| Show SATURDAY December 27 1997 Salt fake tribune Business MUTUAL FUNDS Page D-- 9 mttimzur GOLD MERC SPOT 93646 376 ynummm 151138 $29520 $160 DOW -- 30 INDUSTRIALS a TRIBUNE BLOOMBERG 77300 0250 -- INDEX FOR UTAH 195 801 I -- 104 Sales May Fall 20 New-Hom- e sales in the Salt Lake metropolitan area may decline as much as 20 percent this year compared to 1996 according to US Housing Markets a publication that covNew-hom- e City-Ogde- n ers the nation's housing market According to the publication's new report rising prices have e sales along the Wasatch Front dampened A healthy economy and job growth are e sales keeping from plunging even further the report shows First-tim- e home buyers remain a major component of the housing BRIEFLY market here the study says and builders who produce homes for Ed Leary commissioner of $120000 or less will sell them Utahs Department of Finanquickly cial Institutions is one of sevBut building homes in that en appointed bank supervisors to price range due rising lot prices to serve on the national comis impossible in many areas Most mittee for the Conference of new homes m that price range are State Bank Supervisors CSBS West Valley City being built in leaders met last week m Washand Tooele ington D C with members of new home perIn Provo-Orethe National Association of Inmits for the year also will decline surance Commissioners to dismost likely by around the same cuss ways to ease the burden percentage as Salt Lake on banks that sell insurance new-hom- new-hom- City-Og-de- n Jobs in Construction Continue to Increase Salt Lake County construction levels have industry-employme- risen by almost 2500 positions in the past year although the number of permits is recently down according to the Utah Department of Workforce Services Of the 2500 new jobs recorded more than half are m special trade contractors mainly m excavation plumbing heating air conditioning and electrical work Homebuilder employment grew by only 230 positions which is a reflection of the slowdown in residential activity Heavy construction employment numbers have increased to more than 650 workers The increases are due largely to the reconstruction project Building Permits Dip In SL Rise in Tooele The value and number of construction permits are down m Salt Lake County but rising in Tooele County during the second quarter according to the Utah Department of Workforce Services The value of Salt Lake County construction permits is down by 26 percent to $3271 million during the second quarter Residential units which numbered 1 445 account for the biggest drop A year ago 3169 new dwelling unit permits had been issued On the other hand the value of Tooele County construction permits jumped from $119 million a year ago to $26 3 million during the second quarter led by $21 1 million in new dwelling units Almost all of the new units are family homes single-- state-chartere- d Tooele County taxable sales during the fourth quarter of 1996 (the latest available) 11 4 percent to million Retail trade is at increased $57 1 the forefront of the growth registering $35 million for a 12 5 percent gain Fortune Financial tems Inc Sysof Salt Lake City re- sales of ported nearly $7 1 million and net income before taxes of $367000 The company is a training consulting and coaching firm third-quart- Meadow Gold Dairies of Ogden was honored by the International Dairy Foods Association with six Achieving Excellence Marketing Awards including a best overall campaign award The tributes were presented to dairy food processors manufacturers and suppliers at the Worldwide Food Expo m Chicago in October Questar Corp in Salt Lake City projects capital expenditures at $329 million in 1998 The natural gas company said it will spend money on oil and gas exploration energy marketing and other activities Ogden-baseCase Lowe & Hart Inc (CLH) designed an acoustically treated wall at Chicago O Hare International Airport to absorb sound emitted when aircraft engines are run up to full power during the testing phase following maintenance work Because such d maintenance occurs during late night hours sound is an is sue Does Christmas Flab Tip New Scales Of Revellers Fighting Battle of Bulge? Bv Jl NE $ LETCHER THE WALL STREET JOURNAL You ate the holiday treats Now it's time to assess the damage A growing industry claims it can tell you precisely how badly you blew it right in the privacy of your own home Makers of personal body-fa- t measuring devices are weighdevices ing in with high-tecthey claim are accurate to within a few percentage points Newfangled bathroom scales have also come on the market during the past couple of years For obvious reasons this is their biggest season Sales of scales peak in Desays cember and January Alam Roclere group manager Corp for appliances at a subsidiary of Seb Group SA France Everybody indulges then starts to diet The company recently came out with an $85 scale that announces body weight in a female voice with a faint English accent and a $130 scale with an display for those who too paunchy to see be may toes their Devices that measure fat the particular bane of baby boomers have recorded the biggest gams Jeff Kahn sales manager of the US unit of Tamta Corp Japan says h eye-lev- CLASSIFIED ADS Page I)-1- 1 Day After Christmas Good for Resorts 'COPPER MERC 767913 1918 1185 D-- 7 Page sales of the companys $150 device have tripled m the 2 VSs years it has been on the market The unit uses bioelectrical impedance analysis to detect fat by its resistance to a weak electrical signal sent through the body Many doctors who specialize in treatment of the obese however say it is unnecessary for normal-weigh- t people to measure their fat They also say the home devices are far less accurate than total water immersion or computerized tomography scanning both of which require professional supervision deHome vices are tools of vanity says Peter Sacks a doctor at the Scripps Clinic in La Jolla Calif Consumers can be skeptical too Shopping at the Bed Bath & Beyond store in Tysons Corner Va recently Haya Mari stepped on a Tan-it- a scale that registered both weight and fat How could a scale be sophisticated enough to measure that? she asked declining to reveal the numbers I dont believe it Meanwhile several new digital strain gauge bath- - See BATTLE Page D-- 8 BY TOM WHARTON THE SALT LAKE TRIBUNE The combination of clear weather and advanced technology helped thousands of skiers and snowboarders enjoy their winter vacation Friday on what is traditionally one of the biggest days of the ski season Though early morning temperatures dipped below zero at most ski areas the cold crisp weather allowed resorts to make the best possible use of snowmaking and grooming technology during a season when nature has been stingy with the white stuff Crowds were large but not of the record breaking variety and that kept lines short especially at detachresorts with able lifts It s cold and the skiing is good except for it s tiring said Stephanie Smith of Seattle who skied at Brighton Im out of shape Brighton host John Meyer said about 80 percent of the mountain was open Snow on the mam runs was surprisingly soft but trees and rocks showed on expert runs usually covered this time of year We could use a lot more snow said Meyer as he helped answ er skiers questions moments We before Brighton opened need about another foot and a half The lack of December snowstorms has hurt the Park City area this year especially at The Canyons The resort spent more high-spee- d Danm I a 1 he Salt Lake 1 nbune at Alta ski resort in Salt Lake County's Little Cottonwood Canyon lift lines were seldom longer than 10 minutes and all i uns were open except the Upper Baldy Chutes On Friday than $18 million on new lift technology including an gondola The Canyons had six lifts and 22 trails open A seventh lift and another six or seven trails will open today At Park City 67 out of 93 runs were open So were the three expert bowl areas at the top of the mountain Weve been good and said Stacey Zerrenner of busy the Park City Mountain Resort If you hit the runs in the sun shine there is luce softer stuff on top The ones that haven t been hit by the sun are pretty hard " In Little Cottonwood Canyon Alta is often so crowded dunng the Christmas holiday season that it reaches capacity and resort operators are forced to close the gates But that wasn t the case Friday General manager Onno Wier-mg- a said Alta hosted a comfoit-abl- e crowd Lift lines weie seldom longer than 10 minutes and eight-passeng- all but the Upper Baldy Chutes were open In southern Utah Brian Head also enjoyed enough snow to keep all of its mountain open since the Saturday after Thanksgiving Clark Krause said holiday season crowds were as big or bigger than last year Krause said a new pa i k the first of its kind w est of was also popular esColorado pecially to southern Utah residents who have never tried skiing snow-tubin- g Shopping Doesnt End on Christmas BY SI BLN OBI RBI CK THE SALT LAKE TRIBUNE Nannie Hays expected to be one of the first customers into The Disney Store at the Crossroads Plaza early Friday morning But when she arrived she discovered it had opened 10 minutes early The crowd that already packed the store did not stop her from taking advantage of the 50 percent discounts Im buying a little bit for next year but 1 also have a daughter who has a birthday in February she said Going out the day after Christmas is kind of a tradition in our family The holiday shopping season does not end for retailers on the day when most children find out if their wish list really did get delivered to the North Pole The week after Christmas is for retailers one of the busiest of the year and it is not just consumers returning or clothing and exchanging inappropriate gifts that fill stores I bought my wife a watch and we needed to bring it back to get said Jay the band adjusted Muse an engineer for Iomega Corp in Roy We also got the wrong Super Nintendo game Muse however said he and his wife also were shopping He carried a bag with several rolls of brightly colored holiday wrapping paper that they plan to use next year Merle Bryner waited on a bench in the ZCMI Center Mall while her two daughters shopped for We came bargains down here because they had something to exchange and then they saw the sales she said Utah stores are still packed with unsold holiday merchandise and many retailers on Friday fS - ti T m after-Christm- I 1 VV J t' f A S& V v If 1 4V &L 1 to I ILL Im Sts Lq I c f Ish t- - 01 s tp yMmkm 43 after-Chnstm- fff prominently displayed signs promising anywhere from 25 percent to 75 percent off on products ranging from beef sticks to watches Whether all the sales indicate Christmas for less than a the state's retailers remains to be seen since most will not tally up all their holiday sales receipts until at least months end Nationally retailers appear busy trying to make up for ho-hu- m holiday sales by offering similar deep discounts on their remaining merchandise Holiday revenue has been lackluster for retailers in the past few years compared with the 1980s when gams of 10 percent or more over the previous year were the norm according to the National Retail Federation Retail analysts say that US Christmas retail sales are on track to nse only about 4 percent above Paul Fraughton The Salt Lake Tribune Center Mall in downtown Salt Lake City dismantles holiday decorations Merchants also were trying to sell holiday merchandise at discounted prices Tom Bo a worker at ZCMI last years holiday season which is about half the 8 3 percent gams Earlier this week J C Penney its holiday same- store sales nationally were below its expectations of a 1 to 3 percent gain We have our fingers crossed spokesman Duncan Muir said of the last few days of the season Co reported results The however may not be a sign that consumers are turning stingy In- stead consumers are spending money throughout the ear and at places other than shopping malls analysts say People are spending more on services such as vacation travel and thats never going to show said up in retail sales reports lan Shepherdson chief economist at HSBC Markets Inc in New York Its too early to say if this is really a new trend but were certainly seeing some shifts the way people shop in Bloomberg News contributed to this article P mJ |
