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IN BRIEF

Company aiming for downtown office

A company that specializes in medical developments is seeking to bring a 150,000 square foot office and 400-room hotel to downtown Las Vegas.

On Wednesday the Las Vegas City Council approved an exclusive negotiating agreement with Access Medical of North Carolina. The six-month deal would give the company exclusive rights to buy a little more than three acres on Bonneville Avenue from the city for $13.3 million.

The company’s proposal calls for a medical research center and a four-star hotel. It is part of a broader effort by the city to revive 61 acres of vacant and under-utilized land between the Union Pacific railroad tracks and Interstate 15 downtown.

There are already plans in the works for a brain research and treatment center and a performing arts venue.

Bally Technologies slims six-month loss

Bally Technologies, a Las Vegas gambling machine maker reported a narrower six-month loss as its gaming equipment and systems posted strong growth.

The manufacturer, who had to restate earnings because of an internal accounting error, said it posted a loss of $2.7 million, or 5 cents a share, for the six month period ended Dec. 31, 2006, compared with a loss of $17.3 million, or 33 cents a share, a year ago.

Bally Technologies shares fell 36 cents, or 1.38 percent, Wednesday to close at $25.79.

ATLANTIC CITY

Trump casinos get new licenses in New Jersey

They could be sold any day now, but the three casinos bearing Donald Trump’s name have brand new five-year licenses.

The state Casino Control Commission approved new licenses Wednesday for the Trump Plaza, Trump Marina and Trump Taj hotel-casinos. They acted despite skepticism of rosy financial projections the casinos’ parent company, Trump Entertainment Resorts, laid out for the next three years.

James Fogarty, a deputy state attorney general, noted that just five months into the company’s 36-month projections, it is already falling behind its own targets.

Trump Entertainment is in talks with a group led by former Atlantic City casino executive Dennis Gomes and real estate developer Morris Bailey about a possible sale of the casinos.

NEW YORK

Dow Jones board to take lead in talks

Wall Street Journal publisher Dow Jones & Co. said Wednesday that its board would take the lead in discussions over a potential acquisition of the company by News Corp., the sprawling media conglomerate controlled by Rupert Murdoch.

News Corp. had been waiting for a proposal from the Bancrofts on ways to safeguard the Journal’s editorial independence. The family had been expected to deliver those plans to News Corp. last week, following an initial meeting with Murdoch in early June.

On Wednesday, following a meeting of the Dow Jones board, the company issued a statement saying that its directors had concluded, with family representatives, that the best way to proceed was for the board to take the lead in considering “all aspects” of the News Corp. proposal and other possible alternatives for the company, including remaining independent.

The Bancroft family, which has controlled Dow Jones for more than a century, has said it was primarily concerned with questions of journalistic integrity. Once those concerns were satisfied, any discussions with News Corp. would have proceeded to Dow Jones’ board over other matters including price and corporate governance.

WASHINGTON

Regulators agree to ease accounting rule

Federal regulators on Wednesday tentatively agreed to ease an accounting requirement for foreign companies that trade on U.S. exchanges.

The action by the Securities and Exchange Commission paves the way for a related change that would allow public companies, when reporting financial results, to choose between international and U.S. accounting standards.

The first step taken by the SEC on Wednesday would eliminate a requirement for foreign companies to “reconcile” their financial results with U.S. standards called generally accepted accounting principles, or GAAP. Foreign companies, which already adhere to international financial reporting standards, or IFRS, say the SEC mandate is burdensome and costly.

RICHMOND, Va.

Circuit City job cuts lead to quarterly loss

Electronics retailer Circuit City Stores said Wednesday it lost $54.6 million in the first fiscal quarter — when it cut jobs to reduce costs and restructured to fend off competition — and withdrew its earnings guidance for 2008.

For the quarter ended May 31, the nation’s No. 2 consumer-electronics chain behind Best Buy lost 33 cents per share, compared with a profit of $6.4 million, or 4 cents a share, a year ago. Analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial expected a per-share loss of 32 cents.

Sales fell 4 percent to $2.49 billion, from $2.6 billion in the previous year’s quarter. Sales at stores open at least a year, known as same-store sales, slipped 5.6 percent.

NEW YORK

Marketplace glut has bond prices skidding

U.S. Treasury bonds broke their recent winning streak Wednesday as a large amount of corporate bonds hit the market, pushing the prices of the government securities lower.

At 5 p.m. EDT, the 10-year Treasury note was down $3.75 per $1,000 in face value, or 0.38 points, from its level at 5 p.m. Tuesday. Its yield, which moves in the opposite direction, rose to 5.14 percent from 5.09 percent.

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