Business Briefs for Nov. 20

VIRGINIA

T-D leader Silvestri elected API chairman

Richmond Times-Dispatch President and Publisher Thomas A. Silvestri has been elected chairman of the American Press Institute.

The institute, based in Reston, is a nonprofit, independent education center that provides training and leadership development in the news industry. It offers seminars, workshops and custom programs for newspaper professionals and organizations.

Silvestri was elected at the organization's board of directors meeting Nov. 9 -10. As chairman, he will guide discussions on the API's strategic direction as the industry it serves looks for innovative ways to respond to changes in technology and news consumption.

"API, like the industry, is trying to figure out its future and trying to be relevant, engaging and resourceful for its many loyal supporters," said Silvestri, who has worked in the media industry for 32 years and has led about 40 workshops for the API.

THE NATION

Economic data point to slow recovery for now

A gauge of future economic activity and a report on unemployment benefits signaled yesterday that the recovery likely will remain weak in the coming months.

The Conference Board's index of leading economic indicators rose less in October than analysts expected. The index forecasts activity by measuring consumer expectations, building permits and other data.

Also, the number of newly laid-off workers seeking unemployment benefits, unchanged last week, remains above the level that would indicate the economy is adding jobs.

Treasury to auction warrants for 3 banks

The Treasury Department said it will auction warrants for three banks it helped rescue as part of last fall's financial bailout. It is the latest government effort to reel in its emergency financial programs.

The Treasury will auction warrants for New York-based JPMorgan Chase & Co., Capital One Financial Corp. and TCF Financial Corp. over the next month.

The three banks received government money totaling $28.9 billion, which they have since repaid.

Warrants are financial instruments that allow the holder to buy stock in the future at a fixed price.

The Treasury got the warrants as a deal-sweetener when it injected capital into the banks. They allow taxpayers to benefit from the upside of a financial recovery supported by billions of their dollars.

Elsewhere

• The government's $700 billion bailout program will end "as soon as we can," and part of it will be used to lower the soaring federal debt, Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said. "We are winding it down and will close it as soon as we can," Geithner said of the fund, known as the Troubled Assets Relief Program.

• EBay has completed its sale of Skype for about $2 billion to an investor group that included the founders of the Internet phone service. Last week, the online auction site settled a legal skirmish with co-founders Niklas Zennstrom and Janus Friis that allowed the deal to move forward.

• The Securities and Exchange Commission must tighten its process for deciding which investment advisers to inspect if it is to avoid colossal breakdowns such as the one that allowed Bernard Madoff's multibillion-dollar fraud to go undetected for 16 years, the agency's inspector general says.

A report released yesterday proposes new requirements that the SEC's inspections office examine databases and documents related to investment advisers. The Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations and the SEC's enforcement division also should establish procedures for sharing tips, complaints, disciplinary history and violations regarding investment advisers.

• Shoppers increased their spending at Kmart stores for the first time in at least seven years this fall, picking up inexpensive toys, shoes and items for their homes. The boost in sales at Kmart stores open at least a year was tiny -- less than 1 percent -- but it was a milestone, marking the first time since at least January 2002 that the important same-store-sales measure climbed at the discount retailer.

• Mall operator General Growth Properties Inc., which filed the largest U.S. real estate bankruptcy case in history this year, said its lenders have agreed to restructure about $8.9 billion in shopping-mall mortgage loans. The agreements, which cover loans on more than 70 malls, could help some of the shopping centers to exit bankruptcy before the end of this year.

General Motors' top sales analyst says U.S. auto sales in November could top an annual rate of 10.8 million for the first time this year besides the summer, which was helped by the Cash for Clunkers rebates. -- Staff and Wire Reports