Lunch with Buffett goes for $250,000

One possible sign of better economic times: a New York luncheon date with stock market sage Warren Buffett fetched $250,100 in an online charity auction.

The winning bid Thursday night was nearly eight times more than the highest price paid for previous private lunches with Buffett, pictured above. The 72-year-old investment guru has been auctioning the lunches annually since 2000 to raise money for the San Francisco-based Glide Foundation, a charity that helps the homeless. The identity of the winning bidder was not immediately released.

For the money, the winner and up to 10 friends get lunch with Buffett in May 2004 in New York. If the winner needs investment advice sooner, he or she can come to Omaha, Neb., the hometown of Buffett and his company, Berkshire Hathaway.

Investigation

Aquila executive asserts allegations are baseless

Allegations that Aquila Inc. executives benefited from dealings with vendors and bribed Australian officials “are unfounded, and an investigation will confirm this,” Aquila Inc.’s top executive told employees.

Chief executive Richard Green Jr. said in an e-mail Thursday that an anonymous letter’s assertions of executive misconduct were groundless.

“Let me say first that the allegations are unfounded,” Green wrote, “and we feel confident that the Aquila board of directors and audit committee … will come to the same conclusion.”

Aquila operates the natural gas utility that serves Lawrence.

Markets

Wall Street up for week

Wall Street posted its second straight week of gains after all three major indexes moved higher Friday.

The Dow was up 83.55 Friday as investors picked up shares after two days of declines. Brokerage upgrades of Intel and Home Depot added to the good mood. Analysts said traders also were somewhat relieved to see General Electric meet earnings estimates.

For the week, the Dow rose 0.5 percent, while the Nasdaq was up 4.2 percent and the S&P was up 1.3 percent.

Economy

Wholesale prices rise

Wholesale prices moved up in June, reflecting a surge in energy costs, after two months of decline. The combination of higher fuel bills and weak prices for many other products gave profit-squeezed businesses little to cheer about.

The Producer Price Index, which measures prices before they reach consumers, rose 0.5 percent in June from the previous month, marking the biggest advance since March, the Labor Department reported Friday. The increase came after wholesale costs plunged by a record 1.9 percent in April and dipped by 0.3 percent in May.

However, excluding energy and food prices, “core” wholesale prices — those of all other products — edged down by 0.1 percent in June, after inching up by that amount in May.