NATIONAL

Ford shares rise on forecast of narrower loss in first quarter

Ford Motor Co. shares gained the most in four months after Credit Suisse Group upgraded its rating and forecast a narrower loss for the second-biggest U.S. automaker. Shares gained 31 cents to close at $7.93.

Ford may report a first-quarter pretax loss of $1.4 billion to $1.5 billion, analyst Christopher Ceraso wrote in a note Thursday. Ceraso previously estimated a loss of $1.7 billion. He raised his rating to "neutral" from "underperform" in at least the fourth analyst upgrade of Ford since December.

MORTGAGE RATES SLIDE Rates on 30-year mortgages fell to the lowest level since mid-December as investors scrambled to the safety of bonds following last week's stock market turmoil.

Mortgage giant Freddie Mac reported Thursday that 30-year, fixed-rate mortgages averaged 6.14 percent this week, down from 6.18 percent last week. The decline pushed 30-year rates to the lowest point since they averaged 6.13 percent the week of Dec. 21.

WAL-MART BOOSTS DIVIDEND Wal-Mart Stores Inc., the world's largest retailer, increased its annual dividend 31 percent to 88 cents a share, the largest increase since 1988.

The first quarterly dividend at the new rate will be paid April 2, the company said. The higher payout pushed the indicated yield on the stock to 1.83 percent.

MORE TALKS URGED A bankruptcy judge on Thursday urged more negotiations as he delayed ruling on a request by Northwest Airlines flight attendants for a reduction in company-imposed pay and benefit cuts.

Union lawyers say the cuts are no longer necessary because the airline is doing better than expected. Judge Allan Gropper delayed a ruling on a request by the Association of Flight Attendants to overturn a ruling that allowed Northwest Airlines Corp. to impose $195 million in annual concessions in July as part of an overall plan to save $1.4 billion.

VONAGE LOSES PATENT SUIT Internet phone company Vonage infringed on three patents held by Verizon Communications and must pay $58 million plus possible future royalties to its competitor, a jury said Thursday.

The judgment by the eight-person jury is far less than the $197 million Verizon had requested and was even slightly less than what Vonage had suggested would be fair if it were found liable.

Verizon sued Vonage last year for infringing on five patents that it said makes the Internet telephone service network functional.

NEW CENTURY WOES MOUNT Subprime lender New Century Financial Corp. said Thursday it has stopped accepting all new loan applications as it struggles to obtain financing amid market speculation that the company could file for bankruptcy.

In a Securities and Exchange Commission filing, New Century, the nation's second-largest subprime lender, said it was able to fund only some of its loans this week, and its capacity to fund new loans has been "substantially limited" because of problems getting financing from lenders.

CVS BOOSTS CAREMARK BID CVS Corp. boosted its offer for Caremark Rx Inc. for a third time Thursday, just a day after rival bidder Express Scripts Inc. upped its offer for the pharmacy benefits manager. Each of the bids, which include stock and cash, is now valued at roughly $26.5 billion.

CVS is adding $1.50 to its earlier special cash dividend offer of $6 a share payable to Caremark shareholders following closing of the merger, adding roughly $643 million to its earlier bid, which also included stock.

MCAFEE PLANS TEXAS MOVE McAfee Inc., the world's second- biggest maker of security software, will relocate its new chief, David DeWalt, to Texas instead of its California headquarters so he can be closer to his financial team in the midst of restating results.

The company also said he'll receive $900,000 in annual salary.

AMR EYES BOEING JETS American Airlines parent AMR Corp. will consider Boeing Co. 737-800s to replace its fleet of 300 MD-80 jets and expects an announcement "in the near future," Chief Financial Officer Tom Horton said.

American, the world's largest carrier, would be able to get planes such as the 737-800 in 15 to 18 months, Horton said.

MORGAN STANLEY SPLITS UNIT Morgan Stanley, the biggest property investor among Wall Street banks, split its real estate investing unit from banking to take advantage of the surging market for commercial and residential buildings.

The new group, called direct investing, will comprise real estate, a new infrastructure fund and new private equity funds. Morgan Stanley, with $45 billion in property assets, saw revenue from real estate investing, banking and lending surpass $1 billion for the first time in 2005, jumping 57 percent to eclipse equity underwriting.

COKE, PEPSI POST DROPS Coca- Cola Co. and PepsiCo Inc., the world's largest soft drink makers, posted soda declines in the U.S. last year as the total industry recorded a 1.5 percent drop.

It was the second straight annual decrease for U.S. soda volume and double the 0.7 rate of decline in 2005, according to industry journal Beverage Digest. -Coca-Cola's U.S. soda volume fell 1.2 percent, and PepsiCo's dropped 1.3 percent.

GM GROWS IN INDIA, RUSSIA General Motors Corp. is increasing production of Chevrolet cars in markets such as India and Russia as it tries to retain a lead over Toyota Motor Corp.

Chevrolet cars based on Korean designs helped the automaker pass 2 million units for the first time in Europe and 1 million in Latin America last year, GM Vice Chairman Bob Lutz said.

LOCAL

Qwest signs distance-learning deal in Nebraska

Qwest Communications said Thursday it has signed a five-year, $15 million contract to provide distance-learning communications services to students in rural northwest Nebraska.

RUG STORE CLOSES After 27 years of running the business, Mohammad E. Aslamy and his wife, Soraya, the owners of Nima Rug Gallery, will close their Pearl Street rug store to focus more energy on welfare projects they started in Afghanistan.

ECONOMY

Colorado jobless rate creeps up in January

Colorado's unemployment rate inched up one-tenth of a percentage point to 4.1 percent in January as businesses made seasonal adjustments in their work forces, state economists said Thursday.

The rate compared with 4 percent in December, 4.7 percent in January 2006 and last month's national rate of 4.6 percent.

"The Colorado labor market began the year on a steady note with unemployment remaining relatively low and job growth expanding at a moderate pace," Don Mares, executive director of the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment, said in a statement.

The state's nonagricultural work force was estimated at 2.3 million, up about 1,800 from December, based on seasonally adjusted figures.

Five of the 11 sectors reported losses, led by trade, transportation and utilities, which lost 3,700 jobs, according to the seasonally adjusted figures. Construction lost about 1,600, and manufacturing lost about 1,100.

• The nation's retailers had a slow start to the spring season as unseasonably cold weather in February chilled demand for lightweight apparel and left merchants with disappointing sales. The slowing economy, particularly the weakening housing market, could challenge shoppers in the months ahead.

The International Council of Shopping Centers-UBS sales tally for February rose a modest 2.4 percent, below the projected range of 2.5 percent to 3 percent. The results are based on sales at stores open at least a year, known as same-store sales, and considered a good gauge of a retailer's health.

THIS JUST IN . . .

• Stantec has named Jeff Kishel as senior vice president, environment. He will be based out of the Denver office.

• Metropolitan State College of Denver advanced accounting students are providing low-income and elderly individuals with free tax preparation from 5:30 to 9:30 p.m. Tuesdays through April 10 at the Roger Braun Lounge on the second floor of the Tivoli Student Union on the Auraria campus. A maximum of 30 clients can be accommodated per night. Information: 303-556-5133.

• Karen Morales, former T-REX spokeswoman and owner of Communication Infrastructure Group, has joined the applied communications faculty at the University of Denver's University College.

• John Wood, an alumnus of the University of Colorado and CEO of Room to Read, an organization that partners with communities in the developing world to establish schools, libraries and other facilities, will give a free presentation for the CU's Leeds School of Business at 5 p.m. Wednesday in the Fleming Law Building.

• Broomfield-based Range Fuels named Michael Cate as vice president of procurement and fabrication.

• Lynn Gangone has been named dean of the Women's College of the University of Denver, effective June 1.

• Larry Lapinski was promoted to project director in the Denver regional office of Brinkmann Constructors.

• Moe Tabrizi, director of the energy conservation program at the University of Colorado, has been named interim director of planning, design and construction.

County by county

• January unemployment percentages for Denver-area counties, provided by the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment:

Adams   5.3%

Arapahoe   4.4%

Broomfield   4.4%

Boulder   3.9%

Denver   5.3%

Douglas   3.8%

Elbert   4.5%

Jefferson   4.3%

Source: Associated Press

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