The Des Moines Register from Des Moines, Iowa • Page 27

The Des Moines Register GC BUSINESS Saturday, March 26, 2005 Page 7C Business Briefcase From the Register's staff and news services KCGI-TV news sweeps February ratings period February TV news ratings Ratings for local newscasts, Monday through Friday (the first number is a rating point, the percentage of all television households. The second number is the share, the percentage of all television sets turned on during that time period. One rating point equals 4,120 households): pfi I III Minneapolis. Busiek said he hopes to have an anchor hired in time for the May ratings period. WHO general manager Jim Boyer said if KCCI viewers choose to start sampling other stations' newscasts, that would be reflected during the next ratings period.

He was pleased with his station's February numbers. Although they still significantly trail KCCI, both WOI and KDSM showed some improvement in February. WOI's 11a.m., 5 p.m. and 10 p.m. newscasts all made small gains.

KDSM, which broadcasts a 9 p.m. newscast that is produced by its sister station in Cedar Rapids, had its ratings improve slightly. About 5 percent of households watching television at 9 p.m. on weeknights watched KDSM. Register television critic Jeffrey Bruner can be reached at (515) 284-8266 or jbrunerdmreg.com By JEFFREY BRUNER REGISTER TELEVISION CRITIC Des Moines television station KCCI won all five newscasts during the Nielsen rating period in February, although its competitors also gained viewers.

"We won all the newscasts and the major ones by a double-digit lead, in terms of shares," KCCI news director Dave Busiek said. "That says they're incredibly strong newscasts." KCCI also won the 18-to-49 and 25-to-54 age groups two demographic groups sought by some advertisers. "If you can win the younger audiences like we do and be even stronger with older viewers, that says there's strength up and down the lineup," Busiek said. February was the final ratings month for longtime KCCI anchor Jeanette Trompeter, who left after 10 years to take a job at WCCO in KCCI WHO WOI Time (8) (13) (5) 5-7 a.m. 534 433 13 Noon 834 625 212 5 p.m.

1435 924 25 6 p.m. 1734 1123 10 p.m. 2040 1428 23 WOI's newscast is 11 a.m. to noon. Source: Nielsen Media Research i-0 1 1 1 Profits and assets at Principal Bank steadily rose from the Des Moines financial institution's 1998 founding until mid-2004.

Then, half its assets disappeared and it went into the red when its parent, Principal Financial Group sold its home loan business to CitiMortgage. YEAR PROFITLOSS (MILLIONS) Buy now, gain $56,000: Sherry and Markam Hersh's home in Georgia is appraised at $365,000, but they have yet to find a buyer even after knocking down their asking price to $309,000. Interest rates may cool hot housing market 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 1 QUARTER First Second Third PROFITLOSS $0.711 (MILLIONS) Fourth Source: Office of Thrift Supervision 3 ASSETS (BILLIONS) $.013 $.113 $-519 BS1-11 EZS $1-54 ESS $2.01 1 ASSETS (BILLIONS) ES31 $2.22 $2.34 C3 $1-26 $1.22 THE REGISTER customers by telephone, through the mail, and via the Internet. The bank's administrative offices are at 6200 Park Ave. in Des Moines.

The bank's goal, Christman said, is to build the number of accounts and number of products or services each client has with the bank. Now, she said, that numbers between two and three accounts or products per customer. That services-per-customer count is low for a traditional brick-and-mortar bank, said Greg McBride of BankRate.com. However, he said that for online banks, which don't offer safe deposit boxes or some types of loans, Principal's services count is in keeping with its peers. Principal Bank loses $3.3 million HOUSES, from Page 8C At the same time, the median price for new homes where half sell for more and half sell for less rose 5 percent from a year earlier to a record $230,700 in February.

For existing homes, the median price was $191,000 last month, an 11 percent increase from the same month a year ago. Stories of bidding wars pushing sales prices far above their asking prices continue to circulate in many cities. Even so, economists are forecasting that home sales and ever-escalating prices are likely to cool if mortgage rates continue to head higher this year. Rates on 30-year, fixed-rate mortgages rose this week for the sixth week in a row and now average just more than 6 percent nationwide. A year ago, they averaged 5.4 percent.

"What's happening with rates is hurting the seller worse than it is the buyer, and home prices will flatten out if not go a little lower," said Bob Long, president of the Georgia Association of Mortgage Brokers. In California, some industry observers are projecting a gradual $1.5 I $9.4 $3.04 $0,947 but the bank is working on other ways to distribute the loan products, such as by sales people employed by Principal Financial Group, who are selling other products. Christman said the bank also sees growth as a repository for money used to fund Health Savings Accounts. Congress recently approved use of these accounts, which allow people to build up money tax-free that they can use to pay for qualified medical expenses. About 3,500 people already have opened such accounts with Principal Bank this year.

The bank has about 118,000 accounts. The bank, which employs about 130 people, is known as an "e-bank," or electronic bank, because it conducts business with its 5 AROUND THE MIDWEST May taps Dunham as chairman, CEO May Department Stores Co. has tapped John Dunham as its chairman and chief executive in advance of the retailer's $11 billion acquisition by rival Federated Department Stores Inc. May's executive compensation and development committee also increased Dunham's annual base salary by $100,000 to $1.15 million, retroactive to when he assumed duties of acting chairman and chief executive after the Jan. 14 resignation of Gene Kahn.

Dunham, 58, already had been May's president. Dunham also got a $578,841 bo nus and the option to buy 75,000 shares of May stock. The St. Louis-based company operates Lord Taylor, Famous-Barr, the Jones Store, Filene's and other regional department stores. AROUND IOWA Qwest opens kiosk in Merle Hay Mall Qwest Communications this week opened a retail presence in Merle Hay Mall.

Like similar kiosks already launched in Valley West Mall, Jordan Creek Town Center and North Grand Mall in Ames, the "Solution Centers" allow customers to buy telephone, Internet, wireless or satellite television services from the telecommunications company. AROUND THE GLOBE Wal-Mart director quits after internal probe A senior board member of Wal- Mart Stores Inc. resigned Friday following an internal investigation related to personal reimbursements, billing and company gift cards. In addition to Thomas Coughlin, three Wal-Mart employees, including one company officer, lost their jobs in connection with the probe. The employees were not identified.

Coughlin, a 28-year veteran of the company, was most recently the board's vice chairman. Ruling: A judge ruled that Northwest Airlines Corp. must redeem $226 million in preferred shares of stock the airline issued to employees more than 10 years ago as part of wage-cut negotiations. The airline had agreed to redeem the preferred stock in 2003. But when redemption time came, the airline faced renewed financial troubles and decided it would be impossible to do so.

The unions representing flight attendants and ground workers sued. Tax shelter crackdown: The Internal Revenue Service has collected more than $3.2 billion, mainly from wealthy people, in its most ambitious effort to crack down on improper tax shelters. There's been "some real pain" among the 1,165 taxpayers who are participating in the "Son of Boss" tax shelter settlement, IRS Commissioner Mark Everson said. "Some people have had to sell their villas and yachts" to come up with the money, Everson said. The agency should garner $3.5 billion before the project concludes in the coming months, he said.

ING Stake: ING Groep NV will buy a 19.9 percent stake in Bank of Beijing in a deal worth 1.78 billion yuan ($215 million) the Dutch bank's first acquisition in China. In addition, International Finance the financing arm of the World Bank, plans to acquire a 5 percent stake in the Beijing bank, China's 16th largest commercial lender. ING Groep also owns ING insur ance, which has operations in Des Moines. AIG update: American International Group one of the world's biggest insurance companies, reportedly is considering a move to clean up suspected accounting mistakes that may total as much as $3 billion from as many as 30 insurance transactions. AIG has yet to assess an additional 60 transactions that internal investigators have identified as possibly problematic.

SEC decision: General Electric Co. should allow shareholders to vote on a proposal by an animal rights group to stop animal testing, the Securities and Exchange Commission said. People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals said it has also won the right to place such plans on the agenda for shareholder votes at Dow Chemical 3M Johnson Johnson and Schering-Plough Corp. RIC FELDASSOCIATED PRESS slowdown in prices as borrowing costs rise and affordability becomes an even more acute issue. High-end homes in Chicago, those priced at $1 million and up, are not selling as fast as they did in recent months, said Barbara Frankel-Abrams, vice president of sales at Jameson Realty Group.

"Maybe carrying a quarter-per cent increase (in interest) is more formidable at that price," she said. Not everyone is predicting that ballooning home sale prices will burst with rising interest rates. In the Boston area, Maggie Tomkiewicz, president of the Massachusetts Association of Re altors, said that if anything, rising rates may lead to increased home sales in the short-term, as buyers anticipating further rate increases try to jump in the market. That sentiment has been lost on Sherry Hersh and her husband. They have already lowered the price of their Marietta, home to $309,000, and still have not got ten a good otter despite the home being appraised at $365,000.

"We've had some offers, but they Ve been very, very low and by builders who want to basically knock our house down and build a $500,000 home on our property," Sherry Hersh said. Rep. Jamie Van Fossen, R-Davenport, the chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, said he believes there is plenty of the support for the legislation. He predicted that the proposal should move forward from his committee within a week or two. "The proponents of the track have done their homework," he said.

"They've done a good job of talking with leadership on both sides." James Aipperspach, president of the Iowa Association of Business and Industry, said his organization has taken no position on the Newton sales tax issue. In general terms, however, he said the proposal could be good for Newton and for Iowa. While the state would not initially get sales tax revenue from the track, the races would draw people to Newton, where they would pay sales taxes at other businesses, such as motels and restaurants, Aipperspach said. In addition, he said, Iowa needs to take some risks to continue to develop attractions that will improve the state's quality of life and help Iowa's economy to grow. Jim Riese, president of the Polk-Des Moines Taxpayers Association, said his group is taking no position on the issue because it focuses on local, not state, tax matters.

In general terms, however, he said "economic incentive issues have to be carefully thought out because there is a point where it doesn't make financial sense." Reporter William Ryberg can be reached at (515)284-8104 or brybergdnireg.coin Lawmakers support deal for Newton track PRINCIPAL, from Page 8C the day of the CitiMortgage deal. In the third quarter, Principal Bank lost $711,000. Christman noted that by the fourth quarter Principal Bank had returned to profitability. "It was not an impact on the bank's business model," Christman said of the sale. During 2004, she said, underlying growth at Principal Bank was healthy, with savings accounts rising 14 percent and the bank's home-equity loan portfolio jumping 30 percent.

The home-equity business will be a key part of Principal Bank's future growth, Christman said. The bank now issues those loans via the Internet or by direct marketing, Livestock SLAUGHTER Cattle Hogs Sheep Today 105,000 357.000 8,000 Weekago 101,000 340,000 11,000 Year ago 122,000 369000 11,000 PEORIA Hogs: 450 Trading moderately active: barrows and gilts are steady. 1-2 230-260 lbs. 44.50-45.00; 2-3 260-280 lbs. 43.00-44.50.

Sows: All sows are steady; 1-3 300-400 lbs. 41.00; 400-500 lbs. 43.00; 500-700 lbs. 44.00. Boars: Over 300 lbs.

14.00; under 300 lbs. 39.00. Cattle: None. Find your next job! careeibuilder DesM0inesRe9ister.com Stic 5 Bftoliw Brjititrr Full of Lite mm 7 20 TAX, from Page 8C other attractions that want to capture new sales tax revenue. But McCoy said he wants to help Newton, which has struggled with layoffs by its major employer, Maytag Corp.

A spokesman for Gov. Tom Vil-sack said the governor's office is reviewing the measure. Earlier this year, Polk County officials said they would like to push a proposal to allow state sales tax generated by the nearly completed Iowa Events Center to go toward the facility's upkeep. Sen. Mark Zieman, R-Postville, the chairman of the Senate Ways and Means Committee, said there is growing support for the racetrack proposal.

He said the sales tax deal would help the Newton-area economy but not cost the state any money that now flows into the treasury. "Unless things really change, I think this thing is going to move forward," he said. "It's generated an awful lot of excitement." Zieman and McCoy predicted the bill would gain approval Tuesday by the Senate committee. McCoy said it could even be debated on the Senate floor as early as next week. Sen.

Mike Gronstal of Council Bluffs, the Senate Democratic leader, said the idea merits further consideration. "It's going to take revenues we wouldn't get otherwise and dedicate them to help financing for this track," Gronstal said. "On the surface, I am not hostile to that," although he added that he wants to learn more. 2005 GMC Yukon Denali PERFORMANCE MEETS LUXURY The 2005 GMC Yukon Denali is a truck as capable as it is stylish. With a standard Vortec 6000 engine, the Yukon Denali has a towing capacity of 8,100 lbs and includes AutoRide suspension system and StabiliTrak for enhanced control.

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