The Markets April 17, 2009

Media General Freezes Pension

As part of an effort to conserve cash, Media General Inc. said Friday it would freeze its pension plan.
Reported by

According to MarketWatch, the newspaper company said its first-quarter loss widened slightly from the year-earlier quarter on costs related to job cuts and other special items, as well as steep declines in advertising revenue at its newspapers and television stations. Media General has already cut matching contributions to its 401(k) plan (see “Newspaper Company Suspends 401(k) Match, Profit-Sharing Contributions’).

The news report said the firm reported it lost $21.3 million, or 96 cents a share, compared with a loss of $20.3 million, or 92 cents a share, in the first quarter of 2008. Revenue dropped to $159.5 million from $194.5 million.

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First-quarter revenue at the company’s newspapers—including The Tampa Tribune, the Richmond Times-Dispatch, the Winston-Salem Journal, and 21 other dailies—fell 20%, reflecting a 25.2% drop in ad revenue. Classified ad sales plunged 39%.

Products April 17, 2009

SunTrust Unveils 401(k) for Small Businesses

SunTrust has released a 401(k) program aimed at business with 100 or fewer employees.
Reported by

SunTrust said in a news release that the offering includes:

  • online plan establishment with available help from retirement specialists;
  • online administrative access;
  • choice of more than 200 screened investment alternatives;
  • resources to help business owners understand and execute their role as a fiduciary;
  • annual compliance testing and ongoing monitoring and communication of regulatory changes;
  • a participant Web portal that includes a full array of educational tools;
  • coordination with SunTrust Online Payroll to save time in set up, processing, and record maintenance;
  • transparent fees.

“SunTrust understands business owners are forced to juggle many roles within their daily responsibilities, and may not have much time to manage a retirement plan,” said Brenda Seliga, senior vice president and head of Employee Benefit Solutions at SunTrust. “SunTrust Online 401k was developed with these small businesses in mind. The solution makes offering and managing a retirement plan simpler, reducing stress to the business owner.”

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