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Brooke Corp. will delay the filing of its quarterly report with the Securities and Exchange Commission because of a subsidiary’s pending sale to First Life America Corp.

Overland Park-based Brooke Corp. (Nasdaq: BXXX) said in a filing Wednesday with the SEC that its Brooke Capital Corp. (AMEX: BCP) subsidiary’s agreement to sell all its capital stock to First Life, announced Monday, requires the presentation of First Life’s financial results as discontinued operations.

This delayed Brooke Corp.’s completion of its quarterly financial report.

Nucor Corp. reports a 68 percent increase in second-quarter earnings to $580.8 million, or $1.94 per diluted share, up from $344.9 million, or $1.14 per diluted share, a year ago.

Sales grew 70 percent to $7.09 billion from $4.17 billion in the second quarter of 2007.

The Charlotte-based steel maker says its average sales price per ton increased 24 percent for the year. Total tons shipped grew 38 percent to 7.73 million.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) attributes the increase in sales and earnings to acquisitions during the last 18 months, including Harris Steel Group Inc. in March 2007 and The David J. Joseph Company in February.

Nucor incurred a $214 million charge to value inventories using the last-in, first-out method of accounting. In last year’s second quarter, the company incurred a LIFO charge of $66.5 million.

The company expects third-quarter earnings of $1.80 to $1.85 per diluted share. Nucor earned $1.29 per diluted share in the third quarter of 2007.

North Hawaii Community Hospital officials said late Tuesday they are laying off 59 employees in an effort to stem operating losses that could reach $7.4 million this year.

The hospital notified 45 full- and part-time employees Tuesday that they were out of a job. Another 14 employees at the Waimea Women's Center, on the North Hawaii Community campus, also are losing their jobs.

The layoffs take effect immediately and the employees were spread across multiple departments, according to North Hawaii Community Hospital CEO Jeff Comer.

"This is one specific part of it and we need to have a more concerted focus on communicating to the public and getting the message out that the hospital is in a serious situation," Comer told PBN. "There is a cash flow problem and because of that we are forced to take this difficult and painful action…"

The hospital has approximately 460 employees.

The Waimea hospital, which came under new management in late 2007 and hired Comer as its new chief executive in May, has implemented what it calls the "Get Well Plan," which is designed to ensure financial viability.

North Hawaii officials called the layoffs an "unfortunate but necessary action" because the hospital lost $7.5 million last year and stands to lose an estimated $7.4 million this year.

North Hawaii Community Hospital is a 40-bed, privately funded facility. It was established in 1996 and serves some 30,000 Big Island residents.

Fourth of July travelers are paying the highest prices ever for a gallon of gasoline this week, according to AAA Texas.

In Texas, the average price for regular self-serve gasoline hit $3.96 a gallon, up 3 cents from last week. Nationally, the average price gained 3 cents to a new record of $4.10 a gallon.

The average price rose to $3.95 a gallon in both Dallas and Fort Worth, up 2 cents in Dallas and nearly 3 cents in Fort Worth.

The highest price was in Beaumont, where it jumped 6 cents to a record $3.99 a gallon. Both Houston and Galveston City tied for the cheapest fuel at $3.93 a gallon, up nearly 2 cents and 3 cents, respectively.

Prices averaged $3.95 a gallon in Austin and $3.93 a gallon in San Antonio, up 3 cents for both cities.

"Despite the record high fuel prices, almost 2.8 million Texans are expected to venture out for the holiday," said AAA Texas spokeswoman Rose Rougeau. "Although down 2 percent compared to last year, that is still a great deal of travelers."

Web site: www.aaa-texas.com

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European confidence dropped more than economists forecast this month and retail sales plunged, signaling that economic growth is continuing to cool even as the European Central Bank prepares to lift interest rates to a seven-year high to tackle inflation.

An index measuring sentiment in the euro area fell to 94.9, the lowest since May 2005, from 97.6 the previous month, the European Commission in Brussels said today. Separate reports showed European retail sales plummeted, while inflation accelerated in Germany and Spain.

Stocks fell in Europe today as oil climbed to a record above $140 a barrel and Carrefour SA, Europe's biggest retailer, scaled back its earnings forecast. With soaring food and energy prices boosting inflation, ECB President Jean-Claude Trichet has said the bank may raise the benchmark rate next week by a quarter point to 4.25 percent.

“The economy has hit the wall,'' said Ken Wattret, senior economist at BNP Paribas SA in London. ECB officials “run the risk of tipping the euro area into a recession'' as the inflation outlook increases the risk that the central bank “may need to go beyond one rate rise.''

Confidence among the manufacturing, construction and retail industries across the 15 nations that share the euro declined this month, as did consumer sentiment, according to today's commission report.

The Bloomberg retail index, based on a survey of more than 1,000 executives compiled by Markit Economics, fell to 44 this month from 53.1 in May. A reading below 50 indicates contraction. Europe's manufacturing and services industries also contracted this month.

Export Growth

The euro has increased 17 percent against the dollar in the last 12 months, threatening export growth, and was at $1.5770 today. The Dow Jones Stoxx 600 index fell 1.3 percent to 284.67 as of 11:29 a.m. in Brussels.

Separate figures today showed France's economy expanded less than initially estimated in the first quarter as household spending, the driving force of growth, stagnated. U.K. first- quarter growth was revised lower today.

ECB council member Miguel Angel Fernandez Ordonez said today a July rate increase is not a certainty.

“Nothing is inevitable in life,'' Ordonez told reporters in Rome today. “What we said was that the increase is not certain, but possible.''

Still, the ECB remains focused on consumer-price growth, according to ECB Executive Board member Juergen Stark. He said yesterday the bank sees its primary aim as being to “firmly anchor inflation expectations.''

16-Year High

Euro-area inflation reached a 16-year high of 3.7 percent in May. In Spain, inflation accelerated to 5.1 percent this month, the fastest on record, according to data today. Inflation in four German states also accelerated this month.

Oil prices have doubled in a year and Libyan National Oil Corp. Chairman Shokri Ghanem said yesterday that $150 a barrel may be “around the corner.''

Companies expect to raise prices more than previously anticipated to recover soaring costs, the commission report showed. A gauge of companies' selling-price expectations rose to 18 in June from 16 in May, which compares with an average reading of 6 over the last 18 years. Consumers also expect prices to rise more sharply than they did last month.

The “worrying combination'' of falling confidence and rising price expectations, “will add to fears of stagflation in the euro zone,'' said Martin van Vliet, an economist at ING Group in Amsterdam.

`Remain Elevated'

“Inflation is likely to remain elevated for a longer period than we initially expected,'' EU Monetary Affairs Commissioner Joaquin Almunia said in London today. It “should only begin to show a significant deceleration around the end of this year, although further possible rises in the price of oil and agricultural products cannot be ruled out.''

Europe's largest companies are feeling the pressure. Paris- based Carrefour SA, Europe's biggest retailer, yesterday scaled back its earnings forecast, saying operating profit will increase at about the same pace as sales this year. In May, it said profit would exceed the pace of revenue growth.

Ryanair Holdings Plc, the region's biggest discount airline, on June 3 said it expects to break even this year, having previously predicted net income of as much as 500 million euros ($788 million).

Recent data show few signs of a recovery yet. A gauge of manufacturing orders within a monthly survey of purchasing managers fell in June, dropping further below a 50-point level that signals contraction. In the services industry, new business also declined this month.

The jobs outlook may also be deteriorating after unemployment fell to a record low 7.1 percent this year. UniCredit SpA, Italy's biggest bank, yesterday said it plans to cut 9,000 jobs, or 5 percent of its workforce. Aviva Plc's Irish unit and Belgium's Bekaert NV also announced plans to shed jobs this week.

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Acknowledging the impact of higher gas prices on businesses and individuals, the Internal Revenue Service this week said it will raise its automobile mileage deduction rate for the second half of 2008.

The agency will boost the optional standard rate, used to compute deductible operating costs for vehicles, to 58.5 cents a mile, beginning July 1, up from 50.5 cents, the rate used since January.

The IRS normally updates the mileage rates once a year in the fall, but it has come under pressure to adjust rates sooner.

Regular gasoline prices on Tuesday averaged $4.07 a gallon nationwide, according to information from AAA. In Fort Lauderdale, it averaged $4.13; in Miami, it was $4.12; and in West Palm Beach/Boca Raton, it was $4.14.

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Ontario's retail sector continues to grow, despite the loss of cross-border shoppers to Western New York.

A new Statistics Canada report says that Ontario's retail sales grew by 0.7 percent between March and April. That was slightly better than the nationwide increase of 0.6 percent.

It marked the second straight increase in retail activity in Ontario, essentially wiping out February's sharp decline. Ontario's retail sales have generally been on the upswing since hitting a low point in mid-2007.

That coincides with the period in which the Canadian dollar reached parity with the American dollar, inspiring Ontario bargain hunters to do more of their shopping on the New York side of the Niagara River.

Total retail sales amounted to $12.7 billion (Canadian) in Ontario in April — and $35.6 billion (Canadian) in all of Canada.

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The Green Bay Packers recorded net income of $23.3 million in its 2008 fiscal year, a 5.9 percent increase from 2007, but it was not as much as team officials had hoped for.

In fact, the team saw its profits from operations fall to $21.4 million in 2008, a drop of 37 percent from $34.2 million in 2007, mostly due to rising player costs. Total operating expenses jumped from $184 million to $220 million during the past fiscal year, which ended March 31.

With the team going 13-3 and hosting two playoff games, including the NFC Championship Game, at Lambeau Field, team officials had hoped for better financial results.

"We had a good year, but not as strong as you might have anticipated," said Mark Murphy, Packers president. "There are some trends that are really concerning us."

Most notably, player costs rose from $110 million in 2007 to $124 million in 2008, which Murphy said was caused by bonus payments paid to veteran players.

Revenue increased 10 percent to $241 million, with national revenue making up $135 million of that total. Included in that figure is $87.5 million from the National Football League’s national television contract, which is split among the 32 teams.

Packers vice president of finance Vicki Vannieuwenhoven said the team ranked 11th among NFL teams in local revenue last season, and expects to remain in the same range when the league calculates new rankings later this year. In 2006, the Packers ranked seventh in team revenue.

Larry Weyers, Packers treasurer, said local revenue totaled $105 million. About $50 million in revenue came from a record year in the Packers Pro Shop, marketing and other corporate sponsorships.

Weyers said the $295 million renovation of Lambeau Field, which was completed in 2004, was still paying off for the Packers. With national revenue being evenly divided among the teams, local revenue is very important, he said.

"In order to be successful in this league, you have to depend on local revenue," he said "That is a way to gain an advantage."

NFL owners voted in May to opt out of their collective bargaining agreement with the players union. The current agreement remains in effect through the 2010 season, but owners are hoping to negotiate a new deal that would allow them to keep a bigger share of the money the league and teams make.

Murphy said a new collective bargaining agreement was very important to the Packers, who play in the smallest market in the NFL.

"It is extremely important that we protect the mechanisms the NFL has in place today," he said. "The salary cap is very important and it allows us to compete against team in much larger markets. The system does need to be tweaked a bit and that is what we are working on."

Weyers said the team was able to add $2 million to the Packers Preservation Fund, putting the total in the corporate reserve that was set up in 2005 at $127.5 million.

In addition, the team purchased 15 acres around Lambeau Field this past year. The Packers have not determined how the land will be used, but Murphy said they are talking to municipalities about development possibilities, including retail, entertainment or a mixed-use project.

"We’re looking at ways to generate additional revenue," he said. "We knew (buying the land) would be a good investment as we look to the future."

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