Federal energy leader to return to Lawrence

Pat Wood III, chairman of the Federal Energy Regulatory Committee, will be a keynote speaker Sept. 8 at a Lawrence energy conference.

He will give a presentation for the Kansas Electric Transmission Summit II, which is expected to attract electric utility executives and various state officials.

Last year, Rep. Tom Sloan, R-Lawrence, invited him to attend the first summit. Sloan said he invited Wood to attend the event again because he hoped it would help bring together state leaders to discuss energy issues such as wind power and the transmission of low-cost electricity.

Sales

Auto companies entice shoppers with incentives

General Motors Corp. and Ford Motor Co. intensified their incentives battle Wednesday, dangling as much as $5,000 in cash for the purchase of some vehicles following disappointing sales in June.

The new offers were widely anticipated by analysts, who say the costly enticements are needed for the nation’s two largest automakers to clear out bloated inventories and try to stem declining market share.

No. 1 GM upped cash rebates to $5,000 on most 2004 trucks and sport utility vehicles, and to $4,000 on most cars.

No. 2 Ford raised cash offers from $1,000 to $5,000 on the 2004 Freestar minivan and to $4,000 on the four-door 2004 Explorer SUV and offered zero-percent financing on several other models.

Security

Protection One names new managerial positions

Protection One, the Topeka-based monitored security company that is in the process of moving its corporate headquarters to Lawrence, announced several new additions to its management team on Thursday.

Andy Devin was named treasurer. He will continue to serve as vice president, controller and assistant secretary.

Elsie Eisenbarth was appointed vice president of administration. She was executive director of administrative services.

Kay Gerdes will serve as assistant controller. Gerdes was manager of general accounting.

Betsy Scott was named vice president of human resources. She was the senior director of human resources.

Scott and Devin are both Lawrence residents.

Internet

Yahoo profits increase but disappoint investors

Yahoo! Inc.’s second-quarter profit more than doubled as the Internet giant continued to ride online advertising’s rising wave, but the results still disappointed investors hoping for even bigger things.

The Sunnyvale, Calif.-based company said Wednesday that it earned $112.5 million, or 8 cents per share, up from $50.8 million, or 4 cents per share, at the same time last year.

In recent quarters, Yahoo! has consistently beat analyst expectations so simply hitting Wall Street’s earnings target represented a letdown. Management also raised its revenue outlook less aggressively than in recent quarters.

The company projects its revenue this year will range from $2.46 billion to $2.54 billion, only slightly above an estimate of $2.41 billion to $2.52 billion made three months ago.