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Business Digest
Fisher Communications reports sharp rise in profit

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The result snapped a string of quarterly losses. For the full year, the Seattle-based broadcasting and media company posted a profit of $8.2 million, or 96 cents a share, compared with a loss of $66.7 million in 2002.

The company used money from sales of two television stations in Georgia and other property to pay debt down to $129 million at year-end, compared with about $290 million in 2002.

Fisher said losses from continuing operations totaled $6 million for the fourth quarter and $14.8 million for the year. Revenue figures weren't released, but will be included in Fisher's full earnings report to be filed in coming days.

Albertsons to get expansion of Coinstar service in stores

BELLEVUE — Coinstar, the Bellevue producer of coin-counting machines, signed an agreement with Albertsons to expand distribution of its machines and offer increased services, the company said yesterday. Albertsons represented about 13 percent of Coinstar's revenue last year.

Coinstar has machines in more than 1,400 Albertsons supermarkets and expects to have 600 more installed in Albertsons' drug stores, including Osco Drug and Sav-on, and supermarkets by March 2005.

Boise, Idaho-based Albertsons operates 2,300 retail stores in 31 states.

The deal comes is timely for Coinstar. Safeway, the company's third-largest customer, decided last July that it no longer wanted Coinstar's machines in its stores and would offer an alternative service. The grocery chain had represented 10 percent of Coinstar's business.

Starbucks names president of its international division

PRINCETON, N.J. — Starbucks, the largest U.S. coffee-shop chain, named Martin Coles president of its international division, replacing Peter Maslen, who resigned nine months ago for health reasons.
 
Coles, who will take over in mid-April, was most recently the president and chief executive of Reebok International's Reebok brand, Seattle-based Starbucks said.

Prior to Reebok, Coles held several positions at Nike and has worked at Gateway, Letsbuyit.com, Pepsico's U.S. bottling operations and Procter & Gamble. Starbucks, which in January opened its first store in Paris, plans to open 1,300 stores this year, including 425 outside the U.S.

Venture Financial to buy asset-management firm

SEATTLE — Venture Financial Group, the Olympia-based parent of Venture Bank, said it is buying Washington Asset Management, a Tacoma wealth-management company.

The acquired firm will joined Venture's existing investment arm, which manages $60 million in assets. The transaction is scheduled to close by the end of the month. Financial terms weren't disclosed.

Venture has 20 offices in Pierce, Thurston, Grays Harbor and Lewis counties. Washington Asset Management will continue to operate its offices in Tacoma and Olympia.

Oregon's jobless rate lowest since Sept. 2001

PORTLAND — The Oregon unemployment rate fell to 7.1 percent in February, its lowest level since September 2001, the clearest sign yet that the state economy is recovering.

The unemployment rate fell more than a half a point from 7.7 percent in January, with job growth in all three major industries — construction, manufacturing, and educational-and-health services.

Overall, seasonally adjusted nonfarm payroll employment rose by 4,800 jobs statewide in February after a drop of 7,400 jobs in January, with each of the three major industries growing by about 1,200 jobs over the month.

Nationally, the unemployment rate held steady at 5.6 percent in February. Washington state's jobless rate was 6.5 percent in January; the February data will be released Tuesday.

Boeing Capital appoints new chief financial officer

NEW YORK — Boeing Capital said yesterday that Chief Financial Officer Steve Vogeding would be replaced by Russ Evans, who had been acting as deputy CFO.

Vogeding was named vice president at the company's Transition Management & Operations Integration unit.

Nation / World

Greenspan: Higher taxes may be needed, but painful

WASHINGTON — Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan said yesterday that tax increases probably will be needed in combination with benefit cuts to close the massive funding gap faced by Social Security.

For the good of the economy, he said, Congress needs to get most of the savings by trimming benefits.

Greenspan sparked a political uproar two weeks ago when he said the government will not be able to afford all the benefits promised to future Social Security retirees. He was criticized by Democrats for continuing to support making President Bush's tax cuts permanent while at the same time endorsing cuts in retirement benefits expected by 77 million baby boomers.

Yesterday, Greenspan said he believed that a tax increase would be needed to close the funding gap in Social Security. But he urged Congress to do as much as possible first by trimming benefits because of the harm higher taxes would cause the economy.

SEC seeks fuller disclosure about mutual-fund managers

WASHINGTON — Investors in mutual funds would get detailed information on the managers of fund portfolios under new rules proposed by federal regulators yesterday as they target fund-industry abuses.

Members of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) voted 5-0 at a public meeting to propose new requirements for fund companies to disclose the identities of members of portfolio-management teams, as well as their compensation and whether they own shares in the funds they manage.

The SEC commissioners also adopted new requirements for the special reports that companies must file with the agency to disclose significant developments. The changes add new developments that will trigger a report, including a restatement of earnings and the sort of off-the-books transactions that figured in Enron's accounting scandal.

The new requirements take effect in August.

Judge holds off on setting trial date in Enron case

HOUSTON — A federal judge said yesterday he would wait to set a trial date for former Enron CEO Jeffrey Skilling and former chief accounting officer Richard Causey until prosecutors and defense attorneys get a better idea of how long they need to prepare.

But U.S. District Judge Sim Lake said he would rule next week on whether to lighten up on his order freezing cash and property alleged to have come from ill-gotten gains before the company's collapse.

Skilling, 50, is the highest-ranking former Enron executive indicted so far in the scandal. Charged with fraud, conspiracy and insider trading, Skilling is accused of participating in widespread schemes to mislead government regulators and investors about the company's earnings.

Causey faces the same charges accusing him of being the "principle architect" of schemes to manipulate finances.

Both men have pleaded not guilty and are free on bond.

Prosecutors want to seize Skilling's $4.7 million mansion, a $500,000 Dallas townhouse he bought for his daughter, and more than $50 million in bank and brokerage accounts. Prosecutors also are seeking more than $4 million in cash and securities in Causey's name, as well as his $950,000 home.

Compiled from Seattle Times business staff, Bloomberg News, The Associated Press and Reuters.

Copyright © 2004 The Seattle Times Company