Amazon.com to sell brand-name clothing

SEATTLE — Amazon.com will add more than 400 clothing brands to a new online apparel store, adding to the long list of goods sold at the top Web retailer, Chief Executive Jeff Bezos said yesterday. The new store, code-named "Ruby" and accessible only by going directly to the Web address www.amazon.com/ruby, features items from Gap Inc., Eddie Bauer, Nordstrom and a wide range of other stores selling clothes, shoes, bags and luggage.

There had been speculation since July that Amazon would open the new store. The company hasn't said when the site will be linked with Amazon.com's main Web site in its official unveiling. To encourage customers to spend money at the site, Amazon said it will give out a $30 promotional certificate to those who spend $50 or more at the new store, and is also asking for feedback on its new site.

Wal-Mart project derailed over environmental issues

SEATTLE — Wal-Mart's proposal to build a store in Lakewood, Pierce County, has been turned down by a hearing examiner, who ruled that the project did not go through sufficient environmental review.

Opponents of the proposed store on Bridgeport Way had argued that the store would bring increased traffic to a mostly residential neighborhood and would harm wildlife habitat on the 25-acre site.

Wal-Mart spokesman Peter Kanelos said the company was reviewing the decision and had not decided whether to appeal.

Avenue A to enhance privacy protections

SEATTLE — Seattle-based Avenue A, an online advertising agency, has agreed to enhance its privacy policy as part of a class-action lawsuit settlement, the company said yesterday.

The company was first sued in November 2000 in Western Washington U.S. District Court for allegedly using software to gather information about users' Internet habits without permission. Avenue A settled the series of federal and state class-action privacy lawsuits by agreeing to a number of measures, which include providing clear explanations of its online ad services and offering consumers education on how to protect online privacy. An independent accounting firm will review of its compliance for two years, according to the settlement.

Avenue A closed yesterday at $3.13, down 12 cents.

KIRO-TV to be accessible on Millennium cable 'til '05

SEATTLE — KIRO-TV and Millennium Digital Cable have reached a deal that will permit the cable company's 40,000 customers to continue receiving Channel 7 programming through 2005.

Earlier this fall, Channel 7 anchor Steve Raible used an evening newscast to spur viewers to contact Millennium to pressure the company to quit "stealing" the station's signal, setting off an awkward public-relations war with the cable company.

In a release dated Wednesday, however, KIRO announced it had come to terms with Millennium that will keep the station on the Millennium cable system for the next three years.

Terms were not released, but Mike O'Herron, Millennium's regional president, said the deal did not involve any cash payment to KIRO, which is owned by Georgia-based Cox Communications. He also disputed that his company ever "stole" KIRO's signal.

Conversay to pay $260,473 over unlicensed software

BELLEVUE — The Business Software Alliance (BSA), a watchdog group representing the nation's leading software manufacturers, said yesterday that Redmond-based Conversay, a developer of speech-recognition software, agreed to pay $260,473 to settle claims that it had unlicensed copies of Adobe and Microsoft software programs installed on its computers.

"In addition to the payment, the company agreed to delete any unlicensed copies, purchase replacement software and strengthen it's software-management practices," according to a release issued by the BSA.

In the same statement, Conversay's CEO Steve Rondel said: "It is most unfortunate this occurred, but we are pleased it was found and corrected."

Captaris to trim its staff through voluntary layoffs

SEATTLE — Captaris, a messaging-software company in Kirkland, said it will cut 40 positions through voluntary layoffs by the end of the year. The company says it is making the cuts, about 9.4 percent of its 425 employees, because of the "difficult economic environment and overall softness in IT spending."

Captaris plans to evaluate the need for involuntary layoffs after it sees how many employees volunteer to leave.

Hemophilia work boosts Targeted Genetics stock

SEATTLE — Targeted Genetics, a Seattle biotech company, saw its stock rise 18 cents, or 24 percent, to close at 93 cents yesterday, nearing the $1 level needed to meet listing requirements and keep its stock on the Nasdaq market.

Before the market opened, the company reported its gene-therapy approach to treating hemophilia showed promising results in animal testing.

Results of the program, done in partnership with pharmaceutical giant Wyeth, showed researchers were able to deliver a gene for blood clotting into mice, possibly correcting the underlying genetic abnormality that causes Hemophilia A. Researchers also saw a decrease in bleeding time in those mice within seven days of treatment.

Nation/World

Zap makes offer to Ford for Think electric vehicles

LOS ANGELES — Zap, a small Bay Area manufacturer of electric bicycles and scooters that only recently emerged from bankruptcy reorganization, said yesterday it has offered Ford $10 million in cash, stock and warrants for its San Diego-based Think electric-vehicle division.

Ford paid $23 million for Think three years ago and has invested more than $100 million in the company but pulled the plug on the unit earlier this summer, citing poor demand.

Think, originally part of Norway's Pivco Industries, makes electric bicycles, golf-cart style neighborhood vehicles and the plastic-bodied two-seat Think City, which is certified as a highway-legal passenger car capable of a top speed of 60 mph and a maximum range, at much-reduced speeds, of 60 miles between charges.

Zap has never been in the car business, but Chairman Gary Starr said yesterday that the 8-year-old company's "sole business is electric vehicles, and we can focus on them while they were just a sideline for the major auto companies." Zap's stock closed at $1.50 a share yesterday in over-the-counter trading, up 5 cents for the day.

2 big oil firms report challenging 3rd quarter

NEW YORK — Exxon Mobil and ChevronTexaco said third-quarter results deteriorated as profit margins at both the oil and gas giants' refining operations shrank, offsetting a potential boost from higher prices for crude oil worldwide.

In separate earnings reports yesterday, Exxon Mobil said its profit fell 17 percent mainly from a margin squeeze, while ChevronTexaco, though pained by a margin drop-off of its own, said it swung to a loss largely due to a steep write-off of most of its investment in struggling energy merchant Dynegy.

Vivendi agrees to sell Houghton Mifflin U.S. group

PARIS — French media giant Vivendi Universal said yesterday it has agreed to sell U.S. publisher Houghton Mifflin to a group of financiers including the Blackstone Group, a private U.S. investment group.

Vivendi valued the deal at an estimated $1.73 billion, including debt. Although the deal has yet to be finalized, the announcement means that both parties are working toward a final sale.

Houghton Mifflin is the publisher of "The Lord of the Rings" as well as a wide range of educational textbooks.

Compiled from Seattle Times business staff, the Los Angeles Times Washington Post News Service, Bloomberg News and The Associated Press