Gasoline prices, at least for now, have stabilized.

The average price of a gallon of regular unleaded in Westchester County rose less than 2 cents to $4.47 the past two weeks, the county’s Department of Consumer Protection said today.

It was the second straight time the department’s survey found only a small increase. The previous survey, released July 1, showed a penny increase in the average price.

The lowest price in the latest survey, which the department posted on its Web site (www.westchestergov.com/consumer), showed the lowest price in the county was $4.219.

Two stations, United States Petroleum on Main Street in New Rochelle and Ultimate on West Lincoln Avenue in Mount Vernon, were charging that price when inspectors checked prices on Monday.

Shares of Atlas Air Worldwide Holdings Inc. could nearly double in the next year as the Harrison-based air cargo carrier benefits from strong demand for air freight shipments worldwide, according to BB&T Capital Markets.

BB&T rated the stock as a “buy” in a research report issued today. News of the positive recommendation helped push Atlas shares up 84 cents to $45.90 in trading today on the Nasdaq Stock Market.

The company, which transports medicine, clothing, electronics and other products around the world in its fleet of Boeing 747s, has recently been hurt by soaring prices for jet fuel.

The fuel costs contributed to a loss $5.3 million, or 25 cents a share, during the quarter that ended in March, compared with a profit of $6.2 million, or 29 cents a share, a year earlier. Operating revenues rose to $373.02 million from $355.34 million.

MBIA Inc., the troubled Armonk-based bond insurer, said that it has received approval from the New York State Insurance Department to make the July 15th interest payments on its surplus notes.

MBIA originaly sold $1 billion of the notes in January to help maintain its credit rating and boost its capital after the company was hit hard by losses related to the weakening housing market and the subprime loan debacle.

MBIA must get approval from the insurance department to make payments on the notes, which carry a 14 percent yield.

MBIA reported a net loss of $2.4 billion during the first quarter – the largest quarterly loss in its history.

MBIA Inc., the Armonk-based bond insurer that has been hit hard by the subprime mortgage crisis, appears to be on the brink of insolvency and should seek outside counsel, according to a hedge fund manager.

Bill Ackman, the hedge fund manager at Pershing Square Capital Management, has been a long-time critic of the company.

“As we have stated previously, based on the (New York) State Insurance Department’s reinsurance test, we believe that MBIA Insurance is insolvent under New York insurance law,” Ackman wrote in an e-mail to MBIA’s board. “Similarly, we also believe that MBIA Inc. is insolvent because we believe the fair market value of its assets is less than its liabilities.”

Ackman urged the board to seek counsel.

“A reasonable director acting prudently would seek outside independent counsel and advice as to the solvency of the two corporations and the appropriateness of various intercompany transactions between them,” Ackman wrote.

The worst housing market in 25 years has taken a major toll on MBIA and other companies that insure bonds. MBIA reported a net loss of $2.4 billion during the first quarter – the largest quarterly loss in its history.

Kevin Brown, a spokesman for MBIA, said the statements in Ackman’s e-mail are “factually untrue” and the company strongly disagrees with his conclusions.

“The e-mail and its public release is yet another irresponsible attempt to undermine confidence in MBIA,” Brown said in an e-mail response. “The boards of MBIA Insurance Corp and MBIA Inc. are well aware of their fiduciary duties to stakeholders and will continue to fulfill them as they have always done.”

The New York state Legislature has approved a revenue-sharing bill from Gov. David Patterson that will allow Valhalla developer Louis R. Cappelli to start work on a $1 billion resort renovation at the Concord Hotel in Sullivan County, officials said. Demolition is expected to start next month, and the project is due to open in 24 months. The new revenue sharing structure depends on benchmarks, including the creation of 2,000 permanent jobs, and more revenue for state education from the Concord’s new video gaming operation. The project calls for a 750-room hotel, a major convention center, a 5/8th mile harness race track, 3,000 video gaming machines, access to two championship golf courses, and 100,000 square feet of specialty retail, among other details.

Cargo carrier Atlas Air Worldwide Holdings Inc. of Purchase said that its subsidiary, Atlas Air Inc., has been awarded a five-year contract from the U.S. Air Force to provide flight training for the Air Force pilots and flight engineers who fly the E-4B National Airborne Operations Center, a Boeing 747-200 aircraft. The training will take place at the Atlas Air Training Center in Miami. Atlas is the largest operator of Boeing 747 freighter aircraft. Terms of the contract were not disclosed.

How health care providers deliver care is going to change in the future – by a lot. That’s the message from Armonk-based IBM Corp. in the latest study from its “Healthcare 2015” initiative.

Community hospitals will lose patients to networks of clinics, and more consumers will become medical tourists as they turn to overseas physicians as an alternative to high U.S. hospital bills.

Edgar L. Mounib, health care lead for the IBM Institute for Business Value and a co-author of the new study, said U.S. hospitals will be competing on price not only with others in the same city and state but with facilities half a globe away.

“Health care is no longer local, it’s global,” he said.

At the same time, patients will seek care at nontraditional venues closer to home, like clinics at their workplace as the focus shifts to preventative care.

“We treat the sick,” he said. “We should focus on improving health by engaging the citizen much earlier.”

Mounib said he often is questioned about why IBM is seeking a leadership role in the health care debate, as he was this week when he presented the results of the study at the Hospitalar 2008 conference in Brazil.

Mounib said Big Blue started the Healthcare 2015 project in 2006 in response to demand from clients who want to tap into IBM’s insight as a corporation that operates in more than 170 countries.

Moreover, IBM needs to understand the global health care situation in order to provide care for its own 300,000-plus employees, he said.

The newest study, the third in the series, addresses what health care providers need to do to keep up with changing needs. “The nature of this business is evolving and providers really should begin to rethink their role in the health care system,” he said.

Technology will play a key role, he said, noting that of the 30 billion health care transactions that take place in the United States each year, 90 percent are conducted in voice, paper and fax.

“It’s very ineffective and inefficient,” he said. “We believe technology is a key enabler for transformation, but we believe it alone is not going to solve the problem.”

PepsiCo Inc. is celebrating Father’s Day with “Four Weeks For Father!,” a free booklet at www.pepsigreatfathers.com that focuses on the role of fathers and father figures in the African-American community. The booklet features commentary from famous African-American dads, including Academy Award-winning actor Forest Whitaker, Grammy Award-winning musical artist Common, former professional football player Jerry Rice, actor Mekhi Phifer and Congressman Jesse L. Jackson, Jr. (D-IL).

Standard & Poor’s Rating Services cited continuing weakness in the U.S. housing market as a major factor in its move to lower its financial strength rating on MBIA Inc. to AA from AAA.

It was the latest blow for MBIA, an Armonk-based bond insurer that has suffered record losses resulting from its exposure to a housing market mired in its worst slump in 25 years.

Standard & Poor’s said that the downgrade reflects concerns that MBIA will face a drop in new business and “declining financial flexibility” as the downturn in housing plays out. Analysts have said that a rating downgrade could be a serious concern for MBIA as it looks to maintain the confidence of investors and write new business in its core market of insuring municipal bonds.

Jay Brown, MBIA chairman and chief executive officer, said he remains confident in MBIA’s prospects.

“We will engage in discussions with S&P to better understand the basis for their decision,” Brown said in a written statement. “In the coming weeks, we will work with our board of directors to thoroughly examine all of our options as we further the transformation of the company with the goal of delivering long-term value to our shareholders.”

The downgrade by S&P came a day after Moody’s Investors Service announced that it was placing the credit rating of the company under review for a potential downgrade.

Hudson Valley Holding Corp. of Yonkers said that its board has approved an extension of a program to repurchase up to 250,000 shares of the bank holding company’s common stock at a price of $52.75 per share through Sept. 3. The program was originally announced Feb. 26.

Solucorp Industries Ltd., a West Nyack-based technology company, said that it has signed an exclusive worldwide licensing agreement for its mercury emission control technology with CoaLogix Inc., a company that is 85 percent owned by Acorn Energy Inc.

Solucorp said that has received a one time licensing fee of $2 million under the deal. Delaware-based Acorn Energy provides services to coal-fired power generating plants looking to reduce their environmental impact.

Bill McMahon, President and chief executive officer of CoaLogix, said in a written statement that mercury is an issue at coal-fired units around the world. He added that “this technology not only removes the mercury but also takes care of the disposal issues inherent with other technologies.”

Area county executives will be the featured speakers at a forum on June 11 hosted by the Palisades Institute of Dominican College in Orangeburg.

The participants will include Westchester County Executive Andrew J. Spano, Putnam County Executive Robert J. Bondi, Rockland County Executive C. Scott Vanderhoef, Orange County Executive Edward A. Diana and Suffolk County Executive Steve Levy.

Topics will include the area economy, transportation, the environment, immigration and economic development. This event will be held in the Lawrence Room of Rosary Hall on the campus of Dominican College, Western Highway in Orangeburg.

This program begins at 7:45 a.m. and the discussion with the county executives starts at 8:30 a.m. The cost is $25 per person. For more information, please call Nancy Rivera at 845-848-7806.

Westchester County’s Department of Consumer Protection is warning parents and others taking care of children about the dangers of inflatable pools.

The county’s laws require stores selling inflatable pools deeper than two feet to post signs urging parents to make sure their children are supervised while in the pool.

The department’s inspectors have been visiting retailers to distribute signs and make sure they’re posted.

Gary Brown, the director of consumer protection, said: “We are not aware of any reports of drowning in Westchester that are attributable to inflatable pools. Our goal is to keep it that way.”

Three Yonkers businesses are facing $43,000 in fines for not carrying workers compensation insurance. The New York State Workers’ Compensation Board said yesterday that Yonkers Auto Mall, Inc. at 1716 Central Park Ave., Yonkers Service Station at 1230 Nepperhan Ave. and Golden Yonkers Properties, Inc. at 365 S. Broadway violated state law by not carrying workers’ compensation insurance. Workers’ Compensation Board spokesman Brian M. Keegan said that his agency is working with Yonkers Auto Mall and it may rescind its $33,000 judgment. The board is also in discussion with Golden Yonkers Properties over its $6,000 judgment, as the company now has coverage. The board has not received a response from Yonkers Service Station, whose $4,000 judgment was filed March 31 in the state Supreme Court in White Plains.

Cici Crib, a store that sells children’s furnishings, clothes and bedding, has moved to a new location at 409 Main St. in Armonk. The business outgrew its former space, which was at 144A Bedford Road and near the new store. Christina Doherty, a former certified public accountant, owns the store.

Volatility in the financial markets will spill over into the government’s own budget plans this year, New York state Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli said yesterday at a breakfast sponsored by The Business Council of Westchester.

Twenty percent of state revenues come from Wall Street, he told the audience at Abigail Kirsch at Tappan Hill in Tarrytown. But corporate profits are not what they used to be.

Absent a strong turnaround in the second half of this year, the employee bonus pool for the end of 2008 will shrink, DiNapoli said. Job losses in the city’s financial sector are well under way. Subprime mortgages with adjustable rates will continue to reset into 2009, extending uncertainty about when credit problems will bottom out.

Local businesspeople can take comfort in two bright spots on the economic front, DiNapoli said.

Westchester has outperformed many areas of the state in a variety of benchmarks. Job growth in the county outpaced the statewide performance, reflecting strength in financial services and construction.

Local unemployment rates were lower by about a full percentage point, and average wages are higher. While growth in property values has slowed, its size is still a good indicator of the wealth of the region. It puts Westchester in a better position to weather the current credit crunch and related problems, DiNapoli said.
The other bit of good news involves the $155 billion retirement fund for state and local employees. It currently is funded at 104 percent of its expected liabilities, compared to the national average of 88 percent.

The strength of the state fund allowed the government to decrease the contribution rate levied on local government by a full percentage point last year, he said.
DiNapoli told the audience that no money has been set aside in the state budget for the estimated $15 billion that would be needed for a full reconstruction of the Tappan Zee Bridge.

The bridge project should be a priority for the state. DiNapoli said funding partnerships between government and the private sector should be explored.
“That doesn’t mean I’m endorsing that idea,” he said. “I’m endorsing discussing it.”

EpiCept Corp. of Eastview said yesterday that its listing on the Nasdaq market is endangered. The drug researcher said it is out of compliance with Nasdaq rules that require a market cap of $35 million for 10 consecutive trading days. EpiCept said it is working to regain compliance by a May 5 deadline.

Shareholders at the annual meeting of Morgan Stanley in Purchase yesterday rejected a proposal that called for a non-binding ratification vote by stockholders on executive pay.

About 63.2 percent of the shares represented and voting at the meeting voted against the proposal, or abstained, Morgan Stanley said. It was the second year in a row that the proposal had been rejected. It was put up by the pension plan of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees.

A second resolution by Trillium Asset Management of Boston that called for Morgan Stanley to produce an annual report on how the company’s investment policies could address human rights needs was withdrawn.

A spokesman for the resolution expressed satisfaction at the meeting with actions that the investment bank had agreed to take addressing human rights.

More than 1,000 high school students from Rockland, Westchester, Orange and Putnam counties learned today how to weld pipes, operate an excavator, fashion a brick wall and perform many other trades at the eighth annual Hudson Valley Construction Career Day.

During the event at the Rockland Community College Field House, students also met with leaders from more than 20 construction and building unions and private employers. The career day was sponsored by more than 100 union locals and major trade associations.

“This year’s event was very successful—it’s the largest turnout we’ve had since beginning the career days,” said Ross Pepe, president of the Construction Industry Council of Westchester and Hudson Valley. “We had strong participation from the trade unions and apprentice training programs.”

Live demonstrations by union apprenticeship instructors and hands-on training for students included such crafts as painting, carpentry, ironworks, masonry, plumbing, electrical work and equipment operations.

The Women’s Enterprise Development Center Inc. of White Plains has been awarded a three-year grant from the U.S. Small Business Administration to support its mission of training low and moderate income women and men in the Lower Hudson Valley to achieve economic sufficiency. The center was awarded $100,000 for the first year of the three-year program. The grant was announced by U.S. Rep. Nita Lowey, D-Harrison.