Bankruptcy

Polaroid hopes sale allows company to stay in business

Polaroid Corp., the bankrupt instant camera and film maker, said Thursday it has agreed to sell most of its assets to Bank One Corp. for $265 million.

Polaroid reached a sales agreement with One Equity Partners, the private equity arm of the nation’s sixth-biggest financial institution.

Polaroid said the sale could allow the company to emerge from Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. Ulysses Yannas, an analyst with Buckman, Buckman & Reid, said Polaroid would likely continue to operate because its core business and brand remain strong despite the company’s financial problems.

Economy

Sales tax receipts up for both Lawrence, county

Fears of a sluggish economy aren’t reflected in the latest sales tax numbers for Lawrence and Douglas County.

According to numbers recently released by the Kansas Department of Revenue, sales tax receipts for both Lawrence and Douglas County are ahead of last year’s pace. Through March, sales tax collections are up 2.8 percent for Douglas County. The county has collected $9.03 million since July 2001 compared to $8.78 million during the same period a year earlier.

Lawrence numbers are up 2.9 percent for the year. The city has collected $8.29 million compared to $8.06 million a year earlier.

Electric rates

KCC sets hearing dates

The Kansas Corporation Commission has scheduled two public hearings concerning how to appropriately split previously approved rate changes between KGE and KPL customers.

The KCC will conduct its first public hearing at 7 p.m. Thursday at the KCC offices in Topeka. The second public hearing will be at 7 p.m. May 8 at the Wichita City Council chambers.

In September the KCC ordered Westar Energy to reduce rates to KGE customers by a total of 7.2 percent, and increase rates to KPL customers, which includes Lawrence residents, by 5.4 percent. The hearing seeks comments on how the rates should be changed among the companies different types of customer classes.

Stocks

Capitol Federal ups dividend

Topeka-based Capitol Federal Financial announced that it has increased its quarterly dividend to shareholders by 5.5 percent to 19 cents per share.

The company, which is the parent of Capitol Federal Savings, will announce its earnings for the quarter on Wednesday.