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Show DAILY HERALD Saturday, September 4, 2004 helped the economy rebound and that making those tax cuts Continued from D6 permanent will spur more fab , creation. Kerry contends that summer ni. The numbers are Bush's policies benefit the OK, but the economy is still not wealthy, squeeze the middle firing on all cylinders," said class and aren't producing sigMark Zandi, chief economist at nificant job growth. Economy.com. Federal Reserve Chairman On Wall Street, the report Alan Greenspan had said that failed to inspire investors. The the economy hit a "soft patch" Daw Jones industrials lost 30.08 in June. However, he and his points to close at 10,260.20. Fed colleagues expressed confiJobseekers have been strugdence last month that economic gling with a bumpy labor maractivity would pick up. ket recovery. There were 8 n Economists want to see at least 200,000 net jobs added a people unemployed in August, with an average duration month on a consistent basis beof 19 weeks without work, up fore declaring the labor market from 18.6 weeks in July. fully healed The seasonally adjusted 5.4 With job growth improving percent civilian jobless rate for modestly in August, economists said they think the Fed probaAugust was the lowest since October 2001 and down frac- - ' bly will stick to its gradual aptionaUy from July's 5.5 percent proach to raising short-terrate. The decline, however, terest rates. Most economists came as 152,000 people dropped expect the Fed will boost rates out of the labor force for any for a third time this year on number of reasons. Sept. 21. A few, however, beThe Labor Department said s lieve that may that Hurricane Charley, which hold rates steady. tore through Florida on Aug. 13 Although analysts expect the had no discernible impact on economy to grow anywhere the employment figures. from a 3 percent to just over a 4 Although payroll jobs have percent pace in the current grown by 1.7 million in the last quarter, some are a bit wary, 12 months, the economy still has given that in August retail and lost 913,000 positions since Bush automobile sales came in slugtook office. gish, consumer confidence Bush says his tax cuts have dropped and manufacturing ac tivity grew at a slower pace. The report brought out differing viewpoints on the economy's condition. "Clearly, we have not turned the economic corner," said John Sweeney, president of the AFL-00- , noting that "most workers are equally concerned that we've entered an era of declining job quality." But Martin Regalia, chief economist at the Chamber of Commerce, said "After weathering a brief squall, the economy appears back on track." Factories added 22,000 jobs in August, up from 6,000 the previous month an encouraging sign for a sector that was hardest hit by the 2001 recession and has struggled mightily to get back on firm footing. Employment at professional and business services expanded last month as did jobs in the education and health care industries. But retailers in August shed workers for the second straight month. Employment at telecommunications companies and in transportation dipped Average hourly earnings rose to $ 15.77 in August, up 2.3 percent from the same month a year ago. Economists were hopeful that would help support consumer spending, the economy's lifeblood Stocks Mexico Economy mil-Ko- ". policy-maker- signs of shaking off this fear factor. Other concerns that loomed Continued from D6 large midway through the summer also seem less threat144,000 new jobs last month, just short of the 150,000 econoening now. While global oil mists were looking for. supply is still tight, the market While no one can predict seems to be slowly pricing in which sectors will perform higher fuel prices, and reactbest in a month like this, histoing with less fright to fluctuations in crude prices. ry does offer some guidance about which areas are most Anxiety over inflation vulnerable to seasonal weak- - . and the Federal Reserve's nesses. On average, Levkovkh strategy to curb it by tightenfound that telecommunicaalso seems to have ing rates subsided At the Open Market tions, utilities and health care have posted gains, while conCommittee's next meeting on sumer staples, materials, inits last before the Sept. 21 election the policy making dustrials, information technology and consumer discre-tionarigroup is expected to raise its have shown weaker target for the federal funds rate by another 25 basis points performances. to 1.75 percent, which is sail Among industries, pharma-ceuticalow by historical standards. and biotechnology have traditionally enjoyed an Simultaneously, the dollar is edge, reflecting the flight to strengthening and corporate safety characteristic of most earnings are slowly on the Septembers. That might be less rise. This comes against the likely this year, because of unbackdrop of an between the bulls certainty about how drug stocks win perfarm if Demccra-ti- c and bears as the market dipresidential candidate John gested the huge gains of 2003. It may be a sign that the marKerry wins the election. Ker ry's platform includes a number ket's underlying fundamentals of measures that would sharply are finally catching up, said reduce the cost of prescription Art Nunes, portfolio manager of the IMS Strategic Allocamedications, which could dent tion Fund in Bellevue, Wash. profits at pharmaceutical companies. Those fears may al-"Things are kind of conready be priced into drug verging on the month of Sepstocks, however. tember, such that the odds of Investors have been preochaving a higher market are cupied with a fang list of worvery high, extremely high," ries this summer, not least of Nunes said "In the last Few them being that the Olympics weeks, demand has been getin Athens or the two political ting stronger and stronger, more stocks are reversing conventions could become targets for terrorism. While there downtrends and starting to is still some nervousness about head back up, and trading volume is starting to pick up. I the upcoming anniversary of see demand coming back into the Sept. 11, 2001, terror atthis market." tacks, the market is showing Continued from D6 "A number of conditions have been set to make the store blend in," said Ortega, who monitors the site. "It will be lower than a regular store below the tree line. It will have more subdued colors, and a stone facade." The sign t. The wont even say U.S. company now Mexico's biggest retailer after buying up numerous Mexican store chains in recent years is putting in one of its Bodega Aurrera outlets, which offer cheaper merchandise than a store. DTIerrera's Front to Defend the Teotihuacan Valley led dozens of machete-wieldin- g protesters in a failed bid to shut down the construction site Aug. 6. Wal-Maaccuses the protesters of injuring a female employee, a charge they deny. The demonstrators argued the work would damage artifacts and ruins on the property. Ok) Teotihuacan was large about 150,000 people lived here and the re2,000 years ago mains of ancient residential areas extend out beyond the protected temple complex. The tot for the store is in a secondary archaeological buff er zone where construction is subject to limits, but where hundreds of buildings have been allowed Ortega said few artifacts had been discovered on the site: some clay figurines and a crude gravel platform that served as the base of an ancient farm house. The latter will probably be reburied to preserve it. Wal-Mar- ls eight-mont- rt h tug-of-w- ar ic D5 lm I Conrad Black speaks before a book-signin- Black Continued from D6 . say he and others looted from the company is quite another matter, legal experts say. For one thing, proving criminal intent beyond a reasonable doubt in cases of financial fraud is tough. What's more, much of the money Black allegedly looted went to a private Canadian company he controls, and unlike publicly held companies, it has ho obligation to discuss its affairs. The allegations laid out in e the report released by a special committee of Hollinger International's board clearly suggest that Black and others committed serious crimes, including violating federal rules on financial disclosures and breaching their fiduciary duties to shareholders. Hollinger International owns The the Chicago Jerusalem Post, and until recently The Daily Telegraph of 500-pag- Sun-Time- s, London. While prosecutors are surely considering possible charges against Black and his associates, whether they actually have enough hard evidence to make a solid case is not yet clear, legal scholars and former prosecutors say. The Department of Justice declined to comment, and Black has de- nied any wrongdoing. "As explosive as these charges are, the prosecutors still have work to do to put together a criminal case that's ul FILEAssociated Press at Hunter college in New tone of a report released this week detailing financial lieutenant at Hollinger International Inc. was blistering. York in November 2003. The by Conrad Black and his top g timately going to stick," said Robert Mintz, a former federal prosecutor who now heads up the securities litigation practice at the McCarter & English law firm in Newark, N.J. "The central question is going to be the extent to which these transactions were fully disclosed to the board." The sheer scale of the investigation at Hollinger Interna-tiona- l was daunting. Taking place over 14 months, with the guidance of Richard Breeden, a former chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission, the group of three outside directors wrote in their report that they interviewed 60 witnesses and reviewed nearly 750,000 pages of documents. Before spending all that time, money and effort, prosecutors will want to make sure that their case has a good chance of winning. ' Just two months ago, a jury acquitted Mark Belnick, a former lawyer for Tyco International Ltd., of charges that he stole millions of dollars by accepting an illegal bonus and abusing company loan programs: A trial of former Tyco chief Dennis Kozlowski ended in mistrial. Richard W. Painter, a professor of law at the University of Illinois at says regulators and shareholders may bring civil cases alleging breaches of fiduciary duty by Black and others to the company's shareholders. In those cases, guilt need not be proven beyond a reasonable doubt, merely that negligence occurred. One major shareholder, Cardinal Value Equity Partners, is already suing Hollinger, and others may well follow suit. The "special committee" of Hollinger's board that prepared the massive report is already pursuing a case of its own against Black and his associates, seeking the return of money allegedly siphoned away, plus interest, plus treble damages under federal racketeering laws, for a grand total $1.25 billion. Of Yet in the report which was larded with details of fancy handbags and posh dinners paid for out of company coffers investigators acknowledged that the damages being sought may well outstrip the defendants' net worth, in which case they would seek other "appropriate equitable remedies" that would prevent Black and others from interfering with the committee's efforts to recover funds. As it proceeds, the special committee, which was formed last year at the urging of concerned shareholders, will continue to work amid the looming presence of Black. Even though he has been stripped of.his titles of CEO and chairman of the company , he remains its controlling shareholder, though even those powers have been severely limited by the courts. Because of Hollinger International's convoluted control structure, it's hard to tell where the money Black allegedly looted went. Urbana-Champaig- 7V4-ac- re 1 We PEDERSEN'Sl Q g invite you to experience the finest home craftsmanship and design our area has to offer during the 2004 Park City Area Showcase of Homes. This year, we vrilf showcase over on in home and property value with li II '20 stunning mountain homes. Our showcase includes homes st the communities of Park City, Heber City, Charleston and Midway truly displaying the best in the arei Come feel the clean alpine air, marvel at the luxury, meet the builders and get mspired! Win prizes! 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