HEADLINERS

AK Steel in Middletown expects to report its first net profit in two years, an announcement that sent shares up 10 percent in one day last week. The company's new leadership appears to be restoring investor confidence.

A new company formed by an African-American entrepreneur from Chicago will get a $120 million contract from Procter & Gamble Co. to make non-woven fibers used in diapers. This creates the first minority-owned supplier in that industry, helps P&G reach its goals for contracts with minority-owned companies.

Problems with a couple of condo projects have caused Cincinnati City Hall to suspend a program to revitalize 19 properties near Findlay Market in Over-the-Rhine. Officials say they intend to tighten the approval process to ensure the viability of developments proposed for the neighborhood.

Tall Stacks 2003 was a revelation on the riverfront, drawing hundreds of thousands of younger music lovers just as those touring riverboats were heading home. Now organizers need to raise millions of dollars to secure the financial base of the next Tall Stacks festival in 2006 or 2007. The decision not to promote a music-only festival this fall probably eliminated a distraction from that goal.

KENTUCKY CONNECTIONS

Delta Air Lines reportedly wants $1 billion a year in financial concessions from its pilots - about 25 percent more than originally sought. Delta has more than 800 pilots based at Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport.

For 32 homebuyers who paid cash for their Erpenbeck Co.-built homes, a two-year nightmare is over and they finally have clear title. The release of about $3 million in construction mortgages in settlements last week means more of the real victims are being made whole.

QUOTE OF THE WEEK

"Hello, this is Chrissie Hynde of the Pretenders reminding you that you didn't buy my last album. But it's still in the shops so maybe on the way home. By the way, a recent PETA investigation into an Iams contract laboratory revealed dogs and cats being abused in inexcusable ways. Don't think these tests are necessary or required by law. They aren't." These were the first words greeting thousands of Procter & Gamble Co. employees when they got to work one day last week. The message from the Pretenders rocker came via auto-dial from an animal-rights group. P&G's Iams unit denies that it mistreats animals.