Cessna plans $20.4M Independence project

Cessna Aircraft Co. plans a $20.4 million expansion at its Independence, Kan., plant, where it builds single-engine airplanes.

Cessna now employs 600 people at the plant and plans to add another 500 workers during the next several years, the company said this week.

Cessna will construct two new buildings and expand another during the next year in what will be the plant’s first expansion since it opened in 1996. The new facilities are expected to be completed by December 2005.

Retailing

Saks Fifth Avenue to close K.C. store

Saks Inc. plans to close its Saks Fifth Avenue store in Kansas City, Mo., by the end of February to focus its resources on its larger and more productive units.

The company’s Saks Fifth Avenue Enterprises unit recently announced plans to close nine other Saks Fifth Avenue stores and three of its Off 5th stores. The department-store chain will convert one of the Saks Fifth Avenue locations into an Off 5th store.

After the closings, Saks will operate 54 Saks Fifth Avenue stores and 52 Off 5th stores, the retailer said Thursday. The 120 employees at the Kansas City store, which is located on the Country Club Plaza, will be offered transfer opportunities or receive severance packages.

Saks shares closed at $14.26, down 30 cents, or 2.1 percent.

Economy

Mortgage rates drop

Mortgage rates fell sharply this week, a development that should bring a dose of good cheer for people wanting to buy a home.

Freddie Mac’s weekly survey showed that rates on 30-year, fixed-rate mortgages dropped this week to 5.71 percent, compared with 5.81 percent last week. This week’s rate was the lowest since early November. The nationwide averages for mortgage rates do not include add-on fees known as points.

Markets

Stocks up on rumors

Stocks rose as investors bet on a year-end rally, while talk of a possible merger by telecommunications companies Sprint Corp. and Nextel Communications Inc. fueled buying.

Procter & Gamble Co. pulled blue chips higher a day after the consumer products maker boosted its sales forecast for fiscal 2005 and said full-year earnings would hit the high end of Wall Street estimates. It rose 2 percent, or $1.35, to $56.38. Upbeat earnings from chip maker National Semiconductor Corp. helped stocks bounce back from morning losses. The company’s shares jumped 5 percent, or 79 cents, to $16.79.

“There seems to be a consensus that we’re due for a year-end rally, and weakness is considered an opportunity to buy,” said Michael Metz, chief investment strategist at Oppenheimer & Co.