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<< Previous   of   Next >>   ADVERTISEMENT   Related Stories • With a song in our hearts 6/11/08   CONTACT THE HERALD Mike Benbow, Business Editor benbow@heraldnet.com   Published: Wednesday, June 11, 2008 Purina offers pet health insurance Nestle Purina PetCare Co. said Tuesday that it will begin offering PurinaCare, the first pet health insurance under pet food maker Purina's name. The company said two plans will be available for dogs and cats, at a time when veterinary care can include costly CAT scans, MRIs or chemotherapy. The insurance will be offered through PurinaCare Insurance Services Inc., a San Antonio-based subsidiary of Nestle Purina PetCare, which has its North American headquarters in St. Louis. "We truly believe we can make pet insurance mainstream," said David Goodnight, president and chief operating officer of PurinaCare Insurance Services. Todd Shipyards will pay nickel dividend The directors of Seattle's Todd Shipyards Corp. have declared a dividend of 5 cents per share to be paid Sept. 22 to all shareholders of record as of Sept. 5. The company's wholly-owned subsidiary, Todd Pacific, performs a substantial amount of repair and maintenance work on commercial and federal government vessels engaged in various seagoing trade activities in the Pacific Northwest and provides new construction and industrial fabrication services for a wide variety of customers. Its customers include the U.S. Navy, the U.S. Coast Guard, NOAA, Washington State Ferries, the Alaska Marine Highway System and various other commercial and governmental customers. Todd recently purchased Everett Shipyard. Credit reduced for homebuilders Credit-rating agencies are betting that the housing downturn will deepen well into next year, dragging out homebuilders' woes. Fitch Ratings on Tuesday slashed its issuer default ratings for eight homebuilders, bumping three -- Ryland Group Inc., D.R. Horton and Centex Corp. -- into "junk" status. Fitch said its ratings reflect its expectation that the housing slump will extend into next year and hurt prospects for a recovery in the homebuilding sector. Wine giant to sell seven wineries Wine giant Constellation Brands says it is selling seven wine properties, including two in Washington state and one in Idaho. Constellation received $209 million in cash from the newly formed Ascentia Wine Estates for the sale. Constellation also could receive up to an additional $25 million in payments if certain objectives are achieved by Ascentia. The properties sold include Washington's Columbia Winery and Covey Run, including its Sunnyside winery, and Ste. Chapelle in Idaho. The rest of the properties are in California. Bernanke sounds inflation alarm Ramping up his tough anti-inflation talk, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke is raising expectations on Wall Street and elsewhere that the central bank could boost interest rates sooner than anticipated if high oil and food costs threaten to spur a broader bout of spiraling prices. Over the past week, Bernanke has been sounding the alarm ever louder about the threat of inflation. Monday, Bernanke played down the May spike in the U.S. jobless rate, saying the danger of a "substantial downturn" has faded. From Herald news services

1. 5 die of swine flu in Snohomish County 2. Driver charged in deaths of 4 3. Red Cross honors acts of heroism, many by ordinary people 4. Barista clothing rules delayed by County Council 5. Haugen's husband accused of sexual assault in civil suit 6. Ruskell steps down as Seahawks GM 7. Three people hurt in Everett house fire 8. Steelhead anglers finding mixed results 9. Airbus wins order for 52 single-aisle jets 10. Silvertips hammered 2 - Top 10 Stories Most Talked about 3 - Top 10 Stories Most Emailed

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