BUSINESS BRIEFS
Dow Chemical raising prices again next month
Associated Press
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — Dow Chemical Co. announced its second set of wide-ranging price hikes in less than a month, again trying to offset record costs for energy and raw materials.
Midland-based Dow said yesterday it will raise the prices of its products as much as 25 percent in July after implementing across-the-board price increases of up to 20 percent on June 1.
The company makes everything from the propylene glycols used in antifreeze, coolants, solvents, cosmetics and pharmaceuticals, to acrylic acid-based products used in detergents, wastewater-treatment and disposable diapers. Its products are sold in 160 countries.
HOUSING PRICES CONTINUE TO FALL
NEW YORK — No matter who's measuring, the results are the same: Housing prices are tumbling at the sharpest rates ever with a bottom still at least a year away, economists say.
Both the Standard & Poor's /Case-Shiller home price indexes and the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight index yesterday reported record year-over-year declines in April, a sobering signal that the housing slump not only is deepening, but also engulfing markets once above water.
The last holdout in the Case-Shiller index, Charlotte, N.C., finally succumbed to the national housing downturn, with prices slipping 0.1 percent from a year ago. No city in the Case-Shiller 20-city index appreciated in April, the first time that's happened since its inception in 2000.
The 20-city index dropped by 15.3 percent in April versus last year; the narrower 10-city index plunged 16.3 percent, its biggest decline in its 21-year history.
FORECLOSURE BILL PASSES KEY TEST
WASHINGTON — A massive foreclosure rescue bill cleared a key Senate test yesterday by an overwhelming margin, with Democrats and Republicans both eager to claim credit for helping hard-pressed homeowners.
The mortgage aid plan would let the Federal Housing Administration back $300 billion in new, cheaper home loans for an estimated 400,000 distressed borrowers who otherwise would be considered too financially risky to qualify for government-insured, fixed-rate loans.
An 83-9 vote put the plan on track for Senate passage, but President Bush is threatening a veto, and Democrats are fighting each other over key details. Those challenges will likely delay any final deal until mid-July.
NORTHWEST, DELTA PILOTS REACH DEAL
ATLANTA — Delta and Northwest pilot negotiators say they have a tentative agreement with Delta management on a joint contract to cover both pilot groups when the companies combine this year.
Delta's pilots union said in a statement yesterday that the agreement is between the two pilot groups and Delta management. Terms were not disclosed.
Next the two pilot groups will try to reach an agreement on a merged seniority list.
The joint contract agreement, which covers roughly 12,000 pilots from both airlines, still needs rank-and-file approval and to be reviewed by the governing bodies of the two unions. Both unions' executive committees will meet separately this week.
IN-FLIGHT INTERNET ACCESS FACES TEST
DALLAS — American Airlines says customers can test in-flight Internet access on two flights beginning today, with broader service expected to begin in the next couple of weeks.
Facing record-high fuel prices, airlines are looking at entertainment and information services as ways to make a few more bucks per passenger. American plans to charge $9.95 to $12.95 for Internet service, depending on flight length.
The test with technology partner Aircell LLC will begin on one flight from New York's Kennedy Airport to Los Angeles and one return flight, said Doug Backelin, American's manager of in-flight technology. The test service will be free, he said.
The airline would not say on which flights it would conduct the test.
