BUSINESS BRIEFS
Calif. minimum wage rises 75˘
Advertiser Staff and News Services
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — California's lowest-paid workers are about to get a raise.
The state minimum wage jumps today by 75 cents to $7.50 an hour for about 1.4 million people. The increase — California's first since a 50-cent boost in January 2002 — will give the state the fourth-highest minimum wage in the U.S.
An additional 50-cent raise, planned for a year from now, will catapult the state into first place.
OIL PIPELINE SEALED AFTER LEAK
HOUSTON — Divers sealed a broken oil pipeline yesterday after about 44,500 gallons leaked into the Gulf of Mexico, the Coast Guard said.
The weeklong spill about 30 miles south of Galveston was expected to have minimal effect on the environment.
WAL-MART SALES OUTDO FORECAST
BENTONVILLE, Ark. — Wal-Mart Stores Inc. said December sales at its stores open at least a year were higher than expected, following a bleak November for the world's largest retailer.
Sales rose 1.6 percent for the December reporting period, which included the busy period of Nov. 25 through Dec. 29, the company said. The retailer had anticipated December same-store sales to be flat to 1 percent.
In November, Wal-Mart reported its first sales decline in a decade. Officials attributed the 0.1 percent drop to lagging clothing sales.
—Advertiser News Services
