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Show ‘Business WEDNESDAY,September 24, 1997 The Salt Lake Tribune TEAMSTERS Page B-7 951 93 $322.20 SOINDUSTRIALS it 1697.36 -26 +$ vats 93.80¢ -0.05¢ +7.91 TRIBUNE BLOOMBERG INDEX FOR UTAH House Panel Puts Spotlight on Cable up faster than ever since passageofthe tele- Will Take a Lookat Prices, communicationsact, said Gene Kimmelman of . Competition in the Industry the Consumers Union Washington Office LGA as GANNETTNE RVICE WASHINGTON — A House committee is Chips Won’t Spur Copper Industry At first glance, IBM’s announcement it has developed a new ately could switch their production over to using copper, the demand that would place on the Communications Commission, says the trend toward competition in cable TV is ‘slower than many of us desire.” If you factor out inflation, rates have gone world’s supply of copper would be minuscule, says Jeff Weir of the Semiconductor Industries Association. “Computerchipsarethe size of a fingernail or smaller,” says Weir. “You just cannot put that much metal on them.” IBM says its new processwill allow the metal circuitry ona chip to be built to dimensions of .20 microns — more than 500 times thinner than a humanhair. “There will be more copper in an old penny than on dozens of computer chips,’ says IBM spokesman Mike Corrado. Still, Kennecott Utah Copper Louis Cononelos in Salt Lake City says IBM’s announcement is good newsfor copper producers because it is fur- ther evidence of the metal’s versatility. In contrast to the semiconductor industry, the construction industry is a major worldwide user of the industrial metal, primarily in the form of copper wire and pipe. lomega Corp. of Roy has expandedits Jaz family of removable computer-data storage productsto include a 2-gigabyte drive and 2-gigabyte disks. The new drives also will be compatible with 1-gigabyte disks The Utah Department of Agri- culture and Food (UDAF) has placed spot quarantines on sever- al farms and ranchesin eastern Utah after confirming the pres- Cc En- gineers Council, a national organization of private engineering-design firms, is meeting in Salt Lake City at the Salt Pai- ace Convention Center on Oct. 2-4. ACEC has morethan 5,500 member companies employing more than 250,000 engineers, land surveyors, architects, sci- entists and technicians. Snedaker Communications Group Inc., Salt Lake City, has been hired by Memorial Hospital in Texas and En- trust Health Services in Tennessee to assist with the medical companies’ marketing, planning and advertising efforts, City has moved its corporate headquarters to 488 E. Win- The quarantine means animals has six times the space of its previous headquarters. Zuka Juice serves fresh-squeezed juices and smoothies. moved Zuka Juice in Salt Lake chester, Suite 205. The new 14,300-square-foot location State veterinarian Michael larshall is notifying livestock owners and veterinarians so they may takestepsto protect their animals from the disease. He recom- mendslivestock ownerslimit the movement of their animals and avoid the congregation of animals as much as possible. Vesicular stomatitis causes blisterlikelesions in animals’ mouths, tongues, lips, nostrils, feet and teats. It rarely leads to death Presence of the disease in Utah means that Canada and several eastern states, including Kentu will prohibit the entry of Utah horses until 30 days after the occurrence of the last case in the state. “The FCC has the current authority to ‘sdb a freeze on cable ‘TVrates, and the agengy ‘Tauzinsaid. “Clearly, as some companies gear THESAL LAKETRIBUNE, Micron TechnologyInc. shares tumbled as much as 11 percent Tuesday after the Boise-based computer microchip maker’s up for competition, they may beusing their cable TV, But Decker Anstrom, president of the National Cable Television Association, said Tuesday that rate increases reflect investments in monopolyposition to exploit consumers. The grades that provide clearer picture and sound tract competition for their cable systems and “new and better programming, system upand more channels.” Consumersalso have “real choices” in mul- Exec Denies Plans To Build or Expand Near DowntownS.L. FCC needs to investigatetheseallegations and take appropriateaction The HouseJudiciary Committee today will look at theefforts of local governments to at- whethernew cable competitors areableto be- comeviable Mariott Intemational’ employ BYL TE MITCHELL ALT LAKE RIBUNE 225,000 0 Marriott International Chief Executive Officer J.W. “Bill” Marriott Jr. is worried hotels are overbuilding in the Salt Lake Val- a R & O Construction has been selected to construct a new addition to the Highland Care Center at 4285 S. Highland Drive in Holladay. The 20,000-square-foot expansion and renovation will add 53 new rooms to the nursing facility. 0 405,000 109,000) 31,400) ley in anticipation of the 2002 Winter Olympics. “It's like building a church for Easter Sunday.It’ssilly,” Marri- ott, whose companyis the nation’s 13th-largest employer, said Tuesday. Marriott is among several ie 25 15 5 Today years years years ago agd ago_ 7 \ Source: \ [Marriott \ { International peoplein the hospitality industry | who have expressed concern about a flurry of hotel construction along the Wasatch Front. Salt Lake City hotel occupancy rates dropped nearly 7 percent to 79 percentin thefirst seven months of the year as hundreds of new rooms came on line. full-service property in down- town Salt Lake City, a timeshare development in Park City and a dozen Residence Inn, Courtyard and Fairfield Inn properties along the Wasatch Front. Most of the company’s Utah properties are franchis with the exception of the downtown hotel across from theSalt Palace. USA TODAY Marriott was in Salt Lake City on Tuesday to promote his new book, The Spirit to Serve: Marriott’s Way, which appearsin bookstores this week. The book details how Marriott and his father, company founder J. Willard Marriott, have built what is considered among the most employee-friendly hotel companiesin the industry “Marriott probably has the strongest name in the hotel industry,” said Colorado hospitality consultant Jim Hire. Marriott Jr. said the company’s Hepersonally visits about 200 of his company’s properties a year — about 15 percent of the company’s properties worldwide Marriott said thevisits provide main morale booster is a direct ing to pay ters a week from employees who Marriott said the companyalso has no immediate plans to build another full-service property tell me about a problem they might behaving,” he said. “It's a great way to know what's going on in your company.” near the downtown area TimKelly The Salt Lake Tribune J.W.“Bill” Marriott Jr., Marriott International chief executive, says promoting from within is key to Marriott hotels’ success. line to the CEO. Employees can contact him any time via letters, all of which he said he reads. Marriott said the company has no immediate plans to expand its downtown hotel. Surrounding property reportedlyis not available or at a price Marriott is will- “T receive about eight to 10 let- Completion is scheduled for March 1998. him a good way to measure whether employees are happy. He talks with them and said he moni. tors interaction between the general manager and hisor her staff. He said award and recognition programs are important. as is promoting from within and allow. ing existing employees to have first. choice on job openings Virtually all of our GMs [general managers] were Marriott employ- ees who were promoted,” Marriott said. “They understand the company culture, how we do things. It also sends a message that we take care ofour people L| Letter to PSC Sparks Controversy o ConocoInc. and Koch Materials Co., Denver, have signed a letter of intent to form a joint venture to market asphalt products in Colorado, BY JAYBAI TH Morethana year has passed sincelegis- lative leaders wrote an unusuallypointed Nevada and Utah letter to the Public Service Commission (PSC), essentially questioning a previous Disappointing Quarter Causes Micron to Tumble on Wall Street BY LISA CARRICABURL needsto exercise that authority in comput ties where people are truly getting goaged\" Marriott Fears Glut Of Hotels for Olympics Marriott International has a oO sicular stomatitis. Tests by the National Animal Disease Laboratory in Ames, Iowa, on Sept. 19 confirmed the presence of the disease in several on affected property may not be ers have a “legitimate gripe” about rates. o Ameri ence of the livestock disease ve- horsesin the Vernal and Moab areas Even Reed Hundt, chairman ofthe Federal chairman of the House Commerce tefe- communications subcommittee, said cons Oo Clogging Express has opened a studio at 1956 W. Kate Cove in West Jordan. The company teaches clogging, a form of dancing. a State Quarantines Some Utah Horses at keeping down rates. La.. Noting that the FCC has frozenrates before. Kimmelman said doing that now would subscribers about $1 billion in the next year. Subscribers payabout$16 billion annually for butthe consumergroupssayit has not worked have choices today,” he said Despite that. Rep. W.J. “Billy” TauzinggR- and April 1993. cable was unregulated between January 1986 urged the FCCto freeze cable rates for a year and look at changing its regulations. The promise of competition drove the 1996 telecommunications law through Congress, BRIEFLY ... passed, through July 1997. That compares with rate increases of 4.3 percent a year when set to take another look at cable-TV competition today, a day after the Consumers Union and the Consumer Federation of America process to use copper instead of aluminum in manufacturing computer chips would seem to be a boon to producers of the industrial metal. But that will not be the case. Evenif all the world’s semiconductor manufacturers immedi- If consumers are unhappywith cable, The consumer groups estimate rates increased 5.6 percent a year from February 1996, when the telecommunications law was [___210.02 tichannel video providers. including broadcast satellite, Anstromsaid. products declined telephone-rate decision But that letter has now come under scrutiny because of how US WESThasusedit and because of implications that lawmak. ers were trying to exert decision-making pressureoverutility regulators 13 percent compared with third-quarter figures. Gross margins declined from 49 percent inthe third quarter to 44 percent in the fourth quarter as price declines were morethan the company could make up for by Tim Kelly/The Salt Lake Kenn Lutz of Salt Lake City uses resourcesat the Metro Employment Center, 700 S. 200 East, in his search for a computer-assisted design job. Theseconcerns comeat a time when US WEST is pleading its case before the PSC for an annual hikein revenue of more than $70 million. That would raise basic resi dential phonerates about $9 a month Asit happens, the request hingeslargely on two issues raised in the 1996letter: whetherthe majorityof revenue US WEST. Other statesfight rate hikes B-8 tionary of Senate President Lane Beattie R-West Bountiful, and addressed to Stephen Mecham, chairman of the Utah Publie Service Commission (PSC). Beattie andfive others signed it’ House Speaker Mel Brown, R-Midvale. Senate Majority Leader Craig Peterson, R-Orem Senate Minority Leader Scott Howell. D- dy, House Majority Leader Christine Fox, R-Lehi, and then-House Minority Leader Frank Pignanelli, D-Salt Lake City Pignanelli has since left the Legislature Initially, the letter went over language from a 1995 bill to deregulatelocal tele phoneservice Then, the legislators called into question the PSC’s 1995 ratedecision, which result ed in a $10.7 million cut for US WEST expectations. closed down 37/16 to 37 1/16 ontrading of 13.5 million cutting costs. shares after plunging to a four- ferings to decreaseits reliance on New Center Lets Jobless dynamic random access memory (DRAM) chips that are a core File Claims by Telephone US WEST's depreciationof costs BY LISA CARRICABURL THE SALT LAKE TRIBUNE State administrators hopea ne system for col lecting unemployment-insurance claims will makeit easier and moreefficient for Utahns to apply for American, Delta Also Will Cut Commissions month low of 35 15/16earlier in theday. Suchactivity madeit the third most-traded stock in U.S markets Tuesday. The company, which plans to completea testingfacility in Lehi next summer, late Monday re- ported net income of $72.1 million, or 33 cents per share, for the quarter endedAug, 28. It said the amount nearly quadrupled earnings of $18.6 million, or 9 cents per share, for the same quarter a year ago a First Call Corp. sur had_ predicted earnings per share of 46 cents, while IB International Inc.'s analysts survey hadpredicted Mi cron would earn 48 cents per sharein the quarter Analysts said the company’s earnings failed to meet expecta tions becauseprices for the mem: ory chips Micron makes have de In the past year, Micron has workedtodiversify its product ofproduct It has workedto cut costs by im: proving its manufacturing pro. cess technology and by making smaller, thinner chips Eliot Glazer, an analyst with New York City-based Du Pas: quier & Co. Inc,, said suchefforts have allowed Micron to reduce costs by more than the semicon. ductor industry average. “I give them an A-minus for ef fort regardless of what the mar ket would like them to do,” he said Micron spokeswoman Julie Nash on Tuesday said the disap: pointing earnings will not affect the company’s plans for Utah Micron will start preparing its planned Lehi testing facility in October. It already is advertising clined steadily since May some positions and intends to quarterselling pees for memory midsunimer, she said Micron said average fourth- have 2f0 to 300 workers there by benefits. The Utah Department of Workforce Services (DWS) on Aug. 4 activated a new center to collect claims from throughout Utah and other states by telephone, said Randy Hopkir DWSclaimscenter manager. Claimants previously were required to apply for benefits in person at oneof thestate's Job rvice offices. Hopkinssaidthe new center was financedwiththe eived last September. Funding was offered to states that dem onstratedthey could use technologyto improveeffi ciency andreduceadministrativecosts in delivering receives from its Yellow Pages directory advertisementsshould continueto be used to lower residential telephonerates, and whether state regulators should accelerate The two-pageletter was written on sta THEASSOCIATED PRESS CHICAGO — American and Deltaair- lines on Tuesday joined United Airlinesin reducing commissions travel agents re ceive for writing tickets — a move the agents say will lead to higher ticket prices for consumers. The American Society of Travel Agents. which represents 27,000 travel agents, ran ds in major newspapers, includ vday, objecting to United's deci sion last week to lower the commissionrate We are dismayed that the commission's action in the last [1995] rate case for US WESTCommunications Inc. was somewhat See LETTER, Page B-8 said they will matchthe cuts to achieve cost savings of upto $100 million annually Southwest Airlines said Monday it will not; other major airlines have declined to comment on their plans As consumers begin to balk at rising tick: et prices and Wall Street presses for con. tinued earnings growth, airlines must cut costs by turning to their second-largest ex pense, the $12 billion spent annually for distributioncosts such as travel-agent com missions, analysts on tickets for domestic flights. United's commissionrates for domestic ‘The cuts are the 1995 benefits. retaining a $50 cap for a round-trip fare International commissions also fell to 8 trust lawsuit on behalf of 33,000 travel claimants in Salt Lake City, To help of a $1 million federal grant Utah r Starting April 21, the new system was tested on and Park City See JOBLESS, Page B-8 ticketing fell to 8 percent from 10 percent second since February Those cuts prompted a class-action anti percent from 10 percent, with no cap on payments. agents, alleging price fixing . In September 1996, American, Deltas Northwest and United agread to pay $72 Travel agents urged other wa airlines not to follow suit, but Delta American denying wrongdoing» million in cash to settle the lawsuit, while POOR @ COPY |
