Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News articles from January 11 2005

Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News archives from January 11 2005

Stamford, Conn., ranks last in quarterly ranking of commercial real estate.
January 11, 2005... By Peter Healy, The Stamford Advocate, Conn. Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News Jan. 11--A six-story office building at 1515 Summer St. in Stamford has been empty for several years. But just up the street, a 240,000-square-foot office...

Norwalk, Conn.-based FactSet Research Systems buys defense intelligence firm.
January 11, 2005... By Richard Lee, The Stamford Advocate, Conn. Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News Jan. 11--Norwalk-based FactSet Research Systems Inc., the supplier of computer-based financial and economic data to the investment community, has acquired...

Stamford, Conn.-based Independence Holding Co. gets 80 percent stake in insurer.
January 11, 2005... By Julie Fishman-Lapin, The Stamford Advocate, Conn. Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News Jan. 11--Stamford-based Independence Holding Co. has acquired an 80-percent stake in Health Plan Administrators Inc., a Florida company that provides...

Jones Creek, Ga., family intends to rent home during Masters Week.
January 11, 2005... By James Gallagher, The Augusta Chronicle, Ga. Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News Jan. 11--Wanda Kemp and her family always had good experiences renting their home as a "sleeper" during Masters Week. It came as a bit of a shock,...

Jackson County, Ga., commissioners freeze spending, hiring.
January 11, 2005... By Todd DeFeo, Athens Banner-Herald, Ga. Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News Jan. 11--JEFFERSON, Ga. -- Jackson County commissioners need to set spending priorities and distinguish between the county's needs and wants, newly elected...

Commissioners visit Athens, Ga., school building slated for demolition.
January 11, 2005... By Alisa Marie DeMao, Athens Banner-Herald, Ga. Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News Jan. 11--Members of the Athens-Clarke Heritage Foundation walked five commissioners around the former College Avenue School, discussing its history and...

Summit County, Ohio, poor children, mothers to get new health insurer.
January 11, 2005... By Cheryl Powell, Akron Beacon Journal, Ohio Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News Jan. 11--Almost 40,000 of Summit County's poor children and their moms soon will be getting a new health insurer. Akron-based SummaCare Inc. signed a...

Online buyers, sellers team up to help charities with Atlanta's Benevolink.
January 11, 2005... By Leon Stafford, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News Jan. 11--When the UPS delivery truck visits Sandra Mackey's neighborhood, it's probably stopping at her house. The senior marketing manager at the...

Insider moves to key post at Coca-Cola's bottling company.
January 11, 2005... By Scott Leith, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News Jan. 11--Coca-Cola Enterprises has turned to a company insider to lead the bottler's efforts to improve results in its biggest market. Terry Marks,...

Debt looms as threat, Atlanta federal reserve chief says.
January 11, 2005... By Michael E. Kanell, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News Jan. 11--Although the U.S. economy looks good this year, the expansion will increasingly be threatened by huge debts being run up as part of the...

Comcast to offer phone service over Internet in 20 markets, including Atlanta.
January 11, 2005... By Robert Luke, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News Jan. 11--Comcast, in a shot across the bow of its phone-company rivals such as BellSouth, Monday said it plans to roll out Internet-based phone service...

UPS to buy 'super jumbo' airplanes.
January 11, 2005... By Dave Hirschman, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News Jan. 11--With international shipments growing far faster than domestic, UPS is moving to buy the biggest of all aircraft to carry them. UPS on...

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution Wall Street column.
January 11, 2005... By Tom Walker, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News Jan. 11--PROFIT-GROWTH EXPECTATIONS POWER STOCKS: Corporate profits take center stage on Wall Street this week as companies begin releasing fourth-quarter...

Harrison County, Miss., board hopes laundry company delivers promised jobs.
January 11, 2005... The Sun Herald, Biloxi, Miss. Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News Jan. 11--A laundry company will pay $8,110 for property valued at $95,000 in Harrison County's Bernard Bayou Industrial Park. In exchange, Gulf Coast Laundry Co. plans...

Mississippi Power vice president moves to chief financial officer post.
January 11, 2005... The Sun Herald, Biloxi, Miss. Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News Jan. 11--GULFPORT, Miss. -- Frances Turnage has been named Mississippi Power's chief financial officer in a round of reassignments involving 10 Southern Co. executives. ...

Bar operators try Belleville, Ill., on for size.
January 11, 2005... By Scott Wuerz, Belleville News-Democrat, Ill. Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News Jan. 11--BELLEVILLE, Ill. -- For the last several years city leaders have worked to create a Soulard atmosphere downtown. Apparently it worked, because...

Fairview Heights, Ill., employees could strike within days.
January 11, 2005... By Patrick J. Powers, Belleville News-Democrat, Ill. Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News Jan. 11--FAIRVIEW HEIGHTS, Ill. -- City employees unhappy with the lack of progress on their contract negotiations could strike as early as this...

Denver firm buys operation handling fuel, other services.
January 11, 2005... By Alicia Wallace, Daily Camera, Boulder, Colo. Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News Jan. 11--Denver-based Ross Aviation LLC announced Monday that it purchased Denver Air, a fixed base operation that mostly provides fuel to planes at the...

Health plan launches dual eligibility program in Colorado.
January 11, 2005... By Alicia Wallace, Daily Camera, Boulder, Colo. Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News Jan. 11--A Denver managed care company is hoping a new health plan will ease the medical burdens for some Denver-area seniors, including ones in Boulder...

Maryland officials seek better deal for investors in state college savings plan.
January 11, 2005... By Laura Smitherman, The Baltimore Sun Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News Jan. 11--Maryland officials plan to shop for a better deal for parents and others who have invested in the state's college savings plan, now managed by...

Federal government extends tax break in attempt to harvest more tsunami aid.
January 11, 2005... By Eileen Ambrose, The Baltimore Sun Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News Jan. 11--To encourage private contributions for victims of the Southern Asia tsunami, the federal government is extending a tax break to those who make donations...

Baltimore's average housing prices jump over 17 percent.
January 11, 2005... By Jamie Smith Hopkins, The Baltimore Sun Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News Jan. 11--Housing prices accelerated in the Baltimore region at a record pace in 2004, with the average rising more than 17 percent -- an upswing that was...

Despite past healthy year, biotechnology aches.
January 11, 2005... By Judy Silber, Contra Costa Times, Walnut Creek, Calif. Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News Jan. 11--SAN FRANCISCO -- On the surface, biotechnology investors have more to celebrate about the industry than they've had in a while. In...

California's workers' compensation rates fall slowly.
January 11, 2005... By George Avalos, Contra Costa Times, Walnut Creek, Calif. Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News Jan. 11--The savings that were supposed to sprout from reform of California's wobbly workers' compensation system seem to be elusive so far. ...

Former New York mayor, considering presidential run, speaks in Charlotte, N.C.
January 11, 2005... By Jim Morrill, The Charlotte Observer, N.C. Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News Jan. 11--It wasn't the kind of audience Rudy Giuliani is used to, but one he may be seeing a lot more of over the next four years. The former New York...

US Airways near deal with federal board.
January 11, 2005... By Stan Choe, The Charlotte Observer, N.C. Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News Jan. 11--US Airways is on the verge of striking a deal with the federal board that controls the airline's access to cash, a key step that would help the...

Aiken County, S.C., residents displaced by chlorine gas may be kept away longer.
January 11, 2005... By Jeff Wilkinson, The State, Columbia, S.C. Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News Jan. 11--AIKEN, S.C. -- Thousands of people evacuated last week when a train crash unleashed deadly chlorine gas might not return home Wednesday, as had...

Chrysler aims to stay profitable without raising incentives, cutting production.
January 11, 2005... By Terry Box, The Dallas Morning News Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News Jan. 11--DETROIT -- The resurgent Chrysler Group, one of the industry's most successful automakers in 2004, wants to maintain its momentum this year without...

Blockbuster still eyes rival despite merger talk with another suitor.
January 11, 2005... By Maria Halkias, The Dallas Morning News Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News Jan. 11--Blockbuster Inc.'s two biggest rivals said Monday that they've agreed to merge, but Blockbuster's CEO said he still wants to acquire Hollywood...

Comcast to offer digital phone service this year.
January 11, 2005... By Terry Maxon, The Dallas Morning News Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News Jan. 11--Comcast Corp. said Monday it plans to begin offer digital telephone service over its cable system this year, with plans to take it through the United...

Proposal for regulatory changes to head off more pension plan failures.
January 11, 2005... By Robert Dodge, The Dallas Morning News Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News Jan. 11--WASHINGTON -- The Bush administration on Monday proposed a far-reaching regulatory overhaul of the troubled federal fund that insures the pensions of 34...

Ann Arbor, Mich.-based firm to buy air purification company.
January 11, 2005... By Jewel Gopwani, Detroit Free Press Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News Jan. 11--Kaydon Corp., an Ann Arbor-based parts maker for medical and industrial equipment, announced Monday it has purchased a company that keeps the air clean in...

Debut of Ford's Lincoln-inspired motorcycle embodies division's future.
January 11, 2005... By Alejandro Bodipo-Memba, Detroit Free Press Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News Jan. 11--A custom-made muscle bike, inspired by a new Lincoln luxury pickup truck and built by the stars of the Discovery Channel cable television hit...

Honda's new Ridgeline pickup stuns Detroit auto show with 'in-bed trunk'.
January 11, 2005... By Mark Phelan, Detroit Free Press Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News Jan. 11--Honda stunned the auto show with a revolutionary feature that sets a new standard for pickup trucks Monday. Most of us showed up at Honda's press...

Restyled Sonata sedan aims to redefine Hyundai.
January 11, 2005... By Jamie Butters, Detroit Free Press Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News Jan. 11--With the unveiling of its next-generation Sonata sedan at the North American International Auto Show Monday, Hyundai Motor Co. kicked off an ambitious...

KILL: BMW builds on U.S. sales.
January 11, 2005... Detroit Free Press Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News Jan. 11--The story slugged DE-BMW-20050111 filed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News for Jan. 11 should be killed. It will not move again. To see more of the Detroit Free...

Chrysler holds line on job cuts.
January 11, 2005... By Jeffrey McCracken, Detroit Free Press Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News Jan. 11--After five years of major job cuts through layoffs, attrition and selling off plants, confident Chrysler Group executives said Monday they don't expect...

Detroit Free Press extra Mike Wendland column.
January 11, 2005... By Mike Wendland, Detroit Free Press Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News Jan. 11--DCX FOCUSES ON AN E-MAIL AND PHOTO CAMPAIGN: DaimlerChrysler's Chrysler Group has turned to the Internet as a way to boost attendance at its North American...

Ford misses mark on market in 2004.
January 11, 2005... By Jamie Butters, Detroit Free Press Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News Jan. 11--While Ford Motor Co. has met most of the goals in its turnaround plan, it came up short last year in its effort to win a higher share of the retail market....

Detroit Free Press Tom Walsh column.
January 11, 2005... By Tom Walsh, Detroit Free Press Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News Jan. 11--U.S. MARKET SHARE VITAL TO GM, FORD: Some auto industry executives insist that U.S. market share, the measure of who has the biggest slice of the world's largest...

Detroit Free Press Mike Wendland column.
January 11, 2005... By Mike Wendland, Detroit Free Press Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News Jan. 11--BIG TVS, LITTLE RADIOS ARE TOPS AT SHOW: After walking 39,231 steps, or 19 miles, in four days, as measured by a pedometer, I'm back from this year's...

Durham, N.C.-based drug development firm enters effort on inflammatory disease.
January 11, 2005... By Anne Krishnan, The Herald-Sun, Durham, N.C. Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News Jan. 11--The good news keeps coming for Amphora Development Corp., a drug development company based in Durham. Just a month after closing on a $20...

Delaware seeks publicity firm for highway safety.
January 11, 2005... By Tom Eldred, Delaware State News, Dover Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News Jan. 11--DOVER, Del. -- Delaware's Office of Highway Safety is seeking a "one-stop shop" public relations firm to help get the word out on traffic safety...

Hardboard product puts a piece of Duluth, Minn., in Dodge, Ford vehicles.
January 11, 2005... By Jane Brissett, Duluth News-Tribune, Minn. Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News Jan. 11--Open the back of a 2005 Dodge Magnum or Ford Escape, take a look at the cargo cover panels and think Duluth. The panels are made of two pieces...

Minnesota economic redevelopment grants will be used to clean up sites.
January 11, 2005... Duluth News-Tribune, Minn. Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News Jan. 11--The Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development approved more than $4 million in grants Monday to help search out and clean up contaminants on sites...

St. Paul, Minn.-based plastics company raises money for expansion.
January 11, 2005... Duluth News-Tribune, Minn. Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News Jan. 11--Minnesota Diversified Industries has launched an $8 million capital campaign to raise money to finance Iron Range capital projects. To date, the nonprofit...

Loft living grows popular among Fort Lauderdale, Fla.-area residents.
January 11, 2005... By Rafael Gerena-Morales, South Florida Sun-Sentinel Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News Jan. 11--Shirlea LaForce purchased her Fort Lauderdale loft apartment as an investment and had no intention of living in the unit with tall windows...

Porterville, Calif., aircraft repair firm converts Cessnas to diesel fuel.
January 11, 2005... By Diwata Fonte, The Fresno Bee, Calif. Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News Jan. 11--PORTERVILLE, Calif. -- Tule River Aero-Industries, an aircraft repair and sales company owned by the Tule River tribe, hopes to double its revenue this...

Texas budget back in black, official says.
January 11, 2005... By John Moritz, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Texas Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News Jan. 11--AUSTIN, Texas -- With lawmakers arriving in Austin Tuesday to kick off the 2005 legislative session, state Comptroller Carole Keeton Strayhorn...

Texas governor gives special status to education finance, protective services.
January 11, 2005... By Jay Root, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Texas Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News Jan. 11--AUSTIN, Texas -- As lawmakers began streaming into town Monday for the start of the 79th Legislature, Gov. Rick Perry granted emergency status to...

Simple steps prevent scams when donating to tsunami-relief funds.
January 11, 2005... By Catherine Pritchard, The Fayetteville Observer, N.C. Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News Jan. 11--As people continue to open their wallets to help tsunami victims, scammers are trying to divert some of that cash into their own pockets....

Radio station draws static reactions in Fayetteville, N.C.
January 11, 2005... By Rebecca Logan, The Fayetteville Observer, N.C. Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News Jan. 11--Let's say you're boogieing along Interstate 95 and spot a sign promising radio information about Fayetteville. So you flip on AM 1680. You...

Cable giants join forces in liberate deal.
January 11, 2005... By Bruce Mohl, The Boston Globe Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News Jan. 11--Two of the nation's cable giants yesterday paid $82 million for software technology that should boost their interactive TV offerings, allowing customers to...

EMC helps Cisco Systems to enter data-storage business.
January 11, 2005... By Hiawatha Bray, The Boston Globe Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News Jan. 11--Cisco Systems Inc., the leading maker of data networking gear, is going into the data-storage business, with a major assist from storage vendor EMC Corp. of...

Comcast to offer Internet phone service.
January 11, 2005... By Peter J. Howe, The Boston Globe Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News Jan. 11--After years of testing the waters, Comcast Corp. is plunging into Internet phone service later this year. But it will stress service and features, not deep...

Developer forfeits $3.7 million as Boston project stalls.
January 11, 2005... By Thomas C. Palmer Jr., The Boston Globe Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News Jan. 11--Tishman Speyer Properties LP, fresh from a thwarted but still lucrative effort to take over International Place, forfeited about $3.7 million in an...

Executive of free Boston daily newspaper apologizes for joke.
January 11, 2005... By Christopher Rowland, The Boston Globe Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News Jan. 11--Steve R. Nylund, president of the company that is selling a 49 percent stake of the free newspaper Metro Boston to The New York Times Co., apologized...

MIT economics professor to take on tax revamp.
January 11, 2005... By Robert Gavin, The Boston Globe Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News Jan. 11--Resolved: The US government should fund primary and secondary education in the United States. In the early 1970s, high school debating teams sparred on...

Pennsylvania business' assembly line helps families to make meals.
January 11, 2005... By Ellen Lyon, The Patriot-News, Harrisburg, Pa. Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News Jan. 11--One evening last week, a dozen friends and relatives of Beth Murphy scooped diced vegetables into plastic bags and arranged pre-cut meat in...

Helicopte service gets off ground at Camp Hill, Pa., hospital.
January 11, 2005... By David Wenner, The Patriot-News, Harrisburg, Pa. Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News Jan. 11--Beginning today, Holy Spirit Hospital will be able to receive and transfer patients by helicopter. It expects that most people arriving by...

Harrisburg, Pa., office building seeks credit line.
January 11, 2005... By Jack Sherzer, The Patriot-News, Harrisburg, Pa. Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News Jan. 11--Bondholders in the financially troubled Forum Place office building in downtown Harrisburg are being told they have to spend money to make...

Connecticut governor orders rate debate on medical malpractice insurance.
January 11, 2005... By Diane Levick, The Hartford Courant, Conn. Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News Jan. 11--Gov. M. Jodi Rell Monday ordered a public hearing on rate increases for medical malpractice insurance after doctors, lawyers and the state attorney...

Northeast Utilities shuffles ranking managers.
January 11, 2005... By Stacy Wong, The Hartford Courant, Conn. Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News Jan. 11--Northeast Utilities on Monday shuffled high-ranking executives in moves that create a higher profile for its transmission group and place a new...

Comcast to offer phone service.
January 11, 2005... By Martha McKay, The Record, Hackensack, N.J. Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News Jan. 11--Comcast said Monday that it will begin a full-scale rollout of phone service this year to its cable customers, joining the rush of companies into...

Work on Bergen County, N.J., entertainment complex may start soon.
January 11, 2005... By John Brennan, The Record, Hackensack, N.J. Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News Jan. 11--Construction on the long-delayed $1.3 billion Meadowlands Xanadu project is likely to begin within 30 days, according to the joint developers and...

Speech will be no measure of acting New Jersey governor's political plans.
January 11, 2005... By Josh Gohlke, The Record, Hackensack, N.J. Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News Jan. 11--Acting Governor Codey's State of the State address today, like much of his eight weeks in power, will likely do little to dampen speculation about...

December's overall retail sales were lackluster, despite late surge.
January 11, 2005... By Joan Verdon, The Record, Hackensack, N.J. Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News Jan. 11--The nation's retailers received a mixed bag of sales results in December. Luxury retailers got richer, discount chains held their own, stores in...

State Farm to pay out $40 million over improper vehicle titles.
January 11, 2005... By Kevin G. DeMarrais, The Record, Hackensack, N.J. Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News Jan. 11--State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Co. has agreed to pay about 30,000 drivers in New Jersey and other states a total of $40 million as...

New Brunswick, N.J., pizzeria sells 'Fat Tsunami' sandwich.
January 11, 2005... By Jerry Barca, Home News Tribune, East Brunswick, N.J. Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News Jan. 11--NEW BRUNSWICK, N.J. -- A city pizzeria has named an overloaded sandwich the Fat Tsunami. Jimmy's Grill & Pizza Specialties, near the...

Houston Chronicle computing column.
January 11, 2005... By Dwight Silverman, Houston Chronicle Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News Jan. 11--MICROSOFT'S ANTISPYWARE DOES DIRTY WORK EFFECTIVELY: Spyware is now the biggest computer security problem users face, almost overnight inspiring new...

Halliburton unit prepares for Iran work.
January 11, 2005... By David Ivanovich, Houston Chronicle Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News Jan. 11--WASHINGTON -- A foreign subsidiary of Halliburton Co. is poised to help develop a huge natural gas field off Iran. Despite a Houston grand jury probe...

Three Houston hotels win top rating.
January 11, 2005... By Miriam Moynihan, Houston Chronicle Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News Jan. 11--Three Houston hotels were named AAA Five Diamond winners for 2005: the Four Seasons Hotel Houston, Omni Hotel Houston and St. Regis Houston. "These...

Houston housing market ready for another solid year.
January 11, 2005... By Nancy Sarnoff, Houston Chronicle Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News Jan. 11--Record-breaking, milestone and banner were a few of the words used to describe the pace of new-home sales in Houston last year when 42,000 homes were built....

Houston senator wants to ban use of credit scores in insurance pricing.
January 11, 2005... By Purva Patel, Houston Chronicle Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News Jan. 11--A Houston state senator knows he faces an uphill battle to stop insurers from using credit information to price policies. But Sen. Rodney Ellis said by...

Houston Chronicle Moneymakers column.
January 11, 2005... By David Kaplan, Houston Chronicle Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News Jan. 11--If you engage in too much personal gossip, you look like a jerk. But if you never indulge in it, it could leave you isolated. Gossip is generally frowned...

Jacksonville, Fla., law firm changes name after partner decides to retire.
January 11, 2005... By Timothy J. Gibbons, The Florida Times-Union, Jacksonville Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News Jan. 11--The back of your phone book won't change for a while, but the law firm that has long advertised there has a new name following the...

IBM presents North Carolina with options for state saltwater fishing license.
January 11, 2005... By Patricia Smith, The Daily News, Jacksonville, N.C. Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News Jan. 11--MOREHEAD CITY, N.C.-- A legislative panel will hear more about what it will take to set up a state saltwater recreational fishing license...

Employees of Onslow County, N.C., hospital voice support for site's expansion.
January 11, 2005... By Roselee Papandrea, The Daily News, Jacksonville, N.C. Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News Jan. 11--More than 40 employees from Onslow Memorial Hospital showed up at a public hearing Monday morning to support the Onslow County Hospital...

Several wild horses to be removed from Shackleford Banks, N.C., to thin herd.
January 11, 2005... By Jannette Pippin, The Daily News, Jacksonville, N.C. Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News Jan. 11--SHACKLEFORD BANKS, N.C. -- Living symbols of North Carolina's coastal heritage will trot off of Shackleford Banks today and head for a new...

Gay-marriage ban on agenda in Kansas.
January 11, 2005... The Kansas City Star, Mo. Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News Jan. 11--TOPEKA, Kan. -- Leaders of the movement to ban gay marriage in Kansas told supporters Monday that an election should be held as soon as possible on a proposed state...

Missouri heralds an era of change with new governor.
January 11, 2005... By Kit Wagar, The Kansas City Star, Mo. Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News Jan. 11--JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- Matt Blunt became Missouri's 54th governor at noon Monday, declaring that "change begins today, at this hour, in this place." ...

High court rejects H&R Block appeal.
January 11, 2005... By Gene Meyer, The Kansas City Star, Mo. Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News Jan. 11--The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday rejected an appeal by H&R Block Inc. to break up a class-action lawsuit accusing the company of gouging millions of...

State Farm Insurance will pay for title problems.
January 11, 2005... By Paul Wenske, The Kansas City Star, Mo. Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News Jan. 11--Thousands of automobile owners nationwide may be eligible to share in a $40 million settlement with State Farm Insurance over the company's handling...

Yearbook firm starts on new Edwardsville, Kan., plant.
January 11, 2005... By Kevin Collison, The Kansas City Star, Mo. Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News Jan. 11--Herff Jones, a yearbook publishing company, broke ground Monday on a $23 million production facility in Edwardsville that will replace its...