Cascade Financial Corp. of Everett, parent company of Cascade Bank, has increased its quarterly cash dividend to 8 cents per share. Including a stock split issued in May and the dividend increase, the cash payout is up 11 percent from last year. The next dividend will be paid on Oct. 25 to shareholders of record on Oct. 11. The bank’s share closed Wednesday at $16.32, up 17 cents for the day.
Film director will create for Xbox
Microsoft Corp. is teaming with “Lord of the Rings” director Peter Jackson to create content for its Xbox 360, in part to get more mainstream users interested in the company’s video game console. Microsoft said Jackson’s creations may not be video games in the traditional sense but could include new forms of interactive entertainment. Jackson already plans to create one product based on Microsoft’s “Halo” game.
Ford unveils new heavy-duty pickups
Ford Motor Co. is unveiling an updated line of F-Series large pickups and work trucks designed for heavy-duty use in an effort to keep its lead in truck sales. The company hopes its new “Super Duty” lineup, to be shown off today at the State Fair of Texas, will hold off General Motors, which is rolling out a brand-new Chevrolet Silverado pickup that could take sales away from Ford’s F-150, the best-selling vehicle in the U.S.
Tech firm fugitive found in Africa
After a two-month international manhunt, the indicted former chief executive of leading voicemail-software maker Comverse Technology Inc. was captured on Wednesday in southwest Africa, U.S. officials announced. Authorities in the Republic of Namibia arrested Jacob “Kobi” Alexander in the country, where he was living as a fugitive with his family. U.S. officials were expected to ask for his extradition so he could face charges in New York alleging he schemed to pocket millions of dollars by secretly manipulating stock options.
Rise in home sales may not last
Sales of new homes, after falling for three months, rose in August nationwide. But the gain was expected to be temporary as the battered housing industry struggles with a near-record level of unsold homes. The Commerce Department reported Wednesday that home sales increased by 4.1 percent last month, the best showing since an 8 percent increase last March.
7-Eleven switching gasoline partners
7-Eleven Inc. dropped Venezuela-owned Citgo as its gasoline supplier after more than 20 years as part of a previously announced plan by the convenience store operator to launch its own brand of fuel. But 7-Eleven officials said Wednesday that the decision also was partly motivated by politics. Citgo Petroleum Corp. is a Houston-based subsidiary of Venezuela’s state-run oil company and 7-Eleven is worried that anti-American comments made by Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez might prompt motorists to fill up elsewhere.
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