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Show The Salt LakeTribune BUSINESS = No Friday Business Section U.S. financial markets, as well as banks and most other businesses, are closed today in observance of Thanksgiving. As a result, there will not be a Friday Businesssection. @ CONSUMER CORNER. B-5 MEBUSINESS GLANCE, B-7 NOVEMBER22, 2001 Claimsfor Jobless Benefits Drop YESTERDAY'S MARKET Indicators Analysts say it could be signthat layoffs are easing aempljoyment Indicators All Pai Po NASDAQ Dow Jones M@ UTAH BRIEFS, B-5 tod BYROB KAISER “CLOSE: 1,875.05 S&P 500 “A lot of economists will be revising their forecas' in the coming weeks to reflect a CHICAGO TRIBUNE A pair ofpositive reports released Wed- nesdaythat showan increase in consumer confidence and an uptick in the job market areraising hopesof an economic recovery early next year. more rapid recovery and a more mild downturn.” For four consecutive weeks, fewer Americansfiled new claims for unemployment benefits, sug: gesting the steep increa layoffs aftertheterrorist attacks may bewaning. Coupled with falling energy The Labor Department re- prices and progress in the war CLOSE: I L CLOSE: 579.56 1,137.03 in Afghanistan, the reports are prompting someexperts tocon4 gig, clude that the Sept. 11 terrorist Look atWasA z attacks will not knock the U.S Utah’s Top Performers economy into recession. The Bloomberg Utah Index “The measures the stock performance ofthe CLOSE! 1 eh state's a Tenebe Workplace prolonged ported Wednesday that for the week ending Nov. 17, new jobJess claimsdij by a seasonably Sea . ,000. 427,000. fale climbed to 5.4 percentin Octoberfrom 3.9 percent a yearearlier. The numberof unemployed Americans is up by 2.2 million from 12 months earlier and the long-term unemployed have increased by 280,000. The percéntage’of the unemployed whoarefiling claims for unemploymentbenefits is up as well. A oe That followed a drop of 10,000, according to revised figures, an even bigger decline than the 5 a lot of positives coming to- gether here,” said Scott Anderson, senior economist at Wells Fargo in Minneapolis. z "seasonally adjusted government previously estimated. See UNEMPLOYMENT,Page B-5 Source: US. Department of Labor oreres in thousan Gannett News Service pucipeu companies, SHOPPING CHILL ANALYSIS Doubtful that the stock market'slatest surge can be sustained indefinitely, investors secured profits for the second straight day Wednesday. Ogden/Weber Chamber Cutting Work Hours ‘The Ogden/Weber Chamberof Commerceaskedits 11. employees to take every other Friday off without payto cut its labor hours by 10 percent, Knight Ridder/TribuneBusi- ness Newsreported. “With the impact the economy is having on some of our members, our dues revenueis down, so wehave to cut our expen: director Dick Dahlkempersaid. ‘We're not planning to curtail or eliminateany ser- vices.” Hesaid the chamber, which currently has about1,800 individual members representing nearly 1,200 Jan Shapiro of Collyeville, Texas, walks down an aisle of a Wal-Mart store while x f il a holiday shopping Wednesdayin Bedford, Texas. businesses, has seen membership fall by about75 businessesin the past few months. Dahlkemper said some former Analysts say discount retailers such as chamber members haveleft the area or gone out of business, while others can't afford the annual dues, which run from $295 to $400 for most businesses. Wal-Mart are positioned to do well during the Aspart of the cutback, Dahlkempersaid,onefull-time position was holidays. eliminated last week. The chamber also did awaywith a part-time temporary clerical worker about a month ago. Frontier Adds Flight Frontier Airlines plans to add an additional daily round-trip flight between Salt Lake City and its Denver hubbeginning onJan.17, 2002. Theairline currently offers three daily flights between Denver and Salt LakeCity. F Frontieralso plans to increase flight frequencies from Denverto Chicago/Midway, Las Vegas and Or- ido, Fla. With those additional flights, Frontier will offer three daily - round trips to Chicago, two to Orlandoandfour to Las Vegas. In order to accommodate the additional flights, Frontier will resume Jerry W. Hoeffer/The Associated Press Retailers Fear Hard Times Will Curtail Holiday Spending BY PAUL BEEBE ‘THESALT LAKE TRIBUNE With consumer confidence low and the economy in a muddle, Salt LakeCity retailers are bracing for a holiday shopping season that won't be asjolly as it was last year. “There is some hesitancy to spend, not knowing where the country is going,” Craig Child, manager of the JC 2000 levels. “We are expectingit to be a modest holiday season,” said Asma Usmani, a retail analyst for investment banking firm Edward Jones in St. Louis. “Consumerconfidence levels are at a five-year low and consumer spending growth is coming down,” Usmanisaid. To pull customers intotheirstores, retailers are spending more on ad- inventory to “We [have] more labels, more na- tional brands than we [had] a year ago, and we'reprobably deeper,” said Child, who added Penney’s corporate advertising budget is up 30 percent motional activities to drive sales. Meier & Frank, whichhas six Utah department stores, saw sales slowly rebound in October and early No- and the poorest showing since 1990, tends to be “very promotional”this another recession year. Sears, Dillard’s, the Gap and Abercrombie and year, said Cheryl Hanson, a Meier&. Frank spokeswoman. Manylarge retailers have cut back Fitch sales already are running below ‘THESALTLAKE TRIBUNE With the nation’s emical own! i Poor's is casting zs story, Stan eye toward in the spring of1998, promising are HoldLake citysHuntsman pape ag : eattealpet ren perial Kingdom's m. Industries, the United aay He promised the investment was Such statementsto investors were ings is a joint venture between Salt chemical maker. The two companies set up thejoint venture in 1999 to buy ne8 polar. titanium petrochemical debt, Huntsman spokesman Don Olsensaid. “Tt doesn’t impact atall our ability to do business,” he said. Still, the well-known corporatedebt-rating service noted that HuntsmanInternational’s recent op- erating results reflect a number of persistent challenges including lower volume and pricing in key product areas, conditions that are expected to continueat least through the end ofthe year. “There is no doubtthat the industry has beenhit harder than any time in its history,” Olsen said. “But we're starting to see some positive signs of an upswing.” S&P on Wednesday also reafbranes S&P on Wednesday said it low- firmed its ratings on Huntsman ered its ratings on Huntsman Inter- false, investigators allege, adding teen oe eeeape, three times and has had several judgments against him, IfCraig is convicted of the charges, he faces a sentence of up to 20 npbarrages oh ghd than-expected ting results aoe the end ofSeptember. The downgrade of Huntsman International’s corporate credit rating from BB- to B+ is one analyst's opinion on the quality of the company’s that Craig also failed to disclosethat he filed for bankruptcy the cautious consumer mood. “We are going to do pretty good. We are doing increases between 7 percent and 10 percent compared to lastyear atthis time,” said EricRyan, assistant manager of the Wal-Mart in Sandy. Ryan said sales of big-ticket items such as expensive televisions are down. Clothingis off, too. But electronic merchandise andtoysare selling well,he said. pheebe@sltrib.com Of WVC Amphitheater Project BY STE‘VEN OBERBECK turn ofmore than 50 percent annual- risk-free, and that the principle would be LakeCity area. Sam’s Club and Costco. Usmani believes these companies are in the bestpositionto benefit from For Huntsman International luntsman International Holdings’ operations in Europe. into a bonded bank accountto be as collateral for bank trading from the 2000 holiday season. Seattle-based Nordstrom, another big departmentstore chain, is hoping for strongsales, but will not predict whatincreases are expected from its 132 stores, including three in the Salt One bright spot this year is discount stores such as Wal-Mart and ‘Target, and warehouse clubs such as House of Blues Unit Pulls Out ene allege ae Craig solic- iat their money would be deposited vember. The Portland, Ore.-based chain in- petitive climate throughout the sea- S&P Downgrades Credit Rating pgeyein ndarnvagwr ee,the Utah Divisionof Se- On the other hand, the inventory at JC Penney’s South Towne Center store is 10 percent larger than last year. match demand and focusing on pro- vith the increased frequencies, Frontier’s schedule in January will operate at about 92 percentof ourfull An arrest warranthas beenissued for Gery Eugene Craig of Sandy, who faces two counts of secu- son,” spokesman John Bailey said. terrorist attacks. She declined to elaborate. vertising, predicts 2001 holiday sales will increase between2.5 percent and 3percent, less than last year’s 3.9 percent Charges ofFraud modify” its inventory when economic conditions worsened after the Sept. 11 Penney departmentstore in the South use of its remaining Boeing 737-200. obs jet has been parked since Sept. schedule priorto the events of Sept. 11,” said Jeff Potter,theairline's presidentandchiefoperating officer. Denver-based Frontieris the secondlargestjet-service carrier at Denver International, serving 25 cities coast to cost. “We are definitely going to respond to the economy and the com- Towne Center, said Wednesday. “[{Consumers] are apprehensive; they. are nervous.” The National Retail Federation tailoring on inventories and already havediscounted what they intend to sell. Hanson. said Meier & Frank “did ) Corp., although it noted the company’s debt remains on its “CreditWatch” with negative implications, where it was placed on May 22. Such a ranking means that S&P believes there is a strong risk thatit could lower ratings again in the near on spokesman Kyle Loughlin steve@sitrib.com BY JOHN KEAHEY ‘THE SALT LAKETRIBUNE The House of Blues — still on track with its plans for a club in downtown Salt Lake City’s Gateway — will not take part in building an amphitheater in West Valley City. But the vacuum left by House of Blues’ departure from the west Salt Lake Valley music scene appears to be filling up. “We are now talking with two other firms who want to do something for next year,” West Valley ouaoe John Patterson said ee would not identify the two contenders, but said whomever does win the right to do the project a partnership with music Concerts banal a the amphi ater project could not be reached Wednesday for nae ‘That division of the restaurant/concert promotion companyis separate Fonte House of Blues Clubs group mest ating for space in the Gateway’ Union Pacific Depot. Nearly three years ago, West Valley City announced plans to build a 20,000-seat, $12 million amphitheater With House of Blues backing out, Patterson remains optimistic the 3year-old plans will cometo fruition. West Valley City would sell the property to United Concerts and its partner for $1 million, using that money to provide sewer, utilities, curbs, gutters and a parking lot. Patterson said the two firms in negotiation with West Valley City and yon say they can build the theater by the beginning of the next concert season, June 2002, Meanwhile,plans for the House of on ae oe Pacific Deare mi forward, according to Liam Thornton, House of Blues seniorvice president. “Weare finalizing our lease negotiations [with Gateway developer ‘The Boyer Co.],” Thornton said. He on for an opening in mid- to late Tribune reporter Rebecca Walsh contributed to this story, John. com A |
