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Show The Salt LakeTribune BUSINESS CONSUMER CORNER, C-2 Market Indicators Dow Industrials /ineusirials_ A M UTAH BRIEFS, C-2 KOTIOy, FRIDAY @ BUSINESS GLANCE, C-3 OCTOBER15, 1999 May-ZCMIDeal in the Works BYPHIL SAHM ALT LAKE TRIBUNE, potential sale. Negotiations were expected to continueuntil early announcedas earlya Mayexecutives ing the company’s vice presidentof acquisitions andseniorle gal counsel werein Salt Lake City Thursday and checked into the Hotel Monaco. They Utah'sssTopPavone were in town to work out det, Federal securities laws prevent public com this morning paniesfrom discussing pendingsales. The M so. emerged as a leading candi date to buy ZCML after the 181-year-old de: Pi rtment store's financial problemsdeteri orated last spring. ZCMI iost almost $8.5 fimillion on sa les of $247 million in its 1998 ndlost more than $6 million in The May Department StoresCo. iscloser to buying Utah’s ZCMI and adeal could be Founded in 1868 by he Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints President andoneinIdaho. It employs approximately 4,500 worke! June See ZCMI.PageC-6 of a Says Official ear course, Utah Banking-Fee Rate Third-Lowestin Study Utah commissionersays rules drive up costs for everyone Utah hadthe third-lowest banking fees among 34 states in a sturly by the US. Public Interest Research Group. Bankingfees examined by the nonprofit consumer advocacy groupin- BY LESLEY MITCHELL THE SALT LAKETRIBUNE Utah’s health-insurance industry is being hurt by increasingregulation that cluded monthly checking-account fees, automated-teller-machinefees and assessmentsfor returned checks. ultimately is making coverage too ex pensive for a growing numberofresi dents, state insurance Commissioner Utah consumers pay anaverage of $164.89 a year to maintain checking accounts when they can't meet minimum-balancerequirements, the Merwin Stewart said Thursday Speaking on a panel at a Utah Health urance Association conference, Stew art saidstate laws passed in recent years studysaid, comparedto the national have drivenupcosts for insurers, someof whomhave left the market “Health insurance companies operat averageof $217.32. ‘The only two states that had lower overall banking costs were Nebraska and Missouri. Colorado and Arkansas were ranked fourth andfifth-lowest, ing in this state have struggled to break even,” he said. “That is of great concern to me. | want to see more carriers and more competition, not the other respectively. According to the study, which sur- around.” veyed 526 banks, consumers with ac- Stewartsaid heis glad the Legislature addresses health-insurance issues, but counts at big banks are paying on av- Paul Fraughton/The Salt Lake Tribu AnneChevestalkswith Bill Gowans of Western Wholesale Floors and contractor Vali Mahak of Icon Remodeling about work on herkitchen. Updating a kitchen provides the best return on a homeowner's investment, says Remodeling magazine. Remodeling? Think meee pe Kitchen’ Losses Grow at Iomega IomegaCorp., the makerofthe Zip storagedrive for personal computers, AnnChevesnever has enjoyed spending muchtime in her kitchen, a dark, cramped place with no room for modern conveniences such as a dishwasher or built-in The Roy-based company earlier this month said it would stop produc to small employers at a price they can af ford, he said. Some do not insure small Remodeling canbea tricky investment: » What will not » What will homesometimein the next few years. If | had left it that we build value would pr bly be a major [negative] when I go to Cheves A weekly look at ways to better manageyour money Updating a kitchen is the best remodeling investment homeown ers can make, according to Remodeling magazine. U.S. homeowners on average recoup 94 percent of build value | Costly luxury | improvements © Swimming pools: Practical additions, improvements: Bin thekitchen; major advances in convenience and technology 30 years in the past maintenance may be BA bathroom "Spas 8 Tennis courts a Gusnes unattractive to some projects when they sell their homes, according to Remodeling’s cost vs. value report. A minor project treer See KITCHEN, Page C-2 Knight-idder Tribune their investments in minor kitchen remodeling costs $10,000 or less, and includes fixes such a tion at its plant in France and consol idate facilities in Utah a ‘ Construction costs paid back at resale: Minorkitchen remodel aa Bathroom addition . addition $11.1 million charge for a technology purchase. Emergency Farm Loans Farmers and ranchers who suf fered losses from the August tornado. ‘ere thunderstorms and hail in sevenUtahcounties can apply for emergencyloans from thetederal FarmService Agency (FSA). Loans ¢ 5 percent interest for up to 80 percent of the damages in curred. The loansare capped at $500,000 money | », Davis, Mo Summit and Tooele cou ers and ran¢ can ply their local FSA office: through Eligible farmers and rancher must have suffered a 30 percent los: in production and must be able to re the loan and other existing debt They also must be unable tc credit elsewhere, have adequate secu: rity and must have multi-peril crop insurance or have a signed insurance waiver THE SALT LAKE TRIBUNE A federal judge has postponed a decision on whether to grant class-action status to la by a Utah woman who claims Ikon Office Inc. employees were cheated when the their retirement savings in company by the n ympany the stock buyers’ | 1 uit alleges i Jofault off the company caught with it attorney Ronald Kilgard 1 be of a Unde joral la Ikon’s ferent from its obligations investor gued. “It’s an casy decision. There's no erious claim this is not an appropriate casefor class ce tification, The application deadline is April 17, 2000. OR COPY See IKON, Page C-6 of $50,000 a year in to: will be at the cheduled t: grew from $11.5 billion in 1994 to $26.3 billion last year “They have been as successful as any company in the said site on Monday, and the first building is ed by the en xt year r of Riverton, it'sa verton Mayor Sandra t nething generations to come state will give Intel $ rial Assistance Fund next wee f el g fi ne ver the next 10 to work in American Fork product group. ald Kris Bro acamontes ied for the economic once it t re tthe property and ears, computer and electronic business,” Initially, Intel will move nillion from the Indus: getting $1 million to $1.5 million when it begins each of the next two buildings. best known for its microprocessors that run ce The center's eventual employme —_‘Intel re growth and other fact record bodes well for the future. The comp: that will serve this com begar uct The company J in Santa Clara, Calif., will beeligible to receive an additional $2.6 million from thefund companies governing employee legal duty to its worker earning an average five buildings. personal plan since 1904 8,000 people, may employ thousands of scientists and engineers. Intel ployees who have bought Ikon stock growth 0 br the ni t 15 to 20 year aid Bill Calder, a companyspokesman The research center someday could employ up te day's dollars. The site could consist of up to seven buildings though Lloyd said initial site plans call for he Phoenix od Whetman’s lawsuit lowed to include claims from a tha ment plans, Intel Corp. plans to begin construction on the first Lloyd and equipment-| ases of 20 percent or more Frank Vignanelli, a lobbyist and hairman of the Salt Lake Area Chamber buildingin its planned research-and-development center in Riverton, committing to a project that someday munity for took $110 million in char misleading accounting In court Wednesday, premiums have risen sub th small employer groups of Commerce's health-care committee uid health insurance has become a top concern among stall employers, many of whom fear they will now be able to af ford to cover their employ Pah Orast ABA Eee ot a for t consolidated shareholde Pennsylvania, where the Ikon’ ‘ock price plunged in uncollectible accounts the past three years, health insurance Second-story addition Cs Riverton, state and Intel officials will hold a new onference Monday to announce I's plans to start building on the 154-acre site. Earth-moving equipment Julia Whetman, who worked at Ikon in Salt Lak City from 1964 to 1997, alleges she was fired after she Ikon blamed several fac But in stantially seeingincr BY GUY BOULTON BY SHEILA R. MeCANN questioned deceptive accounting tactics tional office-equipment sales and le Her allegations of improp Yevada and Idaho are re Traditionally, Utah has had some of the lowest health-insurance costs in the country due largely to its young, healthy Intel to Start Work on Riverton Complex Judge Postpones Ruling In Ikon Class-Action Suit shares fell 6 cents to $3.31. sed af ter aha clometeM regalee USS. trading. same reasons, he said. Family-roomaddition to cut costs. It took $20. The year-ago results included a groups at ail Jeff Gabardi of the Health Insurance Association of America said Utah's pre dicament isn't unique. Many insurers are struggling to make a profit for the population Major kitchen remodel chargesthis quarterto cc moves, in addition to other charges and a higher reserve for deferred tax Regence Andfewer insurers provide covera microwave “It was outdated and ugly,”said Cheves, who livesin Salt LakeCity and is remodeling withplanstosel! her Jomega’s net loss widenedto$78.3 million, or 29 cents a share,for the shipments rose 23 percent to 2.9 mil lion. hesaid. y to make things worse not better, if we’renot careful.” He said only two insurers with asig falling sales of less populardrives. fell 9 percentto $356.6 millionfrom $391.8 million on lowersalesofits Jaz drives and disks, thoughZipdrive “They [legislators] have to pay lot of attention to accessibility and cost as they try to change the way the market works,” Blue Cross Blue Shield of Utah and In. termountain Health Care still market individual health policies to Utahns who are not part of a larger group. THE saidits third-quarter loss widened fivefold onrestructuring charges and quarter ended Sept. 26, from $14.8 million, or 6 cents, a yearearlier, Bloomberg News reported. Revenue worries not enough attention is paid to the consequences of added regulation. nificant market sharein Utah checks deposited automatically into their accounts, James Chessen, chief of the bankers’ group, said Roker Tho Salt Lake Tribune Insurers, Stocks stumbled into a mixed finish Thursday as strong earnings soaring bond yields prevented investors from charting any Wednesday. Sw | | | Oa Laws Hurt RUE sumer group's findings, calling them “completely misleading. “Most people figure out a wayto reduce the cost’ of a checking acunt, often by having their pa || Brigham Young, Zions Cooperative Mer. cantileInstitutionoperates 13 stor: The Bloomberg Utah index measures the stock performance ofthe state's major publicly held companies. erage16 percent more than customers of smaller banks Anofficial of the American Bank. ers Association disputed the con- Price Per Share Department-store-company execsin $.L. to negotiate details ofa sale Tt economist ies RSele Since rumors of a buyout emerged late this summer, thevalue o as increased ZCMI shat | approxvoately 40 patcarh | is one of the most successful of the past decade And the r arch center tial of being a miles one in Utah's economic What Inte! brings is another large company that has redible depth in what they are doing,” said Dave om, director of computer engineering at the Uni of Utah, building the center to help handle long-term The employees are part an Intel depend on e H 0 ) Riverton nications In March, Intel exercised an option to buy the site previously a farr by The Church of Jesus-Christ Of Latter-day Saints After Monday’s ceremony to announce the start of the first building, Intel and Riverton employees will spend the day working on projects such as painting water tanks, picking up litter, planting trees hydrants and paintingfire Theidea was proposed by Intel It helps them become acquainted with the commu nity,” Lioyd said. Rivertonand state officials have been working to win the rese archcenter for more than two year “These things proc i very slowly I've rned,” Lloyd said “But patience pays off at the end. Tribune reporter Lesley Mitchell contributed to this report |
