NATIONAL

Johnson & Johnson may slash 4,800 jobs in cost-cutting move

Johnson & Johnson said Tuesday that it would reduce its global work force by up to 4 percent, or up to 4,820 jobs, to cut costs due to a slump in sales of its heart stents and its No. 2 drug, plus looming expirations for key drug patents.

The company, which employs about 120,500 people in 57 countries worldwide, predicted that the restructuring would entail pretax charges totaling from $550 million to $750 million in the second half of 2007.

GM POSTS PROFIT General Motors Corp. ran its string of profitable quarters to three on Tuesday when it announced second-quarter net income of $891 million that came largely from overseas operations.

GM posted a $3.4 billion loss in the second quarter of 2006, when it took a giant after-tax charge of $3.7 billion for early retirement and buyout offers that eventually reduced its hourly work force by more than 34,000.

The latest profit amounted to $1.56 a share, compared with a loss of $5.98 per share a year ago.

Revenue fell to $46.8 billion from $53.9 billion a year ago

Excluding one-time items, income was $1.4 billion, or $2.48 a share. Analysts expected $1.13 a share.

LOCAL

Chipotle earnings nearly double in second quarter

Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc. said its second-quarter net income nearly doubled as the casual dining restaurant chain added stores and saw sales rise 11.6 percent in restaurants open at least a year.

The Denver-based company reported $20 million in net income, or 60 cents a share, for the quarter ending June 30, vs. $10.8 million, or 33 cents a share, a year earlier.

Revenue totaled $274.3 million, up 34 percent from $204.9 million in the year-ago quarter.

Chipotle said it also opened 32 restaurants during the quarter, including two in new markets.

BILL CLINTON TO SPEAK The Aurora Economic Development Council will present former President Bill Clinton as keynote speaker at its 2007 A-List Lunch Sept. 17 at the Colorado Convention Center.

AIR METHODS DEAL Air Methods Corp., an Arapahoe County-based company that provides air ambulance services, will buy FSS Airholdings Inc. for $25 million in cash.

Pennsylvania-based FSS is the parent company of CJ Systems Aviation Group, which provides medical transport services using a fleet of 113 helicopters and aircraft.

The companies expect to close the deal in October.

ATLAS DIRECTOR The University of Colorado's ATLAS Institute - a campuswide program that blends technology with music, theater and dance, journalism and other areas - is under new leadership.

University officials named John Bennett, associate dean of engineering, to the director's post, where he will lead the campus Alliance for Technology, Learning and Society, or ATLAS. The institute's centerpiece is a $31 million, 66,000-square-foot, high-tech hub that opened at the center of the Boulder campus last fall.

REPLYDINE POSTS PROFIT Replydine Inc. reported a second-quarter profit of $45.5 million, boosted after the company recorded as revenue $55.6 million tied to a discontinued development and marketing pact with Forest Laboratories. The Louisville biotech company posted a loss of $6.2 million a year earlier.

THIS JUST IN . . .

• Ball Corp. will honor nine metro Denver employees with its Award of Excellence at a banquet on Sept. 6: Joe Cipolone, director, quality assurance, Ball Packaging Products, Americas; Joe Girard, engineering manager II, Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp; Gene Lee, scientist, principal chemistry, Ball Packaging Products, Americas; Jennifer K. Margenau, director, sales, CSD and custom cans; S. Scott McCarty, director, corporate relations, Ball Corp.; Debra Murata, principal engineer, Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp.; Craig S. Orbanosky, business unit manager, financial planning and analysis, Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp.; Dean Paschen, senior manager, advanced systems, Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp.; and Katherine Yaney, manager, tax compliance and accounting, Ball Corp.

• GroundFloor Media Inc., a Denver-based public relations firm, added Collin Conaway as a senior public relations manager.

• Colorado School of Mines professor Jorg Drewes was selected by the Rocky Mountain section of the American Water Works Association to receive the Outstanding Research Award for his performance and dedication to improving water quality and treatment processes.

• Denver-based SLATERPAULL Architects commemorated its 35-year anniversary by planting 35 trees at project sites throughout the Denver metro area and is launching a program to donate a tree for every completed project.

• Law enforcement personnel raised $52,052 in tips at Red Robin restaurants statewide for the Tip-A-Cop Fundraiser, benefiting Special Olympics Colorado.

• The Ritz-Carlton Denver hired Douglas Rath as director of engineering.

• The Opera Colorado board of directors elected Sheila Bisenius to serve as its chair for two years. Kenneth Barrow, Steve Dilts and Lary Weintraub were elected as members.

• Adam Aircraft, headquartered in Arapahoe County, named Steve Crowley as vice president of sales, marketing and customer support.

• Denver-based Aardex LLC, a design, development and construction firm, received the Commissioners' Award from Jefferson County for its work on developing the Signature Centre at Denver West.

• Colorado-based Sport Obermeyer, a maker of winter clothing, hired Mary Mancini as associate vice president of merchandising and design.

• Key Equipment Finance, KeyBank's Colorado District and the Key Foundation contributed $250,000 to the University of Colorado's Leeds School of Business for its building campaign and newly created Leeds School of Business Key Leadership in College program.

ECONOMY

Jobs outlook boosts consumer confidence

Consumer confidence hit a six-year high in July, a widely watched gauge of sentiment showed Tuesday, as Americans shrugged off falling home prices to focus on a healthy jobs market instead.

The New York-based Conference Board said that its Consumer Confidence Index rebounded to 112.6, its highest level since August 2001 when it recorded a 114.0 reading. That compared with a revised 105.3 in June. The July 24 cutoff for the preliminary survey of 5,000 U.S. households was before last week's stock market tumble.

"An improvement in business conditions and the job market has lifted consumers' spirits in July," said Lynn Franco, director of The Conference Board Consumer Research Center. "Looking ahead, consumers are more upbeat about short-term economic prospects, mainly the result of a decline in the number of pessimists, not an increase in the number of optimists. This rebound in confidence suggests economic activity may gather a little momentum in the coming months."

Economists closely monitor confidence since consumer spending accounts for two- thirds of all U.S. economic activity.

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