The Pantagraph from Bloomington, Illinois • Page 19

Ml Karen Hansen, Business editor, 309-829-9000, ext. 236, email: businesspantagraph.com WEDNESDAY, October 9, 2013 Tuesday's market Smi ASSOCIATED PRESS D0W -15971 14,776.53 NASDAQ 3,694.83 500 1,655.45 -20-67 CRUDE OIL $103.49 G0LD 9 -60 $1,324.20 60 behind last year's $2,092. Just over half of U.S. households use natural gas for heating. Many of the 38 percent of U.S.

households that use electric heat live in warm regions where heating demand is not high. Only 6 percent use heating oil, but those homes tend to be in New England and New York, where winter heating needs are high. Some analysts are concerned about a spike in heating oil prices. That's be -cause the fuels that refiners make alongside heating oil, including diesel and jet fuel, are in high demand around the world. average of $679, the Energy Department said in its annual outlook for heating costs for the season running from October to March.

That is about 13 percent higher than a year ago but still 4 percent below the average for the previous five winters. Homes relying on electricity for heat, about 38 percent of the U. S. will like -ly pay about 2 percent more compared with last year. For heating oil customers, there is good news and bad.

Their average bill should drop 2 percent. But they'll still pay an average of $2,046 for the season, the second highest on record The government forecast Tuesday that most households will pay more for heat this winter. Heating oil users will catch a slight break, but still pay near-record prices to keep warm. Prices for natural gas, electricity and propane should be higher, the primary reason that more than 90 percent of U.S. homes will incur higher heating expenses.

Natural gas users will see the biggest percentage increase after two years of his -torically low prices. Their heating bills should rise to an In brief Associated Press file photoJEFF TAYLOR Delivery truck driver Donald Whitacre returns to his truck after pumping 200 gallons of home heating oil into a customer's tank during heavy snowfall on March 6 in Winchester, Va. Chillier weather and slightly higher fuel prices may make this winter the most expensive one in three years for U.S. residents. TECHNOLOGY I Monitors on health weakened Tl i iiiiTirT'- 5 Work Injury Conference Thursday in uptown NORMAL -The 21st annual Work Injury Conference will be at 8 a.m.

Thursday at the Marriott Hotel Conference Center in uptown Normal. The conference offers perspectives of people with an interest in the Illinois Workers' Compensation System, including employers, health care providers, insurers, lawyers and injured workers and is presented by SafeWorks Illinois and the Illinois State Medical Society. A conference goal is to institute "best practices" regarding care and treatment of injured workers. Registration begins at 7:30 a.m. For more information contact tproctorsafeworks illinois.com or 217-356-6150.

Question of the day Which of these Internet companies is the best long-term investment? A. Angie's List B. Groupon C. Pandora D. Zynga Quick click your answers at pantagraph.commoney YESTERDAY'S POLL How important Is a stock's dividend yield to your investment decision? 1.

By Mary Clare Jalonick ASSOCIATED PRESS WASHINGTON, D.C, The government shutdown has slowed or halted federal efforts to protect Americans' health and safety, from probes into the cause of transportation and workplace accidents to tracking the flu. The latest example: investigating an outbreak of salmonella in chicken that has sickened people in 18 states. The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has recalled some of its furloughed staff to deal with the salmonella outbreak, which has sickened more than 270 people and was announced by the Agriculture Department late Monday. Before Tuesday, the CDC had only a handful of scientists working on outbreak detection, severely hampering its ability to track potentially deadly illnesses. With federal workers on leave, the states have had to pick up much of the slack.

In the case of food safety, state labs are investigating foodborne illnesses and communicating with each other without the help of federal authorities; in many cases to figure out SEE HEALTH PAGE C2 McClatchy NewspapersGARY FRIEDMAN Optometrist Robert Shapiro examines Hilda Lozano at Family Eyecare in Los Angeles. About 64 percent of Americans wear glasses to improve vision. Innovation in eyeglasses has been largely nonexistent until recently. Concerns about eye strain from the use of computers and mobile devices has spurred the creation of protective lenses. Advances seen in eyeglasses somewhat not at all 20 40 FN slightly 40 0 Firms designing visionary apps, protective lenses By Andrea Chang LOS ANGELES TIMES Google Glass has been hogging the spotlight when it comes to eyewear, but get ready to see new technology designed for those stuck with old-fashioned prescription eyeglasses.

About 64 percent of Americans wear glasses to improve vision. Many can't stand them, complaining that glasses are cumbersome, headache-inducing or don't work in all situations. Meanwhile, the growing among eye specialists, who say the glasses industry has been largely stagnant since bifocals were invented by Benjamin Franklin in the 18th century. "It's a marketplace with slow technology adoption. There hasn't been new technology in eyeglasses in forever," said Stephen Kurtin, chairman of Superfocus, which makes adjustable-focus glasses that enable wearers to choose the best focus for every distance.

Now companies are designing a host of solutions to aid glasses wearers, including futuristic lenses and even an iPhone application that developers say can help people wean SEE GLASSES PAGE C2 Corn Belt finds next CEO within These glasses are fitted with BluTech lenses, which are infused with melanin, a natural pigment found in the iris of the eye, to help filter out high-energy blue light and UVA radiation. amount of time people spend in front of computers and mobile devices has also raised concern about the potential damaging effects on eyesight. That's spurring innovation By Phyllis Coulter pcoultei BLOOMINGTON A vice president at Corn Belt Energy will become the company's fourth presidentCEO in its 75 -year history. Don Taylor, vice president of utility Results do not reflect a scientific poll. They show only how readers responded.

Figures may not total 100 due to rounding. Wire check Tweeter trading under new stock symbol NEW YORK (AP)-Tweeter is not Twitter. And it's changed its stock symbol to avoid any confusion. The bankrupt electronics retailer's new ticker symbol is "THEGQ." Its old symbol was "TWTRQ." That was apparently too similar to "TWTR," the symbol proposed by Twitter on Thursday when it filed plans for an IPO. They said it "Over the last six months, we have made significant strides and are now seeing positive signs in many important areas of the business MikeUllman CEO of J.C.

Penney, in a statement saying that the company expects to have ample liquidity at year end Google debuts $279, HP-made laptop services, will replace Jeff Reeves when he retires at the end of the year after 40 years of service. While the exact date of the change in leadership has not been announced, the 53-year-old Taylor said the transition will move fluidly. i Don Taylor By Anick Jesdanun ASSOCIATED PRESS NEW YORK Google is introducing a $279 laptop that runs its Internet -centric Chrome operating system, borrowing many of the high -end features found in models that cost $1,000 or more. Hewlett-Packard Co. makes the new HP Chromebook 11.

Although its price is in line with most other Chrome OS notebooks, the new model sports many design features found in pricier devices, including the $1,299 Chrome-book Pixel. Unlike Windows and Mac laptops, Chromebooks rely heavily on continuous Internet connections to run Gmail, Google Docs and other online services. Many apps don't run directly on the device but over the Internet. The devices also have relatively little storage, as documents, photos and other files are supposed to be stored online. Google promotes Chrome books as affordable laptops for a wide range of people, including schoolchildren and merchants who can use Google's tools on the Internet without the extra expense and hassle of installing more sophisticated software such as Adobe's Photoshop photo-editing software or Microsoft's Office word processing and spreadsheet package.

Chromebooks come with a lightweight photo editing package and Quickoffice, a Microsoft Office alternative that Google bought last year. It is an advantage for him to know the day-to-day operations of the cooperative, as well as being able to work closely with Reeves and others who know the business so well. SEE CORN BELT PAGE C2 COST $7.24 RT SUZ21 -n $120 $10 12 '13 ft Eye on Family Doflar Wall Street epects family Dollar's latest quarterty earnings impro.fd versus a year ago. The discount has continued to see a steady stream of shoppers since the recession, as consumer look for bargains on i i everyday goods and other items '12 '13 Even so, management noted thi I in transition Ruby Tuesday reports fiscal first-quarter earnings today. The restaurant operator is in the middle of a transition as manage merit looks to focus on its Ruby Tuesday chain.

The company has dosed a number of other chains, including Marhn Ray's and Wok Hay Ttiat's contributed to weak sales and charges, which have cut into its earnings this year Wall Street predicts a quarterly loss for Ruby 's latest quarter. Super-sized earnings? Strong customer traffic and spending is helping drive earnings gams (or Costco this year. The wholesale dub operator has enjoyed growth in revenue tram membership fees, which account for much of the company's earnings, as well as a pickup in sales at stores open at least a year. Investors will be looking today to see whether the trends continued during Castco's fiscal fourth quarter 90 Operating rm rtw EPS WFWffl I Operating EPS est. 1Q 12 10 13 summer that sales of discretionary items remained under pressure as shoppers watched their spending family Dollar reports liscal fourth-quarter results today.

Price to earnings rafio lost money on 12 4Q 12 4Q13 Price to earnings ratio: 24 based on past 12 nwnth results Dividend: SL24 Div. yield 11 Wii.B)iiaiW:laituJ Dividend none.