The Philadelphia Inquirer from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania • Page D02

THE PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER Friday, November 14, 2008 Brief philly com Get the latest business news, stock quotes and investor tools, and sign up for Inquirer Business Update, our daily e-mail newsletter, at www.philly.combusiness. D2 www.philly.com MANUEL BALCE CENETA Associated Press More than 7,000 top jobs likely to open with the presidential transition are in the "United States Government Policy and Supporting Positions," or the Plum Book. Morris Winston (left) and Derrick Langley skimmed copies at a Washington bookstore yesterday. New York University professor Paul Light cautioned: "The real plums goto people who are well-connected." points, led by Chevron Corp. Bloomberg News 30-year-mortgage rates fall Mortgage rates dropped for a second straight week, reflecting the effect the weakening economy is having on financial markets.

Freddie Mac, the mortgage giant, reported that rates on 30-year, fixed-rate mortgages averaged 6.14 percent this week, down from 6.20 percent last week. Rates on one-year, adjustable-rate mortgages edged up to 5.33 percent, from 5.25 percent last week. -AP New family-leave rules finalized The Labor Department announced final revisions in the Family and Medical Leave Act, including new rules defining how families of wounded service members will be able to take unpaid leave to care for them. While the addition of military families to the landmark law received positive reviews, the Labor Department's other revisions to the act caused concern among labor and employee advocates. The AFL-CIO's Cecelie Counts said the new regulations dealing with military families were "fair" but called the rest a "rather stingy reading of the law." -AP U.S.

Steel lays off 677 employees U.S. Steel says it is laying off 677 workers in the United States and Canada because of weakening customer demand. U.S. Steel Corp. spokesman John Armstrong says the layoffs are effective immediately for 500 employees in the United States and 177 in Canada.

Armstrong says the jobs will come back "when we see customer demand strengthening." -AP MGM Mirage's chief is retiring MGM Mirage, the casino company majority-owned by billionaire Kirk Kerkorian, said chairman and chief executive officer Terry Lanni will retire this month. Lanni, 65, recommended that the board pick president and chief operating officer Jim Murren, 47, to succeed him, the Las Vegas-based company said in a statement. "It's time for a younger generation to take over," Lanni said in a telephone interview. He also cited a desire to spend more time with his family. Bloomberg News Urban Outfitters profit up 31 pet.

Urban Outfitters Inc. said its third-quarter profit rose 31 percent, helped by strong performance at namesake stores and tight inventory controls. The retailer's profit for the three months ended Oct. 31 rose to $59.3 million, or 35 cents per share, from $45.4 million, or 27 cents per share, last year. Results include a $2.9 million write-off of an auction-rate preferred stock investment.

As the company reported last week, sales rose 26 percent to $478 million from $379.3 million. Despite softening consumer spending that has hurt many retailers, same-store sales rose across all three of the company's brands: up 17 percent at Urban Outfitters stores, 2 percent at higher-priced Anthropologie stores, and 4 percent at eclectic Free People stores. Same-store sales measures sales at stores open at least one year. AP Kulicke Soffa reports loss, layoffs Kulicke Soffa, a Fort Washington company that designs and manufactures semiconductor assembly equipment, reported a net loss of $11 million or 21 cents per share for the fourth quarter, ended Sept. 27.

That was a decline of 143 percent from the fourth quarter of 2007. Net revenue fell 60 percent, to $61.2 million. In a news release, Scott Kulicke, chairman and chief executive officer, blamed deteriorating global economic conditions. He said the company is laying off 240 employees and canceling raises scheduled for January. He also said the majority of the layoffs would be overseas.

The company has about 2,650 employees worldwide. The company, he said, is "well-positioned to weather the turmoil." Stacey Burling Aetna says it will pursue staff cuts Health insurer Aetna Inc. has warned employees that it will pursue "selective" staff cuts as it adjusts to the major economic downturn it expects for next year. Company chairman and CEO Ronald Williams did not say how many cuts would be made in a memo posted on the company's intranet site. He also did not offer a time frame.

Hartford, Conn. -based Aetna employs 36,139 people, up slightly from the 35,396 it employed in the second quarter this year. It employs 3,700 people in the Philadelphia area. AP Tunnell names new CEO, president Tunnell Consulting King of Prussia, said in a statement that Conrad J. Heilman would succeed Joseph S.

Tempio as president and chief executive officer, effective in July. Heilman will serve immediately as chief operating officer and retain that post until he becomes president and CEO. Heilman is senior vice president of the life sciences strategic operating unit, the company said. Rhonda Dickey PSEG unit sells share in Italian firm PSEG Global said it had sold its 85 percent share in Bioenergie, an Italian biomass generation company, to Emmevu Green S.R.L. for about $40 million.

After realization of tax benefits, the company said, the sale will be worth about $70 million. PSEG Global is a wholly owned subsidiary of Public Service Enterprise Group, the New Jersey utility company. PSEG Global has two remaining international investments, a 20 percent ownership stake in a 330-megawatt power plant in India and a 50 percent stake in two 30-megawatt power plants in Venezuela. These assets have a total book value of about $50 million. Stacey Burling AmerisourceBergen buying shares AmerisourceBergen the Valley Forge drug distributor, said it authorized a $500 million share-buyback program to begin immediately.

AmerisourceBergen also will raise its quarterly dividend to 10 cents a share from 72 cents, the Valley Forge company said in a statement. The company's shares closed up $1.81, or 6.4 percent, at $30.29. Bloomberg News Caterpillar rises on 'safe' dividend Caterpillar the maker of backhoes and excavators, had the second-biggest gain in the Dow Jones industrial average as investors sought its "reasonably safe dividend," investor Bill Batcheller said. Caterpillar, Peoria, III, rose $4.33, or 12 percent, to $39.41. The rise came amid a broad market increase, with the Dow Jones industrial average increasing 552.59 Fox, NBC to pool news video in Phila.

and five other cities A complete guide to senior living Coming in JanuaryFebruary 2009 3 MvPnirnrninifTPEND NT- JKH Seniors Resource ment. "I told them, if there's anything they walk out of the room with, it's the idea that this does not impact our need to be competitive and win," he said. As of Wednesday, NBC10 was ranked third (behind 6 ABC and CBS3) for the 11 p.m. newscast, with a 5.2 rating. Fox29's 10 p.m.

news had a 4.2 rating. NBC10 also provides content for a 10 p.m. news show on MYPHL (Channel 17), which had a 1.9 rating. Both station groups' parent companies are partners in the video-sharing Web site Hulu.com. will feature articles and directories on: Health Services Professional Services Health at Home Assisted Living Information to help you make informed decisions By Michael Klein INQUIRER STAFF WRITER Fox Television Stations and NBC Local Media announced yesterday that they would pool news video in six cities in which they both own TV stations, starting with Philadelphia.

The partnership between rivals, tested this spring and summer at Philadelphia's Fox29 and NBC10, acknowledges the economic forces buffeting big media companies and eliminates some redundancies in coverage. John Wallace, president of NBC Local Media, called it "smart from a journalistic perspective because newsrooms can be laser-focused on enterprise" reporting. Under the prosaic working name "Local News Service," the venture will begin officially here in January at Fox's WTXF (Channel 29) and NBC's WCAU (Channel 10). It later will be introduced in Los Angeles, Chicago, New York, Dallas and Washington. In Philadelphia, a managing editor overseeing six news crews from each station will decide which events to cover from routine news conferences to aerial views of fires from a shared helicopter and will notify the newsrooms.

"When the LNS is out at a story, they'll send the feed back, and the station makes the determination if it will use it," said Jack Abernethy, chief executive of Fox Television Stations. He said each station would edit and voice the video so the report had a particular look and feel. The workers involved would remain on their stations' payrolls. Abernethy pointed to undetermined savings in a "tough, belt-tightening environment." He and Wallace said they had approached other, unidentified stations in Philadelphia to join the LNS. The LNS also would sell video footage to other outlets, such as television stations, print publications, radio stations and digital media.

Abernethy said the LNS would become the largest video aggregator in each of its markets. Mike Renda, general manager of Fox29, met with staff yesterday about the arrange Contact staff writer Michael Klein at 215-854-5514 or mkleinphillynews.com. FREE 1 ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT Step 1: Assemble your current financial information, and call your lender. Step 2: Visit www. phillvsheriff com to leam more about borrowers' rights, loss mitigation and abusive servicing practices.

Contact the Sheriffs Office at 215-686-3525 for more information. call 877-55-ACTIVE for your FREE copy. Please specify PA or NJ Seniors Resource publication Also available in selected CVS's in Southern New Jersey, Bucks, Montgomery, and Philadelphia Counties, local senior centers, and doctors' offices. Step 3: If you feel uncomfortable handling mortgage negotiations, consult a professional housing counselor. Step 4: Take time to carefully investigate the offers you receive to avoid becoming a fraud victim.

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