St. Louis Post-Dispatch from St. Louis, Missouri • Page 56

E2 ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH BUSINESS SUNDAY, JUNE 13, 1999 www.postnet.com Spotlight Stock on the web A $5.00 i 45! I i i TWA News that union workers appear to be rejecting St. Louis-based Trans World Airlines' contract offer hasn't helped the stock, which closed Friday at a bit over $4.43. That's a low for the year to date and down from a high Feb. 5 of $6,8712.

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FRI. 64 67 68 69 610 611 By Christopher Carey Of the Post-Dispatch Site of the Week: Bankrate.com, an online publication of Intelligent Life provides online consumers with financial data, research and editorial information on non-investment financial products. The site provides information on mortgages, credit cards, new and used auto loans, money market accounts and CDs, checking and ATM fees, home equity lines and loans and online banking fees gathered from more than 2,500 financial institutions in 120 markets in 50 states and Puerto Rico. Included in a separate channel are prod-. ucts targeted for small business.

The site offers a collection of calculators for figuring loan and income rates. Two other popular features are the weekly review of bank web sites and the list of special deals for Internet banking customers. http:www.bankrate.eomb rmdefault.asp This week on postnet.com: you are in pain or your head hurts, what do you take for relief? Post your response at Or comment in our Current Affairs forum at http:www.postnet.compo stnetforumscurraff.nsf Last week's Poll: Nearly half of the 85 readers (44 percent responding to last week's insurance poll say their health insurance is most important to them. Coming in second was home insurance, with 16 percent of the vote, while 15 percent of readers favor keeping their automobile insurance. Ten readers (12 percent) say life insurance is their top choice, while four people (5 percent) said they'd take their chances and not have any insurance.

Despite living on the edge of the New Madrid fault, no one selected earthquake If ft a too rTT ifiliiiiiiMiiM i in' rnrirwwr if wmii 1111111 ina' mum niiif iim The cafe, a refurbished 750-square-foot lounge near Gate D-6 in the Main Terminal, will feature sandwiches and drinks as well as offer six monitors with free Internet access.The original June date to begin the remodeling was rescheduled because of concerns with the prototype designs, such as improving customer service areas and ensuring adequate desk space for computers and food. Michael Hines Who runs WWF is turning into a regular wrestle royal It's a good thing Wall Street investment bankers aren't disciples of the World Wrestling Federation's Monday night cable extravaganza. The action on the increasingly soap opera-ish telecast contained enough ownership and management intrigue to body slam the ny's planned $750 million initial public offering. First, WWF boss Vince McMahon who has been feuding with his son, Shane suggested that they put their equal, 50 percent ownership stakes on the line in a winner-take-all match. That would have made the purse the biggest in history for any fight, real or choreographed.

Next, McMahon's wife and daughter appeared in the wings to reveal that the WWF's ownership actually was divided four ways and that their stake equaled 50 percent Employing some tricky corporate governance moves, they announced mat they had ousted the men of the family and appointed "Stone Cold" Steve Austin as WWF's chief executive. No word yet on how Bear Stearns the WWF's underwriter, is going to explain those developments in the disclosure documents. ChrisCarey To join the conversation, you can: Send a fax to 314-340-3060. Send an e-mail to biztipsheetpostnet.com. Send snail mail to Business Tipsheet, 900 North Tucker Boulevard, St.

Louis, Mo. 63101. A-B's first wooden roller coaster will open Friday at park in Tampa When St. Louis-based Anheuser-Busch Cos. Inc.

opens its first wooden roller coaster Friday at Busch Gardens in Tampa, it will have a name that also has a St. Louis connection. Gwazi, with more than 1.25 million board feet of wood and 1.3 miles of track intertwined in an 8-acre maze, is actually two coasters with a design featuring six "flyby" maneuvers in which the trains pass each other. When completed, Gwazi will be the largest and fastest double wooden roller coaster in the Southeast. It will travel at speeds up to 50 mph.

The name refers to an African legend of a conflicted animal that is half-lion, half-tiger and continually struggling with itself. Washington University did research that helped A-B come up with the Gwazi name, said Mark Rose, Busch Gardens' vice president of planning and design. Why a wooden roller coaster? Rose said the A-B theme park didn't specifically set out to build a wooden coaster, but considering the high-tech rides at Orlando theme parks and a renewed interest in old-style coasters, it sets Busch Gardens apart from the competition. How did Busch Gardens settle on the style of coaster and the company to build it? The St. Petersburg Times reported that Rose set out on a 17-day trip to 17 theme parks to find the right wooden coaster.

Rose took his family along as an informal focus group. He narrowed the field to five before settling on the Wildcat at Her-sheypark in Pennsylvania and its builder, Great Coasters International of Santa Cruz, Calif. Then 16 Busch Entertainment executives confirmed the choice after taking a corporate jet to ride all five coaster finalists in one day. Not one of them got sick. Jeff Herman Web site offers insider's look at TWA's labor negotiations Trans World Airlines watchers who wonder if machinists, flight attendants and customer service workers will reject what the company calls its final offer and strike can get an insider's perspective on the Internet site PlaneBusi- Robert Burke TAMPA TRIBUNE Work is nearing completion on Busch Garden's all wooden double roller coaster called Gwazi The attraction uses 1.25 million board feet of lumber; 6,800 total feet of track; and six "fly-by" elements.

ness.com. In addition to three economic assessments including one from an anonymous employee the site features a bulletin board with plenty of TWA-specific topics. The TWA sites had more than 270 entries through Friday, with pilots, flight attendants, mechanics, baggage handlers, gate agents and customers all represented. Here's an excerpt from one of the latest postings, from someone using the handle KCMechanic: "I've told you before that I think we will work it out, and I still believe that to be the case. Look for things to happen next week.

And to all the people I've heard bickering and name calling on these boards, chill out. There will be a contract that's liveable and the airline will survive and we'll make it a premier carrier again. So just have faith." Travelers at Lambert will wait a while longer for Internet cafe Construction on an Internet-accessible cafe at Lambert Field has been pushed back until August because of design complications, a Host Marriott official said Friday. Airport engineers approved the plans for the CyberFlyer Club earlier this month, and Marti Gorum, vice president of operations, said construction bid requests could be out this week. Expected to open between mid-November and mid-December, the CyberFlyer Club would be the first of its sort in any airport in which Host Marriott operates.

Minority business fair seeks opportunity, hope iUMM golfer iWifBhM 1 mirr'i rff 1 mi rr irl II ilKi IKMUli III firms and marketing and public relations agencies." Exhibitors at past minority business fairs report success in establishing business contacts. Sam Owusu-Agyeman is president of General Distribution a janitorial supply firm. He is impressed with the annual minority fair. "I've been in business for 15 years, and I have participated in (Minority Business) Council affairs ever since I joined 10 years ago," said Owusu-Agyeman. "The fair is very good for' getting your foot in the door.

You can make contacts there that would be hard to make otherwise." The exhibit hall will open 9 a.m. Tuesday. Davis expects that up to 100 minority firms will be in attendance, including about a third of the 100 exhibitors. "We draw from all over the Midwest" Davis said. "We will get minority firms from Chicago, Kansas City, Indianapolis, from Kentucky and some from Arkansas." The minority businesses are in all industries, Davis said, "We attract a number of construction companies and computer and high tech firms," Davis said.

"In the service industries, we will have graphic and architectural if aM lis iflistei vm By William Flannery Of the Post-Dispatch The theme of the 14th annual Minority Business Opportunity Fair, which begins Monday, is "Providing Excellence in the New Millennium." The fair is designed to bring minority-owned companies into contact with corporations, government agencies and other large institutions to develop possible business deals. The two-day event is being held at America's Center downtown. "One thing we are going to do is to ask our government and corporate participants to sign at least one contract with a minority firm at the fair," said Eddie G. Davis, president of the St Louis Minority Business Council. Davis realizes that regulations may prevent some agencies or firms from signing on the dotted line at the fair, but, he said, the DISrOSITIOH MM Do you have questions about your retirement plan savings or want to know all of your distribution options? Would you like to learn about investment strategies for your savings? If so, come to Fidelity's seminar -it's an easy way to find out what you need to know.

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