http://www.ajc.com The latest headlines from AJC en-us Copyright 2009, Cox Newspapers Inc., AJC Sun, 5 Jul 2009 08:36:18 EDT Newspapers COXnet RSS Generator v1.0 http://img.coxnewsweb.com/C/08/17/52/image_1352178.jpg http://www.ajc.com 5 http://www.ajc.com/services/content/business/stories/2009/07/02/weather_channel_tunes.html?cxtype=rss&cxsvc=7&cxcat=6 http://www.ajc.com/services/content/business/stories/2009/07/02/weather_channel_tunes.html?cxtype=rss&cxsvc=7&cxcat=6 Thu, 2 Jul 2009 18:47:17 EDT The drippy smooth jazz that for years has played in the background of the Atlanta-based Weather Channel's "Local On the 8s" segments has been replaced with soft rock songs people can actually hum instead of going numb. "I think we've been doing an injustice to our viewers playing, for the lack of a better word, elevator music on the segments for all these years," Geoffrey Darby, the cable network's new executive vice president of programming, said Thursday. Big deal? You bet. The channel's old sound was so popular with listeners that the network released two CD's of "Weather Channel Smooth Jazz," the first going all the way to No. 1 on Billboard's Current Contemporary Jazz Album Chart. http://www.ajc.com/services/content/business/coke/stories/2009/07/05/cokepacks_new_design.html?cxtype=rss&cxsvc=7&cxcat=6 http://www.ajc.com/services/content/business/coke/stories/2009/07/05/cokepacks_new_design.html?cxtype=rss&cxsvc=7&cxcat=6 Thu, 2 Jul 2009 15:57:53 EDT For most of us, the shape of a 2-liter bottle is something we take for granted. For Hendrik Steckhan, head of carbonated soft-drink brands for Coca-Cola North America, the shape is a problem. Coca-Cola should not be in the same 2-liter bottle as every other brand, he said. "When you think about this, it just doesn't make sense," Steckhan said. http://www.ajc.com/services/content/business/stories/2009/07/02/mcdonald_s_bigger_burger.html?cxtype=rss&cxsvc=7&cxcat=6 http://www.ajc.com/services/content/business/stories/2009/07/02/mcdonald_s_bigger_burger.html?cxtype=rss&cxsvc=7&cxcat=6 Thu, 2 Jul 2009 05:07:17 EDT McDonald's Corp. will begin selling a new line of bigger burgers priced at about $4 each on Thursday to bring in customers looking for a beefy alternative to pricier burgers at sit-down restaurants. The new Angus burgers are made with one-third pound of Angus beef and come in three varieties — a deluxe burger with pickles and tomatoes, a mushroom swiss burger and a bacon and cheese burger. The burgers will be sold in all U.S. locations for the next few months. The fast-food chain declined to specify when or if the burgers would become a part of the company's core menu, which includes favorites like the Quarter Pounder with Cheese and the Big Mac. http://www.ajc.com/services/content/business/stories/2009/07/01/beazer_to_pay.html?cxtype=rss&cxsvc=7&cxcat=6 http://www.ajc.com/services/content/business/stories/2009/07/01/beazer_to_pay.html?cxtype=rss&cxsvc=7&cxcat=6 Wed, 1 Jul 2009 18:46:06 EDT Beazer Homes USA said Wednesday it has agreed to pay up to $55 million in restitution and expenses related to a mortgage fraud scheme in North Carolina. Federal authorities agreed not to prosecute the company as long as terms are met. Separately on Wednesday, the Securities and Exchange Commission filed a civil complaint against a former Beazer executive, alleging he was responsible for earnings fraud that led to bonuses and profits on stock sales. Atlanta-based Beazer said it reached agreements on the mortgage fraud case with the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Western District of North Carolina and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. The investigation has mainly involved Beazer developments in the Charlotte area. http://www.ajc.com/services/content/business/stories/2009/07/01/prison_expansion_jobs.html?cxtype=rss&cxsvc=7&cxcat=6 http://www.ajc.com/services/content/business/stories/2009/07/01/prison_expansion_jobs.html?cxtype=rss&cxsvc=7&cxcat=6 Wed, 1 Jul 2009 18:11:05 EDT Nashville-based Corrections Corp. of America said it will bring more than 300 jobs to Georgia as it plans to spend $65 million to expand two of its state prison facilities in the state that it has contracts to operate with the Georgia Department of Corrections. The company said in a press release Wednesday it will expand its Coffee Correctional Facility in Nicholls, Ga., and Wheeler Correctional Facility in Alamo, Ga., by 1,500 beds, by the third quarter of 2010. The company said it would add an estimated 75 jobs at each of those facilities. http://www.ajc.com/services/content/business/stories/2009/07/01/streamenergy_pyramid_lawsuit.html?cxtype=rss&cxsvc=7&cxcat=6 http://www.ajc.com/services/content/business/stories/2009/07/01/streamenergy_pyramid_lawsuit.html?cxtype=rss&cxsvc=7&cxcat=6 Wed, 1 Jul 2009 17:57:43 EDT Stream Energy, a fast-growing Texas-based natural gas retailer that entered Georgia last year, is being charged with running a pyramid scheme in a federal class action lawsuit filed this week. Stream, in a statement, called the suit "groundless and without merit." A Houston law firm says in the complaint filed in Texas that Stream Gas & Electric and its Ignite Holdings division operated a multilevel marketing program it contends is a pyramid scheme. http://www.ajc.com/services/content/business/stories/2009/07/01/coke_fuel_system.html?cxtype=rss&cxsvc=7&cxcat=6 http://www.ajc.com/services/content/business/stories/2009/07/01/coke_fuel_system.html?cxtype=rss&cxsvc=7&cxcat=6 Wed, 1 Jul 2009 17:41:19 EDT Atlanta-based Coca-Cola Enterprises plans to add next year two fuel-cell systems to an Elmsford, N.Y., plant, the company said Wednesday. United Technologies Corp. will supply and maintain the systems, which will generate enough energy and heat for 30 percent of the facility's overall operational needs. Fuel cells, which combine hydrogen and oxygen to produce energy, are seen as an environmentally friendly option for reducing emissions produced by burning fossil fuels. CCE, Coke's largest bottler, is also considering adding fuel cells at other facilities across North America and Western Europe. http://www.ajc.com/services/content/business/stories/2009/07/01/delta_miles.html?cxtype=rss&cxsvc=7&cxcat=6 http://www.ajc.com/services/content/business/stories/2009/07/01/delta_miles.html?cxtype=rss&cxsvc=7&cxcat=6 Wed, 1 Jul 2009 17:38:53 EDT Delta Air Lines is offering double miles on flights for the rest of the year to Delta SkyMiles credit card holders who register online. Atlanta-based Delta said card holders should register at deltadoublemiles.com by Sept. 30. The move comes as Delta tries to attract more card holders from the customer base of its merger partner Northwest Airlines. — KELLY YAMANOUCHI http://www.ajc.com/services/content/business/stories/2009/07/01/georgia_power_costs.html?cxtype=rss&cxsvc=7&cxcat=6 http://www.ajc.com/services/content/business/stories/2009/07/01/georgia_power_costs.html?cxtype=rss&cxsvc=7&cxcat=6 Wed, 1 Jul 2009 14:53:34 EDT When summer temperatures turned from mild to broiling recently, at least one industry wasn't complaining. Hotter weather makes air conditioners hum and electric bills soar for businesses and homeowners, meaning higher revenues for utilities like Southern Co. and its Georgia Power unit. But even company officials say there are limits to how hot they want it. If temperatures get too high, more costly power sources have to be tapped, and that can cut into profits, the company said. http://www.ajc.com/services/content/business/stories/2009/06/30/psc_georgia_power.html?cxtype=rss&cxsvc=7&cxcat=6 http://www.ajc.com/services/content/business/stories/2009/06/30/psc_georgia_power.html?cxtype=rss&cxsvc=7&cxcat=6 Tue, 30 Jun 2009 18:11:46 EDT Rather than seek a rate increase to boost its sagging profits, Georgia Power wants to take $324 million in customer revenue from a fund set up to mothball old equipment. The company has asked the Georgia PSC to approve an accounting change that would spread the $324 million over an 18-month period that runs from July 2009 through December 2010. The electric utility cited the economy in explaining the action, saying due to the recession, its profit in 2009 and 2010 will fall below 10.25 percent. That's the minimum in the profit range allowed by the PSC.