Alterra Coffee changes name, splits with Mars

MILWAUKEE — Alterra Coffee is changing its name and parting ways with Mars, Inc.

Alterra owners say nothing will change except for its name, which will now be Colectivo (col-ehk-TEE'-voh), inspired by the artsy buses used for public transportation in Latin America.

The Milwaukee-based Alterra sold the brand name to Mars in 2010, which allowed Mars to distribute the coffee globally. The revenue allowed Alterra to expand its cafes to other Wisconsin cities, including Madison.

Mars will still be able to distribute coffee under the Alterra name.

The original Alterra founders — Lincoln Fowler, Ward Fowler and Paul Miller — will maintain control of Colectivo Coffee.

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Britain demands cash bonds for visas from 6 states

LAGOS, Nigeria — Britain's Home Office confirmed Monday it will demand a 3,000-pound ($4,630) refundable bond for visas for "high-risk" visitors from six former colonies in Africa and Asia — a pilot scheme that has brought warnings at home and abroad that it will damage trade.

Britain said in a statement Monday that it will go ahead with the pilot scheme despite the outrage, charges of discrimination and warnings of retaliation.

The statement sent by email did not say when the pilot program would start. But it said it could apply the scheme in the future for all visas and any country.

"The pilot will apply to visitor visas, but if the scheme is successful we'd like to be able to apply it on an intelligence-led basis on any visa route and any country," it said.

For now, the targeted countries are Nigeria, Ghana, India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. Government data shows citizens of those countries applied for more than half a million visas to Britain last year.

Khaled Mahmud, owner of a Bangladeshi travel agency in Dhaka that deals with British student visas, charged the scheme was racist. "It smacks of a deep-rooted racial attitude," he told The Associated Press on Monday.

In the southern Pakistani city of Karachi, computer businessman Syed Shahid Ali said the "painful and unbearable" new policy would have a negative impact on British tourism and business.

"How can someone who wants to visit the U.K. for a couple of days for business meetings or something else afford to set aside 3,000 pounds" said Ali, who travels there frequently. "He will simply prefer to go and do business elsewhere in Europe instead of getting into this problem of giving a bond and getting reimbursed."

Haider Abbas Rizvi, a former Pakistani lawmaker, said the British government should review its decision because it would hurt a lot of Pakistanis who have family members living in Britain and who cannot afford the bond.

"There are just a few people who deviate from the system or break the law, so instead of bringing common travelers and law-abiding people under the possible financial burden, there should be strict surveillance on the violators of law in the U.K. or elsewhere," Rizvi told the AP.

Nigeria's government made a formal demand last month that Britain renounce the proposal. Foreign Affairs Minister Olugbenga Ashiru called in the British high commissioner to express "the strong displeasure of the government and people of Nigeria" over the "discriminatory" policy.

Ashiru warned the move would "definitely negate" the two country's commitment to double trade by 2014. Figures from Nigeria's Ministry of Trade and Commerce show trade between the two countries increased nearly five-fold from $2.35 billion in 2010 to $11.57 billion last year, with the value of Nigerian imports of British goods doubling in that time.

Nigeria is Africa's most populous nation and a huge market with its more than 160 million people.

There was such an outcry in Nigeria when the scheme first was mooted last month that British High Commissioner Andrew Pocock put out a statement assuring that the pilot scheme would not affect most Nigerians.

"The vast majority would not be required to pay a bond," Pocock said. He added that more than 180,000 Nigerians apply to visit Britain each year and about 70 percent — around 126,000 — get visas.

There were protests in India last month when British Prime Minister David Cameron visited, causing him to declare that a final decision had not been taken on the policy.

The Home Office said it hopes the bond system deters overstaying of visas and recovers costs of foreign nationals using public services like hospitals and schools.

Immigration was a key issue in Cameron's election campaign for his Conservative Party. Cameron has pledged to cut net immigration from 252,000 a year in 2010 to 100,000 a year by 2015.

One move that has come under heavy criticism recently has been a government campaign targeting people who overstay their visas. Billboards were put on two vans for a week in six of London's boroughs. Their message said: "In the UK illegally? Go home or face arrest." Leaflets with the same message will be distributed for a month.

The Home Office statement said the visa bond "is the next step in making sure our immigration system is more selective, bringing down net migration from the hundreds of thousands to the tens of thousands while still welcoming the brightest and the best to Britain."

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Associated Press writers Paisley Dodds in London, Farid Hossain in Dhaka, Bangladesh, and Zarar Khan in Islamabad, Pakistan, contributed to this report.

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Bank of Cyprus depositors lose 47.5 pct of savings

NICOSIA, Cyprus — Depositors at bailed-out Cyprus' largest bank will lose 47.5 percent of their savings exceeding 100,000 euros ($132,000), the government said Monday.

The figure comes four months after Cyprus agreed on a 23 billion-euro ($30.5 billion) rescue package with its euro partners and the International Monetary Fund. In exchange for a 10 billion euro loan, deposits worth more than the insured limit of 100,000 euros at the Bank of Cyprus and smaller lender Laiki were raided in a so-called bail-in to prop up the country's teetering banking sector.

The savings raid prompted Cypriot authorities to impose restrictions on money withdrawals and transfers for all banks to head off a run. Christopher Pissarides, the Nobel laureate who heads the government's economic advisory body, forecast Monday that the bank controls could be in place for another two years.

"The (economy) has absorbed the initial shock and is moving ahead. We see things improving," he told reporters after talks with Cyprus President Nicos Anastasiades Monday.

As part of the bail-in of Bank of Cyprus, depositors taking losses — estimated roughly at around 4 billion euros — will get shares in the bank. Those depositors hardest hit are pension funds belonging to employees for state-run companies, followed by private savers of which some of the biggest are Russians.

Depositors at Laiki, which is being wound down and folded into Bank of Cyprus, saw most of their uninsured savings wiped out and are unlikely to get any shares in Bank of Cyprus.

The government insisted in negotiations with the Cyprus Central Bank and officials from the country's international creditors — currently conducting their first post-rescue deal assessment — that the Bank of Cyprus could remain afloat with less money from depositors.

Government spokesman Victoras Papadopoulos said the most significant part of the Bank of Cyprus bail-in is that the lender has turned a corner in its restructuring process, allowing control of the lender to soon return to the hands of private shareholders.

"This constitutes an important step in the stabilization of both the bank, and the Cypriot economy," said Papadopoulos.

Bank of Cyprus officials say they a meeting of the lender's new shareholders will be convened in early September. The bank will complete its restructuring — which will see the departure of hundreds of employees either through voluntary retirement packages or layoffs — by the end of the same month.

The Cyprus government is looking to the European Central Bank to provide a restructured Bank of Cyprus with as much liquidity as it needs to help turn the country's tanking economy around by lending to cash-starved businesses.

Anastasiades last month warned ECB chief Mario Draghi that Bank of Cyprus' cash reserves were running dangerously low.

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Foreign airlines urged to use GPS at San Francisco

SAN FRANCISCO — Federal aviation officials have advised all foreign airlines to use a GPS system instead of visual reckoning and cockpit instruments when landing at San Francisco International Airport in the wake of the deadly Asiana Airlines crash.

The Federal Aviation Administration issued the recommendation on Sunday involving main runways at the airport, saying in a statement that it took the action after noticing an increase in aborted landings at the airport by some foreign carriers flying visual approaches into the airport.

Pilots on Asiana Airlines Flight 214 had been cleared to make a visual approach when the plane crash-landed on July 6. Three people died, and 180 others were injured among the 307 aboard the flight that came in too low and too slow, slamming its landing gear into a seawall well before the actual runway.

Seconds before the accident, the pilots called for a go-around, meaning they abort a landing and circle for another approach. The FAA said the maneuvers are "routine, standardized procedures that can occur once a day or more at busy airports for various reasons."

Last week, for example, Taiwanese carrier EVA Air approached a San Francisco runway too low then aborted the landing and began another approach. The agency said it was investigating that flight. It did not say how many other such incidents have occurred.

In clear weather, it's typical for pilots to make a visual approach, using the view through their windshield.

They also can use an instrument system called a glide slope indicator, although that has been out of service in San Francisco since June 1 because of ongoing runway improvements.

The FAA said all foreign carriers should continue to use alternate instrument approaches until the glide slopes return to service in late August.

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Information from: San Francisco Chronicle, http://www.sfgate.com

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Markets steady after earlier Japanese weakness

LONDON — Markets steadied Monday at the start of action-packed week that could set the tone for the rest of the summer, brushing off earlier weakness prompted by a big retreat in Japanese shares in the wake of renewed yen buying.

Investors will have the latest policy statements from the U.S. Federal Reserve and the European Central Bank to digest as well as a raft of economic and corporate news from around the world. The data week started slowly Monday but will pick up steam through the week culminating in Friday's U.S. nonfarm payrolls report for July.

Though the Fed is not expected to change its monetary policy on Wednesday, this week's data could go a long way to determine when the central bank begins to reduce its monetary stimulus. Many in the markets think that the so-called tapering of the stimulus could start in September. The Fed is currently buying $85 billion in Treasury and mortgage bonds a month in a move that has kept long-term rates near record lows and supported economic recovery.

"This week will clearly set the tone for market conditions for the remainder of the summer," said Michael Woolfolk, an analyst at Bank of New York Mellon.

Given that backdrop, investors looked past the early weakness in Asia and stocks in Europe and the U.S. traded in relatively narrow ranges.

In Europe, the FTSE 100 index of leading British shares closed Monday barely changed on last Friday, up 0.08 percent at 6,560 while Germany's DAX rose 0.17 percent to 8,259. The CAC-40 in France ended the day flat at 3,968.

In the U.S., the Dow Jones industrial average was down 0.3 percent at 15,506 while the broader S&P 500 index fell 0.4 percent to 1,684.

Earlier, Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 sank 3.3 percent to 13,661.13, its first close below 14,000 since July 1, as the yen continued to reverse some its recent fall. The dollar was 0.45 percent lower at 97.87 yen. Earlier it had fallen to a month-low of 97.61 yen to the likely chagrin of Japan's exporters.

A lower yen makes Japanese exports more competitive. The currency's broad weakness this year has been one of the reasons why the Nikkei has been one of the strongest performers. Japanese vehicle makers were among the hardest hit on Monday, with Mitsubishi Motors Corp. down 9.9 percent and Isuzu Motors Ltd. 8 percent lower.

Elsewhere in Asia, South Korea's Kospi fell 0.6 percent to 1,899.89 while Hong Kong's Hang Seng lost 0.5 percent to 21,850.15. On the Chinese mainland, the Shanghai Composite Index shed 1.7 percent to 1,976.31 while the smaller Shenzhen Composite Index lost 1.9 percent to 941.33.

Oil prices were fairly subdued, with the benchmark New York rate up 5 cents at $104.73 a barrel.

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Fog delaying some flights at Denver Int'l Airport

DENVER — Fog is delaying flights by about an hour in Denver, and some smaller planes are being diverted to other airports because of the low visibility.

The fog wasn't expected to lift until around 11 a.m. Monday.

About 15 commuter flights headed to Denver International Airport have had to instead land in Colorado Springs, Durango and Eagle, as well as to Albuquerque, N.M., and Rapid City, S.D.

Fog is unusual in Denver, which boasts of having more than 300 sunny days a year.

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Grain futures mostly unchanged, pork prices mostly lower

CHICAGO — Grains futures were mixed Friday in early trading on the Chicago Board of Trade.

Wheat for December delivery was flat at $6.61 1/2 a bushel; December corn flat at $4.73 a bushel; Decemberr oats unchanged at $3.3125 a bushel; while November soybeans was unchanged 12.16 a bushel.

Beef prices were higher, while pork prices were mostly lower on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange.

August live cattle was .60 cents higher at $1.2240 a pound; August feeder cattle advanced .0042 to 1.5302 a pound; August lean hogs was higher .0048 cents to $0.9825 a pound.

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CBS chief exec says cable fee dispute unresolved

BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. — A dispute with Time Warner Cable was unresolved as a deadline loomed involving the availability of stations in three major markets, CBS Corp. chief executive Les Moonves said Monday.

If it's not settled, six CBS TV stations could go dark for around 3 million Time Warner Cable customers in New York, Los Angeles and Dallas.

CBS Inc. and Time Warner Cable Inc. are in the public spat over fees in the markets.

Moonves told the Television Critics Association the deadline to resolve the dispute is 5 p.m. EDT Monday.

The disagreement centers mainly on how much Time Warner Cable pays for the right to retransmit signals from the CBS-owned stations.

Also involved is a possible blackout of CBS-owned Showtime for Time Warner Cable customers nationwide who pay extra for it.

Discussions were continuing and Moonves said he hopes the stations don't go dark.

"As we've said, we feel like we should be paid for our programming," he said. He declined to offer further details, saying he didn't want to negotiate in public.

Dozens of blackouts have occurred nationwide in fee fights over the years, but many get resolved at the last minute.

Selling retransmission rights has become a big business for broadcasters such as CBS. Research firm SNL Kagan estimates retransmission fees will reach $3 billion industrywide this year and double to $6 billion by 2018.

Time Warner Cable has said it's resisting a fee hike demand by CBS so prices don't go up for customers. CBS said Time Warner Cable isn't agreeing to terms that its competitors have accepted.

If the fight continues, some Time Warner Cable customers could lose access to new episodes of "Under the Dome" and the 15th season of "Big Brother." Both are available online after a slight delay.

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Bernanke to give deposition in AIG bailout lawsuit

WASHINGTON — A U.S. judge has ordered that Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke can be questioned in a lawsuit against the government filed by the former head of American International Group Inc.

It is rare for a Fed chairman to be deposed in a lawsuit. But Judge Thomas Wheeler of the U.S. Court of Federal Claims said Monday that an exception should be made. That's because Bernanke has first-hand knowledge of the government's decision to bail out AIG at the height of the financial crisis, he said.

Hank Greenberg, the former AIG CEO, has sued the government over the bailout, claiming its terms were too onerous. AIG has since repaid the $182 billion.

Greenberg's lawyers want Bernanke to be deposed on Aug. 16.

A Fed spokesman said there was no immediate comment.

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Buffett auctions off personal tour of See's Candy

OMAHA, Neb. — Billionaire Warren Buffett is auctioning off an all-you-eat tour of the See's Candy factory in California to benefit an education nonprofit there.

Bidding had already reached $30,000 by Monday, but it remains to be seen whether the final price of this auction will rival the annual auction of lunch with Buffett which routinely tops $1 million.

The online auction that runs through Aug. 13 will benefit Communities In Schools of Los Angeles. It is being offered on the charitybuzz.com website.

Buffett says he'll teach the auction winner the proper way to eat a bonbon during the half-day tour. Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway conglomerate has owned See's Candy since 1972, and he spends hours munching on See's treats while answering questions at Berkshire's annual meetings.

Buffett did not immediately respond to questions about this new auction Monday.

For more than a decade, the only time Buffett auctioned off a chance to meet with him was the lunch auction that helps fund the Glide Foundation's efforts to help the poor and homeless in San Francisco.

The winner of this year's lunch auction paid $1,000,100. That's a bargain compared to the previous five years when the winning bids all topped $2 million, including the record 2012 bid of $3,456,789.

This new See's Candy auction could affect bidding on the lunch auction. But then again, the winners of the lunch auction are guaranteed more time to talk with Buffett, which could help keep that event more valuable.

The lunch auction winners get to spend several hours asking Buffett questions about business, philanthropy and life.

The fine print on the candy auction site promises only a meeting with Buffett where the winner can take a picture with the renowned investor and get something autographed, so the candy tour may not offer nearly as much opportunity to learn from Buffett.

Investors all over the world watch what Buffett does and try to copy his moves because of his remarkable track record of success. Through the end of 2012, Buffett's Berkshire has delivered a compounded annual gain of 19.7 percent to investors — more than double the S&P 500's growth rate.

And Buffett, 82, has been gradually giving away his fortune since 2006. He plans to eventually divide most of his shares of Berkshire stock between five charitable foundations, with the largest block going to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

Buffett's Berkshire owns roughly 80 subsidiaries, including clothing, furniture and jewelry firms. Its insurance, utility and railroad businesses typically account for more than half of the company's net income. It also has major investments in such companies as Coca-Cola Co. and Wells Fargo & Co.

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Follow Josh Funk at www.twitter.com/funkwrite

Buffett's candy tour auction: http://bit.ly/1cgJCRV

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