Business briefs
Published 9:00 pm Friday, June 16, 2006
Peoples Bank will open its first Snohomish County branch at 9 a.m. Tuesday at Mill Creek Town Center. The full-service branch at 15506 Main St. will be open six days a week and have an ATM. Grand opening activities, including prize drawings, will run through July. Peoples Bank, with headquarters in Lynden and $725 million in assets, operates 23 branches statewide.
Bothell firm seeks military customers
Bothell-based Neah Power Systems Inc. said it will explore whether its micro-fuel-cell technology could power sensors used by homeland security and military services. Neah Power is developing fuel cells small enough to power laptop computers and other consumer electronics. The cells could be ideal for field-deployed sensors and sensor networks, the company said.
Delta plans to cut pilots’ pensions
Bankrupt Delta Air Lines Inc. will file a request Monday to terminate its pilots’ pension plan, the company’s chief executive said in a letter to a lawmaker Friday. CEO Gerald Grinstein said the nation’s third-largest carrier will ask that the pilots’ pension plan be terminated effective Sept. 2. Grinstein said the Atlanta-based airline is still seeking help in Congress in hopes of preserving the pension plan. Delta has lost more than $14 billion in the last five years.
Google launches government search
Google Inc. is making its move on the federal government. The company announced a new online product aimed at being a one-stop shop for searching federal government Web sites. The launch of Google U.S. Government Search, usgov.google.com, targets federal employees, but it also is designed to help citizens navigate convoluted pages of government-speak and tailors news feeds to their interests.
Ford plans to invest in Mexican plants
Ford Motor Co. on Friday announced plans to invest in three plants in Mexico as part of the company’s North American turnaround effort. The company said it will upgrade Ford of Mexico’s two existing assembly plants in Cuautitlan and Hermosillo and its engine plant in Chihuahua. Details will be announced during the next several years.
Fuel costs help sink cruise line’s profits
Higher fuel costs and a sluggish Caribbean cruise market combined to reduce second-quarter profit 2 percent at Carnival Corp., the world’s largest cruise operator reported Friday. Net income for the quarter ended May 31 was $380 million, compared with last year’s second-quarter profit of $388 million. Micky Arison, Carnival’s CEO, said higher fuel prices cut earnings by $74 million in the quarter.
From Herald staff and news services
