Kentucky.com: Financial & Business - Wire
News, sports and entertainment from Kentucky.com

• Suitors lining up for Tropicana
  At least a half-dozen potential buyers have contacted state casino regulators about purchasing the Tropicana Casino and Resort, and a sale could take place within weeks, the head of the state Casino Control Commission said Friday.Linda Kassekert appeared at a news conference at the Tropicana with former state Supreme Court Justice Gary Stein, the interim trustee who's overseeing the casino until a buyer can be found, and Tropicana President Mark Giannantonio, who will stay on to run its day-to-day operations until the sale."I'm pleased to see that it is open and full and running," Kassekert said at a poinsettia-bedecked podium just off the casino floor, surrounded by Tropicana workers and curious gamblers. "The Tropicana is in great hands."After meeting with Tropicana and casino commission staff on Friday, Stein decided Giannantonio was the best choice to stay and manage the nuts and bolts of the operation."I'm here, I'm staying on, I'm running the property," Giannantonio told The Associated Press Friday morning before the news conference was scheduled. "I intend to work with Justice Stein and I look forward to a very, very smooth transition. My obligation is to keep things going."
• Fast-food company raises money, awareness in hunger fight
  For a week, Yum Brands Inc. dished out reminders of world hunger, and asked customers to ease the plight while satisfying their cravings for tacos, pizza and fried chicken.The Louisville-based parent of Taco Bell, Pizza Hut and KFC orchestrated a global effort to assist the U.N.'s World Food Programme in feeding the hungry. The campaign two months ago was the fast-food company's way of commemorating its 10th anniversary since its spinoff from PepsiCo Inc.Yum asked customers at its nearly 35,000 restaurants worldwide to donate $1 per purchase to the cause. Contributions are still being tabulated, but Yum estimates it raised $12 million to $15 million."I think Yum has made a little history in the fight against hunger," Josette Sheeran, executive director of the World Food Programme, said in a phone interview from her office in Rome.Yum employees, franchisees and vendors, along with their families, devoted more than 4 million volunteer hours to combat hunger, serving meals to the homeless and volunteering at food banks.
• Tropicana fears bankruptcy from license denial
  A parent company of the Tropicana Casino and Resort raised the possibility Thursday of filing for bankruptcy if it cannot quickly overturn the denial of its casino license or work out a new deal with its lenders.Tropicana Entertainment LLC filed an appeal Thursday of a decision by state casino regulators that denied it a new license. A judge refused to consider the appeal on an emergency basis, saying the Tropicana can present its case through normal channels, which could take several weeks.But the Tropicana might not have that much time.Affiliates of Crestview Hills, Ky.-based Columbia Sussex Corp., which took over operations at the Tropicana on Jan. 3, said the denial of the license would trigger a default "on a complex cross-collateralized credit agreement" affecting numerous companies in several states. Such a default could affect casino licenses the company holds in other states, it wrote in its application to Appellate Judge Joseph F. Lisa."There can be no assurance that the lenders will not accelerate, which could compel the company to seek alternatives, including, without limitation, bankruptcy protection," the Tropicana said in a statement Thursday.
• Religious leaders call for resolution to contract dispute
  Religious leaders from nine states are asking officials at Appalachian Regional Healthcare and striking nurses at the system's nine hospitals to resolve their contract dispute for the sake of their patients."The saddest outcome of this prolonged dispute is that our communities in Appalachia and the quality of our health care will suffer the greatest if this dispute is not settled soon," said the Rev. John Rausch, director of the Catholic Committee on Appalachia.Rausch and more than 75 other leaders submitted a letter on Wednesday to ARH President and CEO Jerry Haynes and members of the Kentucky and West Virginia nurses association. The letter supports continuous bargaining, but scolds ARH for permanently replacing about 150 of the nurses on strike."From a moral and ethical perspective, the permanent replacement of striking nurses at Appalachian Regional Healthcare must stop; and permanently replaced workers should be reinstated," the letter says.The statement represents views of religious leaders from several groups, including the Central Conference of American Rabbis, the Episcopal Church, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, the Roman Catholic Church, the United Church of Christ and the United Methodist Church.
• Yum Brands looks to McDonald's success for turnaround plan
  After a year of disappointing results in its U.S. division, Kentucky-based Yum Brands Inc. is looking to copy one of its biggest rivals in the fast food industry in a bid to turn the troubled business around.At a meeting with investors and analysts Wednesday, Yum Chief Executive David Novak said the chain would introduce new products, including beverages and breakfast meals, expand its value menus and offer healthier options at all three of its main U.S. brands - KFC, Taco Bell and Pizza Hut.Novak said the U.S. division's transformation is being modeled after moves made in the past few years at McDonald's Inc., which added healthy options, better quality food and beverage choices to its menu. The changes there led to far higher sales and profit at the nation's No. 1 hamburger chain in the past year."We know this works," Novak said. "We're going to build a business we're proud of. We can do a lot better. Frankly, we're mad as hell that we haven't done better."The company has struggled to recover from two highly publicized incidents at Taco Bell, once the leader of Yum's U.S. business.
• Breeders' Cup official says Churchill in running for 2009 event
  The Breeders' Cup president said he considers Churchill Downs to be one of two leading contenders to host the 2009 world championships, even though the Louisville horse track hasn't formally applied.Greg Avioli, president of the Lexington-based Breeders' Cup, said the organization would discuss a 2009 host at its February meeting. Besides Louisville, he mentioned Oak Tree Racing Association at Santa Anita as a leading contender.Churchill is "one of the best venues for horsemen in the whole country," Avioli said. "Our international contingent loves Churchill. It's just a great facility all around to hold the Breeders' Cup in."Churchill spokeswoman Julie Koenig Loignon acknowledged the track has had informal conversations with Breeders' Cup officials but said she is unaware of any formal application. The Louisville track has hosted the event a record six times, including 2006.Next year's event will feature 14 races - three more than this year - with purses totaling $25.5 million.
• Ford temporarily cuts production at Mich., Ky. truck plants
  Ford Motor Co. says it will temporarily shut down two light truck plants in Michigan and Kentucky on Monday.The shutdowns come two weeks ahead of their planned holiday closings. Company spokeswoman Anne Marie Gattari said the move is part of the company's typical response to adjust supply to meet fluctuating demand.Affected are a plant in Dearborn that builds the F-150 pickup and another in Louisville, Ky., that builds the Explorer sport utility.Sales of Ford's F-series pickups fell 11.7 percent to 46,568 last month.More plant cuts are expected after the first of the year as part of Ford's announced plan for a 7 percent reduction in production in the first quarter of 2008. The company is predicting sales will be at their slowest pace in a decade in the first half of 2008.
• Appalachian Power signals partial compromise on power plant
  Appalachian Power might be willing to compromise on a key objection to a proposed clean-coal power plant designed to meet future demand in West Virginia and Virginia.The American Electric Power subsidiary might agree to cap construction costs for the 629-megawatt plant, Appalachian President Dana Waldo testified during a licensing hearing before the West Virginia Public Service Commission on Monday."If the cap was within reason, we would," Waldo said. Agreeing on a price, however, will be tough, he said. "All construction costs are rising."Appalachian Power originally estimated the plant would cost about $1.2 billion to build. It increased the figure to $2.23 billion last year. Nailing down the cost for this plant in particular is difficult because it would be the first commercial-scale generating station in the U.S. to use so-called clean coal technology that burns gas made from coal.The plant would be built along the Ohio River adjacent to AEP's Mountaineer generating station in Mason County. Columbus, Ohio-based AEP is proposing to build a similar plant in Ohio.