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Show 'K'l JT PACES Grace Leong BUSINESS EDITOR Local Industry News & Notes A A Dow Jones Nasdaq Final 10,290.28 121.82 Final A S&P V Gold Silver Per ounce Per ounce $6,768 -- $0,025 500 Final 1,118.31. 12.40 1,873.43 23.02 V $406.00 -- $2.80 7. 3, 2004 FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER gleongOtfaldextra.coni 344-291- 0 EXCHANGING THE DOLLAR flwnaiy Yen Euro British pound Canadan dollar Mexican peso 109.46 $1.2157 $1.7892 109.43 $14191 $1.7928 1J008 13056 . : 11.4840 A11.422QV Retail, New retail, entertainment and residential project planned in A new retail and recreational entertainment project Springville is being planned in Springville and could generate up to 1,500 new , jobs when completed. Developed by Wasatch Spectrum, the 750,000 square- - foot pro-indoor water park, a ject includes a 52,000 square-foo- t movie theater, four themed restaurants, an arcade center, a food court; country dance facilities and a fitness center. The company, which will start making infrastructural improvements this month, is now seeking anchor tenants for its project. The entertainment complex is scheduled to open in 2006. Manufacturing adds new production line at Tremonton plant hiring 40 workers from Utah Minneapolis, Minn. based cereal manufacCo. said its plant in Tremonton added a third turer production line that will be fully operational by April 2005. The company, which is hiring about 40 workers, will hold a job fair on Sept. 28 and 29 from 9 a.m.- - 3 p.m. at the Jeanie Stevens Sports Park in Tremonton. The company will consider workers from other parts of Utah including Utah County for several positions including that of materials manager. Utah is one of the company's biggest markets in Malt-O-Me- al -- Malt-O-Me- terms of product consumption. The new plant, located 70 miles north of Salt Lake City, opened in and has the capacity to add up to nine production lines. The company, which also has a distribution center in Salt Lake City, produces 22 ready-to-ecereals, three varieties of Hot Wheat cereal and a full line of oatmeal products. Mailers reDort disaDDointina sales J. Anne D'lrihocenzio THE ASSOCIATED -- PRESS NEW YORK The start of the shopping season was a disappoint ment for major retailers, giving the industry a third straight month of listless sales. Higher gasoline prices contributed to the poor showing in August. t, Limited Brands, Talbots Inc. and Costco Wholesale Corp. were among the companies issuing reports of sluggish back-to-scho- Wal-Mar- sales Thursday. J. technical factors and a late Labor Day weekend, which win' come a week later than a year ago and will push sales into the September reporting period In addition, the 2003 results were boosted by the gove child care tax credits. ernment's But overall, sales were hurt by consumers' concerns about money and jobs. On Tuesday, the Conference Board reported a larger than expected decline in con-- , sumer confidence. t, the world's largest retailer, posted a slim 0.5 percent increase in same-stor- e sales, missing Watt Street forecasts for a 1.5 percent gain. Same-stor- e sales are sales at stores open at least a year and are considered the best indicator of a retailers' health. Total sales at Wal-Ma- rt rose 8.8 percent. Costco reported a 4 percent gain in same-stor- e sales, missing Wall Street's 7.3 percent forecast. Total sales were up 7 per- one-tim- Wal-Mar- "Overall, this doesn't look so good," said Ken Perkins, president and research analyst at RetailMetrics LLC, a Boston-based independent research company. There are number of different factors that are coming together to dampen consumer spend--' ing." Retailers found shoppers were more frugal in response to higher gets prices and also higher grocery d. JL bills. Sales figures were also affected bv cent. Mall-base- , apparel stores also struggled. d Limited Brands suffered a 2 percent sales, worse than the drop in same-stor- e 0.3 percent projected decline. Total sales slipped 0.3 percent. Talbots had a 4.6 percent drop in same-stor- e : sales, a slightly better result than the percent drop Wan Street forecast. Total sales feU 1 percent. But high-en- d department stores, whose business is less vulnerable to the rising energy prices, again beat expectations. Nordstrom Inc. had a 12 percent gain in same-store sales, surpassing Wall Street's 4.7 percent estimates. Total sales rose 8.2 per cent. Among midrange department stores, J.C. Penney reported a solid 3.8 percent sales in its department gain in same-stor- e store business but missed analysts' fore-casof a 4.8 percent gain. Total sales rose 4.3 percent. ' 5.3 . ts Malt-O-Me- al Technology Provo software company relocates to Missouri Energy Professional Marketing Group, a Provo unit of Innovative Software Technologies Inc., has relocated to 204 NW Platte Valley Drive in Riverside, Mo. The former Provo company will share offices with its Missouri parent, Innovative Software, which distributes software solutions and consulting services. business-t- o-business National briefing U.S. Chamber of Commerce sues SEC CHICAGO The U.S. Chamber of Commerce filed suit Thursday to overturn federal regulators' controversial new rule that mutual funds have independent chairmen. The Securities and Exchange Commission approved the requirement by a 2 vote in June, and it is scheduled to take effect at the end of next year. The rule, passed in response to the scandals that have rocked the $7.4 trillion fund industry in recent months, also requires funds to have at least 75 percent independent directors. 3-- Continental Airlines to cut 425 jobs HOUSTON (AP) Continental Airlines Inc. said Thursday it would cut about 425 jobs, or 1 percent of its work force, through staff reductions, attrition and elimination of unfilled vacancies as part of an effort to trim expenses by another $200 million. Most of the job cuts are in the management and clerical ranks, the Houston-base- d airline said. Besides the job eliminations, Continental said it also was continuing to negotiate savings from numerous suppliers and was trying to find ways to lower costs for fuel and facilities, among other . items. Mortgage rates fall to fiva-mcnt- low h Mortgage rates fell this week, with rates on mortgages dropping to their lowest level in five months, good news for potential home buyers. Freddie Mac, in its weekly nationwide survey released Thursfixed-rat-e day, said rates on mortgages decreased to 5.77 percent for the week ending Sept. 2. That was down from 5.82 percent last week arid was the lowest since rates averaged 5.52 percent for the week ending April 1. Rates on mortgages hit a high this year of 6.34 percent the week of May 13. Since then, rates, while bouncing around, have slowly drifted downward as economic activity cooled in the late spring and early summer. WASHINGTON 30-ye- 30-ye-ar Stocks of local Interest " T DANIEL HULSHIZEHAssociated Press sits on the front steps of her Newark, NJ,. home on Tuesday . Matthews had been offered a job at Johnson Johnson but the offer was retracted after the company examined her credit history. Brenda Matthews, 27, & Credit reportscan affectjobl hunting, buyin g insurance Eileen Alt Powell THE Jersey. , After applying online for a position as a patent specialist, she was called in for interviews that seemed to go welL "I met with the office manager, the supervisor I would have ASSOCIATED PRESS NEW YORK Brenda Matthews thought she had a new job lined up at Johnson & Johnson headquarters in New worked with," said Matthews, 27, a single mother who lives in Newark, NJ. "They loved me." And, in fact, she was off ered the job. But then Johnson & Johnson ran additional background checks and came up with information on her credit report the company found . unsatisfactory.- - , ; "Just a few hours later, they" wanted to take the offer back," ' See CREDIT, D7 Yesterday's performance of selected publicly traded compani SYM COMPANY LAST CHANCE SYM AA Alcoalnc 32.72 030 MYGN ABS Afcertsoo's,lnc 24.91027 NATO ABX BarridcGold 19.99 NETM ' COMPANY LAST CHANGE " 16.830.45 15.130.28 Myriad Genetics Nature's Sunshine Prod 536 2630 NWN Nu Son Enterprises Northwest Natural Gas KG PG&ECorp 29.40 0.0? 0.17 0.17 0.56 0.07 0.00 PFE Pfizer, 32.70 035 020 PTZ 48.51 51.73' 0.06 0.10 0.54 39.99 1.88 AEP Amet 33.07 Q.26 0.20 AK3 Amerind Group 7159 1.68 NUS AMGN Amgenlnc . America West HdrJnas'B' 59.91 0.57 AWA 6.62 0.15 AWE AT&T 14.61 BAC Bank of America 43.85 BU BALL CORP 37.60 0.10 Q QCommunicatianslntl BLS BellSouth Corp 27.09 RD Royal BN BantaCorp 3921 S SeariRoebudt C Citigroup he 46.99 032 036 0.54 SBC SBCfanruaotions 26.18 CRAG CRESTEDC0RP 028 0.03 SC0X 3.821 27.88 0.02 Sfl SCOGroup Smith Ml 99.65 SKO Shopko Stores 1725 Pwr Electric Wireless Svcs ' d'A' CMCSA Comcast CVX DAL ChevronTeacoCotp Delta Air Lines D6 Disney DNEX DionexCofp 49.61 098 0.16 003 129 ERKY EricssonftMVTel'B'ADS 28.07 0.41 E1R EntergyCorp Franklin Covey 60.77 FC 1.74 107.99 33.12 GDW GoklenWestflnl' GE Genl HCA HCAhc HRB Block (H&R) HSIC Schem BM ' htl Electric Bus. (Henry) Machines WTC Intel Corp JCP Penney 7WN Norasoonihc KR0N LfB Ul aO Jtnmtx-,,:Langviewffct LuoMTednotagiK LUV' Southwest AHnes MOC MCKESSON MER Men MOY MITYEnwprises Merit Medial Systems MMSI MSFT MU 4.12 22.51 Co (Walt) Lynch MtoosoftCop Mijon Technology Pulitzer he Dutch Petrol ' 0.19 0.151 028 0.43 57156 .. SkyWestlnc Sent) 5P1 Scottish Power STA StFaJTrawlersCos 0.15 SIR 0.03 SWFT QuestarCorp Swm Transportation 0.75 SY Sybase 024 T Cop AOS ' 14.05 0.02 6349 29.44 0211 0.07 3435 036 40.94 0.04 0.43 0.05 0.03 0.77 0.66 0.04 0.68 18.48 1326 he 14.97 21.63 O20 USB 3829 38J8 4257 047 USEG US. Bancorp US. Energy Cap 1.16 USNA USANA UCL LOR UNH Target Corp Unocal Corp 45.73 LWed Dominion PJtyTr UritedHearth Group 21.10 Utah UTMD VZ 3.03 ADR SKYW 412 31.46 he TGT 1457 , . 6.07 3M0 0.12 4813 0.76 63.8850.555 8457 035 3.11 - NOVL SNTO 1277'059 CORP NetManagehc Novel Inc . He 38.65 Sciences Medal Products 6735 29.50 007 225 0.04 29.40 020 18.67 0.15 0.45 0.47 Verizon Ownunkafons 39.95 0.03 034 WEN WendsW 35.73 WFC 5942 059 039 31.43 0.69 WMT Wefcfargo WaHtot Stores 51.76 0.49 WW Weidef Nutrition IntfA' 0O2 X U5.5M) 320 3825 0.00. 1605 17.12 XEL Xcd Energy 17.60 0.06 27.62 014 023 UOH ZionsBancap SIM ,1.65 O01 53.02 1.66 ' fO.13 Utah billionaire gives business tips David Randall DAILY HERALD - p y Utah billionaire James Sorenson made a rare public appearance at Utah Valley State College on Thursday, urging business students to focus on finding potential in challenges, and to not be discouraged by obstacles. "If you dont have that 'god within you enthusiasm you're probably not going to succeed," Sorenson said Thursday at a fall launch of the 2004 Reed and Christine Halladay Executive Lecture Series at UVSCs Rag an . Theater. The Utah entrepreneur said he has spent his career finding ways to do things better despite lacking the business expertise in the . beginning. The mail who never graduated from college hast invented revolutionary med- ical devices such as indwelling catheters, computerized heart monitors and the original disposable medical Salt Lake City still in ; Delta's plans Lev-o- ! -- - ASSOCIATED PRESS - 'V. SALT LAKE CITY A Delta Air Lines representative did not say whether Salt Lake City wifl retain its hub status, but he said the city definitely wfll remain In the picture after the airline's" ; v restnicturing. "We are committed to this community, and the Salt Lake hub is important to us," Sargon Younan, Delta's Rocky Moun-- i tain regional district sales mam ager, told the Utah Air Travel 4 Commission on Wednesday, 5 "We're looking to become more profitable, and definitely Utah is V '; in that picture." , Younan said details of Delta's restructuring plan win beYe-- O leased in the next two weeks, Industry analysts have specu? lated Delta may have to scrap . money-losin- g leisure routes and smaller hubs like Salt Lake City; Airport officials continued to. . . extra energy behind the answer to a question concerning success in life while UVSC President William Sederburgi far left, listens during the Reed andChristimHdladayExecutiveLedureSeriesonTh Utah billionaire James LeVoy Sorenson puts ' mask. activity is focused in Salt . Luce County, and he is the second largest stockholder in ,:. head of a family of companies,? MyFamiry.com Inc., a Provo-base- d that includes information techonline genealogy inf service provider with nology, environmental testing, more than 1.5 million genetic research, pharmaceuticals and real estate. MosTof Sorenson's business See SORENSON, D7 ' Sorenson, whose net worth is estimated at $3.9 billion, is ... t See DELTA! V7 3 |