Business briefs
Published 9:32 pm Wednesday, November 21, 2007
It’s fixed now, but Neah Power Systems of Bothell said Wednesday that its stock briefly traded under the wrong symbol, thanks to a clerical error. Shares of the small developer of small fuel cells usually trade under NPWS. But they briefly traded under the symbol NPWSE. The mistake was related to paperwork filed to help the company alter its fiscal year calendar.
Unemployment signups decline
Fewer people signed up for jobless benefits last week, an encouraging sign that most companies aren’t resorting to large-scale layoffs as the country copes with continuing problems in the housing and credit markets. The Labor Department reported Wednesday that new applications filed for unemployment insurance dropped by a seasonally adjusted 11,000 to 330,000 for the week ending Nov. 17. It was the lowest level since the beginning of November. The 330,000 claims was in line with economists’ forecasts. A year ago, new claims for unemployment insurance stood at 322,000.
Recall set for kids’ lead-fouled jewelry
More than a half-million pieces of Chinese-made children’s jewelry contaminated with lead are being recalled, it was announced Wednesday. The recalled merchandise involves 205,000 pieces sold by Family Dollar Stores Inc., 200,000 pieces sold by Michaels Stores Inc., 43,000 charm bracelets and tack pin sets sold by Big Lots Inc. and 45,000 stretchable bracelets imported by Cherrydale Fundraising LLC, 10,400 necklaces and bracelets manufactured by Colossal Jewelry &Accessories Inc., and 4,500 necklace and earring sets made by La Femme NY 2 Inc., officials announced.
Sales slowdown hits Gap, Old Navy
Gap Inc. said Wednesday its third-quarter profit rose 26 percent as marketing costs fell. But the company’s cost-cutting campaign couldn’t compensate for a slowdown in sales at its Gap and Old Navy chains. Companywide revenue was flat, and same-store sales, a key measure of retail health, fell 5 percent. The San Francisco-based company, which named Glenn Murphy as CEO during the summer, said net income for the quarter ended Nov. 3 rose to $238 million, or 30 cents per share, from $189 million, or 23 cents per share, in the year-ago period. Sales were flat at $3.85 billion. Analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial, anticipated earnings per share of 29 cents.
China choosy over flight attendants
Fly on a Chinese airline and you will be pampered by flight attendants who look eerily alike. They are young, beautiful and practically the same height. This is not a coffee-tea-or-me stereotype, but the result of a rigorous selection process that is more beauty pageant than equal-opportunity job interview. If you’re older than 24, don’t bother applying. If you aren’t taller than the average Chinese woman, go home. Sound like a throwback to the dark ages of workplace discrimination? Here, in the world’s fastest-growing aviation market, entry barriers for flight attendants are not only tolerated — they’re flaunted as symbols of excellence.
From Herald staff and news services
