Daily Briefing

AUTOMOTIVE

Chrysler workers protest at HQ

Auburn Hills, Mich. —- Several hundred Chrysler manufacturing workers, many of whom face imminent layoffs in St. Louis, protested outside the company’s headquarters Thursday. Workers are angered by Chrysler’s plan to close a minivan plant in Fenton, a St. Louis suburb, on Oct. 31 and to remove a shift from a separate Fenton truck plant in September. About 2,500 jobs will be affected by the actions. “It’s hard to watch,” said Mike Roy, 23, who works at the truck plant. “It seems we’ve given everything we can possibly give them and we’ve gotten nothing in return.” Chrysler says the cuts are necessary because rising gas prices and the weak economy.

FINANCIAL

Theragenics CEO to ring NYSE bell

Buford-based Theragenics Corp. said Thursday that its chairman and chief executive, M. Christine Jacobs, will be among company representatives who ring the closing bell at the New York Stock Exchange on Monday to commemorate the 10th anniversary of the company’s listing. She’ll be joined by the board of directors and management representatives. Theragenics is a medical device company serving the surgical products and prostate cancer screening markets.

Invesco to join S&P 500 index

Atlanta-based money manager Invesco Ltd. said Thursday that its stock will be added to the Standard & Poor’s 500 index on Aug. 20. Invesco’s shares closed at $25.80, up 9.5 percent. Shares of companies added to the S&P 500 index often jump in price because demand goes up as mutual funds, insurance companies and other institutional investors increase their holdings in companies that are part of the broad market index. Invesco, which moved its headquarters last year from London to Atlanta, shifted its primary stock listing to the New York Stock Exchange late last year, under the ticker symbol IVZ.

FOOD / BEVERAGE

Nebraska Beef expands recall

Omaha, Neb. —- Nebraska Beef Ltd. expanded its latest recall to include about 160,000 pounds of meat mistakenly left out of last week’s announcement, the USDA said Thursday. About 1.36 million pounds of beef is now included in the recall.

HEALTH CARE

Airborne’s maker settles allegations

Washington —- The makers of Airborne tablets have agreed to pay $30 million to settle a lawsuit and federal regulators’ charges that they made false claims about the cold-fighting benefits. The Federal Trade Commission said Thursday there is no evidence that products from Bonita Springs, Fla.-based Airborne Health Inc. “provide any tangible benefit for people who are exposed to germs in crowded places.” Airborne stressed Thursday that the FTC charges deal with advertising and labeling the company no longer uses. The company’s Web site provides links to over a dozen studies that it says show “that the key ingredients found in Airborne will help support a healthy immune system.” Ingredients include various vitamins, minerals and herbs. “A class-action lawsuit sparked this matter,” said Airborne CEO Elise Donahue. “We’re just one of many major consumer brands across America that are under assault by class-action lawyers.”

HOSPITALITY

GWCC covets 3 more acres

The Georgia World Congress Center plans to spend $9.8 million in state money to add 3 acres to its downtown site. The GWCC already owns 219 acres. The convention venue has no immediate development plans for the land at Mangum Street and Georgia Dome Drive, but it’s “critical to us,” GWCC’s Bill Miller told the Georgia Department of Economic Development’s board Thursday. The board passed a resolution endorsing the purchase.

LEGAL

Newell unit sues Stamps.com

Newell Rubbermaid Inc.’s PSI Systems sued Stamps.com Inc., accusing it of infringing on three patents for ways of handling mail to save businesses money, such as using the correct postage amount and finding the nine-digit ZIP code. “Stamps.com’s acts of infringement have been committed with knowledge of PSI’s patent rights,” PSI said in the complaint filed Aug. 8 in federal court in Los Angeles. Palo Alto, Calif.-based PSI is seeking cash and an order to prevent further use of its inventions.

HD Supply sale sparks dispute

Home Depot Inc. was sued by the owner of its former construction supply unit over claims it owes more than $87 million from last year’s sale. Home Depot sold the HD Supply division in August 2007 to a group of buyout firms, including Bain Capital and Carlyle Group, for $8.5 billion. HDS Investment Holding of Atlanta, the current parent, is asking a judge to stop Home Depot from forcing the parties into arbitration after a dispute over the final purchase price. HDS is owed about $87 million in purchase price reductions and $59 million in reimbursements for employee retention and bonus payments, lawyers for the company said in a complaint filed Thursday in Delaware Chancery Court in Wilmington. “An accounting dispute regarding portions of the working capital has arisen,” Home Depot spokesman Ron DeFeo said in an e-mailed statement. “We believe we have complied fully with the contractually agreed procedures for addressing any such disputes.”

Wachovia unit files for bankruptcy

Wachovia Corp.’s BluePoint Re Ltd. unit, which insures structured finance and municipal transactions, has filed for bankruptcy protection, citing defaults on securitized mortgages. BluePoint filed its petition in Manhattan on Thursday, saying it has more than $100 million in debts. On Aug. 7, the insurer filed a petition to liquidate in Bermuda, where it is based. BluePoint asked the New York court to recognize the Bermuda proceeding and protect it from claims in the United States, invoking provisions of Chapter 15 of the federal bankruptcy code.

3rd exec pleads guilty in Miss. case

Jackson, Miss. —- A Georgia executive pleaded guilty Thursday to withholding information during a federal probe of a failed Mississippi beef plant and illegal political contributions given to then-Gov. Ronnie Musgrove. Charles K. Morehead is the third executive of the Facility Group of Smyrna to plead guilty in the case in U.S. District Court in Oxford. The Facility Group was responsible for the design and construction of Mississippi Beef Processors LLC, a cattle processing plant that closed just three months after it opened in 2004. Morehead, 57, entered the plea to one count of concealing material facts. In doing so, he admitted withholding information from federal investigators.

MEDIA

Gannett papers to cut 1,000 jobs

Gannett Co., the largest U.S. newspaper publisher, plans to eliminate about 1,000 positions at its community newspapers as advertising sales continue to decline. The cuts, equaling 3 percent of the work force at the publications, may result in about 600 firings after some positions are eliminated through resignations and retirements, Gannett spokeswoman Tara Connell said Thursday in a phone interview.

McClatchy sells online ad network

McClatchy Co. has sold an advertising network for local newspaper Web sites to software provider Centro. The purchase of the Real Cities network was completed Aug. 12, and financial terms weren’t disclosed, according to a statement from Chicago-based Centro. Centro, which offers local online media planning and purchasing software for ad agencies, gains access to an advertising network of more than 1,500 local newspaper affiliate sites.

REAL ESTATE

Mortgage rates remain flat

Washington —- Rates on 30-year mortgages remained at the same level for a third week, while rates on other types of home loans posted small declines. Freddie Mac reported Thursday that 30-year fixed-rate mortgages averaged 6.52 percent this week. That was the same rate as the two previous weeks. Rates on 15-year, fixed-rate mortgages, a popular choice for refinancing, fell to 6.07 percent, down from 6.10 percent last week. Rates on five-year adjustable-rate mortgages averaged 6.02 percent this week, down from 6.05 percent. Rates on one-year, adjustable-rate mortgages dipped to 5.18 percent, down from 5.22 percent.

REGULATORY

Two banks strike auction-rate deals

New York —- JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Morgan Stanley have become the latest banks to reach settlements with New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo and other regulators as part of a investigation into the collapse of the auction-rate securities market. The pair of banks will repurchase a combined $7 billion in the troubled securities at face value from investors. Morgan Stanley agreed to pay a fine of $35 million, while JPMorgan will pay a fine of $25 million. JPMorgan and Morgan Stanley are the third and fourth banks to reach settlements, following deals by UBS AG and Citigroup Inc. last week. “We are doing an industrywide investigation,” Cuomo said Thursday at a news conference, adding that his office continues to discuss settlements with additional banks that sold the securities.

Ex-Apple attorney settles with SEC

Washington —- The former top attorney at Apple Inc. on Thursday agreed to pay $2.2 million to settle federal regulators’ charges that she altered company records to conceal improper backdating of stock options for senior executives, including CEO Steve Jobs. The Securities and Exchange Commission announced the settlement with former Apple General Counsel Nancy Heinen.

TECHNOLOGY

Yahoo adds Icahn allies to board

Yahoo Inc. said Thursday that it will add the former chief executives of Viacom and Nextel Partners to its board as part of the company’s deal to ward off a proxy fight with billionaire investor Carl Icahn. The company selected Frank Biondi Jr. and John Chapple, the former CEOs of Viacom and Nextel Partners, respectively, from a list of nine possible board members submitted by Icahn, who himself has a seat. The New York-based financier, angry about the way buyout talks with Microsoft were conducted, acquired 5 percent of Yahoo’s shares and spent two months spearheading a campaign to replace the Internet company’s entire board after it rejected Microsoft’s $47.5 billion takeover bid. A truce in late July averted a showdown.

New BlackBerry is on the way

Toronto —- The new BlackBerry model should be coming to North America within a month now that Research In Motion Ltd. has started selling it in Germany and Chile. The BlackBerry Bold is a high-end BlackBerry that has twice the screen resolution of current models made by RIM. The Bold, or 9000, matches the resolution, but not the size, of the screen on Apple Inc.’s iPhone. AT&T says it will be the exclusive U.S. carrier for the Bold, as it is for the iPhone. An AT&T spokesman declined to say Thursday when the company will release it.

Video game sales rise sharply

Even in a seasonally slow month and with the economy in the doldrums, U.S. sales of video game hardware and software soared in July, hitting $1.19 billion. According to market researcher NPD Group, Americans bought $446.9 million worth of video game hardware during the month, a 17 percent jump from the same month a year ago. On the software side, people spent $591.1 million on games, up 41 percent from the previous year.

TRANSPORTATION

FAA wants to fine American Airlines

Washington —- The Federal Aviation Administration said Thursday that it is seeking $7.1 million from American Airlines for continuing to fly airliners after safety problems were reported and for drug-testing violations. The Texas-based airline delayed repairs on two MD-80s —- a midsize airliner —- after problems were reported with their autopilot systems and flew them 58 times in violation of federal regulations, the FAA said. “The FAA believes the large total amount of the fine for these violations is appropriate because American Airlines was aware that appropriate repairs were needed, and instead deferred maintenance,” the agency said in a statement. “In intentionally continuing to fly the aircraft, the carrier did not follow important safety regulations intended to protect passengers and crew.” American released a statement calling the fine “excessive” and saying it intends to contest it.

UTILITIES / ENERGY

Russia bans BP executive

London —- British oil company BP PLC said Thursday that a Russian court has barred the head of its troubled Russian joint venture from office for two years. “We are very disappointed with this decision,” said BP spokeswoman Sheila Williams. “However, Robert Dudley remains CEO of TNK-BP, pending completion of an appeal process.” BP has been battling Russian shareholders for control of the company for months. Russian shareholders have called for Dudley’s removal, arguing that he has mismanaged the company.