NATIONAL

Bad loans shut down American Home Mortgage

American Home Mortgage Investment Corp. plans to shut down, becoming the second-biggest residential lender to fail this year as bad loans spread to people with good credit records.

The last day for most employees will be Thursday, Chief Executive Officer Michael Strauss told the staff in an e-mailed memo obtained by Bloomberg.

Investment bankers cut off credit this week, leaving the Melville, N.Y.-based company unable to fund at least $750 million of mortgages it had promised to thousands of now-stranded borrowers.

DELPHI INVESTORS A bankruptcy court approved a plan Thursday to let a group of investors pump as much as $2.55 billion into Delphi Corp. in exchange for preferred and common stock in the auto parts maker.

The decision by the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York removes one of the last major obstacles facing the Troy, Mich.-based company as it works to emerge from bankruptcy protection by the end of the year.

KODAK POSTS PROFIT Eastman Kodak Co. swung to a second- quarter profit Thursday, despite lower sales and hefty restructuring charges as the company continues its painful transition to digital photography.

Kodak, which has operations in Windsor, earned $592 million, or $2.06 a share, in the April-June quarter vs. a loss of $282 million, or 98 cents a share, a year ago when it also took large one-time charges tied to a massive four-year overhaul.

Sales fell 6.6 percent to $2.51 billion, from $2.69 billion.

STARBUCKS STORES Starbucks Corp. plans to open another 1,700 locations in the U.S. next year, even as the world's largest specialty coffee retailer faces barely growing traffic in its domestic stores. Starbucks said the number of purchases at U.S. locations grew less than 1 percent in the fiscal third quarter.

Starbucks also said it plans to cut the number of drinks on its menu, a move it hopes will help baristas serve customers more quickly.

LOCAL

CoBank posts 27% increase in profit for first six months

CoBank, a Greenwood Village-based agricultural lender, reported net income of $205.3 million for the first six months of 2007, a 27 percent increase from net income of $162.2 million for the same period in 2006.

The bank credited "exceptionally strong year-over-year growth in the bank's agribusiness portfolio." Total loans and leases outstanding for CoBank increased to $33.9 billion on June 30, compared with $33.1 billion at year-end 2006.

CoBank, part of the $140-billion U.S. Farm Credit System, should not be confused with Denver's CoBiz or its subsidiary Colorado Business Bank.

NEW ECHOSTAR EXECUTIVE EchoStar on Thursday named Jessica Heacock Insalaco senior vice president and chief marketing officer.

Insalaco had been with MTV Networks in New York City since 1997, most recently as executive vice president for affiliate sales and marketing.

ROCKRESORTS DEAL RockResorts, a subsidiary of Broomfield-based Vail Resorts Inc., announced that it has retained a long-term management agreement for La Posada de Santa Fe Resort & Spa with a partnership led by the Gencom Group.

The Gencom Group-led partnership announced the purchase of the 157-room La Posada de Santa Fe Resort & Spa, a RockResort, from Trinity Hotel Investors.

Rocky staff and wire reports

ECONOMY

Jobless data suggest labor conditions solid

The number of newly laid-off people signing up for jobless benefits went up modestly last week, although the latest figures suggest that employment conditions around the country remain good.

The Labor Department reported Thursday that new applications filed for unemployment insurance rose by a seasonally adjusted 4,000, to 307,000, for the week ended Tuesday.

That was a better showing than economists expected; they were forecasting claims to rise to 310,000. New claims also are lower than a year ago, when they stood at 315,000.

• U.S. factories saw demand for their products improve in June but not as much as some hoped.

The Commerce Department reported Thursday that new orders placed with manufacturers rose 0.6 percent. That was better than the 0.5 percent drop registered in May. Economists, however, were forecasting a 1 percent gain. Still, the overall gain in June marked the best showing since March.

Demand for "durable" goods, including machinery, airplanes, turbines and generators, rose by 1.3 percent in June. Orders for durable goods dropped 2.4 percent in May.

THIS JUST IN...

• Vista Gold Corp., headquartered in Littleton, promoted Frederick H. Earnest to president and chief operating officer.

• Old Dominion Freight Line Inc. added Marty Wickman as district sales representative to its service center in Commerce City.

• Courtney Fletcher, a professor at the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center, was selected as dean of the University of Nebraska, Medical Center College of Pharmacy.

• Colorado-based Epiphany Clubs & Resorts, a luxury residence club, appointed -Keith Hampton general manager for the Club at Tristant in Telluride.

• Holme Roberts & Owen LLP added Irene F. Gallagher and Sheldon H. Smith as partners in its tax and ERISA practice group.

• French 250 Restaurant is scheduled to open at 250 Steele St. in Cherry Creek North on Aug. 18.

• Arapahoe County-based Local Insight Media LP appointed Scott A. Berman chief financial officer, effective Aug. 27.

• FEED, a Boulder-based mobile payment company, has changed its name to Mocapay and will be headed by Chief Executive Officer Rod Stambaugh.

• Boulder-based Golden West named Meredith Karol as community living coordinator for the Towers, apartments for independent seniors, and the Mezzanine, assisted living apartments.

• Timbers Resorts, based in Carbondale, reached an agreement with Sentient Jet Membership, a private jet membership company, allowing Timbers Resorts owners to access their corporate membership with Sentient for travel to and from any of the resort's properties.

• Brent Houchin, a human resources consultant based in the Denver area, has founded Houchin Consulting, specializing in human resources consulting and recruitment contract work for small and startup businesses.

• EchoStar Communications Corp., headquartered in Douglas County, appointed Jessica Heacock Insalaco senior vice president and chief marketing officer.

• Jan-Pro Cleaning Systems presented Candy and Scott Hockensmith and their son, Scott Hockensmith IV, owners of the Denver office, the 2006 Owner of the Year Award for outstanding growth performance.

• The National Federation of Independent Business, Colorado, will host a forum on the state's entire tax structure and its effect on business solvency and growth at 1 p.m. Aug. 13 at the old Supreme Court Chambers on the second floor of the Capitol. The forum is open to all Colorado small-business owners. To RSVP, e-mail tyler.nifong@nfib.org.

Rocky staff and wire reports

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