Business Briefly: Microsoft board member Jon Shirley won’t seek re-election

Longtime Microsoft Corp. board member Jon Shirley will not seek re-election in November, the software maker said. Shirley joined Microsoft in 1983 as president and chief operating officer after serving as an executive at early PC maker Tandy Corp. He retired from Microsoft in 1990 but remained on the company’s board. Shirley said in a statement Tuesday that he was confident in Microsoft’s leadership.

WaMu stops sales of two home loans

Washington Mutual Inc. said Wednesday it would stop offering two types of complex mortgage products as part of a shift in its mortgage business as deals with the fallout from the subprime mortgage mess. The nation’s largest thrift said it would no longer offer negative amortizing loan products and will also end its WaMu Mortgage Plus loan. Negative amortization happens when a payment on a loan does not cover the interest due, and the amount of interest owed is added to the principal balance, increasing the size of the loan. WaMu Mortgage Plus loans were mortgages with built-in lines of credit and flexible payments.

Southwest cautious about expansion

Southwest Airlines Co. expects to grow modestly through next year but may freeze its expansion plans if oil prices and the economy remain challenging, the carrier’s chief executive said Wednesday. Gary Kelly also said high fuel costs will force Southwest to continue raising fares and have wiped out thoughts of acquisitions it had been considering as late as six months ago.

FedEx predicts more gloom

FedEx Corp. reported a fourth-quarter loss Wednesday and offered a gloomy outlook as it wrestles with a slumping U.S. economy beset by soaring fuel costs and falling prices for homes. FedEx, considered a bellwether for the broader U.S. economy, predicted 2009 earnings of $4.75 to $5.25 per share, well below Wall Street expectations of $5.92 a share.

Fuel costs triple losses for Frontier

Frontier Airlines plans to report that its net loss for the fiscal year that ended March 31 nearly tripled from the year before due to rising fuel costs. The Denver-based airline said in a filing Monday with the Securities and Exchange Commission that it wouldn’t file its annual report on time because of its filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. However, it said it planned to report a net loss of about $59.4 million, or $1.62 per diluted share, for its latest fiscal year.

Ports, dockworkers reach labor pact

West Coast shippers say they have reached a tentative agreement with dockworkers on health care benefits, although contract talks continue. Neither the Pacific Maritime Association nor the International Longshore and Warehouse Union gave specifics Tuesday on the proposed health care package. Negotiations on a new contract began March 17. Port employers are seeking productivity increases while workers want better safety standards and compensation. The current contract expires July 1.

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