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Show Saturday, September 25, 2004 HERALD DAILY D5 Demand for durable goods drop Jeannine Aversa THE ASSOCIATED "Since April, we've PRESS WASHINGTON --Orders to U.S. factories for goods dropped in August, big-tick- largely weighed down by a sharp decline in demand for commercial airplanes. ; The Commerce Department reported Friday that orders for durable goods costly manufactured products expected to last at least three years de- : I nlinoA Hit ft vwM.t experienced three out of the four strongest months on record for sales and existing-hom- e August was the sixth highest." said David Lereah, the association's chief economist. percent advance in July. . The manufacturing picture, however, looked better when volatile transportation equipment, such as airplanes, was excluded: Orders rose by a solid 2.3 percent in August. That compared with a flat reading for July and marked the biggest increase since March. "The manufacturing recovery is progressing," said Daniel Meckstroth, chief economist at the Manufacturers Alliance MAPI, a research erouo. Separately, sales of previously owned homes declined by 2.7 percent in August from July to National Association of Realtors reported. Even with the drop, which followed a 2.9 per cent decrease in July, the pace of sales was still considered healthy, economists said. "Since April, we've experienced three out of the four strongest months on record for Energy Mexico. But at this point, if companies that are not big energy 8 David Lereah a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 6.54 million units, the ' something they can live " government affairs counsel for OSHA hand-weedin- g. rate-raisin- rs it would have jeopardized the organic industry." Agriculture is one of the state's top industries, supporting more than 1 million jobs and contributing nearly $28 . billion to the state's economy: There is little data on the g prevalence of on California farms. It appears to be most common in coastal areas, where crops such as lettuce, carrots, celery and strawberries can require delicate weeding. "The same kind of crops we have here are' grown in other nations.other states. The crops aren't unique to California," Webb said. Yet, he said,' "we're going to be the only place on the face of the Earth that has a regulation or law . that outlaws ' Meuter, who represents the farmworkers, said the ban won't be too burdensome on growers and is a balanced between the two compromise ' hand-weedin- hand-weedin- ioral." The Western Growers Association opposed the previous legislation because they were outright bans, said Mike Webb, governmental affairs counsel for the organization. The regulation is more reasonable, he said. "We've talked to a number of our growers," he said. "They've agreed it's something they can live with." Organic farmers, who rely on are exempt from the rule. "Because they don't use organic growers have more of a weed problem than nonorganic growers," Webb said. "Without an exemption, hand-weeding- ." hand-weedin- Continued from D6 look around, you start to realize energy really is everywhere. Petrochemicals are used to make everything from plastic and synthetic fibers in clothing and carpets to vinyl siding on homes. "Underneath the surf ace, what businesses and consumers really spend their money on is refined product, and those prices have been coming down," said Jeff Kleintop, chief investment strategist for PNC Financial Services Group in Philadelphia. "Fed Ex doesn't put crude in their trucks." . . There are essentially two ways energy prices can affect corporate bottom lines: They can raise business operating costs and, to the extent that they unpad consumer spending, dent sales. Some retailers, including Wal-MaStores Inc., have in recent months blamed results on slow consumer spending. After gasoline prices peaked in that might have been genuinely true, Kleintop said. It makes sense that lower-en- d retailers would see the effects first, because rising energy costs have a greater impact on their customers. But there's some reason to believe the worst is behind them, as gas prices declined through the summer and unseasonably cool, wet weather kept utility bills modest. That doesn't mean consumers won't feel another Dinch in the . months ahead. Heating oil prices are on the rise, and refiners are racing to build up supplies following production slowdowns in the wake of Hurricane Ivan, which disrupted drilling and shipments from the Gulf of rt mid-Ma- Fine Continued from D6 challenge the division's ruling in 3rd District Court. "I'm not surprised by the result," he said. "This is what we anticipated." Division Director Francine Q-asaid the first step in challenging the ruling would be to appeal to Klare Bachman, executive director of the state Department of Commerce. McCagno is the only representative of CCCS fined because he was the "primary decision maker" for CCCS and failed to maintain a viable board of directors, the order said. Giani declined to comment Thursday about the order, saying, "I believe the order speaks for itself." she said. The fine stems from 45 administrative citations filed by the division alleging McCagno violated the state's Consumer Sales Practices Act by failing to ni . consumers blame results on high oil prices, it would be wise to view their statements with a jaundiced eye. "We'll see a number of companies that are second or third tier in their industry, and if they're going to miss expectations, they'll cite energy costs," Kleintop said. "You have to wonder why it would be hitting this company and not that one. In some cases, you might be looking at excuses instead of business fundamentals." Interestingly, consumers are spending less on energy than they have in the past about 5 percent of their total outlay goes toward energy, compared with 8 percent in the 1980s and 6.5 percent in the 1960s and '70s. This is partly because everything from factories to cars and household appliances are more energy efficient. But there's no denying that paying more at the pump carries a psychological impact, which could hurt the ' consumer discretionary sector eventually. "This is part of the reason why we have a flat stock market for the year," said Richard E. Cripps, chief market strategist for Legg Mason of Baltimore, "The economy is doing well, what's changed is prof its are getting squeezed, profit growth is not accelerating, and oil is a big factor in that." Many analysts say oil would be more fairly priced at $30 to $35 a barrel, but terrorism fears and weather-relate- d production slowdowns have kept it at much higher levels. The greatest unresolved issue is where oil prices are going for the long term and how much the market can hope they'll recede, given the rapid growth of global demand. "Demand right now is ac- - iniLI fA Delivery JAW .A U U Wl rra 4Toseu icoo "MUST SEE STYLES A "SOU0OAK ... business prices! TWHSBF CHEST TWO ENDS FOUNDATION m THEY $ LAST American ' ) IB $ "INCREDBtF TOlTii RULES OF LIQUIDATION advertised items subject to prior sale! RRIMQ YOUR sold as is and all sales final! Extra charge for delivery! TRUCKS AND All sold on a first come basis! TRAILERS No phone orders - no prior sales! Merchandise must be removed immediately! Colon Sod Low 7 9 onon Chain-Cha- ir "WHILE THEY LAST" FICLKERS Love Chattel TO rocking; "ftUCROFBER" S , TWOENH $200 ?2C3 '2040 , Mm BEDROOM iiMOU-- 1 1 000 1 000 ootrroeuY" - BEDROOM GROUP nwunr ' ruvitl Va'jghnCassett, V "WHILE THEY LAST" Intarcon Utah fare! 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Our entire stock of showroom & warehouse inventory must be sold and removed from the building of thousands of dollars worth of furniture and bedding will be immediately. Hundreds offered to the public at prices far below what you would expect to pay. Don't miss it! LOVESEATS 'if "It's a good initial step," said Meuter. "California's farm-workers deserve these protections. It's been too long." , ' sssrf :;;i;n,HMii..;i,iii:n;i)it, im); mM ULbUU , Reliables be crimped ... and that's what Wall Street is looking at." sides. a nnnnnwvv help people who paid him for assistance in managing their debts. Each citation represents the claims of one client and carries a maximum fine of $1,000. CCCS was designed to help residents avert bankruptcy by negotiating with their creditors for better repayment terms on a variety of debts. Clients would send payments to CCCS, which in turn put their money in a trust account before forwarding those payments to creditors. Early this year, employees and former employees of CCCS told state investigators that CCCS faced numerous problems, including the fact that approximately $64,000 was missing from the trust account. The clients began to complain that money they paid CCCS was not being forwarded to their creditors. McCagno later shut the company down, alleging the state's investigation made it impossible for him to recruit and retain clients. ing. China is growing, India is growing, this is the new world. Economic growth is going to be crimped, profitability is going to counting for 97 percent of production. That's the highest we've had in three 4ecades, and there's no spare capacity," Cripps said. "Yeah, there's terrorism. But we're simply grow with." Mike Webb d, one-quart- In the manufacturing report, economists were forecasting a 0.3 percent decline in overall durable-good- s orders for August based on the expectation that demand for commercial airplanes would decline after shooting through the roof in July. Orders for commercial aircraft plunged by 42.8 percent in August, compared with a 103.6 percent surge in July. Bookings for military airplanes and parts also declined in August. That drop in airplane bookings masked gains elsewhere. Orders for cars, computers, communications equipment, electrical equipment and appliances, and fabricated metal products all went up in August. Those gains reinforce economists' beliefs that the manufacturing recovery continues to march ahead. tools show that aren't effective before they can require workers to weed by hand for extended periods of time. If the workers must hand-weethey are entitled to longer breaks and are limited in how much time they could spend Len Welsh, acting chief of the Occupational Health and g Safety division, said can have serious health implications, but the regulations would be a challenge to enforce. In most OSHA rules, "there's a particular tool that's not allowed or a substance you can't expose workers to," Welsh said. "Here, you're talking about a work practice, something completely behavlong-handl- some improvements in the economy, boosted short-terinterest rates earlier this week by percentage point to 1.75 percent, the third rate increase since June when g the Fed's current campaign got under way. Fed policy-makesaid the economy, after moderating earlier this year in part because of soaring energy prices, had ap- peared to regain some strength. The economy is a premier issue on the campaign trail. President Bush and Democratic opponent, John Kerry, hold divergent views on how the economy and the job market are doing. Bush says his tax cuts have helped the economy rebound. Kerry says the president's tax cuts have mainly benefited the wealthy and plunged the government's balance sheets deeper in the red. Congress approved legislation on Thursday that would extend several popular middle-clas-s tax cuts, handing Bush a big legislative victory as Election Day draws closer. 10,047.24. chief economist of the National Associated of Realtors Continued from D6 The Federal Reserve, citing sales and August was the sixth highest," said David Lereah, the association's chief economist. On Wall Street, the Dow , Jones industrials average gained 8.34 points to close at existing-hom- e "We've talked to a number of our growers. They've agreed it's : Weeding FINANCING AVAILABLE V -1 LAST |