IN BRIEF

ATLANTIC CITY

Hotel owner tries to delay Sands implosion

The owner of a hotel across the street from the Sands went to court Wednesday in a last-minute effort to delay or block today’s planned implosion of the casino, citing fears of asbestos and other dangerous particles that could be contained in dust from the demolition.

Vincent Barth, who owns the Park Lane Apartment Hotel across from the Sands, filed a lawsuit Wednesday afternoon asking a Superior Court judge to issue an order halting the demolition, which is scheduled for 9:30 p.m.

No action was taken; a hearing is expected to be held at 11 a.m. today.

Utilities Commission plans policy discussion

The Public Utilities Commission on Friday will discuss policy on electric power and natural gas utilities, including questions about renewable energy compared with coal and gas-fired power plants.

Public Utilities Chairwoman Jo Ann Kelly wanted to focus the session on energy issues, although the commission will consider unrelated complaints from consumers, said spokesman Rick Hackman.

The commission has invited representatives of environmental groups, labor unions, outdoor clubs and other organizations

The meeting starts at 2 p.m. Friday in the Henderson Convention Center at 200 S. Water St.

ATLANTA

Coca-Cola profits rise 13 percent in quarter

The Coca-Cola Co., the world’s largest beverage maker, reported Wednesday a 13 percent increase in third-quarter profit on a double-digit increase in sales.

For the three months ending Sept. 28, Atlanta-based Coca-Cola said it earned $1.65 billion, or 71 cents a share, compared to a profit of $1.46 billion, or 62 cents a share, for a year earlier.

Revenue in the quarter rose 19.2 percent to $7.69 billion from $6.45 billion.

GLENDALE, Calif.

Disney will overhaul Adventure theme park

Disney’s California Adventure is taking a detour.

The Walt Disney Co. said Wednesday it will overhaul its underperforming California Adventure theme park — a project that could even result in a new name for the property.

The company acknowledged that the park next door to Disneyland in Anaheim had not attracted as many guests as planned since opening in 2001.

Disney CEO Robert Iger and other executives would not disclose the cost of the project, but it will exceed $1 billion, according to a person familiar with the plans who was not authorized to speak publicly about it.

SAN FRANCISCO

Skype-linked charges send eBay into red

EBay reported Wednesday a third-quarter net loss of more than $936 million — a rare plunge into the red for the e-commerce juggernaut caused by previously announced charges to its Skype telecommunications division.

But San Jose-based eBay still easily exceeded Wall Street’s expectations for the quarter ended Sept. 30, thanks to record revenue of $1.89 billion, up 30 percent from the year-ago quarter.

Executives credited record revenue at the PayPal electronic payment division, and brisk sales outside of the United States and at ticket broker StubHub.com.

Early this month, eBay announced it would take a $900 million write-down in the value of Skype.

Including the Skype charges, eBay lost $936.6 million, or 69 cents per share in the third quarter. In the year-ago quarter, the online auction company earned $280.9 million, or 20 cents per share.

NEW YORK

Securities downgrades spark Treasurys rally

Treasury prices rallied sharply Wednesday after investors’ nervousness about housing was exacerbated by a dramatic plunge in building starts and a Standard & Poor’s downgrade of more than 1,700 classes of mortgage-backed securities.

The benchmark 10-year Treasury rallied 0.88 points from its opening level to 101.59 with a yield of 4.55 percent, down from 4.66 percent at Tuesday’s close. Prices and yields move in opposite directions.