The board of directors of Everett-based Frontier Financial Corp. has increased the company’s stock dividend to 14.5 cents a share. The old dividend was 14 cents. The new dividend will be paid Jan. 21 to shareholders of record on Jan. 7. “This quarterly dividend represents a 16 percent increase over first quarter of 2001 and is the ninth consecutive quarter in which the cash dividend has been increased,” said Bob Dickson, president and chief executive.
Port of Everett officials broke ground Thursday for a planned overpass that should improve safety and freight mobility. The overpass, essentially an extension of Everett Avenue, would prevent waterfront traffic from being held up by passing trains. The $10 million project is part of an effort to speed freight on its way from Puget Sound ports. The groundbreaking ceremony was attended by a host of local officials. The real excavation work begins in January, weather permitting.
A federal judge has agreed to delay his decision on whether to grant preliminary approval to a proposed settlement to the private class-action lawsuits accusing Microsoft Corp. of antitrust violations. In a brief statement Thursday, U.S. District Judge J. Frederick Motz said he would not issue his opinion on the proposed settlement until Jan. 10 while groups meet to discuss the settlement proposal.
The number of U.S. workers filing new claims for unemployment insurance dipped to a five-month low, suggesting the worst of the layoffs seen after the terror attacks may be over. But economists warned that the country is still in for a period of rising unemployment because of lingering weakness from the recession. For the workweek ending Dec. 15, new claims for jobless benefits dipped by a seasonally adjusted 11,000 to 384,000. It marked the third straight weekly.
A coalition of watchdog groups expressed outrage at a congressional plan approved Thursday for the Air Force to lease 100 airborne refueling tankers built from Boeing 767s. Consumer advocate Ralph Nader, Americans for Tax Reform President Grover Norquist, the Congressional Accountability Project and others echoed complaints from Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., who delivered a speech Thursday against the program. The 767 deal is part of the mammoth $318 billion defense spending bill approved by Congress on Thursday and sent to President Bush.
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