ALABAMA BUSINESS

• Ala. gov talks trade with South Korean ambassador 8/20/2008, 5:54 p.m. CDT
MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — The majority of Korean consumers have embraced the arrival of U.S. beef after the country lifted a ban on the imports earlier this year following mad cow disease concerns, South Korean Ambassador Lee Tae-sik said Wednesday, despite protests that suggest otherwise.

• Alabama insurance chief heading to Swiss Re 8/20/2008, 3:55 p.m. CDT
MOBILE, Ala. (AP) — Alabama Insurance Commissioner Walter Bell on Sept. 2 will become chairman of Swiss Re America Holding Corp., the world's largest re-insurance company.

• TVA approves largest rate increase in 34 years 8/20/2008, 3:35 p.m. CDT
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — The Tennessee Valley Authority on Wednesday approved its largest electric rate increase in more than 30 years, citing skyrocketing fuel costs and a three-year drought that has sharply reduced its ability to generate cheap hydroelectric power.

• Western Supermarket in Birmingham hits 60-year milestone 8/20/2008, 11:13 a.m. CDT
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) — Ken Hubbard earned some of his tuition to the University of Alabama in 1960 by working as a bagger at Western Supermarket's Five Points West store.

• Former SEC chair to help with Ala. stock probe 8/20/2008, 9:51 a.m. CDT
MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — A former chairman of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is assisting the Alabama Securities Commission with an investigation of short sellers and false rumors involving Montgomery-based Colonial BancGroup.

• TVA considers big electric rate increase 8/20/2008, 4:59 a.m. CDT
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — The Tennessee Valley Authority will be looking to raise electric bills by double digits this fall across the seven-state region.

• TVA directors to consider big rate increase 8/19/2008, 12:09 p.m. CDT
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Tennessee Valley Authority directors are considering budget proposals that could hike electric rates sharply for millions of consumers across the agency's seven-state region.

• Carnival putting bigger ship in New Orleans 8/19/2008, 11:27 a.m. CDT
NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Carnival Cruise Lines will move the Carnival Triumph to New Orleans when the smaller Carnival Fantasy moves to Mobile, Ala., in 2009, officials announced Tuesday.

• Federal agency: Fay has no effect on Gulf drilling 8/18/2008, 4:10 p.m. CDT
NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Federal regulators say Tropical Storm Fay has not caused any production shutdowns of oil and natural gas drilling in the Gulf Mexico.

• As costs rise, more Ala. residents on food stamps 8/18/2008, 2:06 p.m. CDT
MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — State records show that more people in Alabama are using food stamps as the prices of groceries and other expenses go up.

• Statistics show Ala. incomes closer to US average 8/18/2008, 1:38 p.m. CDT
MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — Economic gains in the last 15 years in Alabama have helped narrow the state's income gap when compared to the national average.

• Mississippi casino revenue up from June 8/18/2008, 10:08 a.m. CDT
JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — Mississippi's casinos won $249.3 million from gamblers in July, up a bit from June, but trailing the year-ago figure.

• Collinwood company provides wood pellets for stoves 8/17/2008, 11:00 p.m. CDT
FLORENCE, Ala. (AP) — A Collinwood lumber company is taking advantage of the popularity of wood pellet stoves in New England by producing the pellets from the sawdust created in its flooring mill.

• Recalls 8/16/2008, 1:50 p.m. CDT
(AP) — The following recalls have been announced:

• Fuel costs and drought to drive up TVA rates 8/15/2008, 11:01 p.m. CDT
DECATUR, Ala. (AP) — The Tennessee Valley Authority is in the midst of a perfect storm, and consumers will pay the price.

• ThyssenKrupp's 3Q slips to €573M 8/14/2008, 5:12 a.m. CDT
BERLIN (AP) — Steelmaker ThyssenKrupp AG said Thursday that its third-quarter net profit slipped 21 percent, putting the blame on higher costs for raw material, including steel, the strong euro and bigger-than-expected costs on new steel mills in the U.S. and Brazil.

• Man gets 17 1/2 years over Texas, Alabama scheme 8/13/2008, 3:17 p.m. CDT
DALLAS (AP) — A former Dallas-area man convicted on 19 counts in a pyramid investment scheme in Texas and Alabama has been sentenced to 17 1/2 years in federal prison.

• Rising steel, oil prices upped Navy ship costs 8/12/2008, 3:25 p.m. CDT
WASHINGTON (AP) — Lockheed Martin Corp. says a double-digit jump in the cost of steel and rising oil prices have helped propel the final price tag of its latest warship for the Navy to more than double the initial estimates.

• Boeing, Northrop meeting DOD on $35B tanker deal 8/11/2008, 4:05 p.m. CDT
WASHINGTON (AP) — Boeing is slated to meet with Pentagon officials Tuesday over the latest phase of a disputed $35 billion tanker contract as the company prepares its response to what some lawmakers and analysts have said are new guidelines that favor the larger plane of rival Northrop Grumman.

• Southern governors to develop energy plan 8/11/2008, 2:46 p.m. CDT
WHITE SULPHUR SPRINGS, W.Va. (AP) — Southern governors whose states represent one of the nation's major energy producing regions are working on a comprehensive plan to reduce the South's carbon footprint and create jobs.

• States that hold sales tax holidays 8/10/2008, 10:54 a.m. CDT
(AP) — Alabama: Aug. 1-3 — clothing, computers, school supplies, books

• Lousy economy threatens states' sales tax holidays 8/10/2008, 10:44 a.m. CDT
ATLANTA (AP) — Thousands of shoppers have been flocking to malls in more than a dozen states for back-to-school sales tax holidays, buying millions of dollars worth of clothes and school supplies — and depriving states of much-needed revenue.

• Fight to land Volkswagen plant went to finish line 8/9/2008, 10:44 a.m. CDT
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Tennessee's pursuit of a Volkswagen assembly plant in Chattanooga had all the makings of a high-stakes auto race — fast-paced and hard fought all the way to the finish line.

• Carnival ship moves to Mobile temporarily 8/7/2008, 8:06 a.m. CDT
NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Carnival's Fantasy cruise ship will operate out of Mobile, Alabama through September 1 because of an oil spill on the Mississippi River.

• Scrushy prosecutors: Don't name special master 8/6/2008, 2:29 p.m. CDT
MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — Federal prosecutors have asked an appeals court to turn down former HealthSouth CEO Richard Scrushy's request for a special master to investigate alleged e-mails between jurors during his 2006 bribery trial.

• Compass Bank to add BBVA to its signs 8/6/2008, 2:15 p.m. CDT
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) — Compass Bank's 585 branches in six states will be known as BBVA Compass next year to reflect its corporate parent, Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argenta SA of Spain.

• Bidding starts anew for $35B Air Force tanker deal 8/6/2008, 10:27 a.m. CDT
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Pentagon opened a second round of bidding Wednesday for a $35 billion Air Force tanker contract following an error-plagued first attempt that featured bitter competition between Northrop Grumman Corp. and Boeing Co.