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Show BUSINESS Vv Local Industry | Vv iD | Vv Nutritional Supplements A A Silver ven osge Thursday woe ae Canadian dollar 1.1875 1.1833 Final Final Per ounce Per ounce 10,447.37 2,147.07 1,218.02 $444.20 $7.008 | 6.83 SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER3, 2005 Gold Final 12.26 DailySHerald BUSINESS EDITOR | Grace Leong - 344-2910 - gleong@heraldextra.com Dow Jones) Nasdaq | S&P500 NEWS& NOTES 3.57 +$1.90 +$0.042 EXCHANGING THE DOLLAR oe Mexican peso. Fooddistributors anticipate somelogistical problems price &ae75 per share. lealer foanaget for the tender offer is Georgeson Shareholder conicsrp. RealEstate You may not be ableto get Cash Valley Loans to open in Orem — CashValley Loans,a unit of Hirsch Group LLC,will openits first store at 590 N.State St. in Folgers coffee at yourlocal Associated Foods’ grocery store over the next few weeks if distribution kinksin the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina aren't ironed out soon. Orem onOct. 1. The 1,400-square-foot check cashingstore specializes in pay: day loans andcash advances. The deal was handled by Tim Flinders and Spencer Croshaw of NAI Utah Commercial Real Estate. Storm-related logistical problems arestarting to show up in Utah, with Salt Lake City NATIONAL BRIEFING | chicken and certain brands of coffee. Neal Berube,chief operating officer of Associated Foods, said the companyreceived a notice from Proctor & Gamble on Wednesdaydiscontinuing shipments of Polgers coffee for the time being because it is assessing damages atits largest coffee makingplant in New Orleans. distributor Associated Foeds “We'realso anticipating a disruption in fresh chicken sup- StoresInc. voicing concerns about a possible short-term jor supplier of poultry. But we interruption in the supply of commodities such as fresh SALT LAKECITY — third employee of the Bank of Ephraim has been sentenced for embezzlement. Laurie Ludvigson’s thefts long went unnoticed because the head cashier wasaltering the books to conceal his own embezzlement, authorities said. US.District Judge Ted Stewart sentenced Ludvigson on plies from the Southeast, a ma- will try to keep supplies flowing,” he said. Associated Foods plies more than 200 stores in Utah including grocery affiliates Macey’s, Dan’s, Ki ‘ohler’s, Lin's, Allen’s, Harmon's and | Reams. Butlogistical dilemmas aren't the only challenges facing businesses. Earlier this week, gasoline and naturalgas prices spiked ‘on concerns over supplies tightening as the hurricane shut downkeyrefineries and pipelines in the Gulf Coast states, disrupting gasoline and natural gas production and distribution, sendingprices of both commodities soaring to PRICEY PUMPS Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan andhis colleagues that Workersin flooded New Orleans, which faces major cleanupchallenges, are taking the biggesthit. “There's no question that the recovery is going to be much CAROLYN WASTER/Tre Associated Press Fueldelivery truck driver Dusty Rhodes removeshis dispenserhoses after delivering a load of gasoline to an Exxonfuelstation in Harrisburg, Pa. Fuel prices have skyrocketed over the past weekafter the hurricanehit the South. Holiday shopping maysuffer months alter Katrina’s damage Fuel costs may decrease consumerdesire to spend AnneD'Innocenzio THE ASSOCIATED PRESS NEW YORK — Before Hurricane Katrina LAST CHANGE | SYM COMPANY 2 026 AEP AMER ELECTRICPOWCO 37.72 +0.22 ANG AMGN AWA BAC Bu BIS BN C BAG CSSA CVX AMER INTL GROUPINC loc AMERKAWESTHOUGS® BKOFAMERKACP «BAL BELISOUTH CP BANTACORP —_CATIGROUP INC CRESTED CORP ComcastComp CHEVRON CORP 5933 0.02 DAL OS. DELTA AIR LINES INC WALT DISNEY-DISNEYC 100 0.04 24,76 +0.07 ABS ABX ALBERTSONS INC —BARRICK GOLD CP DDNEX Dionex Corporation 5366 034 ERICY LM Ericson Telephone Co. 3493 008 EIR Fr GOW GE HA HRB HSK BM INTC JBL XP WN KRON LEE U8 WW ww MCK MER MY MASI Microsoft Corporation 2702 0.18 | NATR Nature's Sunshine Products 2157 0.02 | | | | | .| | | NETM NOV. NUS NWN PG pre Q RD SBC SCOX SHLD NetManage,inc. 5.05 0.02 A ‘KO ‘SMITH INTL INC SHOPKO STORES INC 3368 460 2305 +232 | MU MKRONTECHNOLOGY 2736 +005 | MYGN MyadGenets i. 0033 +026 675. +001 4291. 0.19 3785 006 2621-016 4354 037 4388 +017 163 0.06 2827 000 62.30 041 LAST CHANGE MSFT Novelin NUSKINENTINC NORTHWESTNATGAS PGRECP —PrERINC QWESTCOMMINTLINC ROYALDUTCHPETADR SBC COMMUNICATIONS SCOGroup nc. (The) SearsHoldings Coporaton SKYW SkyWest inc SNTO SentoCopevation 11.67 +005, 1927-050 68 002 275 +081 3681-060 3793 031 BB +03 385006 6587 019 2387 0.15 442-024 131.63 -1.04 1.01 O12 2B 02 275 4015 ENTERGYCP FRANKLIN COVEY CO 7555 +1.90 7.01 +0.10 SPI ‘STA SCOTTISH PWR ADS: ‘STPAULTRAVELERSCO 3847 +109 42.44 +0.23 GOLDEN WESTFIN CP 61.90 +020 YT SY | 1oT UDR UNH USB USEG USNA UTM V2 WEN WFC WMT WN X XE ZION ‘STR sek cam asc ‘SYBASE INC 007 —ATRTCPNEW ‘ast 005 TARGET CP 53.16 +038 UNTEDDOMINRLIYTR 2373-001 UNITEDHEALTHGROUP 5253 +048 US BANCORP 2 013 US. EnergyCom. 409 026 USANAHealth Scencesinc 51.40 012 Utah Medical Products nc 2384 0.44 VERZONCOMMUN 3248-014 WENDYSINTLINC 4619 063 WELISFARGO&CONEW 929° 0.44 WALMARTSTORES 4455-045 WEIDERNUTRITINT. 450 +005, —UNITEDSTATESSTEEL 4420 +054 XCELENERGY INC 1949 002 7010 021 Zon QUESTAR CP 7106 GENELECTRICCO 2091 HCAING 4948 +073 HRBLOCKINC 20 063 Henry Schein, Inc. 4174 0.08 —INTLBUSINESSMACH 73.46. 008 Intel Corporation 2528 +002 JetBlue Aways Corporation 1852 +047 PENNEYICCOHOLON 4733 +030 NORDSTROM INC 3310 +027 41.09 018 LEE ENTERPRISES 4313 047 LONGVIEWFIBRECO ©1985. 036 LUCENTTECHINC 305 001 ARUNES 1351 +037 MCKESSON CORP 4627-018 MLCOCMNSTK 5032 +006 -MITY Emprsesinc. «17.25 +015 MertMedical Systems inc. 1735 0.25 093 — andhomeheatingbills are expected to be upatleast 20 percent from last year. But Katrina has other consequencesfor consumersand businesses. Higherenergy costs will makeit more expensive for merchantsto heat their stores andtransport goods, hurting margins in the critical fourth quarter. Industry analysts be- devastated the Gulf Coast, the outlook for the lieve retailers will have to absorb highercosts tain as consumerstried to fit higher gasoline higherprices on items from clothing to toys holiday shopping season was already uncer- COMPANY See FOOD, D5 ble getting backon their feet. The 4.9 percent unemploymentrate reported for August was ALCOA INC onthose coststo the retailers, or our grocery storeaffiliates,” process begins it’s likely the samepeople the economy had left behind before the storm -— the unemployed and working poor — will have the most trou- downa notch from July's 5 percent rate and was the lowest since August 2001. AA fuel costs, and we have passed and when the long rebuilding the hiring situation was gradually improving — bit of good news for workers as they headed into the Labor Day weekend. Friday's figures don't reflect the impact of Katrina, which slammedinto New Orleans and a swath of Gulf Coast communities, because the employmentinformation was collected before the stormhit. SYM “Overthe past month, 80 of our 200-plus food vendors or manufacturers have raised prices to us becauseof high THE ASSOCIATED PRESS The latest snapshotof the United States’ jobs climate, released by the Labor DepartmentonFriday, buttressed observations by S TOCKS OF LOCAL INTEREST Yesterday's performance ofselected publicly traded companies dustry Association. WASHINGTON— The jobless rate in the hurricane-ravaged Gulf Coast is expected to spike to 25 percentor higher, RurricaneKatrina struck. Shares of Boeingfell $1.49,or 2.3 percent, to $64.50 in afternoon trading on the New York Stock Exchange. in turn, could translate to higher food and product prices for consumers,said Jim Olsen, presidentof the Utah Food In- Jeannine Aversa WASHINGTON— The nation’s unemploymentrat e dipped to a four-year low of4.9 percent in August as companies added 169,000 jobs, a sign that the labor marketcontinued to gain traction before The Machinists, who assemble Boeing’s commercial airplanes and some key components, voted overwhelmingly Thursday to strike, rejecting a three-year contract proposal their leaderscalled “insulting.” A Boeing spokesmansaid thestrike meant the company would immediately stop assembling commercial airplanes, dealing a blow to fhe jet makerjust as businessat its commercial airplanes division appeared to be picking up. charges on freight rates, which rate in U.S. Unemploymentratefalls to 4.9 percent in August strikers. the extra fuel coststo retailers in the form of higher fuel sur- jobless 1988. About 40 picketers were at Boeing’s main gate early Friday in Renton,the plant south of Seattle that assembles 737:'s, chanting at morning commuters, “Whattimeis it? Union time!” and “Union power!” Somepassing cars honkedin support, and one woman slowed down to hand off a bag of McDonald's breakfast food to cheering in Utah. expected to raise Provo tookoverits deposits. Authorities said as much as $5 million was missing, a factorin thefirst Utah bank failure since after the twosidesfailed to agree on a newlaborcontract. Thestrike affects about 18,400 Machinists in the Seattle area, Wichita, Kan., and Gresham,Ore. new records nationwide and trucking companies to pass on Hurricane Wednesdayto 27 months in prison for bank fraud and ordered her to pay $304,617in restitution. Herejected a request by the Sterling woman to impose community service insteadofprisontime,citing the substantial amount of moneystolen and the impact of her actions. In June 2004, the Utah DepartmentofFinancial Institutions declared the Bank of Ephraim insolvent and Far West Bank of the aerospace companyto halt production of commercial airplanes 10.7380 Thathas led several local Grace Leong DAILY HERALD Boeing Machinists onstrike; reject labo r contract SEATTLE — Boeing Machinists wenton strike Friday, forcing 10.6730 109.8 Katrina takestoll on local businesses Nature's Sunshine an: ounces results of Dutch Auction tender — Nature’s Sunshine Products Inc., a Provodirect seller of dietary supplements, said Friday that 513,057 shares of common stock were preliminarily tendered in its Dutch Auction offer, and the companyly expects to buy up to 500,000 shares at a purchase Third Bank of Ephraim employee sentenced PAGE6 pricesinto their budgets. The worries only es- calated this past week in the aftermath of the hurricane, which threatened to take a toll on the economy as a whole. Retailers who reported solid August sales figures on Thursday nowfear they won't be able to extendthat healthy sales pace. They're wondering whether consumerswill curtail trips to the mall and buy fewer non-essentials as they pay more than $3 for gas in many partsof the country. And merchants are well aware that holiday for now, but consumers could end up paying next year. Logjams on the Mississippi River and at Gulf Coast ports could makea widevariety of goods including coffee, grain and raw materials like rubber, more expensive. Higher prices are boundto ripple over to consumers. “| think shopper spending could be a train wreck underthe Christmas tree,” said Burt FlickingerIII, managing director for New York-based Strategic Resource Group. He estimated therewill be $35 billion less for con- shopping will coincide with colder weather See SHOPPING, D5 Albertson’s considers potential sale THE ASSOCIATED PRESS BOISE,Idaho — Albert- sont’s Inc,said Friday it was considering puttingitself up for sale as well as otheralternativesas the nation’s secondlargest supermarket chain contends with sales that have lagged manyofits rivals. Its shares surged more than 14 percent in morningtrading. The company — which operates about 2,500 stores including Albertson's, Acme, Shaw’s, Jewel-Osco and Sav-on Drugs — saidit is , interested in pursuing “strategic alternatives” to increase shareholder value. Albertson's’ board retained Goldman WWW.HERALDEXTRA.COM — 4 y ‘ Sachs & Co. and Blackstone Group LP as financial advisers. Albertson's, second only to Kroger Co. among U.S. super- analyst John Heinbockelsaid Albertson’s continued lagging sales would put increasing pressure on earningslater in market chains, said it would the year, despite cost cuts. not comment on developments until its board approves adefinitive transaction. In June, Albertson's reported first-quarter earnings nearly tripled due to an acquisition and the continued recovery of the Southern California market after a major labor dispute. However,analysts said the company’s underlying sales with or without the Southern California stores still are not as good as its main competitors. eee eee were released, Goldman The companyis recovering from a 4 1/2-monthstrike of 59,000 supermarket workers _in California. The strike ended Feb. 29 when members of the United Food and Commercial Workers union ratified a con_tract with Albertson's, Safeway Inc. and Kroger. Albertson's shares surged $2.99,or 14.4 percent, to $23.72 in morning trading on the New York Stock Exchange.Its shares have traded ratlea’ range of $19.26 to $25. longer and morepainful for the 28 percentofthe local population in the New Orleans area living below the poverty line,” said Liz Ann Sonders,chief investmentstrategist at Charles Schwab.“It's going to be much harderfor the local economy to recoverin the absence of resourcesandinsurance.” Livesandlivelihoods are in limbo, perhaps for a long time sinceit oN takeyearsto re- build the “It’s in$0 devastating. You got to shoreup the levees and get rid of the water before you can restorethe necessities — electricity, water, sanitation, telecommunications. The engi- neering challenges faced will be gigantic,” said Stuart Hoffman, chief economist at PNC Finan- cial Services Group. Rebuilding strategicoil facili- ties andportswill be a priority — eventually bringing people backto their jobs, Hoffman said. But smaller Mom and Pop shops — andtheir workers — probably face a more pre- carious future. Some small businesses,restaurants and hotels likely won't reopen. Casinos built on barges along the coast that were damaged or destroyed probably will resumeoperations, though some uprooted casino workers may seek employmentelsewhere, au as Las Vegas or Atlantic ty. “The populations in Louisiana and Mississippiare incredibly poor. Most of the damage was from flooding, which doesn’t tend to be covered by insurance. That combination adds up to an incredibly long and painful rebuilding process— I think five to 10 years,” said Mark Vitner, senior economist at Wachovia. Mississippi last year ranked the lowest among all 50 states in terms ofper capita income, $24,650, according to the Commerce Department's Bureau of Economic Analysis. Louisiana was ranked No.42, with per capita income of $27,581. Alabama placed 40th, with per capita incomeof $27,795, The nationwide per capita income See JOBLESS, D5 |