Economist: Housing market close to bottom

The U.S. housing market is "very close to bottoming out" as the number of houses on the market declines, signaling the economy may improve later this year, according to Comerica Inc. chief economist Dana Johnson.

Housing starts plunged 17 percent in January to an annual rate of 466,000, the fewest since records began in 1959, the Commerce Department reported Feb. 18.

"It's fairly likely we just saw the cyclical low in housing starts, and, if we haven't, it's not likely to go a lot lower," said Johnson, a former senior economist at the Federal Reserve.

Last month's decline was probably exaggerated by inclement weather in some parts of the country, he said.

Still, the U.S. economy is in the second-worst recession since World War II, he said Monday in Dallas.

Johnson is forecasting the economy will shrink a total of 3.5 percent during the slump, the most since the 1957-58 contraction.

But, according to the median estimate in a poll released Monday by the National Association for Business Economics, the U.S. economy will shrink by 2.8 percent in the downturn.

NATIONAL

Union has tentative deal with Ford on retiree health care

The United Auto Workers union said Monday it reached a tentative deal with Ford Motor Co. on how the company will fund a trust that will pay retiree health care expenses. The union says that a 2007 agreement with the automaker about funding for the union-run trust had been modified.

Ford said the agreement allows the company to settle each scheduled payment to the trust with up to 50 percent of Ford stock. Previously, Ford was required to make the multimillion- dollar payments in cash.

CAMPBELL PROFITS DOWN The Campbell Soup Co. is selling more recession-friendly soups, pasta sauces and Goldfish crackers, but it's finding that a strong dollar has hurt its profits overseas.

Earnings were $233 million, or 64 cents a share, for the three months ended Feb. 1. That's down from $274 million, or 71 cents, a year ago.

Excluding earnings from discontinued businesses and one- time items, the company earned $234 million, or 65 cents a share, down 12 percent from $266 million, or 69 cents, a year ago. Earnings were a penny higher than analysts expected.

Sales were $2.12 billion, down 4 percent from $2.22 billion a year earlier.

AMAZON'S KINDLE 2 Amazon.com Inc. says it is shipping the new version of its Kindle electronic reading device a day earlier than initially planned.

The Seattle-based online retailer said it began shipping the $359 Kindle 2 on Monday to make sure it is going out to customers by Tuesday, which was the date it gave when Amazon announced the updated device on Feb. 9.

LOCAL

Newmont's Ghana unit gets gold permit

Newmont Mining Corp.'s unit in Ghana received a permit from the government to begin mining gold at its Akyem site in the eastern region of the country.

The company "is not able to commit to a specific timeline" on when operations will start, Adiki Ayitevie, Newmont's regional manager for communications, said in a telephone interview from the capital of Accra on Monday.

LIBERTY GLOBAL LOSS Liberty Global Inc., an international cable-TV operator, posted a fourth-quarter loss of $752.6 million, or $2.60 a share, primarily because of foreign currency rate changes and high interest expenses.

Revenues for the quarter, however, were up 4.4 percent to $2.57 billion from the same period a year ago, despite the tough economy.

The company's J:COM operation in Japan especially enjoyed strong revenue growth of 28.7 percent to $797.8 million.

QWEST'S LUCERO NAMED Amador Lucero, a Qwest vice president of network operations and engineering, has been named to Hispanic Business magazine's "2009 Corporate Elite," which recognizes 25 Hispanic executives.

Lucero, a 36-year telecommunications industry veteran, oversees Qwest's network operations reliability center, which monitors the Denver telco's voice and data networks.

ENTERPRISE EXPANSION Enterprise Rent-A-Car plans to open a claims center in Fort Collins that will create more than 100 jobs.

The 25,000-square-foot facility will be located at 4800 Wheaton Drive. Enterprise will begin recruiting area employees next month. The company said all jobs are full-time, with salaries ranging from $12 to $18 an hour.

THIS JUST IN

* Level 3 Communications Inc. appointed R. Douglas Bradbury and Charles C. Miller III to its board of directors.

* Clay Benson of Mortenson Construction was elected to the board of directors of the Colorado Chapter of the United States Green Building Council.

* University of Northern Colorado Assistant Dean of Students Rachel Heafitz King received the 2008 National Dissertation of the Year Award from the Association of Student Judicial Affairs.

* The Griffith Centers for Children appointed Beth Miller chief executive officer.

* Rothgerber Johnson & Lyons LLP added Michael Francisco as an associate in its Colorado Springs office.

* Fitness Together Franchise Corp. named Janet Brill director of nutrition.

* Marilyn Dana of Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage received the International President's Elite Award for 2008.

* The Boulder Green Building Guild named Stu Galvis, Aaron Nelson, Clay Dusel, Gwenaël Hagan, Sandra Weeks and Spenser Villwock to its board of directors.

* The University of Colorado will host Elevate 2009: Climate Change and the New Frontiers of Urban Development Thursday and Friday at the Westin Tabor Center in Denver and the Wolf Law Building in Boulder. Information: colorado.edu/law /elevate

* Refresh Laser Spa opened a location at 6300 E. Hampden Ave., Denver.

* Options Home Care joined the Colorado Association of Homes and Services for the Aging.

* Holme Roberts & Owen LLP will host an open discussion on the Clean Energy Stimulus Package and its impact on Colorado, with Tom Plant, director of the Governor's Energy Office and chairman of the Colorado Clean Energy Development Authority, on Friday at the Hershner Room, 1700 Lincoln St., Denver.

* Denver-based Olde TimberStone Inc. opened a showroom in Evergreen.

* Elements Therapeutic Massage opened at 2321 30th St., Boulder.

* Krische Construction named John Kamprath manager of business development.

* Key Equipment Finance named David ten Kroode vice president of energy vendor solutions.

* Boulder-based Bow Wow Buddies Foundation named Melissa Canaday executive director.

* Megan Sherr of Gutterman Griffiths PC was named to the 2009 Best Lawyers in America list.

* Christine Shapard was named executive director of Colorado Cleantech Industry Association.

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