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2 BUSINESS SATURDAY, MAY 24. 2008 THE TAMPA TRIBUNE TBO.com HOLIDAY C00K0UTS InBev Reportedly Brews Anheuser-Busch Deal items like steak, ribs or chicken for grilling along with relatively cheaper meats like hamburgers and hot dogs. "My mother keeps worrying and says we need to cut back more, but getting together with friends to eat is one of the pleasures in life," said Tilly while shopping at a suburban Cincinnati Kroger store. Other shoppers may be more reluctant to indulge, and those paying close attention to prices in the aisles may worry they're being gouged by grocers, said National Retail Federation spokesman Scott Krugman. "Consumers don't care why prices are increasing, they just want something to be done about it," Krugman said.

"What they don't realize is how razor-thin profit margins are in terms of price increases on grocers as well." While beef prices have been high, chicken and pork prices are expected to rise as producers are feeling the brunt of higher costs for feed and fuel. Scott Faber, a lobbyist for the Grocery Manufacturers Association, which has been pushing Congress to increase ethanol research funding, said prices for meat will continue to rise in the next couple of years. Newly enacted federal ethanol mandates will drive the cost of corn higher, he said. "We are just in the beginning of a period of significandy higher prices, and American families will continue to feel that impact as the cost for basic staples like milk, meat and eggs will grow dramatically," Faber said. "This holiday weekend surely reflects that" J- Or The Associated Press Memorial Day provisions, such as beef, chicken and pork, will be more expensive.

Farmers cite the cost of fuel beginning. Next year, it'll be even more expensive just to stay home and make burgers." But the debate is moot for many American families who are struggling to put gas in the car, pay the mortgage and put food on the picnic table. This year, the price for a pack of hot dogs has climbed almost 7 percent to $4.29. A 2-liter bottle of soda and a 16-ounce bag of potato chips both jumped more than 10 percent to $1.33 and $3.89, respectively, while a package of eight hamburger buns costs $1.61, 17 percent more. The surge in prices is forcing people to try to cut corners and find bargains where they can, such as buying store brands, which tend to cost less.

A recent study by the Food Marketing Institute found that about a third more shoppers are limiting themselves to frozen or boxed foods inJ stead of fresh items this year, while nearly half said they bought fewer foods overall. But 55-year-old Cherise Tilly, who lives with her mother in Cincinnati, said she still buys more expensive not "participate in any kind of scheme of this nature," said Reggie Brown, the group's executive vice president. "We have a number of legal and business concerns," Brown said in a telephone interview, so the exchange members will refuse to implement the arrangement. The signing ceremony was hosted by Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt, who has helped broker the labor agreements after visiting the tomato fields and communities where workers live.

Workers' standards of living are falling across America, Sanders said, but "I saw the bottom in Immokalee, Florida." "Senator Sanders walked in our shoes," Benitez said. "And he saw our reality." Treatment Compared To Slavery At a Senate hearing last month, a witness compared the working conditions of the tomato pickers to slavery. "Today's form of slavery does not bear the overt nature of pre-Civil War society, but it is nonetheless heinous and reprehensible," Collier County sheriffs Detective Charlie Frost told Democratic members of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pension Committee. Holdings Inc. spokeswoman Cynthia Tinsley-Douglas said.

Airlines have come under intense pressure to boost revenue and cut costs as the cost of fuel has soared. As of Monday, spot prices for jet fuel in New York were up 43 percent from the start of the year, according to the Energy Information Administration. Chicago-based United has been among the most aggressive carriers in pushing fares and fuel surcharges higher, and its increases are often rapidly matched by competitors. Airlines are prohibited from agreeing to simultaneously raise fares, but nothing prevents them from following a rival's lead. "Airlines have no choice but to pass on the cost of fuel to consumers and when passengers do begin to push back in significant numbers the airlines have no choice but slash capacity," said Rick Seaney, chief executive of FareCompare.com, in an e-mail.

He said this latest round would mark the 16th attempted airfare increase of DO THINGS THAT DONT REQUIRE A COMPUTER UNTIL THE NEXT BUDGET CYCLE. EUROPEAN BEER MAKER SAID TO OFFER $46 BILLION The Associated Press ST. LOUIS Shares of Anheuser-Busch hit an all-time high on Friday on reports that Europe's InBev SA was working on a $46 billion bid for the St Louis-based brewer. Anheuser-Busch shares rose 7.7 percent, or $4.03, to close at $56.61, after reaching as high as $58 earlier in the day. The share surge followed a report on the Financial Times Web site that InBev, the world's biggest brewer by volume, may directly approach An-heuser chief executive August Busch rv.

Anheuser-Busch declined comment, and messages left with InBev were not returned. "It is our policy to not confirm, deny or speculate on rumors of potential investments, acquisitions, mergers, new business partnerships or other transactions," said W. Randolph Baker, Anheuser-Busch's vice president and chief financial officer. InBev makes Beck's, Brahma, Stella Artois and Skol beer. Reports of its interest in Anheuser-Busch have circulated for months.

Anheuser-Busch makes Budwei--ser, Busch and Michelob. The company has an estimated 50.9 percent domestic market share. Ken Crawford, an analyst with Argent Capital of suburban St. Louis, said the deal would make sense for Anheuser-Busch. "We see a company that's very, very profitable, generates a lot of cash," Crawford said of Anheuser-Busch.

"The question is: Where and how do they grow? It would not be unrealistic that they look abroad either for acquisitions or to partner with someone." It would be just the latest deal in a consolidating beer industry. Miller Brewing the nation's second-largest beer-maker, and No. 3 Mol-son Coors Brewing Co. are planning to combine U.S. operations in a deal EXISTING HOMES Continued From Page 1 the second-largest price decline on record and analysts predicted prices would fall further in the months ahead given the huge backlog of unsold single-family homes.

The number of unsold single-family homes in April rose to a 10.7-month supply at the current sales pace, the highest level since June 1985. "The housing market continues to slide away. The very large increase in inventories suggests that there are much larger price declines coming," said Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody's Economy.com. The housing industry is being battered by a prolonged slump that has seen sales and prices fall sharply in many parts of the country and mortgage foreclosures soar. The slump in housing and a related credit crunch, which has resulted in multibillion-dollar losses at some of the nations' largest financial institutions, has depressed overall economic growth and raised worries about a possible recession.

Those troubles, along with soaring gasoline prices and higher job layoffs, have sent consumer confidence plunging, making a housing recovery even more difficult. "Credit remains tight, the economy is losing jobs and house prices are falling in more places and at an accelerated rate," said Patrick Newport, an economist at Global Insight. "All of this adds up to a dismal house-selling season." Newport said he expected existing home sales would keep falling until the end of this year, probably dropping by an additional 10 percent, before starting a gradual recovery early next year. He predicted home prices would continue to slide probably until next spring because the rising tide of mortgage foreclosures meant even more homes were being dumped on an already glutted market, further depressing prices. As prices fall, it keeps more people sitting on the fence, analysts said, Continued From Page 1 rose 4 percent last year, compared with an average 2.5 percent annual rise for the last 15 years.

On Monday, the U.S. Department of Agriculture raised its forecast for next year by half a percentage point, to a range of 4.5 percent to 5.5 percent Basic economics account for most of the increase: Bad weather has hurt crops, economic prosperity has driven up demand in developing countries and surging fuel prices have raised transportation costs. Economists and food scientists have argued that biofuel production is also a major factor in rising food costs, particularly corn, and that it should be scaled back. Meat and poultry executives have come out against federal ethanol mandates, which they say is driving the cost of corn higher. Carol Tucker-Foreman, food policy expert at Consumer Federation of America, said high-fructose com syrup can be found in just about anything you'd find at a cookout "The backyard barbecue is where you'll see the most impact from the government's decision to subsidize the use of food to put fuel in our cars," she said.

"From the ketchup to the paper plates, these are the things that are going to cost you a lot more than they used to. And this is just the TOMATO PICKERS Continued From Page 1 "Company by company, we are building a path toward justice," Beni-' tez said at a U.S. Capitol news conference where his words were translated from Spanish to English. Based on the number of tomatoes purchased last year, the agreement will cost Burger King about $250,000 a year in increased payments to the workers. The complete cost vyill be up to $350,000 a year because the company will pay growers for their increased payroll taxes and administrative expenses.

The total cost to Burger King will be about 1.5 cents per pound of tomatoes. Burger King hopes growers will cooperate, as the agreement "won't cost them anything," said Amy Wagner, a vice president of the Florida-based fast-food company. Growers Won't Back 'Scheme'. However, the Florida Tomato Growers Exchange, which represents the growers, said its members would AIRFARE INCREASES Continued From Page 1 AMR American Airlines, the biggest U.S. carrier, and No.

3 Delta Air Lines Inc. matched the increase Friday. Separately, AirTran raised leisure ticket prices by $30 and business-class fares by $50 roundtrip. Such a large change is unusual for a budget carrier. The increases came just days after American said it would begin charging customers $15 to check a single piece of luggage.

Representatives from a number of other carriers, many of which already are charging $25 for a second checked bag, said they are considering following suit. "Everything is under consideration with fuel the way that it is," AirTran DILBERT By Scott Adams NY COMPUTER IS BROKEN. I NEED A NEW ONE. UE DONT HAVE THE BUDGET. HOW TO CONTACT US Associated Press file photo Anheuser-Busch has been a St.

Louis icon since the mid-19th century. expected to be completed by midsummer. Miller will distribute Grolsch in the United States after February's takeover by SABMiller of Europe. Crawford said the impact on consumers remains to be seen. "We don't know if greater purchasing power would decrease costs and control prices, or if consolidation in the industry would allow those remaining to price more aggressively," he said.

Anheuser-Busch has been a St. Louis icon since the mid-19th century. Eberhard Anheuser acquired the Bavarian brewery in 1860 and renamed it E. Anheuser Co. His son-in-law, Adolphus Busch, joined the company in 1864 and it eventually was renamed Anheuser-Busch.

The company survived Prohibition by selling products ranging from ice cream to root beer. Anheuser-Busch saw its profit slip 1.4 percent in the first quarter in results announced last month. The company said higher costs for beer ingredients more than offset rising revenue. Core brands, including Budweiser and Bud Light, have also seen declines in sales as consumers increasingly opt for cocktails, wine and craft beers. Brewers around the world have been hurt in recent months by a spike in the price of key ingredients such as hops and barley.

InBev posted an unexpected 11 percent drop in its first-quarter profit on May 8, also blaming rising ingredient costs as well as shipping costs and weak sales in Brazil, where it does half its business. because prospective buyers don't want to purchase an asset that has the potential to fall further in price if they delay making the purchase. "With prices collapsing, the incentive not to buy a home is increasing by the week, and with inventory showing no sign of improvement, prices will keep falling," predicted Ian Shepherdson, chief U.S. economist at High Frequency Economics. Sales were down the most in the Midwest, a drop of 6 percent, followed by a 4.4 percent decline in the Northeast.

Sales were up 6.4 percent in the West, a region of the country where prices had fallen by the sharpest amount, and were unchanged in the South. Even with the. weak results for April, Lawrence Yun, chief economist for the Realtors, said he saw reasons for optimism that sales would start to rebound in the second half of this year as more types of mortgages become available, including programs supported by mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and the government's Federal Housing Administration. "I would encourage buyers who were disappointed by poor mortgage options to take another look at the market because the lending changes are significant," Yun said. "The second half of the year should be notably better in terms of home sales." AREA MARKET Continued From Page 1 Across Florida, there were 11,200 sales, down 9 percent from 12,358 in April 2007.

Florida single-family home prices dropped 17 percent to a median sales price of $198,9.00, compared with $239,000 a year ago. Condo sales statewide fell 16 percent to 3,900. Prices fell 19 percent to a median of $179,200. Reporter Shannon Behnken can be reached at (813) 259-7804 or sbehnkentampatrib.com Sanders said he jumped into the South Florida issue because he has long been active in labor causes. Under the agreement, Burger King has established "zero tolerance guidelines" that will result in immedi-' ate termination of any grower guilty of unlawful treatment of farmworkers.

Under this policy, an abused worker would go through the Coalition of Immokalee Workers directly to Burger King, which would investigate. "We are pleased to now be working together with the CIW to further the common goal of improving Florida farmworkers' wages, working conditions and lives," Burger King CEO John Chidsey said in a written state-, ment. "We apologize for any negative statements about the CIW or its motives previously attributed to Burger King or its employees and now realize that those statements were wrong." At the Senate hearing, Brown said the exchange did not oppose the fast-food chains raising pay for pickers, but that they would have to pay the extra penny a pound direcdy. Growers could not determine which worker deserved the extra pay since there was no way to determine which tomato would end up going to which restaurant, he explained. the year.

About 11 of those stuck to some degree. In another sign of the pressure facing air carriers, Northwest Airlines cargo division said Friday it was raising its fuel surcharges on domestic and some international routes. Midwest Airlines and Frontier Airlines, meanwhile, became the latest carriers to announce charges for second checked bags Friday. Neither introduced fees to check a single bag. On Wall Street, airline stocks took a beating as oil prices resumed their climb, with benchmark light, sweet crude rising $1.38 to settle at $132.19 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Shares of UAL, Delta, Northwest and US Airways Group Inc. each hit their lowest points since the carriers emerged from bankruptcy protection, and AirTran shares were trading at their lowest point in more than five years. AMR shares hit a multiyear low Wednesday. LIKE CHURNING fAY OWN YOU rAAKE BUTTER? IT SOUND CREEPY. Our address: Business, The Tampa Tribune, 200 S.

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