Business

<< Previous   of   Next >>   ADVERTISEMENT   CONTACT THE HERALD Mike Benbow, Business Editor benbow@heraldnet.com   Published: Tuesday, October 7, 2008 Business Briefly: Benaroya sells offices near Everett Mall The Benaroya Co. has sold four of its seven office buildings on Everett Mall Way -- three to businesses and the fourth to an investor. The buildings, at 111 SE Everett Mall Way, sold for prices ranging from $685,000 to $1.5 million. They ranged in size from 3,650 to 7,225 square feet. Buyers included AK Dental, MILAD LLC, NW Staffing and the unannounced investor. Strike checks issued Saturday The Boeing Machinists' union will issue strike checks Saturday at ­Marysville-Pilchuck High School. The union is changing the check distribution site for this weekend only. Machinists can pick up their checks in the gym of the high school, at 5611 108th St. NE, Marysville. The union will post signs for Machinists' parking. EBay to cut 1,600 jobs After a series of changes designed to draw more people to its online marketplace, eBay Inc.'s latest alteration is aimed at its own employees. The auction site operator said Monday it will cut about 1,600 jobs, 10 percent of its work force, in its largest round of dismissals ever. About 1,000 full-time employees will be gone, while eBay will achieve the rest of the cuts by letting temporary and part-time workers go and by leaving open positions unfilled. EBay would not describe which positions would be cut, other than to say they will come across the company and around the world. Mars closes deal to buy Wrigley Mars Inc. has closed a deal to purchase chewing-gum company Wm. Wrigley Jr. Co. to become the world's largest candy maker, Wrigley said Monday. Mars, the ­privately-held maker of M&Ms, Snickers and Skittles, paid $23 billion for Wrigley, which became a household name after it was started in Chicago in 1891. At the end of Monday, Wrigley's stock will cease trading publicly. Wrigley shareholders will receive $80 for each share after they approved the deal last month. Shares were right around that price Monday afternoon, trading at $79.98. The merger will combine companies that have worldwide footprints and are powerhouses in separate parts of the confectionery sector, Wrigley in gum and Mars in chocolate candy. Mars, based in McLean, Va., has 48,000 employees. Three-month bills hit record lows The Treasury Department auctioned three-month bills at a discount rate of 0.46 percent, down from 1.1 percent last week. Six-month bills were auctioned at a discount rate of 1.1 percent, down from 1.54 percent last week. The three-month rate was the lowest level on record for an initial government offering. The recent credit turmoil has prompted investors to rush to the safety of government securities. The heavy demand has pushed yields down to extremely low levels. For a $10,000 bill, the three-month price was $9,988.37 while a six-month bill sold for $9,944.39. Separately, the Federal Reserve said Monday that the average yield for one-year Treasury bills, a popular index for changing adjustable rate mortgages, fell to 1.55 percent last week from 1.89 percent the previous week. From Herald staff and news services READER COMMENTS Be the first to comment. You must be a registered user and verify your e-mail address to post comments to blogs or articles on HeraldNet. To register, click here. To read other terms and conditions, click here. Log out

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