or 61 cents a share.

Sales jump 11 percent at Starbucks this month

PRINCETON, N.J. — Starbucks, the largest U.S. coffee-shop chain, said sales at stores open at least 13 months climbed 11 percent this month, the biggest increase in three years.

Total revenue rose 29 percent from the year-earlier period to $387 million in the four weeks ended Nov. 23, the Seattle company said.

Starbucks has been adding specialty drinks and increasing speed of its service with new espresso machines and by adding staffers at peak hours. It also introduced a new credit-card version of its debit card.

American Seafoods won't market IPO until January

SEATTLE — American Seafoods Group says it won't begin marketing its planned $675.2 million initial-public offering until January at the earliest.

The company, the nation's largest harvester and at-sea processor of pollock and the largest U.S. catfish processor, filed in May to sell up to $450 million in hybrid debt-stock securities as part of a complex recapitalization. The size of the offering was bumped up in July and again in October, but it has appeared to make little headway even as the IPO market has begun to heat back up. The company did not respond to a request for comment.

American Seafoods also extended a related tender offer for certain notes, which had been set to expire last week, to Jan. 9. Although all the outstanding notes had been tendered, that deal cannot be concluded until the IPO and recapitalization are complete.

Kirkland office of IKS to close; 55 to lose jobs

SEATTLE — International Knife & Saw, a Kentucky-based producer of industrial knives and saws, will close its Kirkland office and lay off 55 workers by June.

The move comes after the October merger of International Knife & Saw (IKS) with Simonds Industries, a manufacturer of industrial cutting tools in Fitchburg, Mass. The new company, Simonds International, will be headquartered in Fitchburg.

IKS and Simonds company officials did not return calls for comment.

Court hearing postponed over broker for Eddie Bauer

SEATTLE — A bankruptcy-court hearing on whether The Spiegel Group can hire a broker to market the Redmond headquarters of its subsidiary, Eddie Bauer, was postponed yesterday until Dec. 16.

Spiegel, based in Downers Grove, Ill., is seeking court approval to hire CB Richard Ellis to determine the market value of the three-building campus. Spiegel, which is in bankruptcy reorganization, is trying to raise cash.

If Spiegel sells the campus, it could lease some or all of it back, or it could decide to move Eddie Bauer's 550 employees to another location.

In a separate filing, Spiegel asked a federal court yesterday for additional time to file its audited financial statements for the 2002 fiscal year and the first three quarters of 2003. The company is asking for an extension from Dec. 3 until April 7.

Puget Energy seeks OK to purchase electricity

CHICAGO — Puget Energy is seeking approval from Washington state regulators to buy 355 megawatts of electricity to meet rising demand from customers.

The Bellevue-based utility wants either to buy a portion of a power plant or to sign long-term contracts for the supplies by 2005. One megawatt can supply about 800 typical U.S. homes.

State regulators two weeks ago approved the utility's request to buy 150 megawatts of power generated by wind. Utilities in the state are seeking long-term contracts for power to avoid price surges when drought reduces hydroelectric output.

Tully's Coffee expands Dean & DeLuca partnership

SEATTLE — After a 13-store trial run, Tully's Coffee has expanded its partnership with specialty food retailer Dean & DeLuca.

The coffee chain, which began selling Dean & DeLuca products at select stores in September, will now sell items such as nuts, candies and dried fruits at all 99 Tully's locations.

Nation / World

Tyco jurors get video tour of lavish N.Y. apartment

NEW YORK — The jury deciding the fate of Dennis Kozlowski yesterday was given a videotaped tour of his $16.8 million apartment as prosecutors displayed the lavish lifestyle of the former Tyco International chairman.

Kozlowski, on trial for looting Tyco of $600 million, is accused of using the conglomerate's funds to buy the apartment at 950 Fifth Ave. in 2001 without board approval.

Defense lawyers didn't want the videotape shown, saying it was designed to "frighten, stir up and inflame economic prejudice" against Kozlowski.

Manhattan Supreme Court Judge Michael Obus allowed jurors to see the 15-minute video of the apartment's interior, which showed the apartment's much-publicized $6,000 shower curtain, a sore spot for investors burned in last year's collapse of Tyco shares.

Biggest lumber producer in Canada to buy competitor

PRINCETON, N.J. — Canfor, Canada's biggest lumber producer, agreed to buy competitor Slocan Forest Products for $340 million in stock to help it cut costs and cope with U.S. duties on Canadian lumber.

The acquisition will save Canfor about $60 million annually and will add to earnings in the first year. Canadian sawmill operators have closed inefficient mills and cut costs after the United States last year imposed 27 percent tariffs on $7 billion in annual Canadian shipments of softwood lumber.

Compiled from Seattle Times business staff and Bloomberg News.

Copyright © 2003 The Seattle Times Company