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Show BUSINESS 1' EDITOR: NANCY BLISS H 2 THE DAILY HERALD Fed cuts interest rates, sends Wall Street soarin; enterk:! r,:z:rroR By MARTIN CRUTSINGER Wall Make it a goal to be included on a few lists ;T, i .(,! Kid The Federal Reserve cut short-terinterest rates Thursday because of volatility in financial markets. A look interest rate changes since 1990: WASHINGTON The Federal Reserve moved Thursday for a second time in just over two weeks to protect the U.S. economy from a spreading global crisis, cutting two key interest rates by a quarter-point- . The surprise cuts ignited an explosive rally on Stephen W. Gibson The Forbes Magazine list of American's richest citizens is out, and once again I didn't make it. No surprise. However a lot of first generation entrepreneurs did. Creation of real wealth is a very tangible reward for building new entrepreneurial companies. Just ask Bill Gates, Ted Turner or our own Jon M. Huntsman, all who made the list. I have, however, been on a few lists in my time. I remember when I was trying to graduate from high school, I was on the list that said I wouldn't graduate if I didn't pay my fines for lost books, broken lockers and snack bar charges. Later, as the new owner of a recruiting franchise in Denver, I was No. 300 out of 300 franchises nationwide. That was the first public list I was on and that really motivated me to move up from the bottom. m 10 1 Street. 9 Prime 8 1 cutting their prime lending rates, the benchmark rate for millions of business and consumer loans, such as home equity loans. The prime rate was reduced by a quarter-poin- t to 8 percent, its lowest level in four years. The market euphoria reflected a belief that the unexpected Fed move means more rate cuts are imminent as the central bank tries to keep global economic turmoil from dragging the United States into a recession, private economists said. Preventing recession , Thursday's cut, less than three weeks before the congressional election, marked the first time in four years the central bank has changed , I ' I federal funds ' ' f .) WHILE ONLY a practice run, the exercise taught me what I would have change in our small but fast growing company in order for it to be ranked in the Inc. 500 list. In 1992 my business made the list. h was one of the proudest days in my life, business wise. Quite different than the feelings I had being on the endangered list of to high school seniors. As a direct byproduct of the exposure from making Inc's list, I received a phone call from the executive vice president of an even faster growing national company. He inquired if I would be interested in selling our growing company. While some entrepreneurs might not have been interested in selling their "baby" I was very interested because of a list my wife and I had made some 14 years earlier. That list was our lifetime goals. This man's offer was several times the amount we planned to have in the bank when I retired. Although the resulting check from the sale wasn't large enough to get us on the Forbes List, it did allow us to move to Provo and volunteer at BYU ' where I have found other lists, such as the nationwide Success Magazine's ranking of Entrepreneurial programs, to work toward getting on. I encourage entrepreneurs to use lists to motivate themselves and their employees. By the way, I did graduate from high school, but only after paying $19 in fees just before the start of the commencement exercises. Gibson is BYU's Entrepreneur Stephen in Residence, and can be faxed at or e .nailed 'at gibswaol.com. 373-131- 6 Greenspan pep talk jf IS, T 3 Discount rate 475 '90 '91 '92 '93 '94 '95 '96 '97 '98 AP Source: AP research investors feared Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan and his colleagues would be too tentative in their efforts to fight off a recession, repeating mistakes that brought on the country's last recession in 1990. But Greenspan sought in a speech last week to provide reassurance that the central bank was alert to the growing dangers. He stressed that it would seek to prevent a "fear-induce- interest rates between regular meetFederal ings of its Committee. Market Open "This cut is to head off a recession at the pass," said Allen Sinai, chief economist at Primark Global Economics. "The stakes are high. If the United States goes, the world policy-settin- g d psychological response" from derailing the U.S. economy. Greenspan said the drop in stock prices since their July high had wiped out $1.5 trillion in Americans' wealth, a loss that could cause consumers to cut spending. He also expressed worries that banks were What's up? beginning to cut back on new loans. In a brief statement explaining Thursday's action, the Fed said it moved because of "growing caution by lenders and unsettled conditions in financial markets more generally." Many analysts had expected the Fed would wait until its next FOMC meeting on Nov. 17 to cut rates again and were caught by surprise by Thursday's reduction. Greenspan likely won support from his colleagues in a telephone conference call, analysts said. Many analysts believe the third rate cut could come as soon as the Fed's November meeting, and could be followed by even further reductions if the economy continues to slow. 'Their movement between meetings clearly shows they are getting darned scared," said David Wyss, economist at Standard & Poor's OKI. Wyss said the economic data that may have pushed the Fed to move was Wednesday's report that retail sales outside of autos were up a weak 0.1 percent in September. Consumer spending accounts for s of total economic activity and is the main bulwark expected to keep the U.S. economy on track given that manufacturers and farmers are suffering from the loss of overseas export markets because of the economic turmoil that began in Asia two-third- 15 months ago. NEW BUSINESS Pleasant Grove , trophy shop open doors VaA. By NANCY BLISS The Daily Herald 'u , !f PLEASANT With humble JASON OLSON'I he Oaily Herald Kevin Stout of K.S. Concrete finishes a curb around the new in Rite-Ai- d GROVE home-base- d Harold and beginnings, Cindy Peterson have expanded their awards shop into a storefront. It's a place where customers come to make others feel good. C & C Trophy and Awards, located at 212 S. Main, Pleasant Grove, offers a variety of items including trophies, plaques, animal sculptures, promotional items and rubber stamps. Custom gifts, such as clocks and pen sets, will be designed on request. Shadow boxes, cases, gun boxes and magnetic jewelry boxes are among the mini-displa- y gifts Payson Thursday. at C & C infrM-Ti'-'ft'l- I ourlesy pliolo Feeling good: C & C Trophy recently opened its doors. The awards shops offers a variety of products designed to honor accomplishments. Trophy. Rodeos and beauty pageant participants have found their gold and silver tiaras, sashes and custom rosettes here. "Many of our customers have said they began giving awards for their programs because our prices are affordable and we offer a wide vari ( ety of choices," said owner Cindy Peterson. Cindy and Harold also offer engraving services. Location: 212 S. Main, Pleasant Grove Open: Noon to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday Fax orders: Accepted at 785-338any time Phone orders: Accepted 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Saturday Surge boosts Dow to near record gains The Associated Press YORK Stocks late Thursday, adding surged to broad gains and sending the Dow industrials soaring to its third-bes- t point gain ever, after the Federal interReserve cut short-terest rates for the second time in less than a month. The Dow Jones industrial average, down as much as 48.66 in the early going, was up about 100 points when the Fed surprised traders with its move late in the trading NEW day. ihe JJow timshed up 330.58, or by 4.1 percent, at 8,299.36, according to preliminary figures. Trading was brisk. The gain, while not near a record in percentage terms, was third in terms of points. It trailed only the 380.53 points, or 5 percent rise, of Sept. 8, and the 337.17 points, or 4.7 percent increase, on Oct. 28, 1997, a day after plunging a record 554.26. With the convincing rise back above 8,000, the Dow now is 4.9 percent above where it began the year. But loans between banks, by it still is more than 1,000 points, or 11.1 percent, below the record 9,337.97 reached on July 17. The Federal Reserve cut interest two key short-terrates by a quarter percentage point Thursday, citing "growing caution by lenders and unsettled conditions in financial markets." The cut in both the discount rate and the federal funds rate followed a decision Sept. 29 to lower its target for the federal funds rate, the interest on overnight one- - quarter point. The discount rate is the interest on loans by the Fed to banks. Traders had been looking for further rate cuts by the Fed since the move, but the timing was uncertain. Broader stock indicators also shot higher, with technology and smaller-companshares among the big winners. had Some stability returned to edgy markets before the Fed's move as several leading companies topped y Wall street s donated earnings forecasts in reporting results for the third quarter. Traders also took heurt when the market bounced back late last week after coming near to this summer's lows. Overseas, markets were relatively subdued in trading that ended well before the Fed acted Thursday. Key indexes dipped 0.1 percent in Tokyo, rose 0.4 percent in London, barely changed in Paris and jumped 1.9 percent in Frankfurt, Germany. Mortgage rates record largest increase in 2 12 years By DAVE SKIDMORE Associated Press Writer WASHINGTON Homeowners waiting for the absolutely best time to refinance their mortgages may have to wait a while longer. The average interest rate on fixed-rat- 30-yea- r, e mort- gages recorded its biggest increase in 2 12 years this week, jumping to a high of 6.90 percent low cf 6.49 from a Freddie last week, percent seven-wee- W. " The September move sent stock prices plunging because disappointed , l'l jn in nearly three years. up the list resulted in a united effort among our employees to become better and better and it worked. When I sold my franchise some eight years later we had achieved the No. 7 position spot. After that I began looking for lists to get on. I started an oxygen business and discovered a published list of the top one hundred home care companies in the nation. I became determined to make that list. After 24 months of hard, determined and focused efforts, Barclays Oxygen Homecare made it. It was really worth the effort. I have found lists have not only been great business building motivators to me and my employees, they have also have been one of the most exciting rewards of owning my own business. Lists have become a real, tangible scorecard for me. I remember first hearing about the Inc. Magazine's list of the 500 fastest growing privately held companies in the United States. I carefully reviewed the criteria for getting on the list with my CPA two years before Barclays Oxygen was eligible. rate Historic gain The Dow Jones industrial average ended the day up 331 points, its third biggest point gain in history. Bond prices soared as well. Banks responded immediately by MY CONSTANT, monthly push to go goes. If the United States stands, the world stands." The Fed announced it was reducing its target for the federal funds rate, the interest that banks charge each other on overnight loans, to 5 percent from 5.25 percent. It cut its discount rate, the interest the Fed charges to make loans directly to banks, by a quarter point to 4.75 percent. The central bank moved on Sept. 29 to cut the funds rate by a quarter point, its first interest rate reduction Interest rates Writer AP Economics 5 Wtl FRIDAY. OCTOBER 16, 31-y- k Mac, the mortgage company, said Thursday. The increase, nearly half a percentage point, was the steepest since March 1996 and cost a homeowner waiting to lock in the rate on a $100,000 loan about $33 a month. It returned the average to its level at the end of August, when it began falling stock as precipitously investors shaken by the spillover from the world financial crisis shifted money to safer investments. Still, the jump left the average below 7 percent for the 18th consecutive week, a home level most would-bbuyers would consider affordable. And economists said they expected the average to again drift lower in the weeks ahead. "The fundamentals are still there for lower rates," said economist David Lereah of the Mortgage Bankers of America. Association "You've got a weakening U.S. economy. You still have financial crises overseas. ... Inflation is virtually e istent. And last but not least, the Federal Reserve is poised to be more accommodative." Freddie Mac's economist, Robert Van Order, said "mortgage rates may be inching down again," and he expected them to "remain at or near present levels into the new a year earlier. Nearly seven in 10 were refinancings, the rest purchases. Freddie Mac said the aver- year." one-yea- r Homeowners and buyers had rushed to take advantage of the rate slide. Lereah's trade group reported that loan applications last week had nearly tripled from loans edged down from 5.36 percent to 5.35 percent, the lowest since February 1996. mortage rate on gages, a popular option for refinancing, shot to 6.58 percent this week from 6.15 percent last week. However, the average on 15-ye- adjustable-rat- r, e The averages do not include ad$-ofees known as points. n ,,, ; |