Business briefs for Jan. 14, 2004

Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2004 | 10:53 a.m.

Henderson mayor to guide monorail

Henderson Mayor James Gibson has been named chairman and chief executive of Transit Systems Management LLC, the company that will manage the Las Vegas Monorail system that begins operations in March.

Gibson resigned his position on the board of directors of the parent Las Vegas Monorail Co. to take the position, which became vacant when Robert Broadbent died in August.

Gibson said his new role would not affect his duties as mayor of Henderson, but he plans to curtail his private law practice. Gibson's law firm provided legal services leading to the sale of $650 million in revenue bonds to finance construction of the monorail.

A spokesman for the non-profit Las Vegas Monorail Co. said because Transit Systems Management is a private company, Gibson's salary would not be disclosed.

Retailer files for bankruptcy

PITTSFIELD, Mass. -- KB Toys Inc., the largest U.S. mall-based toy retailer, filed for bankruptcy protection today, becoming the latest casualty of increased competition from discount chains such as Wal-Mart Stores Inc. during the holiday season.

The closely held company may close as many as 500 of its 1,231 stores in the reorganization, Chief Financial Officer Robert Feldman said.

Airline struggles to return to profitability

ATLANTA -- Delta Air Lines today reported a narrower fourth-quarter loss on higher revenue, but missed Wall Street expectations and said it faces many hurdles in becoming profitable again.

The nation's third-largest airline said that for the three months ending Dec. 31 it lost $332 million, or $2.69 a share, compared to a loss of $367 million, or $2.98 a share, for the same period a year ago.

Big cell phone merger discussed

SBC Communications Inc. and BellSouth Corp. may create the biggest U.S. mobile-phone company by buying AT&T Wireless Services Inc. and merging it with their joint venture, Cingular Wireless LLC, people familiar with the matter said.

AT&T Wireless, based in Redmond, Wash., is 16 percent owned by Japan's NTT DoCoMo Inc. It may be valued at more than $27 billion, said analysts at Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc.