LITTLE ROCK — QUOTE OF THE DAY "It's not uncommon that hotels make the decision
that it doesn't make financial sense to keep the fifth star and to instead reposition the hotel." Mark Woodworth, president of PKF Hospitality Research, talking about hotel ratings.
Article, 1DEntergy readies new transmission center
JACKSON, Miss. - Entergy Corp., as part of a plan to decentralize its operations from New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina, is opening a new transmission operations center in the Jackson area.
Entergy spokesman Michael Burns said Tuesday that positions would be shifted from all of Entergy's service areas in Louisiana and Arkansas. Some of the positions will involve transmission contractors, Burns said.
In April 2006, after locating its post-storm headquarters in Jackson, Entergy returned to New Orleans and announced a decentralization program for many of its operations. At that time, the company said it would shift some transmission functions to Jackson.
In October 2007, Entergy announced a $25 million plan to build a transmission operations center in Jackson that would take in 200 employees.
To further decentralize its New Orleans operation, Entergy also established a billing center in Hammond, La., and an information technology operations center in Little Rock.
In addition to being forced to move its headquarters temporarily to Jackson after Katrina's flooding, the Entergy New Orleans unit underwent bankruptcy reorganization after losing virtually its entire customer base because of the city's evacuation.
Jackson also serves as the home of Entergy Nuclear, which operates six nuclear generators that produce power for the wholesale market. Entergy is trying to gain regulatory approval of a spinoff of those plants into a separate company to be known as Enexus Energy Corp.
Bud, Miller beer makers to raise prices
The nation's top brewers said Tuesday that they plan to raise prices this fall, even as some of their top brands are seeing sales volume drop.
Anheuser-Busch, maker of Bud Light and Budweiser, and MillerCoors, maker of Blue Moon and Miller Light, both say they're going to raise prices.
But neither brewer would say how big the increases would be.
Pete Marino, a spokesman for MillerCoors, said the increases will be made on a local basis, depending on the market.
"Pricing has been very strong on the MillerCoors portfolio, and we believe that we can take a moderate price increase in the fall," he said.
Price increases have been helping insulate revenue results for MillerCoors, a pairing of SABMiller's U.S. unit and Coors Brewing Co., from the increasing trend of consumers limiting their spending.
Anheuser-Busch said in a statement it plans on raising prices on a majority of its volume in the bulk of its markets this fall, too, to cover some increases in its costs.
"The markets have been assessed, and we'll be acting on a by-market, by-brand and by-package basis," according to the statement from the company, the St. Louis-based North American unit of Anheuser-Busch InBev.
Sales of Miller Lite - MillerCoors' flagship - and Bud Light - the top brand for Anheuser-Busch - have both been suffering amid the recession.
Apple sets Friday debut for Mac upgrade
SAN JOSE, Calif. - Apple has announced it is releasing its latest Macintosh operating system, Snow Leopard, on Friday.
The new software upgrade, offered at $29, is focused more on improving the "plumbing" of the operating system to take advantage of next-generation Intel chips. But Snow Leopard is expected to lay the foundation for future innovations tied to new chip development.
The company says the new operating system comes with "hundreds of refinements, new core technologies" and support for Microsoft Exchange.
In a note to investors, Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster called Snow Leopard "a minor upgrade" and as much about marketing as new technology.
"Apple is promoting the Mac platform as a superior alternative to Windows in terms of newer technology, more frequently, for less money," he wrote. "The release of Snow Leopard is not about new features; rather, it is about keeping Mac users up to date with the latest technology versus [Microsoft's] Windows XP and Vista users on antiquated technology."
Microsoft said its next-generation operating system, Windows 7, will go on sale Oct. 22. Apple executives had previously said Snow Leopard would be released next month.
Sony plans wireless-input Kindle rival
NEW YORK - Sony plans to offer an e-book reader with the ability to wirelessly download books. That adopts a key feature of the Kindle from Amazon.com and enhances the competition in a small but fast-growing market.
The $399 Reader Daily Edition will be on the market by December, Sony executives said Tuesday at an event at the New York Public Library. The device, which has a 7-inch touchscreen, will be able to get books, daily newspapers and other reading material over AT&T Inc.'s cellular network.
Sony has produced e-book reading devices with "electronic ink" displays for the U.S. market since 2006 but has seen most of the attention given to Amazon.com Inc., which launched the Kindle in 2007. The latest version of the Kindle - which is not controlled by touching the screen - costs $299 and uses Sprint Nextel Corp.'s wireless network for downloads.
Sony recently announced a "Pocket Edition" e-book reader that retails for $199. Sony also has a $299 touch-screen model.
But neither has wireless capabilities - both have to be connected to a computer to acquire books.
Ex-Citigroup crew wins suit's dismissal
Former Citigroup Inc. officials including ex-Chief Executive Officer Charles Prince on Tuesday won dismissal of a lawsuit claiming they breached their duty to shareholders by making highly risky mortgage-related investments.
U.S. District Judge Sidney Stein in New York dismissed the so-called derivative lawsuit because of flawed pleadings in the shareholders' complaint. He gave the investors a chance to file a new complaint.
The suit points blame to Citigroup officials such as Prince for the bank's loss of billions of dollars from its investment in mortgage and mortgage-related securities. The plaintiffs say they breached their duty to Citigroup shareholders by investing heavily in subprime mortgages, leading to billion-dollar writedowns and a precipitous fall in Citigroup's stock.
Stein dismissed the 2007 lawsuit because the investors who sued failed first to make an adequate demand on Citigroup's board to bring the lawsuit in the bank's name, as required by the law. "Plaintiffs have not shown that demand is excused," Stein wrote in a 24-page opinion.
David Brower, a lawyer for the investors who sued, didn't immediately return a call.
Business, Pages 26 on 08/26/2009