Business Briefly: EPA now wants a 35.5 mpg fleet average by 2016
Published 10:35 pm Thursday, September 16, 2010
With global talks on climate change looming, the Obama administration sought to gain momentum Tuesday by unveiling its plan to require better gas mileage for cars and trucks and tougher rules on vehicle greenhouse gas emissions. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood and EPA administrator Lisa Jackson released the proposed regulations at the White House, the follow-up to President Barack Obama’s announcement in May that the government regulations would link emissions and fuel economy standards. The new standards call for the auto industry’s fleet of new vehicles to average 35.5 miles per gallon by 2016.
Kroger Co. profits tumble by 8 percent
The Kroger Co.’s second-quarter profit fell nearly 8 percent as bargain-minded households cut spending more deeply and the grocer cut prices to hold onto worried shoppers who are trying to stretch their dollars. Cincinnati-based Kroger, the nation’s largest traditional grocery chain, said Tuesday that sales also fell in the quarter. It cut its earnings guidance for the full year, saying it expects continued economic weakness and intense price competition for households that are cautious about their money in the recession. Kroger officials said shoppers are coming to its stores more often, but buying only as much as they need for the week or their next meal, and they show signs of running out of money by the end of the month.
Best Buy earnings less than expected
Best Buy Co., the largest U.S. electronics retailer, said Tuesday second-quarter results fell below expectations as sales at established stores fell. Still, the retailer raised its expected earnings for the year based on stabilizing customer traffic. Profit for the three months ended Aug. 29 fell 22 percent to $158 million, or 37 cents per share, from $202 million, or 48 cents per share last year, hurt by higher expenses and the stronger dollar. Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters, on average, predicted a profit of 42 cents per share. Revenue rose 12 percent to $11 billion, boosted by gains from adding Best Buy Europe’s revenue.
Adobe to buy Web analytic software firm
Adobe Systems Inc. said Tuesday it will buy the Web analytic software company Omniture for about $1.8 billion, giving the maker of content-creation software a way to let marketers monitor the effectiveness of such content. San Jose, Calif.-based Adobe Systems Inc., which makes Flash, Acrobat and Photoshop software, said it will buy Omniture Inc. for $21.50 per share in cash, a premium of 24 percent over Omniture’s closing stock price Tuesday. The announcement came as Adobe said it earned $136 million, or 26 cents per share, in the fiscal third quarter that ended in August, down 29 percent from the same time a year earlier. Adobe earned 35 cents per share, a penny above what analysts polled by Thomson Reuters were expecting.
From Herald news services
