BUSINESS BRIEFS
FBI: Foreclosure scam cases likely to rise even more
Associated Press
WASHINGTON — Federal mortgage fraud convictions have more than doubled in the past year, and the FBI expects new growth in foreclosure scams as the crisis over substandard, high-interest home loans escalates.
Foreclosure rates for these mortgages, known as subprime loans, are at historic highs, according to surveys by the Mortgage Bankers Association and government records.
The FBI opened 1,210 mortgage fraud cases in fiscal year 2007, nearly triple the number of new cases in 2003. Convictions more than doubled from 123 in the 2006 fiscal year to 260 in 2007.
"We expect that number to increase again in 2008," says FBI financial crimes section chief Sharon Ormsby.
ROCHESTER MEAT RECALLS BEEF
MINNEAPOLIS — A Minnesota meatpacker has recalled about 188,000 pounds of ground beef patties and some other products because of E. coli bacteria concerns.
Rochester Meat Co. of Rochester issued the recall after five illnesses were reported in Wisconsin and one in California, the U.S. Agriculture Department's Food Safety and Inspection Service said in a statement Saturday.
The affected beef was produced Oct. 30 and Nov. 6. It was shipped to distributors nationwide for use in restaurants and food service institutions. It was not sold by retailers, the USDA service said.
GM INVESTING IN GASIFICATION TECH
DETROIT — General Motors says it is investing in a fledgling company that claims its secret process could make ethanol from waste in large quantity as soon as 2010 for $1 a gallon or less, half the cost of making gasoline.
Bill Roe, CEO of 18-month-old ethanol maker Coskata, says the company's process uses bacteria developed at the University of Oklahoma and existing gasification technology to generate 99.7 percent pure ethanol, plus water. He says the method should leapfrog cellulosic production, which has been seen as the next step from today's ethanol production using corn.
GM won't disclose its investment, but Roe says it's enough to make Coskata "a speed-to-market play."
"I don't think most people saw this coming. Most talk about cellulosic ethanol is futuristic."
N.Y. TOURISM HIT RECORD IN 2007
NEW YORK — With a falling dollar sweetening the deal for international travelers, a record-setting number of tourists visited the city last year, spending an estimated $28 billion, tourism officials said yesterday.
With a final count still pending, the city's tourism office said an estimated 46 million people had visited the city in 2007 — up 5 percent from 2006. The jump was largely due to visitors from other countries, who numbered an estimated 8.5 million — a growth of 17 percent.
George Fertitta, of city tourism office NYC & Company, said it's not just the favorable exchange rate that's drawing visitors: "The city is more vibrant, cleaner and safer — and it's just more exciting than ever before," he said.
GULF AIR ORDERS $4 BILLION IN 787S
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Bahrain-based airline Gulf Air has ordered 16 of Boeing Co.'s new 787 Dreamliners valued at around $4 billion, with an option for eight more, an airline official said yesterday.
"The deal is worth $4 billion at list prices but would rise to $6 billion if we include the options," said Adnan Malek, a spokesman for Gulf Air.
The struggling carrier said in November at the Dubai air show that it was planning to renew its entire fleet.
"The total order could be more than 35," Malek said. "We are also in talks with Airbus for the A320 narrow-body planes."
Gulf Air, first launched as a pan-Arab Gulf carrier in 1950, is reeling from the successive withdrawals of Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and Oman from its charter. Bahrain is the last remaining state shareholder.
