Fine stands for Arlington firm in 2006 death
Published 7:23 pm Tuesday, September 16, 2008
A three-person insurance appeals board has affirmed the $10,500 in penalties levied by a stage agency against The Erection Co. of Arlington in the 2006 death of an ironworker in Quincy. The final decision reverses a proposal by an industrial appeals judge earlier this year to overturn three of the four safety citations by the state Department of Labor and Industries. Travis L. Watts, 31, died while working on the Microsoft data center project. He fell 30 feet when he was dragged down by a bundle of roof decking in which he was harnessed. “The employer’s citation arises out of its providing a fall protection system that was inherently unsafe,” the appeals board wrote.
Decline in prices first in two years
Consumer prices in August posted the first monthly decline in nearly two years as Americans finally got some relief from surging energy prices. But the cost of food and clothing still rose last month and wages over the past year are down. Consumer prices edged down 0.1 percent last month, the Labor Department reported Tuesday, a significant improvement from a 1.1 percent price spike in June and a 0.8 percent rise in July. The cost of gasoline and other fuels plunged during the month, reflecting big drops in crude oil prices since they peaked at $147 per barrel in early July.
Home Depot plans to cut many prices
At a time when shoppers are forking over more money for groceries, clothes and more, The Home Depot Inc. plans to put some prices in reverse. The hardware chain is set to start cutting prices this week on as many as 1,200 items including trash bags and toilets as it kicks off its latest effort to boost anemic sales and win back customers who’ve ditched the home improvement retailer for its competitors. Prices will be cut between 5 percent and 50 percent, although the company couldn’t say what the average reduction will be, on about one out of every 25 items found on store shelves.
Phone rollout hurts Best Buy
Best Buy Co. said Tuesday that its second-quarter profit slid 19 percent as the consumer electronics retailer spent money to complete the rollout of its Best Buy Mobile concept to nearly 1,000 North American stores as part of an effort boost cell phone sales. The Richfield, Minn.-based company earned $202 million, or 48 cents per share, for the three months ending Aug. 30. That’s down from $250 million, or 55 cents per share, during the same period last year. The company’s earnings results were below Wall Street forecasts.
Dell shares fall nearly 10 percent
Hurting from price cuts and an expensive restructuring, Dell Inc. rattled investors Tuesday with another warning, this time that corporate spending on technology is weakening further. By most measures, the technology sector has been chugging along fine, which is why Dell’s announcement caused uncertainty about whether the problem is specific to Dell or indicates broader problems in the market. The revelation caused Dell’s shares to fall $1.76, 9.8 percent, to $16.23.
From Herald staff and news services
