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Show _ BUSINESS © = D) DailysHerald WEDNESDAY,SEPTEMBER 7, 2005" BUSINESS EDITOR | Grace Leong - 344-2910 - gleong@heraldextra.com ? A A EXCHANGING THE DOLLAR a A Dow Jones| Nasdaq S&P 500 Gold Silver Yen 10,589.24 +141.87 2,166.86 +25.79 4,233.39 ‘415.37 $444.40 +$0.20 $7.031 +$0.23 Canadian dollar Mexican peso A. NEWS & NOTES PAGE 6 "ae" “er {S| ae Se BeiB Local Industry Tuesday Friday 1.1889 10.6730 1.1875 10.6730 10953 109.64 Anti-pricegouginglawsin effect RealEstate Ken Garff Nissan opens new dealership in Orem — Ken Garff Au‘tomotive Group opened a new Nissan dealership at 285 W. University Parkway in Orem to handle increased demand in Utah County. peeonesie ee be eeeee——— an appearance by Bronco Met The 29,000 square foot dealership, Seedaeat. is Nogas price caps planned for Utah, but the company’s 37th dealership and houses the largest Nissan ser- vice bay and parts departmentin Utah County. “Wehave seen a tremendous amount of growthfor Nissan sales in Utah Countyoverthe last five years,” said MarkTetzlaff, general managerof the new dealership. Consumer Protection agency monitoringprices of emergency is declared — from raising Grace Leong prices more than 10 percent above the avDAILY HERALD erage price charged over the previous 30 A state law that prohibits excessive pric- days. That law was passed in response to os Kroon ing chaos (oe penal incidences of price gouging in the wake of services including that of gasoline ig now in southern Utah earlier this year. in effect following emergency declarations “While retail prices of gasoline have issued for Utah by President Bush gone up morethan 10 percent, there's no on Mondayand by Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. evidence of price gouging because wholesale prices have gone up correspondingly, last week. andretailers are allowed to recoup those vite a recent sharp run-up in gasocosts,” Knight said. Wholesale prices are line prices in the wakeof Hurricane Katrina,the state government isn't consider- prices wholesalers pay to buygasoline ing capping gas prices and have so far not from refiners and oil companies. ta evidence of price gouging in Utah, But the state Division of Consumer Prosaid Kevin Knight, energy policy coordina- tection is closely monitoring gas prices tor with the Energy Office. throughout Utah, he said. Orem nanotechnology company expands production plant — Moxtek Inc., a maker of componentsused in projection and home entertainment systems, is expanding its production plant at 452 W. 1260 North in Orem. The 112-worker companyis adding 18,000 square feet of manufacturing spacetoits existing 32,000 squarefoot plant. Moxtek was acquired in January for $27.2 million by Polat- echnoLtd., a Tokyo-based maker of componentsforflat-paneled displays of projection systems and high-definitiontelevision systems. Small! Business Small businesses facing fewer short-term interest rate hikes — Utah's small business ownersare expected to see better business conditions as the economic fallout from Hurricane Katrina may cause the Federal Reserveto easeits monetary tightening policy, reducing the costs of borrowing. Market analysts are now expecting one to two moreratetightening movesover the next five months,insteadofinitial expectations of three to four prior to Katrina's impact last week. The “Based on my conversation with the Attorney General's Office, there are no state lawsin place that would allow us to it should report it to the division. The divi- “Anyone who has specific complaint menta cap on gas prices,” Knight said. Yf the government imposes a price oea sion will look at the factorslike wholesale costs and the profit margins ofthat retail- undermines the absolute liberty of a fre er, and decide whetherto investigate the about price gouging at any gas station market economy.” \ aint or not,” Knight said. found guilty ofprice gouging,the The emergency declarations, which \ iler can be fined $1,000 perviolation, clear the wats for federal aid to reach the nearly 600 flood refugees now in Utah, ,orup to a maximum of$10,000 a day, he triggered Utah’s Price Controls During j EmergenciesAct on Monday. Statewide, retail prices of regular unduring the 2005 state Legislature, + leaded gasoline averaged $2.899 a gallon the law prohibits retailers — whena state» on Tuesday, compared with the national fewerthe rate hikes, the lower the cost of borrowing by small businesses. The Zions Bank Small Business Index, a monthly gauge of economicactivity, rose to 113.4 in August from a revised 112.5 in July. The index, which factorsin data suchas jobless rates and employment growth, measures the Utah economyreiative to 1997, the base year assigned a numberof 100. A higher index number means business conditions are more favorable. Utah's unemployment rate — the most heavily weighted com-| ponentof the Zions Bank Small Business Index — was at 4.7 percentlast month, up from 4.6 percent the previous month. A lower unemployment rateis a negative contributor to the index as it implies decreased access to Utah labor. averagepriceof $3.04. Heattributéd the widespread jump in senie prices in Katrina's wake to major ‘efinery disruptions along the Gulf Coast, a increased demand over the weekend. But the federal government has since released 30 million barrels from its emergency national oil reserves, which should help alleviate price pressures. Laura Nelson, energy advisor to Gov. Huntsman attributed higher gasoline pricesin Utah to rise in costs to get gas from areas of the country that produce it. “Utah does haverefineries that will = to protect us from anyreal shortages, but the state cannot be fully insulated from the pressuresof the national market,” she said. And despite skyrocketing gas prices, gasolineretailers like Orem-based Peterson Oil Co. Inc. say competition from big boxretailers such as Costco andcredit card service fees have eatenintoits profit margin. MikePeterson,founder of Peterson Oil, which owns 23 Chevron and stations in Utah, says his margins range between 8 cents and 12 centsa gallon. “Bank card purchases carry a 2 percent transaction fee. At aboutfiveto six of my majorstations, we're actually paying more for bank service fees than weare for payroll. That's because 75 percent of my customers usecredit cards to buy gas,” Petersonsaid. Battle againstillegal immigration NATIONAL BRIEFING U.S. Web site helps Appeals court strikes down Calif. energy refunds screen SACRAMENTO,Calif. — Government-run utilities that overcharged California during thestate's energy crisis will not have to forillegal pay refunds thestate estimates at nearly $1 billion, a federal ap- peals court ruled Tuesday. Theruling is a blow to California, which is seeking up to $9 billioniinrefunds from utilities it accused of overcharging for power. workers ruling does not mean that theseentities did not rip us off,” said Tom Dresslar, spokesman for Attorney General Bill Lockyer. The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said the Federal Energy __Laura_ clude the Oregon-based Bonneville Power Administration, the Los LOS ANGELES — Many Americans focus on the border Regulatory Commissionlacks authority over the government-run utilities California was targeting for reimbursement. Those in- THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Angeles Department of Water and Powerandseveral others. whenthey consider the fight Lawmakers consider suspending gas taxes against illegal immigration. But some experts say the real battle should be in the workplace to stop the hiring of people without workvisas. Simple enoughin theory, but Tao eat gear tell wbace gal immigrant? Manyco! ies now do MADISON, Wis. — Lawmakersaroundthe country are entertaining proposals-to ease the pain of soaring gas prices for consumers, considering everything from suspensions oflocal gas taxes to rebates for motorists. But, so far, someare reluctantto act, partly out of concern for their states’ bottom lines but also because they wonder whether motorists will even notice the difference if prices continue to climb.Theretail price of unleaded gasoline skyrocketed by 45.9 cents to a new record last week in Hurricane Katrina’s wake, averaging $3.069 nationwide, the Energy Department said Tuesday. little more than eyeball docu- Thatputs pumpprices $1.219 a gallon above last year. After ments, saying they lack ie expertise and togo any further — and they seldom face federal sanctions. STOCKS0 OF F LOCAL INTEREST small group of businesses is quietly testing a Departmentof Homeland Security program that can check immigration status with a few clicks on the Internet. The program will likely be at the heart of any prices shot up and panicky motorists topped off their tanks, causing brief shortages, Georgia Gov. Sonny Perdue last week ordered a monthlong moratorium onstate gas taxes, But across the cuuntry, a Yesterday's performance of selected publicly traded companies LAST CHANGE sym company LAST CHANGE mA ‘ABS ABX ‘AEP AG AMGN AWA ALCOA INC ALBERTSONS INC BARRICK GOLD CP AMER ELECTRIC POWCO AMER INTL GROUPINC Amgen inc AMERICAWESTHDLGSB_) 269% 2340 2720 37.96 6010 8238 6.91 +004 +035. 0.16 +024 +077 +205 +0.16 MSFT MU MYGN NATR NETM NOVL NUS MICRON TECHNOLOGY Myriad Genetics, inc. Nature's Sunshine —NetManage, Inc. Novell, Inc. (NU SKIN ENT INC BAC Bu BLS. BN c (BAG (SSA OK ‘DAL DS BK OF AMERICA CP BALLCP ‘BELLSOUTH CP BANTA CORP CITIGROUPINC CRESTED CORP COMCAST CORP CHEVRON CORP DELTA AIR UNES INC WALT DISNEY-DISNEYC 4335 3788 2654 4919 4430 165 2827 2 V2 25.17 +044 +003 +033 +065 +042 +002 0.00 +004 +012 +0.41 NWN PCG PFE Q RO SBC ‘SCOX ‘SHLD ‘su ‘KO PFIZER INC QWEST COMMINTL INC ROYALDUTCHPETADR SBCCOMMUNICATIONS SCO Group, inc. (The) Holdings Corporation “SMITH INTL INC SHOPKO STORES INC DNEX ERICY em ia Dionex Corporation LMEnksson: ENTERGYCP FRANKLIN COVEY CO 5450 3512 75.66 7.04 +084 +019 +0.11 +0.03 ‘SKYW SNTO SP STA tne. Sento Corporation ‘SCOTTISH PWR ADS: ‘STPAULTRAVELERSCO NORTHWEST NAT GAS. 27.00 1220 1985 DR 520 689 2185 0.02 +053 +058 +075 +0.15 +009 +010 37.03 38.09 2587 391 6560 2424 437 133.22 BR 2535 +022 +010 +054 +006 0.27 +037 005 +1.59 +024 +075 B65 2752 20 43.27 +067 +0.002 42.73 +0.83 GOW ce GOLDEN WEST FINCP GEN ELECTRIC CO 6262 +072 33.94 40.61 STR SWET QUESTAR CP 719) +085 Swift Transportation Co,, Inc. 20.03 +0.05 HA ‘HRB HSIC 1M (NTC JBLU we HCA INC. HRBLOCK INC Schein, Inc. INTL BUSINESS MACH intel Corporation JetBlue Airways Corporation PENNEY) CCOHOLDIN 498 2665 249 81.02 25.70 1853 48.05 +050 0.15 40.75 +1.56 +042 +0.01 40.72 sy T ToT UOR UNH USB USEG ‘SYBASE INC AT&T CP NEW ‘TARGET CP UNITEDDOMINRLTYTR UNITEDHEALTH GROUP US BANCORP U.S, Energy Corp. 22.76 19.75 53.96 2433 (53.19 2997 417 +030 +021 +080 +060 +066. +022 +008 JWN KRON Ue ue w tw CK MER NORDSTROM INC Kronos: LEE ENTERPRISES LONGVIEW FIBRE CO LUCENT TECH INC SOUTHWEST AIRLINES MCKESSON CORP. MLCOCMNSTK 35.00 134 BB 2054 3.06 1392 %2 5923 +1.90 025 +025 +068 +001 +041 001 +09 USNA UTM Ww WEN WFC WNT WN x USANA Health Sciences Inc. Utah Medical Products, inc. ‘VERIZON COMMUN WENDYS INTL INC WELISFARGO& CONEW WAL MARTSTORES WEIDER NUTRIT INTL. UNITED STATES STEEL 51.65 2400 3290 4707 60.24 569 457 G77 +025 +0.16 +042 +088 +0.95 +114 +007 043 MITY MMS! —MITY Enterprises inc. 17% 0.09 Merit Medical Systems, inc. 18.05 +0.70 EL DON XCEL ENERGY INC Zions Bancorporation 1962 40.13 TAB +108 kK Pal eee *| RIC FRANCIS/Associated Press Ayesha Tully,left, responds to call while Larryll Emerson,20, waitsfor informationpertaining to his next work assignmentat the Staffmark temp agency in Cypress, Calif. “If we're not ready to give up cheap labor, than we should shut up about illegal immigrants.” Underthe “BasicPilot Program,” employers enter a person's name,birth date and other data on a Website. The information is then run federal immigration reform, , through databases maintained evenas critics say it needs imthe Social ity Adminprovement. istration and U.S.Citizenship “It's not a questionof ‘can and Immigration Services. wefix this?it's ‘when and Employers neverlearn ifthe how?” ’ said Tamar Jacoby, a individual might be inthe counsenior fellow at the Manhattan try illegally. They simply get Institute think tank who spea “yes” or “no” on the person’s cializes in immigration. workstatus. Applicants can Manybusinesses, however, ope if they disagree withthe oppose making the Efogram mandatory because it would arcerain doesn’t include stop them fromhiring illegal fingerprint or other biometric workers and force them to to determine if appay higher wages, said Maria plicants are using someone Echeveste, an immigration else's Social Security number expert and political consultant or name.Ideally, the checks who worked as a deputy chief wouldeventually include a ofstaff in the Clinton White photoidentification card supHouse. Social Security, But “I see this as a battle over the agency has estimated it whether we are going to be could takeat least $4 billion to hypocrites ornot,” she said. produce such cards, Companies usingthe program said the latest version is ‘quicker and easier tousethan people might think. But experts caution that it needs tweaks before Congress could roll out a mandatory version nationwide. ies each weekat the Staffmark temp agency office in the Orange ity, Calif., city of Cypress. Sheprefersthe pilot program to merely glancing at documentstosee if they look fraudulent. Amongotherthings, they “T used to get nervous. What worry thatit could hurt legal if I tell someonethat the card immigrants, whosevisa status they haveisn’t official, but often changesfaster than DHS whatif it is?” said Tully, who can updateits databases, and began using the system earlier who sometimes usethe surthis year. “Now the computer names of both parents, which checks.” can further trip up the process. Staffmark’s computer sysNo onehas estimated the tem won't allow Tully to put a expense ofa nationwide rollnew employee on the payroll out. But expanding the pilot unless she’s run them through to serve the more than 8 milthe federal databases. lion businesses in the country Just knowing a company wouldcost the government uses the program can deter much morethan the $1.5 milundocumented workers from lion currently being spent on applying. the program. Eliseo Flores Canales,58, Congress will likely consider wentto the Staffmark office the issue whenit reconvenes looking for factory work. Wednesday. Allthe major imAfter glancing ata poster demigrationbills moving through scribing the firm'sparticipation Washington call for an expand- in the DHSpilot, the recently ed version ofthe; ceca arrived Salvadoran mumbled Ayesha Tully hires dozens of that he didn't speak enough faetory workers and secretar- English andleft. Survey: U.S. service economy grows in August THE ASSOCIATED PRESS The institute for Supply Man- rement, which surv: nat businesses throug] US,, said its enenatacnie ing index rose to 65 percent in August from July’s 60.5 percent. pee pee eae Hyee at act is bei is shrink- WWW.HERALDEXTRA.COM — CALL 375-5103 TO SUBSCRIBE: / \ from asurvey of purchasing executives in more than 62industries across the country. ere readeae seen since its alfine nigh 66.9 percent in April20 4, The index was started in July 1997. “This is quite a strong report. It certainly indicates we had strong momentum 0 in” ahead of Hurricane — trina, said Ralph Kauffman, the ISM chair. The August survey of purchasing managers was taken _beforethe hurricane so it did not take into consideration disTuptions to the U.S. economy that resulted from Katrina. ame) |