NATIONAL

J.C. Penney, Kohl's profits outperform analysts' forecasts

Midprice department store powerhouses J.C. Penney Co. and Kohl's Corp., helped by enticing fashions, turned in solid profits that beat analysts' expectations, even as their middle- class consumers struggle with high gasoline prices and a weak housing market.

Kohl's said earnings jumped 15.8 percent, and Penney's profit edged up nearly 2 percent.

NO. 2 FOR NOW Southwest Airlines Co. is on track to unseat American Airlines as the top U.S. airline for total passenger traffic this year.

Southwest carried 40.3 million passengers entirely on domestic routes in the first five months of the year, up 4.2 percent from last year.

DELL RESTATES Computer maker Dell Inc. on Thursday said it will reduce more than four years' worth of earnings by up to $150 million after an internal investigation found that the company misled its auditors and manipulated results to meet performance goals.

SPINOFF PLANNED Altria Group Inc., the world's largest cigarette maker, will probably spin off its Philip Morris International unit Jan. 2, an A.G. Edwards & Sons Inc. analyst said Thursday in a report.

The company's board will set the date at its Aug. 29 meeting as well as increase the dividend 9 percent, said analyst Christopher Growe, who is based in St. Louis.

H-P'S HOT Hewlett-Packard Co.'s third-quarter sales and profit breezed past Wall Street's estimates as the technology bellwether continued to cash in on healthy sales of laptop computers and lucrative printing ink.

H-P's net income for the quarter ended July 31 was $1.78 billion, or 66 cents a share, a 29 percent jump from the $1.38 billion, or 48 cents a share in the year-ago period.

LOCAL

2007 distribution of gaming funds 6.2% higher than '06

Limited-stakes gaming in Black Hawk, Central City and Cripple Creek generated more than $106.3 million in fiscal year 2007 for historic preservation, local governments and the benefit of state residents.

The Colorado Limited Gaming Control Commission on Thursday certified the distribution of $106,356,714 in gaming funds generated during fiscal year 2007 ended June 30, up 6.2 percent from $100,147,466 distributed at the end of fiscal year 2006.

CINEMA GOING UP Hollywood Theaters and Nor'wood Development Group began construction of an all-digital, multiscreen cinema at Nor'wood's InterQuest Marketplace in Colorado Springs.

LEVEL 3 BOARD Level 3 Communications on Thursday named two directors to its board, bringing the total to 11. The new directors are Douglas C. Eby, 48, chairman and chief executive of TimePartners LLC, an investment advisory firm; and Michael J. Mahoney, 57, most recently president and chief executive of Commonwealth Telephone Enterprises.

PIPELINE PROMISE Expansion of a natural gas pipeline from the Rockies to Ohio likely will boost profits for gas companies and prices for area consumers, an energy market expert said.

The Rockies Express pipeline, being built from Colorado and Wyoming to the east for distribution to Eastern and Midwestern markets, will radically change the market's structure, Porter Bennett of Bentek said Wednesday at the Colorado Oil & Gas Association's annual natural gas convention.

ECONOMY

30-year mortgage rates creep back up

Rates on 30-year mortgages edged up slightly this week after falling for three straight weeks.

Freddie Mac, the mortgage company, reported Thursday that 30-year, fixed-rate mortgages averaged 6.62 percent. That was up from 6.59 percent last week, which was the lowest level since early June.

This week's rate is the highest since 30-year mortgages averaged 6.73 percent four weeks ago, a level that was near the high for the year of 6.74 percent set in mid-June.

The small increase was influenced by developments in financial markets, particularly rates on 10-year Treasury securities, which have the biggest impact on mortgage rates.

Analysts said the turmoil in subprime mortgages has not spilled over into the market for conventional loans.

• First-time applications for jobless benefits unexpectedly rose last week, while still holding in a range that signals resilience in the U.S. labor market. Initial unemployment claims rose 6,000 to 322,000 in the week ended Aug. 11, the Labor Department said Thursday in Washington. The four-week moving average increased to 312,500 from 307,750.

Companies have been slow to fire workers as business investment and expanding exports sustain demand in the face of a housing recession.

Job and wage growth has been strong enough to hold up the consumer spending that accounts for 70 percent of the economy.

"We expect jobless claims to continue to float upward," said Ellen Zentner, an economist at Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ Ltd. in New York.

THIS JUST IN...

• Fitness Together Franchise Corp., headquartered in Highlands Ranch, named Kevin Betts as president.

• Two employees of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs at the Denver regional office, were honored for their outstanding customer service assisting disabled veterans. John P. Cunningham received the Outstanding Customer Service Award for an Individual Employee, and Tristen Wendland was selected as the Vocational Rehabilitation and Counseling Service 2007 Employee of the Year.

• Design and Image Communications, a Denver-based marketing design firm, has moved to the Santa Fe Arts District at 930 Inca St.

• Ed Redente, a principal ecologist with Broomfield- based MWH, was honored with the 2007 Theodore Sperry Award by the Society of Ecological Restoration International for his work on improving ecological restoration programs.

• Peter Russell, president and general director of Opera Colorado, and James Robinson, artistic director, have resigned. No decisions have been made on replacements. In addition, the Opera Colorado board of directors promoted Greg Carpenter to executive director and named Jeremy Shamos as president of the board.

• Dan Guzman joined Denver-based Cohorts, a household segmentation provider, as vice president of account services for the company's automotive business channel.

• Travelers, a provider of property and casualty insurance products in the United States, awarded a $15,000 grant to Junior Achievement, Rocky Mountain Inc., a nonprofit organization that works with young people on financial literacy, entrepreneurship and workforce development.

• The Denver West Market Center of Keller Williams Realty in Lakewood named Sue Vencill as team leader.

• Rimrock Energy LLC, a private oil and gas company headquartered in Denver, secured equity commitments of $250 million from Bear Stearns Merchant Banking and Natural Gas Partners.

• Starz Entertainment LLC named David L. Laughlin as director of human resources. He will be based out of the Douglas County office.

Rocky staff and wire reports

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