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Show The Salt Lake Tribune MOTLEY FOOL JOYCE ROSENBERG CHET CURRIER HUMBERTO CRUZ Baby boomers head to nursing school seeking sani, E2 E-2 E3 Es Compiled by Bob Mims SUNDAY satistaction NOVEMBER 10, PAGE ES 2002 | Hedge Funds MakePlayfor Small Investors nee reserved for the wealthy, O hedge funds now offer the promise of hearty returns to smaller investors in the worstof fi nancialtimes. But the loosely regulated ventures comewith substantial risks and aren't for everyone. These fundsuse leveraging and complex trading methods includ: ing short selling and investing in commodities, foreign currencies or troubled companies’ debt — achieve gains no matter what the marketdoes. Hedge funds have outperformed mutual fundsduring the three-year bear market, creating demand for these investments among less wealthy investors. Asa result, the numberof hedge funds jumped from less than 1,000 a decade agoto 5,500 this year, with assets totaling $560 billion, according to the New Yorkbased Hennessee Group, which ad Grayson West A veteran cadre of booksellers at Sam Weller’s: Tony Weller, front, now the owner and an employee since he was 10; Joan Nay,left, 29 years on the job; LaRae Sorenson,30 years; and Bruce Christensen, 24 years. As Weller says, “books are a real labor of love.” The bookstore has been around since 1929. Lives Lived by the Book vises hedge fund investors. Hedge fundstraditionally required investments ofat least $1 million. But investors who pay as little as $5,000 can now join what are called funds of hedge funds, which own slices of different hedge funds. — The Associated Press A Notepad, a Stapler and Thou? Longtime Sam Weller’s employees see their calling as a laborof love Heorsheis smart, funny and cute. Only trouble is, he/shesits in the next cubicle. Before asking this BY JOANNJACOBSEN-WELLS ideal man/woman on a date, you might be wise to check with human THE resources for company policy on sa boy, Tony Weller assumed the staff workplace dating. Virtually no companiesprohibit office romances, but nearly half — 45 percent SALT LAKE TRIBUNE ofhis father’s downtownSalt Lake City bookstore — an eclectic bunchof bibliophiles who werethe denizensof the bookshelved forests he explored werejust normal folk. You know — well-read. Articulate. Each an set somelimits onfrater- nization, according to 729 human resources managers who responded last month to an onlinepoll con- expert in some literary endeavor, each an evangelist for the glory of the written word. ducted by HRnext.com, a human- resources library and regulatory policy site based in Old Saybrook, Conn. The company did not say whatthose limits were. “It was not until I was in college thatI recognized what a peculiar bunchof lovable weirdos and oddballs had been around me my entire life,” Weller said. However, nearly a third, 31 per- Today, having taken overfrom his father, cent,of the respondents agreed that Tony owns Sam Weller’s Zion Bookstore. But companies ought to “let people have many of those same employees remain, some having served three decades twice as long as Edgar Allan Poe’s career as a classic American writer and poet. Three employees, including owner Tony, havebeenatthe store for 30 years; one, 36 years. The tenureof six othersis 12-25 years. somefun.” Only 3 percentsaid their companiesstrictly prohibit office dating, but 10 percent said they would like to set some rules but were thwarted by upper management. Another11 percentsaid their company was afraid of setting such “We havebetter stability than mostretails for several reasons, includin; books area real laboroflove, “We don’t earn any morethanother peoplein the retail sector, but it requires a lot more to sell books.” Still, once someone has madepeace with the moderateincomethe businessoffers, booksell ing becomes both a business anda life’s calling. Wellersaysthat for him, there are few moreat tractive businesses than that of proliferating books in an age of high technology. “Unliketelevision, it takes a depth of focus and commitmentof time to read a book,” he continued. “But the rewardsaregreat. The deepest and most profound aspect ofthe human spirit are found in books.” Weller’sisa third-generation bookstore, opened in 1929 the same year the stock market crashedleading to the Great Depression by Gus Weller, a convert to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from eastern Germany. Gus namedthe business “Zion's Book Store,” a play on the church’s designation of Utah as a modernversionofthe blessedbibli cal land of Zion. SamWeller, Gus’ son, tookoverthestore in 1946, andin the ‘60s his name was addedto the title. It became “Sam Weller's Zion Book Store.” Sam'sonly child, Tony, began his appren ticeshipat age 10 to earn money for a new bike By 1997, he had becomeowner of the family business where employeesare treated, well like family pcause it is a family ownetd business, the staff tendstobe tre if it were a corporate whose wife, Catherine, also works at the store. “The levels of intimacy here pretty high . because ofthe family orientation and the love ofbooks. “] haveoftenthought that book people are unique because bookssendyourspirits off into new realms,” he added. a 29-year employee, Joan Nay, agrees. an walk in here every day and know J willsee something new, or somethingold and rare,that J have neverseen before,” she said. “I could work herefor a million yea indstill be entertained.” ForNay, it is the thrill of holding aa rare See WELLER’S. PageE-3 Well, afterall, love is a scary thing. — The Associated Press Holiday Travel Budgeting With the holidays approaching, your budgetary planning will soon turn to expenditures such as cards, presents and turkey. But don’t forget the part where youdriveor fly to Grandma's up,too. travel expenses add _ Brighton Grooms for Youth Market regular holiday budget, even down to interstatetolls. 8 Avoid impulsivetrips. @ Workfiendishlyto find bargain fares, ® Scoutfor seniorcitizen discounts. — The Associated Press Economic Downturn = Mistrust? Thesorrystate of business at many companies is having another result beyond the bottom line we are losing trust in the boss. Fiveyears ago, 90 percent of em: ployees interviewed bya psychology consulting firm said they trusted their boss. Flash forward to 2002, and oh, how things have changed. The trustdistrust pendulum has swung mightily the other direction now:28 per- Has Soft Spot Winter resort has upgraded snowboard, twin-tip ski runs Cambridge Credit Counseling, a national credit counseling agency, has some tips for holiday travelers: @§ Addall transport costs to the for Gamblers BY MIKE GORRELL BY BILL O'DRISCOLL SALT LAKE TRIBUNE RENO GAZETTE For 66 years, staying in touch with RENO, Nev sion is to go what locals want has served Brighton Resort well No reasonto change now. Angeles-based managerial psychol- i oe ee “The people usually pointing are managers pointing downwards.” And as anyone who has been downsized can tell you, once the fin. gers pointat you, the next digit often Seenis the thumb toward the door. The Associated Press . COPY seasons, Brighton frontof a slot machine, hefigures, they turingof upto 30,000 seats a year, some for restaurants, but most forcasinos in Nevada andaroundthe world These aren't just stools for taking the weight off. They are cushioned seats, swiveled with no fewer than 53 ball bearings, sturdily upholstered to with stand all shapes and sizes, with lumbar-support backing signed to hold you uplonger and, hence, prompt youto gamble more. Built-in massager to soothe the ach ing gluteus? They have it. Rocking seats? Heart-shaped seatbacks? 1 ing lights? Those. too. Whatever the need requires. “Seatingis an intimate thing,” has said Fung, who oversees a staff of about 20. molded the snow into a halfpipe on Ma (is aac second. pitch. But that course Maistrom acknowledged, “twofall ies that made the pipe kind of weird sometimes.” “You can say it's just a seat, but it really isn’t. You could have marbled floors and walls, but the fact is when people cone into a building, they want to sit down. “Andif you're going to gamble, you might as well be comfortable,” he said So this summer, a trench10feet deep and 450 feet long was excavated. Brigh ton also completed the acquisitionof the Magician, a grooming machine If they are going to spend time in | Platt ManufacturingInc., comes in Fung helps coordinate the manufac all the other Utah resorts, Brighton's recent | might as well sit in comfort. That's where Fung, vice president of Gary hooves a resort to provide as many pipes, rails and boxes as possible for catching big air or turning tricks. Like In JOURNAL George Fung’s mis: easy on gamblers’ backsides. “We've always been committed to youth and what's hip with them,” said resort spokesman Dan Malstrom, ex plaining the off-season purchase of a “Magician” to groom a permanent halfpipe andthe addition of several new features designed to make Brighton's terrain park more inviting to Salt Lake Valleypatrons. “We're just catering to a young de mographic group, which is the futureof our industry. There’s a lot of young people out there,” he added. Nowadays, with snowboards and twin-tip skis being the toys of choice for most young lift-ticket holders, it be- latest investments revolve aroundsatis fying those desires. get tough, cspresident of The Impact, bee alos Seat Maker Privately owned Gary Platt Manu facturing, tucked deep into industrial Steve Griffin/TheSalt LakeTribune Sce BRIGHTON, Page E-4 Snowboarders have begun flying at Brighton, which has added a halfpipe. east Reno, has been making restaurant Sec COMFY SEATS. Page E-7 |