| Show '3am 1 0A Standard-Examin- — “ Friday April 30 er 1 OGDEN Utah’s Winds boost sign business Local companies say calls increased after last week’s storm By BHYAN CORLISS Standar3-£xamire- Tra Associated Press SALT LAKE CITY - Growth in Utah's taxable sales slipped below the national average tn the lust quarter of 1998 After a year of 7 percent-plu- s quarterly increases gross taxable sales grew 58 percent in the final quarter of 1998 compared to 6 percent growth nationwide the Utah State Tax Commission said The largest sector retail trade grew 49 percent compared to 6 percent nationwide said Doug the tax commisMacDonald sion's chief economist "Some sectors are doing extremely well while others are slowing down” said Jim Olsen of the Utah Retail Merchants Association items -Sellers of furniture stores for example -have reported a slowdown Olsen said Sales did not meet expectations at RC Willey Home Furnishings Chairman Bill Child said Fourth-quarte- r sales grew 4 percent to 5 percent compared to double-dig- it increases before then "Utah is not performing as well as the national average” Child said He said he could only guess as to the reason: construction hampering access to stores the war in Kosovo or Mormon Church President Gordon B Hinckley's admonition to members to keep their financial houses m order Miscellaneous sales in the fourth quarter which captures much of the Christmas shopping season grew only 27 percent Investment in business equipment - computers for example -grew 65 percent for the fourth quarter compared to 1 1 percent nationally Retail sales grew 6 percent in Salt Lake County 1 percent in L’tah County 3 percent in Weber County and 8 percent in Davis County staff r OGDEN - Local sign companies say they haven't been blown away by repair orders following last week's wind storm The number of calls is up managers at several sign companies said But Ad Craft Manager Mike Stokes said "It hasn't been that much" Wind gusts topped 1 10 mph during last Friday’s storm blasting business signs across the Top of Utah There is no official count but Stokes in Ogden described it as “quite a few” In most cases the signs weren't blown over or collapsed said Steve Jones assistant division manager for Young Electric Sign Co in Ogden Local sign ordinances require that they be built to withstand gusts that strong he said But many signs had parts blown off by the wand and many others shattered after being hit by flying debris Jones said Hollow signs with interior lighting literally will explode in those situations he said The debris pokes a hole in the face of the sign and extreme wind blowing past the hole will cause a vacuum effect that sucks in the material When the gusts - and the vacuum - lessen the material snaps back so violently that the signs disintegrate Companies reported damage on their signs from Layton north to the Idaho border But Stokes said it’s hard to judge just how extensively signs were damaged He’s getting a number of calls but not so many work orders He suspects it has to do with insurance companies requiring owners to get several repair bids before d coding to pay a claim And Jones said his company owns many of its signs and leases them to advertisers When storms like this blow “we end up replacing a lot of stuff at our own cost” The Utah Department of Transportation has some 20 signs to repair along Interstate 15 and another 100 or so scattered around the rest of the Top of Utah said John Gunderson a regional operations engineer He said he suspected most signs had between $1000 and $1500 damage when the wind twisted them on or even off their posts “They just weren't built to withstand that kind of wind” he said It'll be awhile before repairs start Gunderson said Right now the soil along the highways is too saturated to allow workers to move in with their heavy equipment “W'e sink out of sight” And for now repair crew s are busy trying to repair the countless stoplights damaged in the storm he said You 625-42- 44 can reach reporter Bryan Corliss at or bcorliss 'astandard net BIDDING FRENZY: Andrew Tyler 13 embarked on a three-wee- k S3 million bidding frenzy on the eBay Internet auction site spot in his Haddonfield NJ home eBay officials say minors are not allowed to place bids and Tyler's account has been suspended 1 ROSE HOWERTER The Associated Press WASHINGTON - The Environmental Protection Agency is about to propose tough new pollution controls on motor vehicles that for the first time would revehiquire popular sport-utilit- y g as aucles to be as tomobiles Oil companies also would have to produce much cleaner gasoline under the proposal The stringent new requirements some of which would be phased in over the next decade were given the nod this week by hite louse and could be the announced any day administration officials said Thursday The officials spoke only on condition they not be named The EPA has told auto and oil clean-runnin- 1 See EPA'HA - $3 million in bids from a boy But he can’t back up millions offered weekly allowance is only $15 - The Associated Press ADDONFIELD NJ Andrew Tyler had the winning bids on an antique bed a 1971 red Corvette and an oak cradle -- But the eighth-grade- r lost out on the 1955 Ford convertible a Van Gogh painting and a rare Superman comic with a weekly allowance of $15 In all nearly half the offers the 13-- y ear-ol- d made during the bidding frenzy - for $925012 worth of merchandise - were accepted Then mom and dad found out “Our kid is the nicest kid” said his mother Ingnd who found out last week “I was horrified I could not believe it - until I actually talked to my son” eBay said Andrew's account has been suspended and the ers who accepted his deadbeat bids have been notified sell- When someone successfully bids via eBay payment and delivery are worked out between the winning bidder and the sell- As for eBay’s security procedures spokesman Kevin Purs-glov- e said the company has a strict policy against bidding by anyone under 18 The bid for the 1860s bed stood at $12000 until Andrew demolished the competition -he offered $900000 Andrew admits he was lucky to get off with just losing his Internet privileges er But he said eBay largely works on the honor system What he was doing was bidding money he didn't have via the Internet auction house eBay “To him it was like a game He didn’t know it was real money” she said In a three-wee- k period Andrew bid on 13 items including $12 million for a medical office Online banking service disrupted ATLANTA - As many as 500000 people who bank online could have run into service disruptions because of a glitch with a CheckFree system the company said Thursday At a time when payments are coming due customers of 21 of the banks that use CheckFree for electronic banking services have had “intermittent’’ problems since early Monday the company said Some consumers who use Quicken cr Microsoft's Money financial software have reported problems ether logging on or in getting “kicked out" before they are finished with their transactions said Terne O'Hanlon a CheckFree spokeswoman The banks affected are ones in which a new transaction processing system called “Genesis" is being used She said CheckFree began switching banks to the new system six months ago CheckFree technical staffers have been working around the clock she said Pete Simsgalli chief operating officer said workers had trouble diagnosing the “root cause" of the problem but on Thursday believed they had identified it and “have developed what we believe will be the solution" Based in the Atlanta suburb of Norcross CheckFree Holdings Co has some 28 million customers and helps provide electronic payment services at 350 institutions Founded in 1981 the company has 1800 employees Only a small percentage of Americans use such services largely because of unfamiliarity or concerns about reliability and security limi ts mianaa: Saturday and May 15 Ogden: Separate business startup seminars 10 am Weber State University’s Wattis Business Building Room 218 Sponsored by WSU’s Small Business Development Center 1 Cost: I ree Information: Tuesday Logan: Cache Valley Internet and Technology Expo 10 am to 8 pm Utah State University’s Taggart Stu626-705- dent Center Includes exhibitor booths Internet workshop Internet and hands-o- n seminars are set for 1 am to 7 pm Presented by the Cache Valley Chamber of Commerce Logan City the Bear River Association of Governments the Rear River Business Resource Network USU and SmartUTAH Sponsored by Microsoft and US West Information: Natalie 6 Lxt 21 Messick at locations: Satellite several Tuesday broadcast of an interview with Daniel Jomdt Cl O of Walgreen 4 pm: offices of I dward Jones those at H68 L 4h00 South 333 L Second St and 2380 Washington Blvd Suite 108 Ogden The pro gram to be broadcast live to Ldward Jones branch offices nationwide via private satellite Hosted locally by Mike Aitken Atdcn I arr and Trent Chnstofferson Jomdt will discuss “The Pharmaceutical Advantage: New Drugs and Your Local Drugstore” and the broadcast also will include Alan Skrainka Ldward Jones’ chief market strategist: Bob Kirby the firm’s health care and pharmaceutical analyst and As-m- a Usmani the firm’s retail analyst 1 Aitken at 4 I arr at or Chnstofferson at 476-808- 394-750- 334-823- 1 City- - Seminar tiTuesday Salt tled "Customer Service Success: The Secrets of Delivering Superior Service” 9 a m to 4 30 p m Salt Lake Marriott Cost: $169 Registration: Tuesday Salt lake City: Mother’s Day discussion tilled “The Legacy of Success: Traits for Achievement that Successful Business Women have Learned from Their Mothers and Are Passing Dow-- to the Next Generation” 5 30 pm West buys European firm 246-513- 538-883- thereafter Informationregistration: or wwwuitaorg Wednesday Salt Lake City: Business development seminar titled “Immigration laws” 8:30 to 10 am Salt Lake Area Chamber of Commerce Eccles Board Room Cost: Free to chamber members 0 $10 for nonmembers RSVP: (press 3 then 7) Thursday I lilt Air Force Base: North Davis Chamber of Commerce luncheon 11:30 am Michael Glauscr author of “Glorious Accidents” is featured speaker 568-350- 0 328-505- InformationRSVP: 546-129- tissue Germany Switzerland and Austria Kimberly-Clarsaid it will add Attisholz's Hakle and Tela brands to its consumer tissue brands Attisholz based in Switzerland had sales of $300 million from its tissues products last year Kimberly-Clarbased in Dallas had annual sales of $123 billion in 1998 It has a diaper manufacturing plant in Ogden May 7 Ogden: Weber State University John B Goddard School of Business and Lconomics Convocation 930 am David Eccles Conference Center Grand 626-657- 3 in k Markets NORTHWEST Grain Cost: I ree Thursday POC A’ElLO - WMe wheat 2 45 (steady! baney 3 bbtcteaoyl 3 30 spnng tup 2) CKOnary winter 2 44 OGOEN White wheat 2 75 isteadyl baey 3 7b isteecfyi 14 percent spring 3 14 (up 1) It wrw 2 46 (UP 2) 3 24 (down 1) WMe baney 86 00 (steady) 14 perrent spring 4 10 (up 1) 1 percent winter 3 21 (Steady! CAuJWLii - White wneat ewi 4 02 'down 3) baHey 4 00 tsteadyi r77v metals Prices ' Thursday Aluminum RO 3 cents per fo London Metai Eirh Coooee - 71 o cents per h V Merc spot t per b Lead 48 M Fb4 49 cents delivered Tm - n q Thy Meta Wee composite pne — t Zk pert) Grd Vver ?n troy $“ - Ptenrm nry 43 cv- Wr ny Per 76 75 prjy Merp pnt mc spot It has ot NV NY Merc spot Interest RATES 3f veer 3 Ballroom s Kimberly-Clark’- business Txrv$ay 3 Thursday Hill Air Force Base: North Davis Chamber of Commerce newcomers social 6 to 8 p m Officer's Club RS P deadline: Monday InformationRSVP: 546-129- k Holding AG for $380 million The acquisition will triple percent (up 2) i minster College’s Gore Lecture Hall Presented by First Security Women’s Financial Services Information: Kathy Hillis at 2 or Tuesday Salt Lake City: Workshop to assist Utah small businesses and start-u- p companies to successfully compete for federal funds through the Small Business Innovative Research program 8 am to noon Utah Law and Justice Center Cost: $10 Information: Mary Ann Hinders of the Utah Procurement Techni9 cal Assistance Center at Tuesday Snowbird Resort: Eighth anHall of Fame nual meeting and first-eve- r induction ceremonies of the Utah Information Technologies Association 445 to 8 p m Cliff Lodge Open to the public Keynote presentation titled "IT Opportunities and Challenges” to be presented by Mike Avmar Intel Corp vice president and general manager of internet data services Cost: $75 for UITA members for first attendee and $50 for each thereafter $100 for first nonmember and $75 each - Kimberly-Clar- DALLAS Corp the maker of Kleenex said Thursday it plans to buy the consumer and commercial tissue divisions of Attisholz “My parents are just mad at me nothing else” he said Internet technology expo includes exhibitor booths workshops 333-783- NATIONAL k While eight of the bids failed Andrew had the winning bid on five items including the bed that belonged to Sir John A Macdonald Canada’s first prime minister Tyler said she confronted Andrew and he admitted placing the bids 1 in Jacksonville Fla $500000 for the Van Gogh $120000 for the first Superman comic book and $35000 for a replica of a viking ship “He really didn't know this was for real” "I really didn’t know what I was doing” Andrew said Thursday from his home in this Philadelphia suburb 1 1 5 Kimberly-Clar- k Boy blasts eBay users with bids The Associated Press 625-424- International EPA cracks down on pollution “ BRIEF CASES big-tick- et from this DOW JONES at 11am 1031905 4067 Business Editor: 999 ECONOMY growth in sales slips — Information: nca 5 3 po ? 4f7 4 4d 4 4 Mum oonh - Standard Examiner stathS4 and wire services 'TOCKS? |
