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Show PAGE 8 IT FRIDAY, APRIL 18, BUSINESS EDITOR A Local Industry News & Notes Dow Jones Nasdaq S&P500 Final Final 2341.83 -- 8.28 Final 12,620.49 - 1.22 V 1365.56 0.85 Grace Leong Silver ounce Per ounce $939.80 -- $5.30 0 gleongheraldextra.com 344-29- 1 EXCHANGING V Gold Per I $18,287 -- $0,018 2008 THE DOLLAR Friday Thursday Yen Euro 103.09 $1.5888 Pound Canadian dollar Mexican peso $1.9916 102.04 $1.5954 $1.9708 1.0018 10.4712 1.0127 10.4932 Corporate Giving Harmons donates $175,815 to Special Olympics Utah Harmons Grocery Stores, which has 12 stores statewide including one in Orem, donated $ 175,815 to Special Olympics Utah, a group providing sports training to more than 2,000 people with intellectual disabilities in Utah. The donation is more than $20,000 above the grocery chain's initial goal of $ 155,000 andnearly &30.000 more than last year's donation ot $146,691. The,$ 175,815 donation included a percentage of mons's frozen food sales for March as well as money raised through' a golf tournament for food vendors, and the sale of root beer floats by Special Olympic athletes at its stores. In Harmons athletic events and educational programs for the Special ,. . Olympics inlltah. "Harmons is Special Olympics Utah's top donor and continues to be a great partner for our programs and in helping change the public's perception about people with intellectual .disabilities," said JD Donnelly, Special Olympics Utah CEQ Questar billing probe underway non-prof- it Contest Utility soys faulty transponders were to hlame for underbilling and overbilling Grace Leong dreds of its customers. Around 450 households in DAILY HERALD -- rSeveral QuestaxJjas transponders were recording - JlaiiweJcndtciM -. c- tomers met with state regulators and the gas company on Thursday morning to set the stage for an investigation into the company's transponder errors that resulted in $500,000 in back bills assessed to hun- - .tranpcdejs in usage amounts being under-reportby half, according to a court document filed earlier this week by Questar. In addition, another 39 households were over-bille- d ed a total of $46,800 because the faulty far, 61 informal complaints heve been f iisd, jiins of The 39 customers have been are also formal complaints refunded by Questar in recent Questar said. months. "We'll look at the company's The Division of Public response to the formal comof plaints that have been put on 4riftbUciCT.ksiCornmis; ihejecprd," said Phil Powlick, director of the Division of sion, on Thursday said it will partner with the Committee of Public Utilities. "We will look Consumer Services to invesat how they responded to tigate Questar's claims after transponder errors when they several irate customers filed were first discovered, and in complaints to challenge the See QUESTAR, B7 utility's collection efforts. So J i...J un; Avium wmilmv .L. U- 1- giu .J.J u-- - Nominations wanted for 2008 Outstanding Utah Older Worker award Nominations will be accepted for the 2008 Prime Time's outstanding older worker Works Experience award in Utah. Sponsored by Home Instead Senior Care, the program hopes to break down barriers associated with the hiring of all older workers by raising awareness of their . contributions. The application deadline is June L, and online nomination forms can be accessed at www .experience-- . works.org. Nominees or applicants must be 65 years of age or older, a Utah resident, currently employed and working at least 20 hours each week for pay. , ..... w, v::- NATIONAL BRIEFING Group predicts rise in Utah foreclosures SALT LAKE CITY A new report says Utah's housing bubble is forecast to burst in a big way, with one in 25 Utah homeowners projected to be in foreclosure in the next two years. The Pew Charitable Trusts attributes the rise in foreclosures to subprime loans made in 2005 and 2006. In those years, 24 percent of home loans in Utah were subprime. The group says the outlook is also grim in several other states, including Nevada, where one in 11 homeowners are projected to be in foreclosure in the next two years, and Arizona, where one in 18 may face the same circumstance. Airline , hurting FAA policy enforcement NEW YORK Higher unemployment claims and weak readings frprn two economic indexes reinforced recession worries Thursday. The Labor Department said that applications for unemployment benefits rose to 372,000, an increase of 17,000 from the previous week. The New York-base- d Conference Board's gauge of future economic activity rose 0.1 percent for March, reversing five months of decline. But the private business group's indicator has shown a 3.3 percent annual rate of decline since March 2007. Rates on 30-ye- Rita Beamish and Sharon Theimer ' Rates on mortgages were unchanged this week but other rates showed declines. Freddie Mac, the mortgage company, reported Thursday fixed-rat- e that mortgages averaged 5.88 percent this week, where they have been for the past three weeks. The rate, which had been at 5.85 percent the week of March 27, edged up slightly to 5.88 percent the following week and has stayed at that level, remaining below the 6 percent level for five straight weeks. WASHINGTON THE ASSOCIATED PRESS hat the airline industry wants from Washington it often gets, and no wonder. The people who regulate airlines on one day can become company executives the next and the other way around. Industry leaders who were once under the Federal Avi ation Administration's authority now sit in top positions at the agency. Many former FAA officials and congressional aides have found lucrative jobs in the air travel industry or with its lobbying groups. One top official left the FAA two years ago to become the airline industry's top ' mortgages unchanged ar exec-to-regulat- or trade-of- f Economy signaling weakness to come 30-ye-ar lobbyist. . Just Thursday, the law firm Jones Day announced that former FAA attorney Andrew Steinberg, the Transportation Department's assistant secretary of aviation and international affairs, will join the firm's government regulation practice as a partner. Throw in millions of dollars in campaign and lobbying money, and factor in the airlines' importance to lawmakers' home cities and states, and it adds up to a powerful industry that even some of the nation's most frequent fliers can be reluctant to members of Congress tackle. Broad deregulation and multibillion-dolla- r government bailouts are among the industry's major victories in recent decades. The industry's revolving-doo- r relationship with the government is under fresh scrutiny after two federal safety inspectors accused senior FAA officials of ignoring maintenance and inspection problems at Southwest Airlines, which is now facing a record $10.2 million fine. American Airlines last week canceled flights affecting 250,000 travelers to make safety checks, and Alaska Airlines and Midwest Airlines also grounded planes for inspections. "We need an FAA that actually fixes problems as they are, found rather than one that rushes into a public relations campaign to assure Investment firms pull back on borrowing WASHINGTON Big Wall Street investment companies are reducing their borrowing from the Federal Reserve's emergency lending program, a sign that credit problems may be easing. A Federal Reserve report Thursday said those firms averaged $24.8 billion in daily borrowing over the past week. That compares with $32.6 billion in the previous week. i Stocks of local Interest Xx Yesterday's performance of selected publicly traded companies SYM AA COMPANY LAST CHANGE 35.57 0.40 INC 0.045 0.002 CP 45.16 0.88 ALCOA INC ABSY ABSOLLfTESKY ABX BARRICK GOLD AEP AMER AIG AMER INTL AMD ADV MICRO ELECTRIC POW GROUP DEVICES AMGN Amgenlnc " ) ' J - BAC BK OF AMERICA BAM BR0OKFIELD Bli BALL CP CP BMY BRISTOL MYERS SQIBB C CITKjROUP CMCSK 5YM ' - CO M PANY MU MICRON MYGN Myriad Genetics, NATR NATURES LAST he SUNSHINE 44.39 0.32 NETM NetManage, 46.17 0.70 NOVl Novell, 6.19 0.12 NUS NU SKIN ENT INC 42.63 0.78 NWN NORTHWEST Inc. Inc. 37.47 0.49 OMTR Omniture, 27.82 0.62 KG PG&E 50.64 2.03 Q QWEST NAT GAS Inc. CP COMM INTL INC 0.80 8.50 0.50 4.44 0.14 6.34 0.07 18.60 0.39 44.96 0.38 21.88 0.51 39.88 0.05 4.54 0.11 0.39 RZ RASERTECH. 10.02 0.3801 24.03 0.59 SCOXQ SCO GRP INC (THE) 0.105 0.005 Comcast Corporation 19.95 0.27 SHLD Sears Holdings 103.76 1.64 COST Costco Wholesale 68.49 126 Sll SMITH INTL INC CVX CHEVRON 91.99 0.06 SKYW SkyWest, CORP Inc. 72.50 1.80 18.88 022 DAL DELTA AIR LINES NEW a55 0.07 SNTO SENT0C0RP CIS WALT DISNEY 30.78 0.46 STR QUESTAR DNEX Dionex Corporation 77.91 031 SY SYBASE ERIC LM Ericsson Tele. 19.73 0.92 T AT&T ETR ENTERGY 11429 1.61 TGT TARGET CP 53.41 022 FC FRANKLIN COVEY 7.18 0.08 TRV THE TRAVELERS CO 49.71 0.33 GE GEN ELECTRIC UDRINC 2539 0.39 HR 021 0.19 UDR HRB UNH UNITEDHEALTH 36.70 0.90 3336 026 2.57 0.15 CP CO CO BLOCK INC Schenlnc HSIC Henry IBM IBM INTC Intel Corporation JBLU JetBlue Always Corp. KP JWN 32.02 21.37 54.30 CP INC INC 0.04 0.00 62.25 0.67 27.24 0.25 37.57 0.04 USB US BANCORP 2.61 USEG U.S. 0.02 USNA USANA Sd 19.82 021 4.91 0.03 UTMD Utah Medcal Prod 2825 0.75 PENNEY I C CO 38.67 0.48 VZ VERIZON NORDSTROM 34.42 0.34 WB WACHOVIA 123.08 INC LEE LEE ENTERPRISES IUV SOUTHWEST AIRLINES 22.11 . Energy Corp. Heattti COMM 35.85 0.00 CP 2555 25.10 0.44 29.71 070 56.67 440 5.58 0.01 154.78 0.59 20.92 0.08 43.74 121 9.00 035 WEN WENOYS 12.61 0.11 WfC WELLS FARGO MTl MCK MCKESSON 52.93 024 WMT WAl MER MtCOCMNSTK 46.71 1J2 WNt SOWF MfRJ MERRILL LYNCH 17,1499 X UNITED STATES CORP MMSI MenlMtxfcjISytt. 0.3199 16.17 016 MSfT Microsoft Corp 2922 027 INC CO MART STORES NUTRfT WTL XEl XCEl 7JON Zkrn Bantorporjton ENERGY WC AIRLINES, B7 0.02' 41.50 21.59 INC See CHANGE 7.21 TECHNOLOGY 1.05 " Democrats unveil housing rescue plan Julie Hirschfeld Davis relax the standards of the DeFH A in an effort pression-era to reach the hardest-hi- t homWASHINGTON Homeowners, leaving the governeowners buckling under their ment responsible for paying mortgage payments would be -- off their loans if they cannot. allowed to refinance into more Lenders first would have to affordable government-backe- d agree to wipe out a portion of loans under a proposal introthe outstanding debt, and borduced by a House committee rowers would have to show chairman Thursday. thejftould afford to make payThe measure by Rep. Barments on the new mortgage. calls for Frank has described the plan ney Frank, the Federal Housing Adminregarded by some Republiistration to insure some $300 cans as a bailout for reckless billion in new mortgages for as a measured borrowers distressed borrowers, even if response to the housing crisis they are badly behind on their that is necessary to head off payments and have poor credit further economic problems. "Some people who made including those who owe more than their homes are irresponsible decisions to borworth. row more than they should The bill would substantially have are going to be helped by THE ASSOCIATED PRESS this," Frank, the House Financial Services Committee chairman, told The Associated Press this week. "The alternative is to do nothing and have greater damage to neighborhoods and the economy." The measure is set for a committee vote next week, and ., Speaker Nancy Pelosi, said the House would act on it as quickly as possible. Frank is hoping to attract bipartisan support for the plan, which he says has a better than even chance of clearing Congress and being signed by President Bush. Some Republicans are wary, though, about embracing a government aid package for , yhK'ai 1 if J. SCOTT APPUWHITEAP House Financial Services Committee Chairman Rep. takes Barney Frank, question during an interview with The Associated Press, See HOUSING, B7 Tuesday. m, |