Arizona Republic from Phoenix, Arizona • Page 33

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 5, 20()4 D3 Tiie Arizona Republic Today's focus: mi pm I Sunday I Issues I Monday I Small business Tuesday Arizona economy 1 Wednesday I Real estate Thursday Innovators Friday Tourism Saturday Work 4 Life i MM Mi I i I I I I I Fourth quarter 2004 index by component and region Business confidence The growing Arizona economy could follow a national METRO PHOENIX ARIZONA METRO TUCSON Sales 367.9 Sales Profits Sales Prolits Profits Hiring Hiring 2 Capital spending Hiring "7163 Capital spending KSSSa64.3 State outlook If i7n shift to neutral, according to the Arizona Business Leaders Confidence Index. Panelists lowered their expectations for the fourth quarter. They cited rising prices, difficulty getting materials and slower consumer spending as spurring concerns. At 65.5, the index level dropped to its lowest reading of the year, although still well above 50. A reading above 50 suggests a growing economy.

Source: Business Leaders Confidence Index. Compass Bank Jim WamboldThe Arizona Republic State outlook 72.5 Capital spending S3EwSSl 62.8 State outlook 68.8 National outlook EESSIIESI57-! Overall "S3 63.6 National outlook outlook "2 SSI 63.8 S3 67.3 Overall Overall I UVIN Phoenix is average VALLEY STATE News of SEC's probe sends Swift stock down -I- Shares of Swift Transporta-. tion Co. Inc'i stock fell 5 percent Monday following last week's disclosure that the Se-, curities and Exchange Commission was "formally investigating" the trucking giant. The Phoenix-based trucking company late Friday announced that the SEC had broadened its "informal inquiry" to a "formal investigation." The company said the investigation centers around stock trades made by Jerry Moyes, chairman and chief executive officer of Swift, as well as selected company stock repurchases made earlier this year.

Swift's stock closed at $16.61 a share on the Nasdaq Stock Market on Monday, down from Friday's close of $17.49. www.swffttranf.com. American to drop flight between Phoenix, JFK American Airlines said it will eliminate non-stop service between Phoenix and New York's 1 JFK International Airport on Nov. 1, less than a year after it began the service. The Dallas- based carrier has one daily round-trip flight on the route.

It launched the service in late January with two daily non-stops but canceled one of the flights earlier this year. Some in the industry saw the addition of the flights, with in-v troductory round-trip fares as low as $158, as retaliation against America West for starting non-stop service be-, tween New York and Boston and Los Angeles and San Fran- cisco, lucrative business-travel routes it and other large carriers have long dominated. America West and newcomer JetBlue Airways still offer non-stop service from Phoenix to New York. www.aa.com. Southwest reports rise in load factor to 63.2 Southwest Airlines said its planes were more full in Sep-; tember than a year earlier.

The Dallas-based airline, the busiest carrier at Sky Harbor I. International Airport after America West, reported a load factor, or percentage of seats filled with paying passengers, of 63.2 percent. That compared with 60.4 percent in September 2003. Affordability of housing Housing costs are one of six segments that make up the overall index score for the cost of living. Housing costs carry more weight than most of the other components.

2nd quarter, 2004 Selected peer areas San Jose 280.7 Los Angeles 252.3 Orange County, Calif. 246.4 1 214.2 129.5 125.5 108.6 102.2 95.4 San Diego Las Vegas Denver: Albuquerque Austin Atlanta John SeversonThe Arizona Republic Average for U.S. 100 Moving to Phoenix from Sacramento last winter, credit counselor Sarah Wyatt found the cost of living lower in Arizona. 92.3 9L9 91.2 88.3 852 Tucson Dallas Source: Accra The Arizona Republic Affordable housing Accra's housing survey examined apartment rents, home prices, mortgage rates and average monthly mortgage payments. At 91.9, the Valley ranked fourth from the bottom among the 14 peer From Page Dl "The difference in the cost of living is primarily driven by the cost of housing," said Tracy Clark, associate director of the Bank One Economic Outlook Center at Arizona State University.

"Unless you live in Alaska or Hawaii, the price of tomatoes or cars doesn't vary too much." The Republic used second-quarter 2004 cost-of-living information compiled by Accra, a non-profit economic research and community development organization based in Arlington, Va. Accra was originally the American Chamber of Commerce Researchers Association. Erol Yildirim, a project manager for Accra, said that when prices are around the national average, it's a good sign for an area's cost of living, because it means prices are not surging. Transportation was the only component on the Accra survey in which Phoenix was significantly higher than the national average. The Phoenix score was 113.5.

The poor showing in transportation could be because of the lack of a mass-transit system and the reliance on cars, said ASU's Clark. "People in the Western U.S. tend to consume more in transportation because we live farther from things we want to get to," he said. "And because we're all spread out, it's difficult to function without a car." The Accra study doesn't take into account an area's wages. However, a May 2003 survey of wages by the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics found that the Phoenix-Mesa region's pay scales were slightly below the national average.

The average annual income for workers was $34,660 here, compared with $36,210 nationally. The median hourly wage was $13.14 in metro Phoenix, compared with $13.53 harder to tell how affordable a community is. A 2001-2002 analysis of taxes by the Utah Taxpayers Association ranked Arizona 36th in state and local tax collections and 26th in property tax collections. "You've got to look beyond what things cost and look at whether families can afford to meet basic expenses, such as child care or health care," said Elizabeth Hudgins, a spokeswoman for the Children's Action Alliance, an advocacy group seeking to influence public policies on behalf of children and working families. The area's cost of living does aid employers in attracting workers from other areas, said Paul Ringer, interim president of the Greater Phoenix Economic Council.

"For a large metro area, we maintain a very favorable cost position," he said. "If a skilled and talented workforce is in a high-cost environment, they will look at a lower-cost environment like Arizona." Metro Phoenix's job growth has long attracted people to the area, said Jim Triggs, director of counseling for Money Management International, a credit consolidation service that counsels people with debt problems. But some don't realize the pay is often less. "People relocate here looking for a better life he said. "While it is easier to get a job here, many don't pay as much as their old jobs." His office counseled about 130,000 new clients last year; about 28 percent of whom went on a debt management program.

"We're still seeing a pretty consistent stream of people who are having trouble meeting their obligations," he said. Reach the reporter at jonathan.higueraarizona republic.com or (602) 444-8831. Insurance higher In contrast to housing, Phoenix's transportation costs are above average, and they would have been even higher had Accra included average car insurance premiums. A 2002 analysis by the National Association of Insurance Commissioners found that the state's average auto annual premium from 1998 to 2002 was $992, compared with $880 nationally. Dan and Tania Hare didn't anticipate paying car insurance premiums triple their previous rates when they moved to the Valley in June 2003 from Janesville, Wis.

"I about cried when I got the quote," said Tania, who is a nurse at Banner Good Samaritan. They pay nearly $2,000 a year to fully cover their two cars. Utilities The Phoenix area scored 91.3 on utility costs, well below the average. That component included the average monthly electricity bill, total energy costs of a home during a 12-month period, and the cost of other energy sources, including natural gas, fuel oil, coal and wood. It also included residential telephone rates.

That finding perplexed Wyatt, who says she has been paying higher electricity and water bills than she did in California. Arizona Public Service clients statewide are paying an average of $92 per month for their electricity bill this year, said APS spokeswoman Sheri Foote. The Accra study found that the average Phoenix-area electric bill was $121.21. "If it is higher (than the average), it's a factor of weather, because we use more here in the summer," Foote said. The Hares said their summer electricity bill was close to $200 to cool their home in Laveeri.

"But we paid a lot in fuel costs in the winter in Wisconsin, so it's probably a wash," Tania said. Other costs Accra does not include a key component in calculating an area's cost of living: taxes. That gap and the lack of figures on average wages make it areas. Wyatt, the former Califor-nian, said that besides being able to afford a larger apartment, her new home is in a much nicer neighborhood. One reason housing is cheaper in metro Phoenix than in other cities of similar size is the availability of land, said Jay Butler, director of the Arizona Real Estate Center at Arizona State University.

"If you can keep land prices down, housing prices will be down," Butler said. "It's beginning to escalate, but it's not like we're going to catch up with California in the near term." He pointed out that the Valley's median resale home price, $177,500 in August, was close to the national median of $183,800. "We're usually under the national median, but not by much," Butler said. KTAR Station being sold Justices won't hear Do Not Call challenge The airline said it flew nearly 4 billion revenue passenger miles, a 10.5 percent increase from a year earlier. Its capacity was up 5.7 percent, to 6.3 billion.

www.southwest.com. Ariz, technology group signs up 52 members The Arizona Technology Council said it added 52 companies as new members during the third quarter. New members include consulting giant Accenture, telecommunications provider Qwest Communications International Inc. and computer manufacturer Hewlett-Packard Co. Valley-based additions include domain-name registrar Go Daddy Group engine developer Deluge computer-chip tester White Mountain Labs LLC, agricultural-products manufacturer BioHumaNetics Inc.

and hospital operator Scottsdale Healthcare. The council, the state's largest association of technology companies, now has more than 400 members. www.aztechcouncil.org. Mayo's clinics continue contract with Alliance Phoenix-based Alliance Medical which reprocesses single-use medical devices, announced Monday that Mayo Foundation has extended its agreement with Alliance for medical-device reprocessing services. Alliance provides its services at the Mayo Foundation's three clinic locations in Rochester, Jacksonville, and Scottsdale.

The renewal of this contract extends Mayo's three-year relationship with Alliance for additional five years. www.alliance-medical.com. Staff and wire reports For the Salt Lake City-based Bonneville, the deal will bring the company back into the Phoenix market in a big way. Bonneville hasn't owned a Phoenix station since KIDR-AM (740) in the late '90s. "It's good business strategy for us," Haslam said.

"We've always had a desire to return to the Phoenix market, so this is a good opportunity." The addition of KTAR to the Bonneville family particularly excites the company, Haslam said. Bonneville has enjoyed success with the talk format through stations WTOP and KSL in Salt Lake City. The deal leaves KKFR-FM (92.3) as Emmis' only station in the Valley. The change means new duties for Nyren, who will oversee the Chicago, Phoenix and Indianapolis markets for Emmis. He will move to Chicago after Dec.

1, at which time new general managers should be in place at the Phoenix stations. Losing Nyren "is very hard for us," said Vrable, the KTAR program director. "He's very well liked. It's two losses for us: losing Marv and losing Emmis." Reach the reporter at randy.cordova ari2onarepublic.com or (602) 444-8849. From Pajie Dl On its Web site, the company describes itself as a "values-driven company composed of values-driven people." Bonneville officials said the company will retain all Phoenix employees and plans no format changes.

"We never changed any of the stations we acquire if they're successful," said Craig Haslam, director of public affairs for Bonneville. "The Phoenix stations are successful as they are." KTAR staffers called other Bonneville stations to see what the overall mood was like. "I bet (Bonneville-owned) WTOP (in Washington, D.C.) got 50 calls the first 10 minutes," Nyren said with a laugh. The other Bonneville workers told KTAR's staff "Bonneville lets them do what they want. They're radio people, and everyone calmed down pretty much." Tisa Vrable, KTAR program director, is optimistic.

"Everything I've heard about Bonneville as a company has been great," she said. "It's encouraging. Now it's just a matter of getting to know them." For Emmis, the company will own two stations in Chicago, the nation's third-largest radio market. They also said 2 million of their 6.5 million workers will lose their jobs within two years if the do-not-call rules stand. A federal judge in Denver agreed with the telemarketers, but the circuit court upheld the registry in February 2004.

In other business-related action Monday, the high court: Rebuffed a bid by Visa International Inc. and MasterCard International Inc. to continue barring 34,000 member banks from distributing credit cards of American Express Co. and Morgan Stanley's Discover Card unit. Banks that issued MasterCard and Visa credit cards had been barred from also offering credit cards from other companies.

Refused to block a billion-dollar lawsuit that accuses Altria Group Philip Morris unit of illegally discriminating against vending-machine companies by giving promotional payments to retailers. Bloomberg News contributed to this story. Associated Press WASHINGTON The Supreme Court turned away a challenge Monday to the federal Do Not Call Registry, ending telemarketers' bid to invoke free-speech arguments to get the popular ban on unwanted phone solicitations thrown out. The court, without comment, let stand a 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals decision that upheld the registry of more than 64 million phone numbers as a reasonable government attempt to safeguard personal privacy and reduce telemarketing abuse.

Under the 2003 federal law, businesses face fines of up to $11,000 if they call people who sign up for the registry, unless they have recently done business with them. Charities, pollsters and callers on behalf of politicians, however, are exempt. Telemarketing groups had filed the appeal, arguing in filings that the registry violated First Amendment rights because it singled out businesses while exempting groups. --7 JUf We have your truck, 4f f.j,i- rnrnor nf CrntttHala Road and McDowel i i urn ta Mcuoweu. jLuuaua nm umm wnm muaxH mil in? Bu.se.M LgLJ Body by Auto Safety House, LLC Scottsdah't only family owned Ford dealership,.