| Show 7 ' i u VJ Sunday & February " ' v f' 2003 ' v ' A8 ' i The Herald Journal i Scandals market bubbles not new By Jeff Salisbury A 11 look back at stock market history tells us that stock market bubbles accounting scandals and corporate malfeasance have at times gone hand in hand Consider the 1930s Corporate misconduct was among the hallmarks of the years following the bull market of the 1 920s and the crash of 1929 One accounting trick of that era was to create elaborate webs of holding companies' each helping to hide the others’ financial weaknesses an approach that bears some resemblance to Enron’s : partnerships One of the biggest shocks of the 1930s was the collapse ' of a vast forg company called merly Middle West Utilities run by energy magnate and financier Samuel Insull The excesses of that period led to the creation of the Securities and Exchange Commission While the market decline from the peak in 1929 was severe returns measured from the early 1930s into the future were attractive Another bubble arose in the late 1960s and burst in the early 1970s when a number of the highest flying stocks of the time collapsed They included National Student Marketing a conglomerate that focused on selling products to college students Four Seasons Nursing Centos of America a nursing home chain and Equity Funding of America an insurance company Questionable accounting and over-hyppublic relations led to the downfall of National Student Marketing when the economy foundered and the general market fell Four Seasons Nursing Centers executives were indicted for reporting earnings based on sales of nursing homes that had never actually occurred Equity Funding created 64000 phony insurance policies with a face value of $2 billion and $25 million in counterfeit corporate bonds There was also the matter of $100 million in missing assets A security analyst exposed the scam and three auditors who didn't report evidence of the fraud received two-ye- EH LuceroHerald Journal i Jill Cox solders a LED segment board at Inovar last week She is one of about 100 employees at the business which hopes to double in size high-flyin- ed ar prison turns One significant outcome of this activity was the creation of the Financial Accounting Standards Board a private sector group established to set accounting standards for the profession Sound familiar? So what's the average Joe and Jane supposed to do? There are two times when people forget sound investment principles: At the top of the market and the bottom It wasn't principles easy sticking to long-terwhen it seemed like everybody else was getting rich in the short-toIt's even tougher now when the tide has turned and you see the investments you've counted on for your future begin to shrink before your eyes but the fact is sound fundamental principles are the most important precisely at the times when they seem the most irrelevant There have been 30 bear markets in the last 100 years — each one followed by a recovery The people who have weathered the storms and reached their goals have been those who have the courage to stick to m In economjc gloom a local firm continues a long growth cycle By Jeremiah Stettler staff writer m Jeff Salisbury is a local financial educator He can be reached at JeffSalisbufyOWaBStreet-UXJco- m nies like General Electric QualComm and Prox-i- m It builds die brains for household items like wireless modems television routers and laptop computers It is also manufacturing circuit boards for a law enforcement simulator a printer and even a scoreboard for the Utah State University Spectrum On a local level Inovar supplies parts to Wescor Thms-Lu- x Juniper Systems STI and forBourns merly Inovar President Blake Kirby a graduate of Utah State University has no regrets about keeping the firm local The cost of living is low the quality of public services is high and educded workers are in abundance As for shipping costs the president said it costs te no more to drip ids product than if Inovar were located next to the Salt I aka International Airport Kirby is forecasting continued sunshine for the firm He reported last week that Inovar will expand substantially over the next three years Plans are on the table to extend the company's manufacturing facility by 40000 square feet and to double its work force Kirby believes Such growth is feasible The company has already acquired seven new contracts since January and is expecting as much as a 30 percent increase in revenue over foe next W While a black cloud lingers over the US economy a local printed circuit assembly group is reporting nothing but sun Inovar a high-tec-h firth 'bdhi in the midst of Hynim cow pastures is reporting' revenue growth of 900 percent over the past five It has quadrupled its workspace and expanded its staff from 10 to 100 employees The firm was among Utah’s 100 fastest-growicompanies last year Inovar was ranked 30th Lance Lyons chief of sales and marketing for the company would have never dreamed of such Inovar was stagnating growth in the mid-199With a background in business and marketing Lyons was hired to give the company a jump start Inovar was small at the time housed in a 5000 square-foo- t' manufacturing facility in Hynim Cattle and horses grazed behind barbed wire fences on adjoining properties' The location was less than ideal for a firm that was trying to cater to high-tec- h manufacturers across the country Lyons cracked a smile He had been courting a potential client at the Hyrum facility one day when they stumbled across a farmer and his two sons Much to his dismay the boys had their fists wrapped around the necks of a few chickens who were flailing their wings and sending feathers fly- al i ng 0s out-of-sta- year ing Inovar experienced die largest month in sales ever in December manufacturing 30000 items on as many as 60 different product lines As for the future foe black cloud of economic downturn is always a possibility Kirby said But with foie growth seen over the past five years he believes there is little chance of rain “You should have seen their faces” Lyons recalled speaking of his clients Inovar needed a new location Over a two-yeperiod Lyons reinvented the firm with his wife Marcie who was working as the company’s general manager They changed its ar Plant trees to help insulate your home By Loralle Platero m timeless principles Stay the course Focus on your long-tergoals and plan Ignore the alarms of fear and the siren's song of greed Then go fishing golfing read that book you've put off for months go exercise — in short go live your life and ignore the market related din and flatus : the midst of the Every spring the North Cache and Blacksmith Fork Soil Conservation Districts provide an opportunity for Cache Valley residents to purchase bare-roo- t trees and shrubs for use iff conservation projects These projects may range from creating a windbreak to providing habitat for wildlife In Cache Valley energy used to heat mid cool a home can also be conserved by proper placement of vegetation During winter months the prevailing winds may double the fuel requirements for a home on cold winter days Evergreen trees and shrubs properly placed in the landscape can serve as a windbreak and also be used for insulation effectively reducing energy usage diving die winter Trees for winter wind protection should be planted upwind of die area to be protected They may be planted in straight or curved rows close enough together so their crown edges meet within a few years ' Small narrow crowned trees can be planted as close as six to eight feet apart while larger trees should be planted as far as fifteen feet apart Shrubs can be planted as close as two to four feet apart Windbreaks are formed by one or two dense rows of trees andor shrubs or several less-denrows Protection from the ' wind extends downwind 10 to 20 times the height of plants used for the windbreak An open wind velocity of 35 mph is reduced to 10 trees are located mph when 100 feet from a home so trees need not be pitted close to dwellings to se 35-fo- ot be effective Evergreens grown dose to walls without glass openings form an insulating barrier and reduce heat loss through poorly insulated walls of older homes Placed at foe proper distance on the north side of the home a row of evergreen trees will also reflect some of the winter sunlight into northern windows during the winter season when the angle of the sun is low As the sun climbs higher in the sky during the spring the angle of reflection tends to warm the soil on the north side of die home and speed up thti development of plants in the winter shadow of the home For projects that require a large number of plants the conservation district’s program is ideal Tfees and ‘shrubs required for windbreaks living snow fences efosion control wildlife habitat or Christmas trees must be ordered before March 10 Order forms are available at the USDA service center 1860 North 100 East North Logan TYee and shrub varieties include: ash honeylocust aspen ginkgo Norway maple poplar cottonless cottonwood willow red osier dogwood snowberry chokecherry hem- eysuckk Native American plum Eastern ml cedar Colorado blue spruce Austrian pine Scotch pine ponderosa pine common purple lilac Woods rose mugo pine and servicebeny All of these plants grow well m Cache Valley climatic conditions' The t plants will be available for pick up on Saturday April 19 Ifees ana shrubs vary in size from 12 inches to 4 feet and come in bundles of 10 They must be ordered in full bundles and are subject to availability Conservation is an integral part of our lives Homeowners communities and businesses can effectively incorporate energy conservation practices by simply using foe appropriate plant in foie right place The Soil Conservation Districts in Cache County are helping to supply the needed plant materials for those who need a large quantity of plants for conservation projects bare-roo- Loralte Platero Is a Utah State University Extension agent specializing in horticulture She can bo reached by : amgfl at loralepOaxLusuedu |
