Lowe's expanding Katrina cottages
NEW ORLEANS —Katrina cottages, the homier alternative to cramped federally issued trailers, may soon pop up as second homes or mountain getaways far from the hurricane-battered Gulf Coast.
Home-improvement retailer Lowe's began selling cottage blueprints for $700 on its Web site late last month. Until then, blueprints were available only at stores in Louisiana and Mississippi, the two states hit hardest by Katrina, Lowe's spokeswoman Abby Buford said Wednesday.
Lowe's will be the exclusive retailer of the Katrina cottage design, Buford said. Costs for materials begin at about $30,000, Buford said, and that doesn't include a building site and construction expenses. Houses can be built in as little as six weeks, Buford said, and prospective buyers have 11 layouts and styles to choose from — seven more than earlier available to hurricane-displaced residents.
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Liz Claiborne redo
Liz Claiborne Inc. is undergoing a major makeover, pegging its future to fewer but more powerful brands with names like Juicy Couture and Lucky Brand Jeans.
The New York-based apparel maker, facing a declining department store business and changing consumer tastes, announced plans to cut as many as 800 jobs, or up to 9 percent of its work force, and is considering whether to sell, license or shut down 16 brands.
The brands under review include Ellen Tracy, Dana Buchman and J.H. Collectibles and account for about $800 million of the company's projected annual sales of $5 billion.
Gas prices increase 2.5 cents overnight
Gas prices jumped 2.5 cents at the pump overnight Tuesday as the closure of two refineries in the Midwest continued to curb gasoline supplies in the Midwest and Plains states.
Oil and gasoline futures, meanwhile, settled lower after a government inventory report presented a mixed picture of the domestic refining industry.
The closure of a refinery in Coffeyville, Kan., due to flooding and the shutdown of a huge piece of oil-processing equipment at a BP PLC refinery in Whiting, Ind., have pushed gas prices in the center of the country higher in recent days, in turn forcing the national average up, analysts say.
Retail prices jumped another 2.5 cents overnight Tuesday to a national average of $3 a gallon, according to AAA and the Oil Price Information Service.
$25B Sallie Mae buyout imperiled
A planned $25 billion buyout of the nation's largest student-loan lender, Sallie Mae, could fail because of legislation pending in Congress, the potential buyers have said.
SLM Corp., more commonly know as Sallie Mae, said it disagreed with the investment group's assertion and it would proceed with the deal as swiftly as possible to protect its investors.
The proposed legislation would cut in half the interest rate on government-backed student loans — a move that would be paid for by a roughly $19 billion reduction in federal subsidies to student lenders like Sallie Mae.
Chinese economy keeps red-hot pace
China's sizzling economy grew even faster in 2006 than previously reported, bringing it closer to overtaking Germany as the world's third-biggest, and its export-fueled foreign reserves have risen to a new high of $1.33 trillion, according to official figures.
The announcements reflect China's stunning success but could fuel fears of overheating and prompt Beijing to boost interest rates or tighten economic controls to cool the boom.
Wal-Mart targets youthful thieves
Wal-Mart Stores Inc. is recommending its stores prosecute shoplifters at a younger age, tightening guidelines for store managers as it seeks to put a cap on rising theft that has eroded its profit.
Wal-Mart lowered the age at which it recommends stores prosecute first-time shoplifters to 16 from 18.
The change comes two months after Wal-Mart said an increase in shoplifting, employee theft and other inventory loss was among factors hurting profitability in the first quarter.
Yum Brands' profits go up by 12 percent
Fast-food giant Yum Brands Inc. said its second-quarter profit rose by 12 percent amid ongoing growth in its international business that offset an essentially flat U.S. performance.
For the three months that ended June 16, the operator of KFC, Taco Bell and Pizza Hut posted net income of $214 million, or 39 cents per share, compared with $192 million, or 34 cents a share, in the year-ago period.
Genentech extends its earnings streak
Genentech Inc., one of the world's largest biotechnology companies, continued a positive earnings streak, posting a 41 percent boost in second-quarter profit Wednesday on sales of its blockbuster cancer drugs.
The company earned $747 million, or 70 cents per share, compared with profit of $531 million, or 49 cents per share, during the year-ago period.