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Show DailySHevald PAGE 6 FRIDAY, JUNE 19, 2009 BUSINESS EDITOR | Grace Leong - (801) 344-2910 - gleong@heraldextra.com Faas ame | DowJones| Nasdaq Google invests $2.6M in startup tied to founder SAN FRANCISCO GoogleInc. loves 23andMe Inc., a biotechnology startup conceived byco-founder Sergey Brin’s wife. Inits latest showing of financial affinity, Google disclosed hursday thatit has invested another$2.6millionin a company S&P 500 A M4 Gold Vv Silver | Final | Final Final Per ounce Per ounce | 8,555.60 +58.42 | | 1,807.72 0.34 918.37 +7.66 $934.00 —$1.40 $14,229 -$0.040 | EXCHANGING THE DOLLAR Thursday 96.60 $1,3903 $1.6350 —_1.1330 13.3875 Yen Euro ound Canadian dollar Mexican peso 95,70 $1.3960 $1.6419 11,1305 13.3825 Fewerreceivingjobless benefits that analyzes people’s DNA to detect potential health problems before they occur. Anne Wojcicki, who mar- ried Brin two years ago, started 23andMewhilethe couple was still dating. Just a few weeks afterBrin’s marriage, Google announcedthat it had bought a minority stake in 23andMe for $3.9 million. The Internet searchleader placed another late 2007 Google co-founder $500,000 in 23andMe in Part of Google's originalinvest ment was usedto repay $2.6mil- Sergey Brin jioninfinancing that Brin hadpro- vided 23andMe. Sincethen, Brin also has used a sliver of his $12 billion fortuneto invest about $10 million in his wife's venture, according to Google's filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Microsoft readies free PC security software SEATTLE Microsoft Corp. said Thursday it plans to re Declinelikely due to benefits running out percent, a monthlyrecord. And while manyanalysts expect the recession to end by late summer, they warn that unemploymentwill stay high Unemploymentrate in Utah risesslightly into 2010. Christopher S. Rugaber THE ASSOCIATED PRE “It is unlikelythat newhiring has picked up in any meaningful fashion,” WASHINGTON — On the surface, the government seemed to signal Thursday that more Americansare finding jobs: The numberofpeople receiving unem- ploymentaidfell for the first time since early January But that doesn’t necessarily mean more companiesarehiring. Fewer people are receiving jobless aid largely because more of themhaveexhausted their stan- Joshua Shapiro, chief economist with MERInc., a consulting firm, wrote in a noteto clients. Other economists took a more positive view of the Labor Department report Theysaidit's consistent with other recentfigures that suggest the economy is poised to recover from the longest recession since World War II by the JulySeptember quarter. The numberof people receiving unem- dard unemploymentbenefits, whichtypi- ploymentaid fell by 148,000 to 6.69 mil- cally last 26 weeks. lion in the week that ended June 6 — the Governmentfigures, in fact, show the largest dropin morethan seven years proportion of recipients who used up their jobless benefits in May topped 49 See BENEFITS, C5 lease a betatest of its free computer security programnext SALT LAKE CITY — Newfigures from the U.S, Bureau of Labor Statistics say Utah's unemploymentrate roseslightly in May to 5.4 percent, up from5.2 percent in March and April. Last May, thestate’s rate was3.3 per- cent report released Thursday shows Utahhas lost about41,800 jobs over the past year. Overall, about 74,800 Utahns wereconsidered unemployed in May2009. In April, 71,100 Utahns wereconsidered unemployed. Nationwide, the unemployment rate continued to rise in May to9.4 percent, upfrom 8.9 percent the month before ek andis on track to launch a finishedproduct inthefall The program, Microsoft Security Essentials, is designed to find and kill malicious software that can steal passwords andother personal information or turn PCs into spamdis ‘TOUGH QUESTIONS tribution hubs. Once the PC security software is installed, Microsoft said it will download updated lists of identified malware daily, but will keep a low profile unlessit detects dangeroussoftware Theresa Burch, a director on the security software team, saidthe programtries to spot malicious softwareevenif it’s not onthelist of known corrupters. Whenit encounters something suspicious, it checks with a Microsoft server for updatedintelligence before allowing the programto run, a process Burch said is almost instantaneous Microsoft also maintains a database of trusted software sources, so the tool won't accidentally block items like GoogleInc.'s Web browsertoolbar, she said. Security Essentials will compete with rival subscription programs from McAfee Inc, and Symantec Corp., and with several other free packages. But Burch said Microsoft isn't goingafter those company's customers instead, thegoal is to improve security overall by getting people who don't have current antivirus software to protect their PCs. In fact, it’s important that Microsoft's competitors stay in business, Burch said. “If there was only one solution out thereaddressing threats, all the malicious software develop ers out there would have a very easy target,” she said Judge orders HealthSouth CEO to pay $2.9B MONTGOMERY, Ala. state judge on Thursday ordered forme HealthSouth CEO Richard Scrushy to pay nearly $2.9 billion to shareholder who sued over a massive accountingfraud that nearly sent therehabilitation chain into bankruptcy Circuit Judge Allwin E, Horn, who heard the case in Birmingham without jury, ruled in favor of HealthSouth shareholders who filed a lawsuit claiming Scrushy was in volved in years of overstating the company’s earnings and assets to make it appear the company was meeting Wall Street forecasts Hornwrote in his ruling that Scrushy “knew of and par ticipated ir the faked reports filed with regulators from 1996 to 200; He said HealthSouth founder also “con sciously ar d willfully” vi ated his financial responsibilities as CEO. Scr shy was acqu ed in a federal criminal case over related charges and testified in the state civil case that he knew nothing about any fraud. He is serving a nearly seven-year sentence for a 2006 conviction in a separate state government bribery case SUSAN WALSH /Associated Press Senate Banking Committee Chairman Christopher Dodd, D-Conn. [left] gives his opening statement at a committee meeting on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C on Thursday. The committee's ranking Republican,Sen. Richard Shelby, R-Ala. is at right Senate challenges Obama’sfinancial oversight plan Lawmakers mostly agreed that change AnneFlaherty and Jim Kuhnhenn STOCKS OF LOCAL INTEREST SYM COMPANY LAST CHANGE SYM CoMpaNY Last Hane WASHINGTON— was needed to streamline federal regula- tion and fill in oversight gaps believed to have contributed to the housing andcredit crisis. Several Democrats alsolauded the creation of a new consumerprotection agencythat would police the market for deceptive business practices President Barack Obama's plan toincrease oversight of banks andother financial institutions raninto skepticism Thursday on Capitol in such financial products as credit cards Hill wheresenators sharply questioned whether it was enough to prevent another economic meltdown. The lack of a ringing endorsement suggests the proposal was headed for a rewrite by a Congresssensitiveto voter frustration with the government's han: and mortgages. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner But memberson both sidesofthe aisle questioned whether the administration wasputting too muchfaith in the Federal Reserve. Under Obama's plan, the Fed would In testimony before the panel, Treasury dling of the economy Secretary TimothyGeithner defended the oversee institutions deemed so big or influential in the market that their failure They're very angry, andthey are wor- proposalas the nation’s best shot ried. And they are wondering who's look“It will be very hard, perhaps imposcould seriously damagethe economy. A council of federal regulators, including ing out for them,” Sen. Christopher Dodd, sible, for any authority, any individual chairman of the Senate Banking Commit- tee, saidof his constituents. to anticipate and pre-empt all potential sources of future risk,” Geithner said See OVERSIGHT, C5 Oil industry ramping upits lobbying efforts John Porretto HOUSTON Oil andgas companies have accelerated their spending on lobbying faster than any other industry training their gusher of profits on Washington to fight new taxes on drilling and slow ef. forts to move the nation off fossil fuels. The in dustry faster clip than any other ma- as President Barack Obama three months of this year, on From the late 1990s through the first half of this decade, the tions and they've got money jor industry, according to data took office. spent $44.5 million lobbying Congress and from the Center for Respon: “They're under attack sive Politics. federal agencies in the first they're ramping up their opera pace to shatter last year's re- cord. Oni ly the drug industry spent more. Last y ear’s total of $129 mil lion was up 73 percent from two yearsearlier. That's a to spend,” said Tyson Slocum, oil industry spent roughly $50 who runs the energy program million to $60 million a year on at watchdog group Public Citi lobbying. It ramped up lobby zen. “They're in much better ing in 2006, when Democrats retook Congress, and further See LOBBYING, C5 |