Wednesday, May 14, 2003 | 9:52 a.m.
Insurers seek rate increases
State Farm Fire and Casualty Company is asking state Insurance Commissioner Alice Molasky-Arman for higher rates for three types of policies.
State Farm has requested an average 33.1 percent increase in rates for 7,181 policyholders for manufactured home coverage.
The company filed an application for a 22 percent average increase for 14,809 policyholders who are covered under its rental dwelling program.
State Farm also seeks a 33.7 percent increase for the 10,687 policyholders of personal umbrella liability coverage.
In addition, Allstate Insurance Company has asked for permission to boost rates an average 18.7 percent to 3,468 policyholders for mobile home coverage.
The insurance division will review the rates and decide if public hearings should be held before a decision is made.
Pilots union balks at wage cuts
ATLANTA -- The Delta Air Lines pilots union is balking at a 22 percent wage-reduction proposal that is part of a companywide cost-cutting campaign.
In a memo distributed to pilots Tuesday night, the union's economic and financial analysis committee said the nation's third-largest airline needs to cut costs to survive but noted employees have already made sacrifices.
The union's financial team linked Delta's problems to a drop in revenue and new debts -- not to what it pays its pilots. The union leaders stopped short of calling for the proposal to be rejected, but said their data should be considered when members make a decision.
Retail sales down in April
WASHINGTON -- America's shoppers turned cautious in April and sent sales at the nation's retailers down by 0.1 percent, fresh evidence that the end of the Iraq war hasn't produced the economic boom some had hoped for.
The drop in April's sales came after shoppers splurged in March, driving up retail sales by sizable 2.3 percent, the Commerce Department reported Wednesday. Last month consumers -- the main force keeping the economy going -- trimmed spending on clothing, furniture and building materials and garden supplies.
The drop in retail sales in April was exaggerated by gasoline sales, which plunged by 5.9 percent, reflecting lower prices at the pump. Excluding sales at gasoline stations, retail sales went up by a modest 0.4 percent in April, meeting the forecast of economists.
Feds launch investigation
POWAY,Calif. -- Gateway Inc., the personal-computer maker whose accounting is under U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission investigation, said the Justice Department also has begun an inquiry.
Gateway restated fiscal 2000 earnings in February 2001 to correct how it booked investment losses, sales and bad loans. A U.S. Attorney "recently" began a probe into the same period and subject as the SEC inquiry, Gateway said in its quarterly report.
On April 14, Gateway reduced sales for 1999, 2000 and 2001 because of changes made in its accounting for warranties and proceeds from AOL Time Warner Inc.'s Internet services.
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