Dollars and Sense
June 17

Business in brief, 6/17: GM announces two more plant improvements

General Motors says it will invest $65 million in two plants and create or retain 163 jobs at those sites so it can make more four-cylinder engines. GM will add capacity at its Tonawanda, N.Y., plant to make engines for its Chevrolet Equinox and GMC Terrain crossovers. It will invest $33 million there and create or retain 100 jobs. GM will add capacity to build engines for its 2013 Malibu sedan at its plant in Spring Hill, Tenn

Dollars and Sense
June 17

Summer day camps may qualify for federal tax credits

The IRS sent out some helpful tax info today for working parents who are using summer day camps for child care. Overnight camps do not qualify, but day camps that specialize in a particular activity, such as computers or soccer, may qualify for a federal Child and Dependent Care tax credit. Up to $3,000 of unreimbursed expenses paid for one qualifying individual or $6,000 for two or more qualifying individuals can be used to figure the credit, the IRS said. The rules include: * Your dependent child must be age 12 or younger when the care was provided. * Your spouse and certain other individuals who are physically or mentally incapable of self-care may also be qualifying persons

Dollars and Sense
June 17

Missouri and Kansas job markets show improvement over a year ago

Compared to April, there wasn't much to say about changes in the May job market in Missouri or Kansas. But, compared to May 2010, there are some positives, as reported today by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. A year ago, according to seasonally adjusted employment and unemployment figures, the jobless rate in Missouri was 9.5 percent

Dollars and Sense
June 16

Business in brief, 6/16: Ethanol aid on the block again

Subsidies for ethanol are being put to the test again in the Senate as budget cutters try to demonstrate a growing appetite in Congress to end special interest tax breaks to help reduce government borrowing. The Senate is scheduled to vote today on two measures that would end subsidies for producing ethanol, a renewable, liquid fuel additive that comes mainly from corn in the U.S. One measure would repeal a tax credit that provides 45 cents a gallon to oil refiners who mix ethanol with gasoline. The Senate rejected an identical measure Tuesday, 40-59

Dollars and Sense
June 16

Housing starts, jobless claims better than expected; stocks up

By The Associated Press Better-than-expected reports on home building and jobs put stock indexes on track for their first weekly gain in a month and a half. Construction of new homes grew faster than expected last month, the government reported Thursday. The number of people who applied for unemployment benefits also fell last week to 414,000, more of an improvement than economists expected

Dollars and Sense
June 15

The consumer memo, 6/15: J&J to cut back on stent making

Johnson & Johnson will cut back on manufacturing and development of heart stents, even halting sales of its best seller, as tougher competition and a flat market have sharply cut into sales. J&J also will scrap jobs, shutter two factories and take a charge of $500 million to $600 million as it reorganizes its Cordis heart device business. The New Brunswick, N.J., company said Wednesday that Cordis will stop making Cypher and Cypher Select drug-coated stents by year-end, and it will also stop development of a drug-coated stent called Nevo. Cordis will focus on other areas of the heart device market where there is greater demand. Stents are mesh-wire tubes used to hold arteries open after they are surgically cleared of fatty plaque

Dollars and Sense
June 15

Save Our Plaza petition drive against Highwoods Plaza plan succeeds

Opponents of a controversial Country Club Plaza office development proposal turned in more than enough valid signatures to force a referendum this fall, an election official said today. The Save Our Plaza group turned in petitions last week with 10,500 valid signatures, said Shelly McThomas, Democratic director for the Kansas City election board. The group needed 7,144 valid signatures to put the issue on the November ballot. McThomas said the Kansas City Clerk's office would be notified later today of the petition drive's success. Dan Cofran, spokesman for Save Our Plaza, said his organization is asking the mayor and Kansas City Council to repeal the rezoning voluntarily to avoid a citywide vote. “We are very pleased that the petitions were certified and we’ll ask the City Council to go ahead and repeal this rezoning outright as opposed to submitting to the voters in November,” Cofran said. Highwoods Properties, the owner of the Plaza, received Council approval in early for the rezoning required to redevelop the site now occupied by the Neptune Apartments at 333 W

Dollars and Sense
June 15

Gas prices push the Midwest consumer price index higher

The government's measure of inflation said prices in the Midwest rose 0.6 percent in May. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics said today that the increase in its Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers was led by motor fuel prices, which jumped 5.4 percent in May. That was the ninth 9th straight monthly advance. For Midwest consumers, food prices rose 0.3 percent over the month

Dollars and Sense
June 15

TechSense: HTC Flyer tablet mates with slippery pen; Sprint makes a good move

Our weekly look at the latest gadgets, gizmos and trends in personal technology. Today's review by Peter Svensson of the Associated Press. Is it better to have loved and lost, than to have never loved at all? That’s the question posed by a new tablet computer that takes aim at one of the deficiencies of the iPad: that it’s difficult to write on it with a stylus or pen. The HTC Flyer is a $500 tablet with a 7-inch screen

Dollars and Sense
June 14

Garmin buys up German GPS company Navigon

Garmin Ltd. announced Tuesday it was buying privately held German firm Navigon AG and making it into a subsidiary. A Garmin spokeswoman declined to reveal what the company paid for Navigon, and said it was uncertain whether the company would continue to sell products under its own brand. “Navigon has invested significantly in the European automotive (factory-installed) business, and we feel that we can rapidly expand our automotive (built-in device) footprint and capabilities through this transaction,” Cliff Pemble, Garmin’s president and COO, said in a news release. Garmin was also enticed by Navigon's popular applications iPhone and Android smartphones

Dollars and Sense
June 14

Business in brief, 6/14: Greece has no trouble selling bonds

Greece managed to raise (euro) 1.62 billion ($2.33 billion) in a treasury bill sale Tuesday, a day after being accorded the lowest sovereign credit rating in the world over fears private investors will have to share the burden of a potential Greek debt restructuring. The country was forced to offer investors a slightly higher yield for its 26-week bills, 4.96 percent, compared with 4.88 percent in a similar debt sale last month. Demand was also lower, with the issue oversubscribed 2.58 times. The auction came as markets assess the impact of Standard and Poor's decision to slash the debt-ridden country's rating from B to CCC, amid an uncertain political climate ahead of a crucial vote in the Greek Parliament on new cutbacks and tax hikes. CEOs expect to hire More than half of the chief executives of large U.S

Dollars and Sense
June 14

Kat's Money Corner: Breaking the mold -- building a model

As a blogger, the approach of Father’s Day brings thoughts of old-fashioned gender-role stereotypes – and the value of breaking them. You know the old routine, portrayed in TV shows ranging from The Honeymooners all the way to Desperate Housewives: Dad makes the money, Mom figures out how to spend it. Good for sit-com plots, maybe

Dollars and Sense
June 13

Health Department temporarily closes small Midtown market

On Friday, the Kansas City Health Department temporarily closed Afrique International Market, 3703 Main St., due to major rodent and insect infestation. The department received two separate complaints of live mice visible through the front window of the shop. The establishment must demonstrate that effective pest control is in place before they may reopen

Dollars and Sense
June 13

Wall Street Movers,06/13: Wendy’s/Arby’s, Timberland, Chico’s

Stocks that moved substantially or traded heavily Monday on the New York Stock Exchange and Nasdaq Stock Market. Data from the Associated Press: NYSE Upticks,downticks Wendy’s/Arby’s Group Inc., up 4 cents at $4.56 The fast food restaurant operator is selling a majority stake of its Arby’s brand to a private equity firm group for $130 million. Timberland Co., up $13.21 at $43.20 VF Corp., owner of the Wrangler, Nautica and The North Face brands, is buying the bootmaker for more than $2.2 billion. Forest Laboratories Inc., up 62 cents at $38.57 The drugmaker said a fund affiliated with billionaire investor Carl Icahn plans to nominate four directors to Forest’s board. Genworth Financial Inc., up 14 cents at $10.24 Health insurer Aetna is buying the Medicare supplement business of Genworth Financial for about $290 million. Carnival Corp., down 53 cents at $35.27 The cruise operator said it expects global conflicts to cost the company an extra 15 cents per share in the second half of 2011. Under Armour Inc., up $3.85 at $67.97 A Sterne Agee analyst upgraded the sportswear company’s shares, saying that new apparel and footwear offerings will boost growth. Chico’s FAS Inc., up 45 cents at $13.84 A JPMorgan analyst upgraded the women’s clothing retailer, saying its stores could take a lot of market share from competitors. Nasdaq Diodes Inc., down 63 cents at $22.98 A Baird analyst downgraded shares of the semiconductor components maker, saying business in that sector will slow down