Business news briefs | The Salt Lake Tribune

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Questar exec

to chair AGA

The American Gas Association said Ronald W. Jibson has been elected to serve as chairman of its board of directors for 2013. He is chairman, president and chief executive of Salt Lake city-based Questar Corp. and was elected during the AGA's recent annual meeting in Boston. He joined Questar, formerly Mountain Fuel Supply, as a design engineer in 1980.

Pioneer Oil tender

offer results noted

Pioneer Oil and Gas, a publicly held South Jordan-based exploration and production company, acquired nearly 1.5 million of shares of its stock through a $1 per share tender offer that closed August 15. As a result, Pioneer now has just over 6 million shares outstanding. The company's stock is traded over-the-counter under the symbol POGS.

Kitco Defense gets

aircraft contract

Kitco Defense, Springville, said it has been awarded a contract from Northrop Grumman to manufacture 22 vertical stabilizers for F-5 N/F fighter jets that will be used in support of the U.S. Navy's training program. Deliveries are scheduled to begin in 2013.

Wells Fargo 3Q

net income up

Wells Fargo reported its net income in the quarter ended Sept. 30 rose 23 percent, to $4.72 billion from $3.84 billion in the same period last year. The nation's biggest mortgage lender, Wells grew its loan portfolio by making new loans to consumers and keeping them on its books. New mortgage loan originations rose to $139 billion from $89 billion in last year's third quarter.

Swiss, Apple

reach accord

Apple has struck a deal with Switzerland's national rail company to license the use of its iconic station clocks for the iOS 6 operating system used by iPhone and iPad mobile devices. The deal ends a dispute that saw Swiss Federal Railways claim ownership of round clock faces with black indicators except for the second hand, which is red.

Fed's Lacker: QE3

has few benefits

Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond President Jeffrey Lacker said the Fed's third round of bond buying will increase inflation risks and complicate the pull- back from record stimulus while not fueling growth. "Adding to our balance sheet increases the risks we'll have to move quickly when the time comes to normalize monetary policy and begin raising rates," he said.

Consumers feeling

more confident

Despite dark clouds in the global and U.S. economies, American consumers are feeling more upbeat than they have at any time since the fall of 2007. That is according to a strong reading of consumer sentiment from the University of Michigan and Thomson Reuters,. The widely followed index jumped to 83.1 in October, the highest since September 2007.