Business and Finance

The trucking industry took a step back in May, with tonnage slipping for the first time since February but still up from a year ago. The American Trucking Associations, a trade group, on Friday said its advance index of for-hire truck tonnage fell 0.6 percent in May, down from a revised 1 percent increase in April. The index is adjusted for seasonal variations. With the May decline, the index moved to 109.6. The base year of 2000 equals 100. ATA Chief Economist Bob Costello said that despite the dip, he saw industry trends continuing to improve. “There is no way that freight can increase every month, and we should expect periodic decreases,” he said in a release. “This doesn’t take away from the fact that freight volumes are quite good, especially considering the reduction in truck supply over the last couple of years.” Compared with May 2009, tonnage was up 7.2 percent, the sixth straight year-to-year improvement. For the first five months of the year, tonnage was 6.2 percent better than during the same period last year. Not seasonally adjusted, the ATA index fell 2.8 percent to 108.3 between April and May. Earlier this month, Overland Park-based trucking giant YRC Worldwide Inc. (Nasdaq: YRCW) said freight volumes continued to rise in June and it probably would report positive unadjusted earnings for the second quarter. http://kansascity.bizjournals.com/kansascity/stories/2010/06/14/daily1.html Trucking has been a leading indicator of the U.S. economy’s health, hauling 68 percent of tonnage carried by domestic modes of freight transportation.

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The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday lifted a 2007 ban on Monsanto Co.’s Roundup Ready alfalfa that was supposed to protect conventional and organic growers from having their crops tainted by cross-pollination.

The court’s 7-1 vote reversed a lower court ruling and makes it possible for the U.S. Department of Agriculture to approve planting of genetically engineered alfalfa seeds on an interim basis until a final decision is made next spring.

Perhaps more importantly, Monday’s ruling may have broader implications for the approval of other biotech crops, including Monsanto’s Roundup Ready sugar beets, which are the subject of another court battle.

"This Supreme Court ruling is important for every American farmer, not just alfalfa growers," David F. Snively, Monsanto senior vice president and general counsel, said in a statement.

"All growers can rely on the expertise of USDA, and trust that future challenges to biotech approvals must now be based on scientific facts, not speculation."

The Center for Food Safety, a Washington-based group opposed to genetically modified crops, said the victory was a hollow one for Monsanto and other backers of genetically engineered crops because the USDA must still complete an environmental impact statement before it can deregulate Roundup Ready alfalfa.

Biotech crop developers favor a more streamlined regulatory process to get products to market without having to wait the several years it takes to complete a more thorough environmental analysis.

"The bottom line for us is that planting is still illegal, as it was," George Kimbrell, a senior staff attorney for the Center for Food Safety, said in an interview. "The Department of Agriculture can take further action that will allow planting, but the court held that it would require an (environmental impact statement), and our right to challenge it has been preserved."

Based on Monday’s ruling, the USDA is now free to allow farmers to plant genetically modified alfalfa seeds with restrictions designed to limit cross-pollination and contamination of conventional alfalfa crops.

The USDA said it was moving forward with plans to complete the regulatory review of Roundup Ready alfalfa in time for the planting season next spring. The agency issued a 1,476-page draft environmental impact statement in December that reported no significant effect from the seeds on the environment or human health.

The alfalfa case represents the Supreme Court’s foray into the debate over genetically engineered crops, which have been available since Monsanto began selling Roundup Ready soybeans in 1996.

Like those first biotech soybeans, Monsanto’s alfalfa is genetically modified to withstand applications of glyphosate, the active ingredient in Roundup weed killer.

While Roundup-resistant crops make it easier for growers to combat weeds because they can spray entire fields without damaging the primary crop, organic and conventional alfalfa growers fear contamination by pollen from the genetically modified plants that can be carried between fields by bees.

Two conventional alfalfa growers and several environmental groups, including the Center for Food Safety, filed a lawsuit in 2006 that challenged the USDA’s decision a year earlier to deregulate biotech alfalfa.

In 2007, a federal district court ordered that USDA’s Animal Plant Health Inspection Service erred by deregulating Roundup Ready alfalfa without preparing an environmental impact study. The court banned distribution of the genetically modified alfalfa but allowed farmers who had already purchased seeds to plant. The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the ruling.

Monday’s majority opinion, written by Justice Samuel Alito, said the district court "abused its discretion" by imposing the sweeping ban on biotech alfalfa, and should have allowed the USDA to partially deregulate the crop while the environmental study was ongoing.

Justice John Paul Stevens was the lone dissenter. Justice Stephen Breyer didn’t take part in the decision. His brother is the district court judge who ordered the 2007 ban.

Before the ban took effect, Roundup Ready alfalfa was planted on about 220,000 acres — less than 1 percent of the 23 million acres of alfalfa grown nationwide.

Alfalfa is the fourth-most widely grown U.S. crop behind corn, soybeans and wheat, according to the USDA. It is mainly used for livestock feed, and much of what is grown is exported.

Creve Coeur-based Monsanto, the world’s largest seed company, developed Roundup Ready alfalfa but licenses the technology to Forage Genetics, an alfalfa breeder.

The biotech alfalfa case has been closely watched by the agriculture industry, biotechnology groups and environmentalists because of the potential ripple effect of any decision affecting genetically modified crops. In a brief filed in the Monsanto case, for instance, rice growers contended that contamination of long-grain rice had already cost their industry $1 billion.

Meanwhile, the next legal skirmish over genetically modified crops shifts back to the West Coast next month.

That’s when a federal district court will consider the next steps after ruling last year that the USDA erred by approving Monsanto’s Roundup Ready sugar beets without an environmental impact statement.

In that case, U.S. District Judge Jeffrey White decided not to implement a nationwide injunction similar to the ban on alfalfa. But he didn’t rule out ordering a permanent ban later this year.

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Georgina Gustin of the Post-Dispatch contributed to this report.

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Mortgage borrowers hurt by the Gulf oil spill may qualify for temporary relief from paying their mortgages, without fear of losing their homes.

Citigroup’s (C, Fortune 500) CitiMortgage unit announced Wednesday that it would suspend all foreclosure sales and filings for 90 days, through Sept. 17, on its Gulf properties. The policy applies only to first mortgages that Citi owns on homes that are within 25 miles of the coast.

Fannie Mae, the government-supported mortgage company, also touted its own relief policy Wednesday, saying that servicers of Fannie-backed loans may immediately suspend or lower payments on mortgages for borrowers whose income or property were affected by the spill.

"This was a reiteration of special relief policies that Fannie Mae has had for a while," said Janis Smith, a spokeswoman for Fannie.

"Borrowers who hope to obtain relief under this policy should call their servicers right away," Smith said. "They should not sit around waiting for a call."

Under the Fannie Mae program, servicers can offer to postpone or lower payments for up to 90 days, during which the servicer is expected to verify the borrower’s income loss or the damage the oil spill may have done to their property.

Freddie Mac, the other government-supported mortgage giant, will grant up to six months forbearance to victims of the oil spill.

Other lenders have similar policies in place; all of them are trying to get the word out so that borrowers hit by the disaster know that these options are available.

During these forbearance periods interest continues to accrue, so borrowers aren’t exactly getting a free lunch.

It is, however, an opportunity for these homeowners to avoid laying out cash when they can least afford to do so.

They’ll eventually have to pay the money back — if they keep their homes. 

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Sales of condominiums in Maui County doubled last month, while sales of single-family homes rose 35 percent.

There were 104 condo units sold in May, including two on Molokai, which was 100 percent more than the 52 units that sold in May 2009, according to the Realtors Association of Maui.

There were 81 single-family houses sold on Maui alone last month, a 35 percent increase compared to the 60 homes that sold on Maui, Lanai and Molokai during the same month last year.

Prices, however, didn’t follow suit. The median price for a single-family house was $442,000 in May, an 8 percent decline from $482,500 in May 2009.

The median price of a condo in Maui County last month was $412,500, which was a 3 percent increase compared to $399,000 in May 2009 Payday Loan for Bad Credit.

Year-to-date, single-family home sales are up 49 percent compared to last year, while the median price for the first five months of the year is $460,000, down 9 percent.

Condo sales for the first five months of the year are up 59 percent; however, the year-to-date median price for a condo in Maui County is $427,750, a 34 percent drop from the same period last year.

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IKEA is recalling more than 3 million additional window blinds after a child nearly strangled earlier this year, the government said Thursday.

This expands the furniture retailer’s previous recalls of the same types of blinds, bringing the total number of blinds recalled to more than 4.5 million.

All Roman blinds and roll-up blinds sold at IKEA nationwide from 1998 through June 2009 for between $5 and $55 are included in the recall, according to a statement from the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission.

Roller blinds without a tension device attached to the beaded chain are also part of the recall, because a child’s neck can become entangled in the looped chain if it isn’t attached to a wall or floor.

The three types of blinds were all recalled due to the risk of a child being strangled by a cord.

CPSC said the recall was announced a new report that a 1 year old boy had nearly strangled on a cord in February.

Previous recalls by IKEA of the same types of blinds came after reports that one child died and another was almost strangled cheap payday advance. About 790,000 Roman blinds were recalled in 2008 and 2009 and 533,000 roller blinds were recalled in 2009.

Roman blinds can cause strangulation if children pull the blind’s exposed cord out and wrap it around their necks, or put their necks between the blind’s inner cord and the back of the blind.

Roll-up blinds can strangle a child puts his or her neck in the loops used to lift the blinds after it falls off the blind.

Consumers should immediately stop using all Roman blinds and roll-up blinds and return them to IKEA for a full refund. Roller blinds without a tension device attached to the chain can also be returned.

For additional information, consumers can call IKEA toll-free at (888) 966-4532. 

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The Fox Co. has been awarded a $78,925 contract to supply sewing equipment to the state of North Carolina.

The Charlotte-based company manufactures cloth spreaders, cutting and measuring machines.

It won the contract as part of the new N.C. Preference program, which gives N.C. companies whose bids are within 5 percent or $10,000 of the lowest out-of-state bidder the opportunity to match the out-of-state price and be awarded the contract.

“It’s critical that we do everything we can to support our home-grown businesses,” says N.C. Gov. Bev Perdue. “The preference for in-state businesses will save jobs and help North Carolina businesses grow and create new jobs.”

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AIG and Prudential PLC formally terminated a deal for an Asian life insurance unit on Thursday that would have accelerated AIG’s bailout repayment to the U.S. government.

The announcement comes two days after AIG rejected Prudential’s reduced bid for AIA, AIG’s Hong Kong-based life insurance division. In early March, the companies had agreed upon a $35.5 billion price tag for AIA. But it became apparent over the past few weeks that Prudential’s shareholders were not going to accept the deal.

Prudential attempted to renegotiate the terms of the deal with AIG, offering $30.375 billion instead. Prudential PLC is not related to the American insurer Prudential Financial Inc.

AIG has said that it considers the sale of AIA to be a crucial component of its effort to repay the more than $130 billion it has borrowed from U.S. taxpayers. The troubled insurer had planned on using the proceeds of the sale to pay down $25 billion of its debt to the Federal Reserve.

When the deal was first announced on March 1, AIG’s Chief Executive Robert Benmosche said the deal would allow AIG "to realize value on a faster track to repay U.S. taxpayers" and will give the company "greater flexibility" with its restructuring plans.

Now that the deal has fallen through, AIG may consider an initial public offering for AIA, an option that the company had initially proposed last year. An IPO would take much longer to complete than a direct sale, and the recent market turmoil may dictate a lower price for the unit.

According a regulatory filing, AIG will receive a termination fee from Prudential worth £152.6 million ($223.9 million) on July 1.

Shares of AIG (AIG, Fortune 500) rose more than 1% in premarket trading Thursday. 

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It has been called the front door to St. Louis.

So in an effort to improve the first impressions of visitors who walk through that door, officials at Lambert-St. Louis International Airport announced a major makeover in early 2007.

But more than three years later, the biggest renovation in the airport’s history — at a cost of $105 million — remains a major piece of unfinished business. Turbulence in the airline industry forced the airport to break the Airport Experience project into bite-sized chunks.

The first phase of work focused on the most pressing upgrades and is being wrapped up right now at a cost of $20 million. Clunky baggage carousels were replaced on the ground floor of the Main Terminal. The dingy domed ceiling above the main ticket counters has been restored with a bright, white surface. And many of the directional road signs have been replaced.

"You have to have an airport that you can compete with both cosmetically and aesthetically," said Airport Director Rhonda Hamm-Niebruegge. "The airlines don’t want their customers, if their flight is delayed for five hours, to sit there and have nothing to do. The more your airport has to offer helps the airlines when they have off-schedule days."

Later this summer, the airport will embark on the next phase of work — a $50 million interior renovation of the aging main terminal, and the A and C concourses.

The work will include:

— Replacing the hodgepodge of counters and terrazzo floors in the main ticketing lobby.

— Updating restrooms with new tile and fixtures.

— Improving the C concourse security-screening checkpoint.

— Brightening the cavernous lower level by removing the dark ceiling slats and adding recessed lighting.

— Incorporating art displays and a lower-level performance stage.

Lambert officials said the work would not only make the terminal more inviting, but would provide a boost to the beleaguered area job scene. The second wave of renovation work is expected to take about two years to complete and support about 150 skilled construction workers.

The improvements can’t come soon enough for passengers who use the airport.

"It’s dark and depressing down here" on the baggage-claim level, said Julie Kujawa of Mount Vernon, Ill., who was picking up family members returning from Orlando, Fla. "And there’s not much down here. The walls are dark. The ceilings are low."

Amy and Don Palumbo of suburban Washington said they had flown into Lambert before and had always been struck by the low ceilings and the cramped feeling they induce on the lower level.

"Compared to other airports," Amy Palumbo added, "it’s kind of old."

Gone from the original Airport Experience plan are the canvas awnings reaching from the Main Terminal to the hourly parking garage across the street payday advances. However, Hamm-Niebruegge said some projects could be reconsidered, if needed, when the second phase of work was completed in the fall of 2012.

The project will be financed using bonds sold in June 2009, Hamm-Niebruegge said. "The bonds are long sold. So you have to move forward with the project. They were sold for that specific purpose. That decision is not a returnable decision."

Even if it were, she said, the airport would still move forward with it.

One reason is that there were as many airline seats in June from Lambert as there were one year ago, although there are fewer cities served by nonstop flights from Lambert. That is largely because most of the aircraft added to the Lambert mix are larger planes, and they are replacing mostly regional-jet flights that were axed by American.

Bonds will be repaid with airport revenue, said Hamm-Niebruegge.

The piecemeal approach reflects the gradual erosion in flights at Lambert.

Last month, American Airlines cut its daily flight schedule by more than half to 36 daily flights to nine cities. By comparison, there were 82 daily flights to 20 destinations in November.

Other airlines — most notably Southwest Airlines — have jumped in to fill part of the void. Southwest, which is now the dominant carrier in the St. Louis market, announced nine additional daily departures to six new nonstop destinations. Four of those cities that Southwest flies to — San Diego, Nashville, New Orleans and Raleigh-Durham, N.C. — would have been unreachable by nonstop flights after American’s cuts. The two other cities — Los Angeles and Seattle — also will be served by competitors.

United Airlines and Delta Air Lines also have added flights.

Local business leaders have been clamoring for airport improvements since American Airlines made its first deep cuts to St. Louis flights in 2003. Airport staff and outside consultants began working on plans to improve the Main Terminal — which is significantly older and darker than the East Terminal.

Richard Fleming, president and chief executive officer for the St. Louis Regional Chamber and Growth Association, said air service came up consistently when companies considered expansion or relocation to a community — and that included the perception and appearance of the airport itself.

"Obviously, in the environment of really tough times in the industry, the Lambert folks have had to be prudent in how they have modified the scope and timing of the improvements," Fleming said.

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