Roy’s UNC comment draws sales for business

The flap over Kansas University coach Roy Williams’ possible departure for the coaching job at University of North Carolina has been a bonanza for at least one Lawrence business.

“We are shipping shirts all over the country and all over the world,” said Larry Sinks, of Victory Sportswear, 721 E. Ninth St.

Sinks, above, said within about 48 hours the company had sold about 1,800 T-shirts that bear the message “I don’t give a sh*t about North Carolina, either.”

The shirt was inspired by Williams’ comment to CBS reporter Bonnie Bernstein after KU lost to Syracuse in the NCAA men’s championship game.

Sinks said he had to hire a full-time employee to answer the phone fielding requests for the shirt. He also said the T-shirts had proven popular with Duke fans and others with reasons to dislike UNC.

“You cannot believe the shirts we are selling to non-KU fans,” Sinks said.

Earnings: GE profit up 20 percent

General Electric Co. reported Friday its first-quarter profit rose 20 percent as a majority of its businesses posted double-digit growth in earnings.

GE earned $3 billion, or 30 cents per share, in the January-March period, compared with net income of $2.5 billion, or 25 cents per share, in the same quarter last year.

Economy: Latest retail sale figures encouraging for investors

Consumers snapped out of a funk in March and splurged on cars, garden supplies and furniture. The biggest increase in retail sales in 17 months occurred even as energy prices soared.

After a string of mostly dismal economic reports, analysts were encouraged by Friday’s sales figures and another report showing that consumers’ confidence improved in April. Still, they weren’t ready to declare the economy’s trouble days over.

“Businesses and investors have a lot of concerns and worries that the end of a war is not just going to magically wipe away,” said Sung Won Sohn, chief economist at Wells Fargo.

Lawsuit: Vanguard sues Citibank, Salomon, alleging fraud

An investment services company has sued Citibank and brokerage house Salomon Smith Barney, alleging the firms fraudulently sold it $70 million of worthless Enron Corp. bonds.

The Vanguard Group’s lawsuit describes a circular investment “scheme” in which Citibank and Salomon Smith Barney circulated Enron financial statements that Vanguard claims were false and misleading.

The civil lawsuit, filed Wednesday, alleges the schemes disguised Enron’s mounting debts to Citibank as normal commodity investment accounts, which were used to back Enron bonds. Those bonds were then sold to investors, including Vanguard.