Arizona Republic from Phoenix, Arizona • Page 64

TODAY'S BUZZ Spanish-language TV network Telemundo to cut staff in Phoenix and Tucson Spanish-language TV network Telemundo will eliminate jobs in Phoenix and Tucson, and two of its locally produced newscasts as part of a cost-cutting plan announced this week by NBC Universal, the parent company. Corporate executives declined to say how many of its 23 news-related staff members in the two cities would be laid off, but Ibra Morales, president of Telemundo, said that "by the end of the year, there's going to be a group of people that will not have jobs with Telemundo." The stations, KTAZ in Phoenix and KHRR in Tucson, will continue to air their 5 p.m. and 10 p.m. newscasts but will cluster news operations. An unspecified number of staff members in Phoenix and Tucson will feed "two or three" local stories to Dallas-Fort Worth, he said.

Other markets affected are Dallas, San Antonio, Houston and San Jose. On Thursday, NBC Universal announced a restructuring plan designed to cut 700 jobs and save $750 million a year. Yvonne Wingett More Business Buzz, D2 KEY DATA Executive opinions Executives are more optimistic about their own businesses than they are about the overall economy, accordingto a survey of 301 business leaders. Optimistic about: The economy Their own businesses 73 43 I Kathy Tulumello, business editor, 602.444.NEWS or kathy.tulumello(a)arizonarepublic.com 30 2004 2005 2006 Sources: Gannett News Service, Business Optimism Index SATURDAY, OCTOBER 21, 2006 SECTION THE ARIZONA REPUBLIC money.azcentral.com Q) D) 'Green' luxury hotel to hit Valley Holiday shoppers are opening wallets Markets end mixed: The Dow industrials fell slightly Friday to close the week, but still managed to stay above the 12,000 mark in another record-setting week. Broader markets showed slight gains.

Market summary, D4 Analysts feel good, but not great, about retailers' most vital season For updated stock quotes, send text message with STOEKTICKER I HI (e g. MSFT) or FUNDTICKER (e.g. Arizona business blogs: Check our regular updates on Arizona business news at blogs. Click on "Business Blogs" and chime in. We have blogs on the news of the day as well as on moneypersonal finance, real estate, shopping, workplace issues, entrepreneurs and biotech.

By Peter Corbett The Arizona Republic Scottsdale will be among the first five locations for an environmentally friendly luxury hotel chain planned by Starwood Capital Group and its chairman, Barry Sternlicht. The new concept, called 1 Hotel and Residences, will open in Seattle by late 2008, with the others to follow in Paris; Fort Lauderdale, Mammoth Lakes, Calif; and at the Scottsdale Waterfront. Starwood Capital, a Waterfront development partner, will build the hotel of at least 150 rooms in the mixed-use project at Scottsdale and Camelback roads. Scottsdale tourism leaders are encouraged by plans for another downtown hotel. Nearly $200 million has been spent on new and renovated hotels in the past two years.

Ned Sickle, Scottsdale Tourism Development Commission chairman, said the eco-friendly hotel could attract tourists who might not otherwise visit Scottsdale. "Hopefully, we can get them to come back on a regular basis," he said. Sternlicht of Starwood Capital is former chairman of Starwood Hotels and Resorts. He is credited with launching the Hotel brand, which is coming to downtown Scottsdale next year. 1 PAT SHANN AH ANTHE ARIZONA REPUBLIC Sharon Candelaria gets a jump on the holiday shopping rush Thursday by browsing at the Pad dock Pools Christmas More at bcottsdale hashion square.

Merck income declines: Drugmaker Merck Co. on Friday posted a 34 percent drop in third-quarter net income because of flat sales, restructuring costs and higher overhead. Earnings reports, D4 Importers' secrecy upheld: The government is allowed to keep secret the identities of companies that import products subject to tariffs in order to protect competition, a federal judge rules in rejecting a Freedom of Information Act request by Gilda Industries Inc. The company had sued the U.S. Customs and Border Protection Bureau, seeking the identities of more than 200 rival importers of toasted breads from Spain.

Personal data on the Web love it or leave it: Major Internet search engines keep records of your searches for weeks, months or even years. Retailers, meanwhile, generally presume the right to send marketing e-mails. The choice for the consumers? Live with it, or log off. D3 Holiday shopping destinations Driven by sales and low prices, more than two-thirds of consumers say they will shop at discounters for holiday merchandise. Here is where consumers say they will shop during the holidays: Discount stores: 70.3 percent.

Specialty stores: 48.4 percent. Grocery stores: 49.3 percent Drug stores: 21 percent. Craftsfabric stores: 20.5 percent Online: 47.1 percent. Total exceeds 100 percent because shoppers picked multiple Source: National Retail Federation By Erica Sagon The Arizona Republic Gas at $3 a gallon was shaping up to play the role of Grinch this holiday shopping season. But a month before the annual buying binge begins in earnest, cheaper fuel appears to be putting consumers in the mood to buy T.M.X.

Elmos, plasma TVs and other gifts. Most industry experts are still predicting moderate sales increases for the nation's retailers, who are in their critical fourth quarter. Plenty of other factors, including higher credit-card payments and a slowing housing market, are on the minds of consumers as they See SHOPPERS Page D3 Insight's options in question YouTube removes copyrighted files: The popular video-sharing site YouTube deleted nearly 30,000 files after a Japanese entertainment group complained of copyright infringement. The Japan Society for Rights of Authors, Composers and Publishers, found 29,549 video clips such as television shows, music videos and movies posted on YouTube's site without permission. YouTube's policy is to remove such clips after it receives complaints, though some have suggested the startup eventually could be sued, especially with deep-pocketed Google Inc.

about to buy it for $1.65 billion in stock. Aston Martin may have buyers: Billionaires Ber- nard Arnault and Albert Frere are considering a bid for Aston Martin, the luxury automaker that Ford has put up for sale, the Financial Times of London reports. Aston Martin makes about 5,000 cars a year, costing about $100,000 each. Automakers use events to sell vehicles ri-i 1 1 Operating intelligently: In Sun City West, Sun Health Del E. Webb Memorial Hospital is the leader in Arizona using intelligent operating rooms, called i-Suites or smart suites, to do the most precise work possible in the orthopedic world of hip and knee replacement.

D5 Tell us your story: Have an interesting experience from your earlier working days? Send an account of 300 words or fewer to rose.tring (ffiarizonarepublic.com. By Max Jartnan The Arizona Republic Tempe-based Insight Enterprises Inc. is the latest Arizona company to run into potential trouble with stock options. The $3.2 billion-a-year computer products reseller said Friday that it had appointed a special committee to review its option-award practices and that it would not be able to file financial reports for the third quarter, which ended Sept. 30, by the Nov.

9 deadline. The committee was appointed after the firm and certain officers and directors were named Sept. 21 in a lawsuit by a stockholder over stock options from 1997 to 2002. The company has not indicated that the Securities and Exchange Commission is involved in the investigation. Quarterly financial reports are due to the SEC 35 days after the end of the quarter.

Missing the deadline could put Insight out of compliance with listing requirements for the Nasdaq stock exchange, on which its See INSIGHT Pane D4 By Bob Golfen The Arizona Republic When 30,000 truck people converge on Firebird International Raceway this weekend, auto dealers and manufacturers will be there to haul in some business. In an atmosphere of monster-truck competitions, drag racing and a gigantic truck show, the demographic group that's most likely to buy pickups, SUVs and off-road trucks will be out in force. So automakers will have their trucks at the track for everybody to try out. One of the attractions of Firebird's eighth-annual Tire Pros Truck and 4X4 Nationals is the manufacturers' "ride and drive," in which anyone with a license can FIREBIRD INTERNATIONAL RACEWAY Ford pickup trucks are tested at an off-road "ride and drive" course created at Firebird International Raceway for the Tire Pros Truck and 4X4 Nationals. Tire Pros Truck 4x4 Nationals What: More than 300 trucks competing in drag racing, 4x4 Toughest Truck Championship, monster-truck show and competition, and custom-truck show.

Event also includes off -road test drives for spectators. Where: Firebird International Raceway, Interstate 10 east of the Wild Horse Pass exit in Chandler. When: Gates open at 9 a.m. today and Sunday. Admission: $24 at the gate each day or $38 for both days.

Children 12 and younger free. Information: (602) 262-0200 or www.firebirdraceway.com. See TRUCKS Page 1)3 Tips for debit-card users: Debit cards are a popular way to pay for purchases. The folks at Consumer Reports have a few suggestions, which appear in full in its November issue, for making sure you use debit cards wisely: Know your liability for fraud: You're on the hook for up to $50 if you report a lost card within two days. But if you don't report within 60 days of a statement, then you could be footing the entire amount fraudulently taken out of your account.

Limit fraud exposure: Cards using a PIN (personal identification number) are considered much more secure than signature-based cards. Avoid ATM fees: If you use your card to pull out cash, avoid the standard $2 ATM fee by getting cash when you make a purchase. Some stores offer cash back, so plan appropriately. Beware of merchant charges: Some merchants will tack on a fee for using a debit card. Try to waive those fees by complaining to the store manager and to MasterCard or Visa.

YVetfe Armendariz More money tips at: mymoney.azcentral.com Recruiting of nurses intensifying as winter nears To avoid that this year, hospitals started planning in August for the double-whammy winter season that has more patients because of increase in winter visitors and fewer staff members because of illness and holidays. Intensifying this year's problem: for a busy winter and hire hundreds of nurses in a tight health care labor market. Last winter was so busy that one hospital took an unprecedented step and closed its emergency departments for three hours in January. The closure focused nationwide attention on Arizona's overtaxed emergency By Jodie Snyder The Arizona Republic You're a nurse, and you're thinking about working at one of the John C. Lincoln hospitals.

Debbie Hansford and Norma Li-neback can give you the straight scoop right from Three-South unit. work a phone bank Sunday to answer questions about working at one of Lincoln's two hospitals. Hospital officials said they believe it's the first time this type of nurse-to-nurse talks has been used to help with hiring. The phone bank is an innovative twist to a perennial problem faced bv Valley hospitals: how to gear up f-ources: staff reports. AMI -iated Press.

Bloomberpi I The two veteran nurses will Sv" NURSES Paw 02 1 'Ulii nr'tV.