Business Briefing

REGIONAL NEWS

Elizabeth Arden will open Red Door Spa at The Bravern

Elizabeth Arden will open a Red Door Spa at The Bravern, which is under construction in downtown Bellevue.

It will feature nine treatment rooms, along with manicure stations, pedicure thrones and a styling salon.

"We look forward to providing the discerning and professional customer who chooses to live, work and play in Bellevue with a high-end, 'best of class' day spa experience," said Todd Walter, chief executive of Elizabeth Arden's Red Door Spa. "That, in combination with a collection of the world's finest fashion retail and Bellevue's strong demographics, was a major reason for our selection of this project."

Schnitzer West, developer of The Bravern, plans to open the project in 2009.

NATIONAL NEWS

General Electric is reported to be selling appliance unit

FAIRFIELD, Conn. -- General Electric Co. plans to auction off its appliance business, The Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday.

GE has hired Goldman Sachs Group Inc. to run an auction for the appliance division, according to the newspaper, which quoted unidentified sources. The sale could yield $5 billion to $8 billion, The Journal reported.

Spokesmen for the Fairfield-based industrial conglomerate and Goldman Sachs would not comment.

Autoworkers call off strike for now at GM plant in Ohio

DETROIT -- Workers at a General Motors Corp. stamping plant in Ohio have withdrawn their threat to go on strike, a GM spokesman said Wednesday.

United Auto Workers Local 549 was set to go on strike Thursday morning but has withdrawn that deadline and is continuing negotiations to reach a local contract, spokesman Dan Flores said.

A message seeking comment was left with UAW Local 549 President Pam Drake.

Also Wednesday, GM notified striking workers at its Delta Township assembly plant near Lansing, Mich., that they are no longer eligible for health care or life insurance benefits from the automaker.

WORLD NEWS

EU finance ministers agree to rein in exec bonuses

BRUSSELS, Belgium -- European Union governments agreed Wednesday to go after executive bonuses deemed to be excessive by threatening to levy taxes against firms that dole out the large sums.

Faced with an economic slowdown, EU governments also called on trade unions to temper demands for pay rises.

EU finance ministers emerged from two days of talks agreeing that the 27-nation bloc was not in a recession but that economic belt tightening was in order because of slow growth and fast-rising inflation resulting from higher fuel and food costs.

They agreed to keep an eye on wage increases to ensure that they do not aggravate inflation.

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