Financial life in a big town

The Dow ended an up-and-down week with a 21-point decline; still, thanks to Monday’s big gain, the index picked up 187 points on the week.

In Colorado, Crocs reached a 27-month high close on upbeat earnings, and Venoco and Golden Star Resources also advanced on the session.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished the trading day at 10,653.56, down 21.42 points (0.2 percent).

The S&P 500 closed at 1,121.64, down 4.17 points (0.37 percent).

The NASDAQ Composite finished at 2,288.47, down 4.59 points (0.2 percent).

Among actively traded Colorado stocks, Crocs Inc. (CROX) led the day’s gainers percentagewise, up 10.89 percent ($1.37) to close at $13.95. The gain brought the stock to its highest close since April 2008.

The Niwot shoemaker on Thursday reported improved second-quarter profits due to further strengthening of its global wholesale and retail businesses.

Other Colorado gainers:

• Venoco Inc. (VQ) — Up 2.27 percent (38 cents) to $17.13.

• Golden Star Resources Ltd. (GSS) — Up 2.11 percent (9 cents) to $4.35.

• Royal Gold Inc. (RGLD) — Up 2.01 percent (92 cents) to $46.76.

• Forest Oil Corp. (FST) — Up 1.38 percent (43 cents) to $31.50.

• Level 3 Communications Inc. (LVLT) — Up 1.31 percent (2 cents) to $1.16.

Among actively traded Colorado stocks that declined on the day was Kodiak Oil & Gas Corp. (KOG), down 9.46 percent (33 cents) to close at $3.16.

Other Colorado decliners:

• SM Energy Co. (SM) — Down 2.89 percent ($1.20) to $40.27.

• QEP Resources Inc. (QEP) — Down 2.64 percent (92 cents) to $33.97.

• DCT Industrial Trust Inc. (DCT) — Down 2.63 percent (13 cents) to $4.81.

• Molson Coors Brewing Co. (TAP) — Down 2.29 percent ($1.07) to $45.68.

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In a desperate attempt to fill a $70 million budget hole, Newark’s mayor is taking a chainsaw to the town’s budget — even going so far as to cut toilet paper from the 2010 budget.

"Every single contract that does not go to the core function of our city in providing safe streets, providing fire protection, or other things to keep our city afloat will now be cut," Mayor Cory Booker said during an emergency press conference Wednesday.

The reductions include not buying toilet paper for city offices, cutting the work week to four days for non-uniformed city workers, which is equivalent to a 20% pay cut, scrapping city holiday decorations, and closing city pools. These extreme measures, most of which will take effect beginning in August, are expected to save the city between $10 million and $15 million.

The city came to this impasse after the city council deferred a vote to create a Municipal Utilities Authority, a key component of Booker’s method of balancing the budget no fax cash advance. Because Newark could issue bonds on the Authority, it would have cash inflow to cover the immediate deficit. Without that infusion, the mayor said they can’t make ends meet.

While he accepts the council’s decision, Booker said that the move leaves Newark without a budget and "an incredible financial issue."

"If the council chooses to rely on a tax increase to fill this budget hole, our homeowners will receive an entire year’s worth of that tax increase in the fourth quarter — people will see tax bills into the thousands," Booker warned.

He added that raising property taxes will likely result in massive foreclosure rates, which is unacceptable.

Booker said he is making the severe cutbacks "to avoid a tax shock to our city." 

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A Quincy tool-rental company has filed to liquidate under Chapter 7 of the U.S. bankruptcy code.

Optimum Equipment LLC, which does businss as U-Rent It Tool, listed assets of less than $50,000 and liabilities in the range of $1 million to $10 million.

In its filing, Optimum ownership says creditors hold $2.78 million in unsecured claims. The filing states there are no secured claims.

Optimum is represented in the bankruptcy by attorney David B. Madoff of Madoff and Khoury in Foxborough.

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The cities of Sacramento and West Sacramento are examining whether one or more new Sacramento River crossings are needed to better connect the two communities, and want members of the public to weigh in on the matter.

A non-scientific survey was launched Monday as part of the Sacramento River Crossing Study: http://www.cityofsacramento.org/transportation/planning-policy/SacRiverCrossingsStudy.html. The online survey is available here.

The survey will accept one response per computer through June 24. Results will be released in mid-July.

“The nine-question survey will take just a few minutes to complete, but we believe it will yield a wealth of insight,” Sacramento city operations manager Fran Halbakken said in a news release. “For example, what kind of crossing is envisioned to address riverfront development on both sides of the river? Is the need best addressed by building one or more new facilities? Should a new structure be dedicated to public transit and bicycles/pedestrians or cars or all of the above modes? Where should it be located? That’s what we are exploring with the public low fee payday loans.”

The cities kicked off a joint feasibility study in April. It is intended to evaluate a number of alternatives from a “no build” option to multiple crossings and locations.

A final report is set to go to the city councils by the end of the year.

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New York’s The Lung Cancer Research Foundation will donate $25,000 for studies at the Translational Genomics Research Institute as a result of its first Strides for Life event in Arizona.

The 3-mile run-walk and children’s dash are modeled after the foundation’s longstanding event in New York. Because of its success, the foundation already has scheduled a second annual Arizona fundraiser at the same site, Tempe Arts Park, for April 10, 2011.

Laurie Carson, founder and president of the foundation, said she is thrilled with the 175 participants.

Her foundation provides funding nationally for lung cancer research. Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer death worldwide, killing 1.3 million people each year. The problem, she said, is there is no practical way to screen for lung cancer.

As a result, nearly 75 percent of patients are diagnosed with advanced-stage disease, leaving few options for treatment payday advances.

The National Cancer Institute estimates that nearly 220,000 new cases of lung cancer will be diagnosed this year in the U.S., where more than 159,000 people will die from the disease.

Michael Bassoff, president of TGen Foundation, said the $25,000 immediately will be applied to support TGen’s lung cancer research.

“The gift from LCRF will support scientific research in an area that affects more cancer patients than any other type of cancer,” he said.

This $25,000 award follows a $75,000 award that LCRF gave TGen last year to conduct scientific investigations.

For more: www.lungfund.org and www.tgen.org.

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Sales and profits increased significantly in the first quarter at LaCrosse Footwear Inc.

The Portland-based boot maker (NASDAQ: BOOT) earned $1.6 million, or 25 cents per share, in the quarter ended March 27, on $34.2 million in sales, up from a loss of $692,000, or a loss of 11 cents per share, on sales of $25.9 million in the same quarter last year.

The company easily beat analyst expectations. Analysts polled by Thomson Financial Network expected a loss of 1 cent per share and sales of $28.7 million.

LaCrosse credited the strong quarter to robust demand from the U.S. government and niche markets.

As previously reported, it plans to open a new factory in Portland to keep up with demand.

Results were released after the market closed. Shares close down less than 1 percent at $15.27 in Thursday trading. They have a 52-week range between $7.42 and $17.42.

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Firehouse Subs was the ninth-fastest growing restaurant chain in the nation last year, according to restaurant consulting firm Technomic Inc.

The Jacksonville sub chain known for its steamed sandwiches raked in $206 million in sales in 2009, 10 percent increase over sales in 2008, and increased its unit number to 5 percent.

Lorton, Va-based Five Guys Burgers ranked No. 1 on the list that ranked chains with sales over $200 million with $453 million in 2009 sales, a 50 percent increase over 2008 revenue. Oakville, Ontario-based Tim Hortons Inc. (NYSE: THI) ranked No. 2, with $446 million in 2009 revenue, a 23 percent increase. Minneapolis, MN.-based Buffalo Wild Wings Grill & Bar (Nasdaq: BWLD) ranked No. 3, with $1.5 billion in sales, up 22 percent from 2008.

The rest of the ten fastest growing restaurant chains in 2009 were Jimmy John’s Gourmet Sandwich Shop, Wingstop, Noodles & Company, BJ’s Restaurant and Brewhouse, Chipotle Mexican Grill and Potbelly Sandwich Works fast payday loan no faxing.

Founded in Jacksonville by Robin and Chris Sorensen, both former firefighters, Firehouse operates 380 locations in 19 states and has plans to open at least 50 new restaurants in 2010, including its first location in Chicago, and adding St. Louis, Mo., Oklahoma City, Okla. and Pittsburgh, Pa, among others, to its list of markets.

The company’s goal is to operate at least 3,500 restaurants nationwide.

In total, the top 10 fastest-growing chains’ sales accounted for $5.9 billion, a 19 percent increase over 2008. Unit counts grew 16 percent.

Overall, however, the 500 largest U.S. restaurant chains registered a .8 percent annual sales decline in 2009, according to Technomic’s annual report on the top U.S. restaurant chains. Systemwide sales for the top 500 declined to an estimated $230 billion in 2009, down almost $2 billion over 2008.

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Facing firm demands from the European Union and financial markets to cut its deficit, Greece announced cost-cutting measures Wednesday that will save the debt-challenged country €4.8 billion, $6.53 billion, this year.

The Greek government plans to cut civil service workers’ entitlements by 12%. This includes a 30% decrease in holiday bonus payments, according to The Wall Street Journal’s online edition. Officials also said civil service pensions will be frozen for the year.

To increase revenue, the Greek government said it will raise the value-added tax to 21% from 19% on items including clothing and footwear. Sales tax on food and medicine will rise to 10% from 9% and the tax rate on printed products will increase to 5% from 4.5%.

The country will boost the tax on alcohol by 20% and raise the tax on tobacco to 65% from 63%. Taxes on gasoline prices will be hiked by €0.08 per liter.

Officials expect the measures will reduce Greece’s budget deficit to 8 free credit report.7% of the country’s gross domestic product this year from a level of 12.7% last year, according to the report. The European Union had given Greece until March 16 to show it is making progress in cutting its deficit from more than four times the allowed level.

Umbrella union for civil servants ADEDY is already speaking out against the measures and has called for a 24-hour general strike on March 16, said the Journal.

In a speech to parliament Tuesday, Greek prime minister George Papandreou said the country risks bankruptcy if it neglects to find lenders to cover its €300 billion, $409 billion, in debt, the Journal said.

Greece is preparing to raise between €3 billion and €5 billion, $4.1 billion and $6.8 billion, in a 10-year bond sale.  

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Banks have pared their reliance on central banks and governments for liquidity support as the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression ebbs, according to a study by the Bank for International Settlements.

“The take up of many measures has declined,” economist Petra Gerlach wrote in the study, published in the Basel, Switzerland-based BIS’s latest quarterly review.

The report comes as central banks such as the U.S. Federal Reserve trim some of the emergency programs they introduced to combat the crisis. The Fed has completed its purchase of U.S. Treasuries, while the European Central Bank conducted a final auction of 12-month funds in December. The Bank of Japan stopped its purchases of commercial paper and corporate bonds.

The shift “seems to reflect” the increased ability of banks to raise funds in markets, although it may also be the result of some lending programs becoming more restrictive, Gerlach said. She also said support may need to be removed to avoid distorting competition and so banks don’t have an excuse not to postpone repairing balance sheets quick cash.

While the decline in demand for liquidity is “clearly good news,” some institutions are relying more on governments and central banks than others, Gerlach said.

“This suggests that a differentiated exit strategy is desirable,” she said. “Such an approach would aim for a timely discontinuation of public support while taking into account that some financial institutions remain weak.”

The BIS also noted that banks within the European Union had a combined exposure of more than $200 billion to sovereign debt in Greece, Spain and Portugal at the end of the third quarter of last year. That dwarfs the exposures of the U.S. and Japan, where combined exposure is less than $20 billion.

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The biggest gathering of the global mobile phone industry begins on Monday in Barcelona, and much of the talk will be about the company that is not there: Apple.

Its iPhone has been imitated by larger competitors like Samsung Electronics, Nokia, LG and Research In Motion. All of them will be showing touch-screen devices and application stores, two innovations popularized by the iPhone.

In App Planet, a special section of the sprawling Fira de Barcelona convention grounds in the city’s center, more than 50 small software developers, many of whom make applications for the iPhone, will display the device’s capabilities. Elsewhere, manufacturers of netbooks and other mobile, connected devices will show their answers to the iPad, the tablet computer Apple introduced last month in San Francisco.

Meanwhile, Apple’s longtime rival, Microsoft, will be seeking some attention for the first glimpse of its Windows Mobile 7 operating system software for cell phones. The company does not plan to offer it on devices yet, according to people familiar with the company’s plans. Microsoft’s impact on the industry has been diminishing in the face of increased competition from other operating systems.

Apple, one of those new competitors, has never exhibited at big industry trade shows, including the Mobile World Congress. Secretive and focused, Apple rarely ventures beyond its own well-staged promotions. The company has sent executives to the Barcelona show, but has never taken center stage.

“They typically do not exhibit at non-Apple events, but we would very much like to have them join us,” said Claire Cranton, a spokeswoman for the GSM Association, the organizer of the annual Barcelona convention. “Apple products will be highly visible at the show.”

Apple has leapfrogged its Asian rivals to become the world’s third-largest maker of smartphones, the fastest-growing part of the mobile phone market. As of December, Apple had a 16.4 percent share of the market, behind Nokia and Research In Motion, which makes the BlackBerry, according to Strategy Analytics. And Apple is growing faster than either one.
Apple’s ’s growing influence on the global mobile industry stems from the way the iPhone convinced consumers to use wireless data. Wireless carriers worldwide have been seeking to increase their revenue from data use, like texting or browsing the Web, as the revenue from voice calls decline. The iPhone’s 133,000 apps that do anything a computer can do and more increase data use.

“With the iPhone, Apple has changed the paradigm of the mobile phone industry, just as Apple changed the MP3 industry with the iPod,” said Carolina Milanesi, an analyst at Gartner, a research firm free business cards. “They have shifted the focus from the technology to the services.”

The new iPhone 3GS will be part of the official display of T-Mobile, the wireless unit of Deutsche Telekom, which sells the device in 12 countries and is the exclusive seller in Germany.

Michael Hagspihl, a T-Mobile vice president in Bonn in charge of relations with cell phone makers, said the iPhone had brought T-Mobile 1.2 million new customers in Germany. “It’s been a real success for us,” Hagspihl said. “The iPhone has brought lots of new customers to our network, and our data consumption has gone through the roof.”

Should Apple ever decide to sell the iPhone through multiple operators in the United States, T-Mobile USA would definitely be interested, Hagspihl said.

So far, AT&T has the exclusive American rights to the iPhone.

But in France and Britain, Apple ended exclusive relationships and is selling the iPhone through several operators besides its original partners, France Telecom’s Orange and Telefonica’s O2.

Even after losing the exclusive selling rights in France, Orange has had no decline in iPhone sales, said Cynthia Gordon, an Orange vice president who oversees the relationship with Apple.

“Apple has had a major impact on the overall market and a very positive impact on Orange’s business,” Gordon said.

Orange is one of Apple’s biggest operator partners, Gordon said.

The French operator sells the iPhone in 29 countries in Europe, Africa, Asia and the Middle East. Through October, Orange had sold 1.7 million iPhones, which she said was more than any other operator in Europe and Africa.

IPhone sales are helping Orange offset declines in voice revenue, Gordon said.

“It has been a platform for us to build on our own sales,” she said. Besides attracting new customers and retaining old ones, the iPhone allowed Orange to develop the Orange TV Player, a programming application for viewing 60 TV channels on the iPhone in France.

Apple and Orange developed the application together, she said.

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