B
Tech Focus Atari tries to revive its brand, see Page B3.
www.bendbulletin.com/business
THE BULLETIN • TUESDAY, AUGUST 17, 2010
MARKET REPORT
s
2,181.87 NASDAQ CLOSE CHANGE +8.39 +.39%
STOC K S R E P O R T For a complete listing of stocks, including mutual funds, see Pages B4-5
B U S I N E SS IN BRIEF
t
CLOSE 10,302.01 DOW JONES CHANGE -1.14 -.01%
s
1,079.38 S&P 500 CLOSE CHANGE +.13 +.01%
LOS ANGELES — Federal safety officials have opened an investigation into a complaint about the steering system in a Kia Soul by a driver who claimed that he lost control of his car after the steering wheel came off. Although normally a single complaint is unlikely to trigger a safety probe, the incident is cause for concern because “it occurred without warning on a new vehicle at low mileage and resulted in a complete loss of steering as well as a compromised brake system,” according to a statement released Monday by safety regulators. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said an owner of a 2010 Kia Soul reported that the steering shaft decoupled from the steering wheel as the vehicle was being driven, resulting in a complete loss of control.
Home builder confidence slumps
t
BONDS
Ten-year CLOSE 2.57 treasury CHANGE -4.10%
s
$1224.50 GOLD CLOSE CHANGE +$9.60
Despite HP’s efforts to end it quickly, public spectacle continues to unfold Board says it removed CEO because uncharacteristic conduct broke trust
Feds investigate Kia Soul complaint
By Ashlee Vance New York Times News Service
SAN FRANCISCO — Even after a former actress in erotic films had accused HewlettPackard’s chief executive, Mark Hurd, of sexual harassment, the company’s board stood behind him. The directors had often
talked with him about taking the world’s biggest technology company back to its roots as an innovator after the big-ticket acquisitions of 3Com and Palm. They doubted that Hurd, ever meticulous and boastful of his integrity, could commit such unscrupulous acts, according to people with knowledge of the
board’s thinking. HP and equally staid Hurd conBut when he settled the wom- tinues in a fashion quite unlike an’s harassment complaint be- executive departures of its kind. fore the board’s invesThe company has tigators had a chance uncovered communito speak with her, Inside cations between Hurd the directors deemed and Jodie Fisher, the • CEO turnover occasional HP contrachis behavior just too slows through tor who accused him of troubling. the recession, sexual harassment, that HP’s board rushed Page B2 out Hurd’s resignation seemed cordial, even the next day, on Aug. 6. after a last meeting in What has followed is a a hotel room in Boise, stream of leaks from both sides Idaho, a person with knowledge resulting in a very public imbro- of Hurd’s e-mails said. glio. The drama between staid See HP / B5
EXECUTIVE FILE
Bend Radio Group tuned in to its market
WASHINGTON — Home builder confidence slumped in August to a 17-month low, according to a report released Monday, in another indicator of a tentative housing market. The National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index fell 1 point to 13, its worst reading since March 2009. To put the data in perspective, any reading above 50 indicates that more builders view conditions as good than poor. There hasn’t been a reading above 50 since April 2006.
Correction In a story headlined “Country station KSJJ tops local radio ratings,” which appeared Saturday, Aug. 14, on page C3, the frequency for country music station KSJJ was incorrect. KSJJ is at 102.9 FM. The Bulletin regrets the error.
s
$18.418 SILVER CLOSE CHANGE +$0.321
A N A LY S I S
Why Fannie and Freddie will endure By Andrew Ross Sorkin New York Times News Service
Rep. Barney Frank was furious. The Massachusetts Democrat had been watching a morning news program that had me on, and soon afterward he was calling my cell phone to fume about that morning’s discussion. The topic? Why it has taken the government so long to address the fate of the zombie mortgage giants, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. It is an issue that has been talked about a lot of late. Today, the Treasury secretary, Timothy Geithner, will convene a meeting of government officials and executives like Bill Gross of Pimco and Lewis Ranieri, the father of the mortgage-backed security, to delve into future housing policy and the role played by Fannie and Freddie. On the television program that had stirred Frank, “Morning Joe” on MSNBC, the prevailing view was that any effort toward a resolution of Fannie and Freddie — government-created mortgage companies that were taken over by the government as the financial crisis mounted — had been put on the back burner during the overhaul of financial regulation. See Fannie / B5
In big test for Internet TV, Hulu prepares to go public
Former ConAgra unit fined for oil trade As 2007 came to a close, oil prices were hovering close to $100 a barrel and many analysts were expecting prices could exceed that in the new year. One commodities trader was determined to make it happen, even if it meant manipulating the market to snag bragging rights for executing the first trade ever for $100-abarrel oil futures. It turned out to be a very expensive trade. The Commodity Futures Trading Commission announced on Monday that it had reached a $12 million settlement on charges that a trader for the ConAgra Trade Group, a prominent commodities trading company that was at the time a part of ConAgra Foods, purposely executed a trade for an oil futures contract at “a nonbona fide price.” — From wire reports
B
By Andrew Ross Sorkin and Michael J. de la Merced New York Times News Service
Ryan Brennecke / The Bulletin
Jim Gross, owner of Bend Radio Group, operates five radio stations that play a spectrum of music from modern rock to country.
Central Oregon stations have received top rankings in recent years By David Holley The Bulletin
im Gross doesn’t take too much credit for success at Bend Radio Group. Gross said it’s his employees that caused the five-station group to land some of the highest ratings in Central Oregon for the last two years. All he does is hire them. “The owner of the football team isn’t supposed to be on the football field coaching,” Gross said. “I hire idealists. That’s the most important thing.” In recent years, two of Gross’ stations — country station KSJJ (102.9 FM) and contemporary pop station KXIX (94.1
J
The basics What: Bend Radio Group Where: 345 Cyber Drive, Bend Employees: 31 Phone: 541-388-3300 Website: www.bendradiogroup.com
FM) — have led the Arbitron Inc. ratings for listeners 12 and older in the Bend metropolitan area since 2008. Previously, it was Combined Communications Inc.’s KBND (1110 AM) that was
the most listened-to station in Central Oregon. “Our goal is to create a format that gets everybody in there,” said Gross, 49. “Very much, radio is targeted.” While KSJJ and KXIX are the most popular of Gross’ stations, he has diversified in an attempt to reach a broader spectrum of listeners. KRXF (92.9 FM) is Gross’ newest station. It started in 2007 as a rock station that would be unique to the Bend area — one that plays both classic rock songs most people know and brand-new music few people have heard. See Radio / B5
Hulu, the rapidly growing hub for online television and movies, aims to go public through an offering that could value the company at more than $2 billion, according to people briefed on the matter. In recent weeks, Hulu executives have begun talking to investment banks about pursuing an initial public offering as soon as this fall, these people said. These people were granted anonymity because the discussions are still private. Such a move would be one of the most prominent media offerings this year, building off Hulu’s success in streaming popular shows like “Glee” and “Modern Family.” But despite its status as a big player in online video, the company makes little in the way of profit. In May, it reported taking in more than $100 million in revenue last year, though it added that it was on track to make that amount again by the middle of this year. It plans to add a $9.99-a-month subscription service soon alongside its core advertising-supported business. See Hulu / B5
Retail sales The estimated monthly sales for retail and food services.
Budget tight, Denmark cuts back on generous safety net
$362.7B $400 billion
By Liz Alderman
300
New York Times News Service
200 100 0 2009
2010
Note: All figures are seasonally adjusted Source: Department of Commerce AP
COPENHAGEN, Denmark — How long is too long to be paid to go without a job? As extended unemployment swells almost everywhere across the advanced industrial world, that question is turning into a lightning rod for governments. For years, Denmark was held out as a model to countries with high unemployment and as a progressive touchstone to lib-
erals in the United States. The Danes, despite their lavish social welfare state, managed to keep joblessness remarkably low. Now Denmark, which allows employers to hire and fire at will while relying on an elaborate system of training, subsidies for those between jobs and aggressive measures to press the unemployed into available openings, is facing its own strains. As a result, it is beginning to tighten up.
Struggling to keep its budget under control after the financial crisis, the government in June cut into its benefits system, the world’s most generous, by limiting unemployment payments to two years instead of four. Having found that recipients either get work right away or take any job as their checks run out, officials are also redoubling longstanding efforts to move Danes more quickly out of the safety net. See Denmark / B2
Lisbeth Halvorsen, who became unemployed last month, is already sending out applications in Copenhagen despite qualifying for benefits. Johan Spanner The International Herald Tribune