Lynnwood-based CityBank announced an eight-cent quarterly dividend for shareholders Friday, an increase of a penny a share. The dividend will be paid Jan. 25 to shareholders of record as of Jan. 11.
The re-election of James P. Hoffa as president of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters was certified Friday by the union. Hoffa defeated Tom Leedham, of Portland, Ore., by a margin of 65 percent to 35 percent in the vote last month. Hoffa will serve a 5-year term as president.
McDonald’s Corp. announced Friday that it expected profits to sink in the fourth quarter compared with a year ago – its fifth consecutive year-on-year quarterly decline. Net profit for the fourth quarter is expected to be between 21 cents and 22 cents a share as sales in Asia were hurt because of concerns about the safety of the beef supply in Japan, the company said in a press release. A year ago, the company had a net profit of 34 cents per share in the fourth quarter. The world’s largest fast-food chain expects to report fourth-quarter operating earnings of 34 cents per share, a penny below expectations of analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial/First Call.
Preparing to go out of business at the end of February, bankrupt cable Internet provider ExciteAtHome laid off 400 of its 1,300 employees Friday. The remaining 900 employees will help the company shut down and transfer service for the cable companies that will be moving from ExciteAtHome onto other high-speed Internet networks. The company’s public relations team was among the casualties of the cuts announced Friday. A federal bankruptcy judge this week approved ExciteAtHome’s plans to maintain its service for about 2.1 million subscribers through Feb. 28.
Frustrated by two years of failed negotiations, United Airlines mechanics voted overwhelmingly to strike the struggling carrier, although any walkout is unlikely for at least two months. International Association of Machinists spokesman Frank Larkin said Friday that close to 99 percent of the nearly 10,000 votes cast the previous evening supported a strike. But anticipated action from the Bush administration would make a walkout illegal before Feb. 21. A message to the union members from IAM president and general chairman Scotty Ford said the vote “has sent a very loud and important message” and has “given us a very powerful tool that we intend to use.”
From Herald news services
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