Reported by Star-Bulletin staff & wire
Wednesday, April 11, 2001
March state tax revenue increases slightly
State tax revenues for March rose slightly to $203.4 million from $203 million in March 2000, according to figures released yesterday by the state Department of Taxation.The revenues bring year-to-date collections for fiscal 2001 to $2.34 billion, a 7.1 percent increase over the same period in 2000. Collections from the state's largest revenue source, the general excise tax, fell 11 percent to $120.4 million in March from $135.3 million in the same month last year.
The drop was largely because the last day of the month, March 31, fell on a Saturday, according to the department. Revenues from the hotel room tax also dropped 24 percent to $12.1 million from $16 million a year earlier.
Cyanotech starts new clinical trial
Kona-based biotechnology firm Cyanotech Corp. has started a new clinical trial to measure how well its BioAstin microalgae product can protect human skin from the sun.The active ingredient in BioAstin, astaxanthin, has been shown in preliminary tests to protect skin cells from aging, the company says.
"If BioAstin is proven to act effectively as a system sunscreen, it could benefit a large number of persons in a $500 million market," said Gerald Cysewski, chairman, president and CEOof Cyanotech.
Two clinical trials are already under way for BioAstin to test its ability to reduce muscle soreness after exercise and to relieve carpal tunnel syndrome.
Amazon to take over Borders' online division
NEW YORK >> Borders Group Inc., the nation's second-largest book retailer, is abandoning its money-losing online business and turning it over to Amazon.com Inc. as part of a new partnership between the two companies.A new Borders.com Web site, bearing the Amazon as well as the Borders brand, will launch in August, the companies announced today.
Amazon.com will become the seller of record, providing inventory, fulfillment and content and customer service. Amazon.com's Web site will continue to operate independently. Borders will eliminate all 70 jobs in its Borders.com operation but will seek other posts for those workers, said Greg Josefowicz, president and chief executive officer of the retailer based in Ann Arbor, Mich.
Motorola's losses continue to mount
Schaumburg, Ill. >> Motorola Inc., the No. 2 cellular-phone maker, said it will lose more money in the second quarter than it lost in the first, and annual revenue will drop because of slower sales of handsets and semiconductors.The company plans to cut 4,000 jobs, bringing layoffs announced since December to 26,000, President Robert Growney said on a conference call. The company had 147,000 employees at the end of 2000. Capital spending on computer chips this year will be slashed to less than $750 million from $2.4 billion last year.
AIG, American General to Begin Merger Talks
NEW YORK >> American International Group Inc., the world's largest publicly traded insurer, moved a step closer to winning a $23 billion bid to acquire American General Corp. AIG signed a "confidentiality agreement" to negotiate the terms of the offer with Houston-based American General. The bid tops a $20 billion offer from Prudential Plc, the U.K.'s second largest insurer. Prudential said it would sue AIG in Texas in an effort to derail the bid. The U.K. company said in a 19-page legal filing that AIG violated U.S. law by making its all-stock bid without filing a registration statement.
American takes steps to appease labor
DALLAS >> American Airlines has taken the first step toward improving relations with its labor unions, reaching a tentative deal to protect the jobs of pilots after acquiring the bulk of Trans World Airline Inc.'s assets.But American still faces a thicket of thorny labor challenges, including stalled contract negotiations with flight attendants and the unsettled question of how TWA pilots will fit into the American work force.
"This is merely settling the battle and not the war," Neil Bernstein, a labor arbitrator and law professor at Washington University in St. Louis, TWA's hometown, said Tuesday. "What they didn't settle was, what's going to happen to the TWA pilots when the airlines are totally integrated?"
That issue -- how much seniority TWA pilots will get -- will be handled in talks between the two pilots' unions.
Harley-Davidson raises production goal
LOS ANGELES >> Harley-Davidson Tuesday kept alive its reputation as a consensus killer, posting first quarter earnings of 30 cents per share, up from 24 cents a year ago and beating analysts' expectations.The Milwaukee-based motorcycle manufacturer also raised its production goal for 2001 to 229,000 units from 227,000 -- a key indication that it expects continued strong demand.
Harley-Davidson earned $92 million in the period, compared with $80 million a year earlier. Revenues for the quarter were $767 million, up 13 percent from the year-ago period and in line with expectations.