Snohomish County hotels, which have lost business since the terrorist attacks last month, are offering discounts of as much as 50 percent for residents looking for rooms for friends and family during the holidays. Occupancy rates for Everett and Snohomish County hotels were at 56.6 percent in September, down from 63.6 percent for the same month in 2000, according to Wolfgang Rood Hospitality Consulting. You can make reservations in Arlington, Edmonds, Everett, Lynnwood, Mukilteo and Snohomish at www.ExtraBedroom.com.
Intermec Technologies Corp. of Everett announced a partnership Thursday with IBM aimed at using the expertise of both companies to help businesses better manage their product inventories and distribution centers. IBM and Intermec formalized their longstanding relationship following successful joint projects with companies including Mercedes-Benz, which uses IBM’s Distribution View warehouse management system and services that have Intermec shop floor data collection devices. “By joining forces even more closely, IBM and Intermec are providing customers immediate access to both companies’ expertise,” said Intermec executive vice president Tom Miller.
ICOS Corp. of Bothell, which recently announced plans to sell 5.5 million shares of common stock, has set the price at $57 a share. All of the shares are being sold by the biotechnology company, which has several drugs in development. Credit Suisse First Boston Corp. and Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner &Smith Inc. are acting as joint lead managers for the offering.
The government is stepping up its investigation of 1.8 million Jeep Grand Cherokees after receiving 865 complaints that the sport utility vehicle can shift suddenly from park into reverse. Five deaths have been reported. Safety regulators said the investigation involves all Grand Cherokees built in model years 1993 through 2002. The Chrysler Group of DaimlerChrysler AG, which makes the vehicle, said Thursday it is investigating but has found nothing to explain the problem.
The European Central Bank slashed interest rates by a half percentage point Thursday, responding to weeks of pressure to stimulate the continent’s sagging economy in the face of recession warnings. Still, the larger-than-anticipated rate cut – only the second since the Sept. 11 attacks on the United States – failed to lift the struggling euro for long.
From Herald news services
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