Pennysaver is sold to Honolulu Advertiser

The owner of the Honolulu Advertiser has agreed to purchase the weekly shopper Pennysaver, which distributes 50,500 copies weekly on Oahu.

Pennysaver's dozen employees will be offered jobs. The seller is Wheeling, W. Va.-based Ogden Newspapers Inc., which bought the Maui News last year.

Pennysaver is printed by Midweek Printing Inc., publisher of the Honolulu Star-Bulletin. Pennysaver's buyer, Gannett Co., will move the printing to its own presses.

Dueling attorneys prompt delay in Sia trial

The trial of troubled Indonesian businessman Sukamto Sia has been pushed back a month, to Nov. 21, because of problems between opposing attorneys who have since left the case.

The trial had originally been scheduled for Oct. 16 after Sia and his girlfriend Kelly Randall pleaded innocent in May to new charges brought by the federal government. Sia, 41, was originally indicted more than a year ago. Randall, Sia and his two younger brothers face a total of 22 charges including bank fraud and bankruptcy fraud.

U.S. District Judge David Ezra said yesterday that he was concerned about a communication breakdown and unusual hostility between Omer Poirier, an assistant U.S. attorney who recently left the case, and Richard Crane, a Los Angeles attorney who had represented Randall and also recently stepped down.

Because of the trouble, the case is about a month behind schedule, Ezra said.

The government had been seeking to delay the trial until February 2002, largely because new attorneys have to prepare for the complex case, but Ezra said another month would be enough time to ensure a fair trial. Ezra also set new guidelines for meetings between the attorneys.

Reinsurance losses will hurt GE earnings

General Electric Co., the largest company by market value, said third-quarter profit will be less than analysts' forecasts because of losses incurred at its reinsurance business after the terrorist attacks at the World Trade Center.

The company estimated the Employers Reinsurance Corp. unit had losses of about $400 million from the attack that destroyed the complex in lower Manhattan. Profit will be about 33 cents a share, less than the 37- cent-average estimate of analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial/First Call.

Claims resulting from the worst assault ever on the U.S. are likely to exceed the $19 billion in damages caused by hurricane Andrew in 1992, and the $14 billion from the 1994 Northridge earthquake, analysts have said.

Ford warns earnings to miss estimate

DETROIT >> Ford Motor Co. hurt by transportation problems following this week's air attacks, sharply cut production for the third quarter yesterday and warned that earnings for the period will be weaker than forecast.

The world's second largest automaker said it will stop production at five North American assembly plants next week, part of plans to chop output by 110,000 to 120,000 units or up to 13 percent to 810,000 to 820,000 cars and trucks.

Dearborn, Mich.-based Ford said it will not meet its previous third-quarter earnings forecast of 10 cents a share before one-time items. The company said last month that it expects to take a non-cash charge of $200 million, or 10 cents a share, due to the write-down of investments in e-commerce and auto-related ventures.

Consolidated Edison's profit at risk, analyst says

New York >> Consolidated Edison Inc.'s profit for the next year likely will be reduced by as much as 10 cents a share by Tuesday's attacks on the World Trade Center, one of the New York utility's biggest customers, an analyst said.

"There was a lot of damage to their equipment, power outages and loss of customers," said David Burks of Hilliard Lyons in Louisville, Ky. He rates Con Ed "hold" and owns no shares.