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Embrace clean air standards

Sat, 18 May 2013 01:01:04 MDT

Embrace clean air standards

By jeff miller

Updated May 18, 2013 01:01AM MDT

As a local Subaru dealer who works with one of the greenest brands in the nation, our air quality has become a major concern. The good news, however, is that new federal standards that could help dramatically improve our community’s air are being supported by a surprising alliance of car manufacturers and public health groups. Last winter, Wasatch Front residents struggled through 22 days of dangerously polluted air. Polluted air worsens breathing problems, shortens lives and especially jeopard...

Copyright 2013 The Salt Lake Tribune. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Heavenly mother

Sat, 18 May 2013 01:01:04 MDT

Heavenly mother

Updated May 18, 2013 01:01AM MDT

I enjoyed Peggy Stack’s “A Mormon mystery returns: Who is Heavenly Mother?” (Tribune, May 11). Recognizing a co-creator of our spiritual bodies makes sense. The suggestion that the Heavenly Mother is the Holy Ghost does not take into consideration the Mormon belief that our Heavenly Father was once a man like us who lived on an earth like ours and apparently married a woman like us in a celestial temple ceremony, which is a requirement to become a god and have the ability to procreate after ph...

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Year after IPO, humbled Facebook still aims big

Fri, 17 May 2013 18:11:02 MDT

Year after IPO, humbled Facebook still aims big

By BARBARA ORTUTAY The Associated Press

Updated May 17, 2013 06:11PM MDT

New York • It was supposed to be our IPO, the people’s public offering. Facebook, the brainchild of a young CEO who sauntered into Wall Street meetings in a hoodie, was going to be bigger than Amazon, bigger than McDonald’s, bigger than Coca-Cola. And it was all made possible by our friendships, photos and family ties. Then came the IPO, and it flopped. Facebook’s stock finished its first day of trading just 23 cents higher than its $38 IPO price. It hasn’t been that high since. Even amid the h...

Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Disappointing Q1 puts brakes on Walmart’s surge

Thu, 16 May 2013 18:38:02 MDT

Disappointing Q1 puts brakes on Walmart’s surge

combined news services

Updated May 16, 2013 06:38PM MDT

New York • Despite several months of controversy over bribery allegations in Mexico and other issues, Walmart’s profitable earnings and strong sales in recent quarters made it a Wall Street darling, with its stock price hitting a record high Wednesday. On Thursday, though, the company’s financial picture worsened as it reported quarterly results that missed analysts’ expectations, citing factors ranging from a cold spring to late tax refunds, and the stock price began to slightlydecline. The wo...

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Stock indexes rise for another record close

Wed, 15 May 2013 17:34:03 MDT

Stock indexes rise for another record close

bloomberg news

Updated May 15, 2013 05:34PM MDT

New York • U.S. stocks rose Wednesday, pushing benchmark indexes to fresh records, as data showing weakness in manufacturing fueled bets the Federal Reserve will be in no hurry to scale back stimulus. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index rose 0.5 percent, to 1,658.78. The benchmark equity gauge has set a record in nine of the past 10 sessions. The Dow Jones industrial average added 60.44 points, or 0.4 percent, to a record 15,275.69. More than 6.5 billion shares traded hands on U.S. exchanges Wednesd...

Copyright 2013 The Salt Lake Tribune. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Business news briefs

Wed, 15 May 2013 17:33:03 MDT

Business news briefs

staff and news services

Updated May 15, 2013 05:33PM MDT

U. of Phoenix sets leaders workshop The University of Phoenix will host a free “Transformational Leadership Workshop” Thursday evening, offering resources to strengthen an individual’s skills and information that can help organizations survive. The workshop, from 6 to 8:30 p.m., is at 5373 S. Green Street, Room 105, Salt Lake City. For information, go to www.phoenix.edu/startleading. Cisco’s 3Q profit takes big jump Cisco said its net income rose 14 percent in its third quarter, and report...

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Airlines ride record year for baggage fees to profits

Tue, 14 May 2013 19:09:35 MDT

Airlines ride record year for baggage fees to profits

By SCOTT MAYEROWITZ The Associated Press

Updated May 14, 2013 07:09PM MDT

New York • U.S. airlines collected more than $6 billion in baggage and reservation change fees from passengers last year — the highest amount since the fees became common five years ago. Passengers shouldn’t expect a break anytime soon. Those fees — along with extra charges for boarding early or picking prime seats — have helped return the industry to profitability. Airlines started charging for a first checked suitcase in 2008 and the fees have climbed since. Airlines typically charge $25 each...

Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

2012 was year of the business deal in Utah

Mon, 13 May 2013 17:55:45 MDT

2012 was year of the business deal in Utah

By Vince Horiuchi The Salt Lake Tribune

Updated May 13, 2013 05:55PM MDT

It seems Utah has mastered the art of the deal. Last year was one of the biggest for the number of business deals made in the state, with transactions totaling $11.04 billion, according to a report by Salt Lake City-based MountainWest Capital Network (MWCN). In 2012, there were 292 business deals, ranging from mergers and acquisitions to investments from venture capitalists to secondary public offerings. That marked a 59 percent increase from 2011, according to the report. One reason for the up...

Copyright 2013 The Salt Lake Tribune. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Salt Lake airport planners want your ideas, input

Mon, 13 May 2013 23:25:42 MDT

Salt Lake airport planners want your ideas, input

By Christopher Smart The Salt Lake Tribune

Updated May 13, 2013 11:25PM MDT

If you are a frequent flier or just a sometimes traveler, officials want your input on the proposed $1.8 billion facility that will replace the Salt Lake City International Airport. Construction is set to begin in one year. The new airport will be located just to the north and west of the existing terminals, said spokeswoman Barbara Gann, and will take eight to 10 years to complete. The main terminal should be completed in five years. The existing facility will operate while the new one gets bu...

Copyright 2013 The Salt Lake Tribune. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

April surplus of $113B lowers U.S. budget deficit

Fri, 10 May 2013 22:27:09 MDT

April surplus of $113B lowers U.S. budget deficit

The Associated Press

Updated May 10, 2013 10:27PM MDT

A rare surplus of $113 billion in April helped slow the growth of this year’s annual budget deficit and keep it on pace to be the smallest since 2008. The Congressional Budget Office projects the deficit will be $845 billion when the budget year ends on Sept. 30. Here’s a look at the deficits over the previous 12 years, dating to 2001, the last time the United States ran a surplus. The surplus that year was one in a string of four from 1998 to 2001. That was the longest stretch in which the budg...

Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Business news briefs

Fri, 10 May 2013 21:41:11 MDT

Business news briefs

staff and news services

Updated May 10, 2013 09:41PM MDT

Two attorneys set up new firm Attorneys David York and Andrew Howell have formed the firm of York Howell LLC, with offices at 6405 S. 3000 East, Suite 150 in Cottonwood Heights. They also are licensed to practice in Texas, Arizona, Idaho, Wyoming, Alaska and New York, and will focus on tax and estate planning, among other areas. Both were previously with Callister Nebeker & McCullough. Burrito franchise coming to Utah Tavistock Restaurants has signed on a local franchisee for its fast-casua...

Copyright 2013 The Salt Lake Tribune. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

U.S. medicine spending shows rare dip in 2012, agency says

Thu, 09 May 2013 21:46:58 MDT

U.S. medicine spending shows rare dip in 2012, agency says

By LINDA A. JOHNSON The Associated Press

Updated May 9, 2013 09:46PM MDT

Trenton, N.J. • Spending on prescription medicines in the U.S. fell for the first time in decades last year, slipping as cash-strapped consumers continued to cut back on use of health care services. Patients also benefited from a surge of new, inexpensive generic versions of widely used drugs for chronic conditions like high cholesterol, according to a new report. Total spending on medications dipped 1 percent, to $325.8 billion last year from $329.2 billion in 2011. Likewise, average spending ...

Delta will pay a dividend, buy back shares

Wed, 08 May 2013 18:15:51 MDT

Delta will pay a dividend, buy back shares

By JOSHUA FREED The Associated Press

Updated May 8, 2013 06:15PM MDT

Delta Air Lines will start paying a quarterly dividend and buy back some of its shares — investor-friendly moves that are common in other industries but rare for airlines. Delta, which operates a hub at Salt Lake City International Airport, said on Wednesday that it will pay a quarterly dividend of 6 cents per share starting Sept. 10 for people who own the stock as of Aug. 9. A quarterly dividend of that size would yield 1.3 percent per year, compared with Tuesday’s closing stock price. The airl...

Raising Utah-European cooperation

Tue, 07 May 2013 17:04:02 MDT

Raising Utah-European cooperation

By wade jacoby and taylor jacoby

Updated May 7, 2013 05:04PM MDT

Contrary to popular belief, the world’s largest organism is not the blue whale but an aspen colony near Fish Lake. Now, try to guess the world’s largest economic relationship. If you said the U.S. and China, you fell for the blue whale again. In reality, the economic ties between the United states and the European Union are like that aspen: largely out of sight, profoundly interconnected, and really, really big. According to data from Dan Hamilton and Joseph Quinlan of the Center for Transatlant...

Business news briefs

Mon, 06 May 2013 17:24:02 MDT

Business news briefs

staff and news services

Updated May 6, 2013 05:24PM MDT

U.S. casino revenue up nearly 5 percent According to the annual survey of casinos by the American Gaming Association, America’s nontribal casinos took in $37.3 billion from gamblers last year, an increase of 4.8 percent over 2011. It marked the second-highest total ever, second only to 2007 when casinos took in $37.5 billion. Adobe shifts to subscriptions for software Adobe Systems Inc. is moving to a subscription-based model for the software package it sells to designers, Web developers an...

Fericks: Even liberals should worry about national debt

Sat, 04 May 2013 01:01:08 MDT

Fericks: Even liberals should worry about national debt

By Russell C. Fericks The Salt Lake Tribune

Updated May 4, 2013 01:01AM MDT

Last week I read with my usual glee Paul Krugman’s slam down of Harvard economists Carmien Reinhart and Kenneth Rogoff. Krugman nailed these academics for a spreadsheet error which amplified their conclusions about the dampening effects of national debt on future economic growth. The Reinhart-Rogoff study quickly became a touchstone of conservative arguments for reduction of federal spending by any possible means or methods, regardless of the impact on the poor, on education, on retirees, and on...