The Palm Beach Post from West Palm Beach, Florida • Page 45

The Palm Beach Post I Dm, Fannie Mae bosses face possible ouster over accounting problems. 2D Johnson Johnson may face regulatory issues in Guidant buy. 3D FRIDAY, DECEMBER 17, 2004 PalmBeachPost.com ij Lzj ADOW: 10,705.64 (14.19) TNASDAQ: 2,146.15 500: 1,203.21 RUSSELL 2000: 642.23 A 10-YR NOTE: 4.19 (0.1 1) 5) ffietoirs drafted to woira THE MORNING LINE Markets finish day with mixed results Facing a shortage, Good Samaritan puts all of its orthopedic surgeons on call. Some surgeons resign. especially hard to come by.

Over the past year, a number of county hospitals including Jupiter Medical Center and Columbia Hospital reduced or eliminated emergency neurological or neurosurgical care. "The specialist coverage continues to be an increased challenge and increased concern," said Dwight Chenette, CEO of the Health Care District of Palm Beach County. "It's really reached crisis levels." Soaring medical malpractice insurance costs, fears of being See SURGEONS, 2D voked the orthoiedic department's 15-year rule, which allows surgeons to stop being on call after 15 years at the hospital. Revoking the rule means all the orthopedic surgeons with hospital privileges are required by hospital bylaws to be on call, Good Samaritan Chief Executive Paul Echelard wrote in a Dec. 13 letter to the surgeons.

Good Sam's policy change comes at a time when Palm Beach County hospitals are struggling to recruit enough emergency specialists. Obstetricians, neurologists and hand surgeons are tal found itself in this predicament because most of its 20 orthopedic surgeons don't want to take turns in the emergency room. Paying just four of the specialists for treating emergency patients could look suspicious. Good Samaritan tackled the problem this week by drafting all its orthopedic surgeons into emergency care. The hospital re By STEPHANIE H0RVATH Palm Beach Post Staff Writer Only four orthopedic surgeons were willing to work in Good Samaritan Medical Center's emergency room, and the hospital didn't want to pay them, fearing federal health regulators would think the payments were kickbacks.

The West Palm Beach hospi Motorola closes last Boynton building The move signals the end of an era for the once-thriving plant. HOLIDAY DESIGNS 7 CONVENIENT POPULAR 7 I ft fJ fj rm lllllil NEW YORK Stocks finished Thursday's session mixed in an uneven trading day, with less-than-stellar economic data pressuring stocks and upbeat corporate news, including Johnson Johnson's $25.4 billion deal to buy Guidant giving investors reasons to buy. The Dow Jones industrial average rose 14. 19, or 0. 13 percent, to 10,705.64.

The broader gauges were moderately lower. The Standard Poor's 500 index was down 2.51, or 0.21 percent, at 1,203.21, while the Nasdaq composite index lost 16.40, or 0.76 percent, to 2,146.15. Symantec to buy Veritas Software SAN FRANCISCO Computer security giant Symantec Corp. is buying storage and backup program specialist Veritas Software Corp. to create the world's fourth-largest software maker, marking the latest merger in an industry trend that's expected to compress the competition to a few juggernauts.

Oil stabilizes after price hike VIENNA, Austria Oil futures stabilized Thursday after a jump in prices the previous day that reflected a drop in U.S. crude and heating oil stocks even as demand was rising with cold weather spreading across the U.S. Northeast and Midwest. January crude futures fell a penny to $44.18 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Prices had spiked Wednesday after the U.S.

Department of Energy reported a drop in supplies, but traders said the market appeared set to move in the present narrow range for the rest of the year. Dollar climbs against currencies NEW YORK -The U.S. dollar rose against the euro and other major currencies Thursday as the U.S. government reported a current account deficit in the third quarter that was a record high though not as large as had been predicted. The euro had edged up to less than a half-cent below its all-time high of $1.3470 before the data was released, then fell back to $1.3249 in late New York trading.

The dollar also climbed to 104.78 yen from 104.23 yen late Wednesday, 1.1575 Swiss francs from 1.1406, and 1.2335 Canadian dollars from 1.2257. Hershey's products face price hike HERSHEY, Pa. People looking for that next chocolate fix might find it a little bit more expensive Thursday after Hershey Food Corp. said it will raise wholesale prices to offset higher raw material and other production costs. The company increased the prices for about half of its domestic confectionery line, effective immediately.

Prices for the company's standard chocolate bar will go up 5.8 percent, effective immediately. Survey: Mortgage rates decline WASHINGTON Rates on 30-year and 15-year mortgages dipped this week, good news for prospective home buyers. Freddie Mac's weekly survey released Thursday showed that rates on 30-year, fixed-rate mortgages declined to 5.68 percent, compared with 5.71 percent last week. Rates on 15-year, fixed-rate mortgages sank to 5.11 percent this week, from 5.14 percent last week. Medicare substitute plan unveiled Humana the state's largest Medicare HMO company, released details on its new preferred provider organization for seniors on Thursday.

Called Humana Choice PPO, the option is available as a substitute for Medicare. Premiums range from $39 to $119 a month and the PPO has no deductible. It will be offered in Palm Beach County as of Jan. 1. Option values must be deducted NEW YORK The nation's accounting rulemaker decided Thursday that companies will have to begin deducting the value of stock options from their profits next year, reigning in a cheap way to compensate workers that had been abused by executives and clouded earnings.

The move was cheered by shareholder advocates but scorned by many companies who rely heavily on options to beef up compensation packages. Compiled from Palm Beach Post staff and wire services The pump primer Average prices for regular grade fuel as of Thursday. Staff file photo Gift cards, once considered a somewhat lazy gift, are becoming more and more popular options for the holidays. Dear Santa, make my gifts all cards By STEPHEN POUNDS Palm Beach Post Staff Writer The last remaining building of Motorola's Boynton Beach operation closes today, ending a 21-vear tenure here that peaked 10 years ago when the firm had 3,500 employees. The Schaumburg, Ill-based wireless giant announced in January the end was coming, but it had been anticipated for years as the company shrank local operations.

"It was my first job out of college, and working there was the equivalent of getting an MBA," said Chris Dardet a former Motorola employee now in business in Boca Raton. "The quality of work and processes there were like no other. It still benefits me today." The last 375 of Motorola's employees worked from a leased building in Quantum Corporate Park in Boynton; they were dismissed on a quarterly basis. The first group left in March. Ultimately, the company laid off 240 employees and transferred 135 to other sites.

"It's been like a slow-moving wheel here in terms of what happened," City Manager Kurt Bressner said. "Interestingly, a number of former Motorolans are staying here. They love it and have gone on to other things." Among those are the city's assistant director of human resources and a document archivist in the development department Bressner said. "We've been able to reap the intellectual capital that's left Motorola, as has a number of local companies," he said. The only Motorola employees working until the bitter end are engineers involved in the development of mobile phones.

The last of our hand-set employees are being transferred to (Motorola's) Plantation plant and the only people left in the building are Freescale Inc. employees," Motorola spokeswoman Jennifer Weyraueh said Thursday. Freescale is a Motorola spinoff of its semiconductor division. They can stay on the See MOTOROLA, 4D ley, a for the By PAUtOWERS Palm Beach Post Staff Writer Connie Strano is way too hard to shop for. The 24-year-old Delray Beach resident has all the jewelry, purses and shoes she needs and says well-meaning though it's the ugliest thing you've ever seen in your life," Strano said with a chuckle.

In this era of suede sneakers, mini-MP3 players and watches with Art Deco dials, there's plenty of toys and trinkets that people already have. SEARS the cad with more in store CM gift-givers have almost no chance to get it right Unless they invest in plastic. Strano, along with millions of Americans, loves to receive gift cards from Target, Home Depot, Bed Bath Beyond and myriad other retailers. 1 tie truth is, everybody's hard to buy for. Gift-givers aren't giving up at least we hope not but more are starting to let us pick out our own presents.

While paper gift certificates have been around for years, cards slide comfortably National Retail Federation, a Washington, D.C.-based trade group. More than half of consumers surveyed say they'd like to receive gift cards, according to a study conducted for the NRF. That's up about 10 percent from two years ago. The same study found that nearly three quarters of consumers will buy gift cards during the holidays, up about 5 percent from 2003. Nationwide, consumers are expected to spend $17.34 billion on gift cards this holiday season, an increase of about $100 million from last year.

"I remember when gift cards were misperceived as the lazy gift" said Don Harrison, spokesman for Atlanta-based Home Depot "The allegation was that you didn't really put any thought into it but we've See GIFT CARDS, 4D The cards, some decorated with bright colors and holiday designs, are easy and convenient And just think of all those awkward moments that never have to happen. "You don't have to say, 'Oh, thank you so even into wallets, and cash registers keep track of any remaining balance. If you lose the card, some retailers will issue a replacement. "We've seen technology partner with marketing and consumer interest to really catapult gift cards," said Ellen Tol- Last week This week West Palm Beach-Boca Raton Cold blast may freeze tomatoes at higher prices $2.05 $2.03 $2.03 $2.01 Martin County $2.00 St Luck) County $1-99 Indian River County $2.01 $1.97 Fort Lauderdale $1.96 Miami $1.96 Orlando $1.88 Florida $1.92 about 75 percent to 80 percent of normal and has been steady for the past three weeks, said Reggie Brown, manager of the Maitland-based Florida Tomato Committee. "If you can fix the weather next week, we will stay that way," Brown said.

"It will be a serious problem here if we freeze." For the short term, the prices are slowly improving for them or cut back, as some national restaurant chains did. "We use them in the salads, sauces and soups," Lograsso said Thursday at his Woolbright Road location west of Boynton Beach. "You can't substitute." This week, the price is down to a more palatable $15 a box, thanks to the return of the Florida tomato crop. The Great Tomato Crunch of 2004, then, appears to be easing. But there's one more problej, and it's the same one that caused the shortage in the first place: the weather.

This time, it's not another hurricane, but a blast of cold air from the North. The National W'eather Service said Thursday that near-freezing temperatures are possible Tuesday morning in portions of interior South Florida, especially around Lake Okeechobee and north of Alligator Alley. Florida's tomato crop is a By SUSAN SALISBURY Palm Beach Post Staff Writer Vince Lograsso knows something about the horrors of high tomato prices. At his four Mamma Mia Italian Restaurants, more than 1,000 pounds of them are chopped, simmered and served each week. After a hurricane-induced lag in the tomato crop slimmed supplies, Lograsso was paying up to $50 for a 25-pound case of tomatoes.

But he didn't stop serving $2.03 $2.01 $1.92 $1.97 STAFF GRAPHIC Source: AAA, Oil Price Information Service PaimBeachPost.com: Post the lowest fuel prices you've found In your area aid read what othe(s say. Click on Business. jee lUMATOES,.