The Burlington Free Press from Burlington, Vermont • Page 4

ftfje urlinaton frce Bu 37.03 DOW 10,498.59 SINESS 1,174.07 5.66 Nasdaq: 2,046.09 26.14 Stock listings PaSe Thursday, January 27, 2005 Business Editor Aki Soga 660-1866 or (800) 427-3124 asoga bfp.burlingtonfreepress.com www.burlingtonfreepress.com Page 4A Lawmakers seek review of IBM-China sale Fnll-erale investigations GOP congressmen cite national security concerns By Ted Bridis The Associated Press WASHINGTON Three House committee chairmen urged a secretive government panel Wednesday to investigate national security implications of IBM's proposed $1.75 billion sale of its personal computer division to a China-based company. Republican Reps. Duncan Hunter of California and Henry Hyde and Don Man-zullo, both of Illinois, asked Stocks managed to extend their gains into a second session as a bright outlook from Oracle ard better-than-expected results from chipmaker Texas Instruments lifted the technology sector. Crude futures fell below $49 a barrel as Nigerian oil workers called off an imminent strike and the U.S. government said the nation's oil supply grew.

The dollar drifted down against the euro and other currencies as dealers weighed President Bush's statement that the U.S. budget deficit would be addressed against a Chinese economist's opinion that his country had lost faith in the dollar's stability. Corp. to Lenovo Group which they said "may result in certain U.S. government contracts with or involving personal computers being fulfilled or participated in by the Chinese government." Hunter heads the House Armed Services Committee.

Hyde is chairman over the International Relations Committee, and Manzullo runs the House Small Business Christian rock station begins broadcasting in Champlain Valley DAVID ZALUBO WSKI, The Associated Press Chastity Cannon, manager of a downtown Denver sports memorabilia store, shows off some of the hockey jerseys for sale with logos of the local team, the Colorado Avalanche, and of the Toronto Maple Leafs on Monday in Denver. NHL lockout puts some businesses on ice for the review by the U.S. Committee on Foreign Investment in the Unites States, which considers security risks of foreign firms buying or investing in American companies. The panel, which meets in secret, includes representatives from the departments of Treasury, Defense, Justice, Commerce, State and Homeland Security. The committee is run by Treasury Secretary At a glance NO SALE: The labor dispute has meant a long, hard winter for thousands of sporting goods stores, restaurants and other businesses that rely at least in part on hockey teams for their livelihood.

OVERALL IMPACT: The lockout's overall impact isn't expected to hurt cities because fans will probably spend their entertainment dollars on other events. FORECAST: Many analysts believe the NHL will have to woo back fans back once the dispute is resolved, and that could make for an even slower recovery for retailers. Red Wings and other hockey apparel have been "dead." "I talked to a competitor and it's the same thing," Phillips said. "Obviously, if they're not playing, they're not selling." At a Sports Authority store in King of Prussia, just outside Philadelphia, Flyers fans aren't out looking for hockey jerseys not with the 76ers and the Super Bowl-bound Eagles holding everyone's attention. "I bet we haven't sold a hockey shirt in two months," store manager Joe Tarantino said.

"They're not playing. Why are you going to buy a shirt and wear it for nothing?" John Snow and makes recommendations directly to the president, who can block sales fpr national security reasons. George H.W. Bush is the only president ever to block such a deal, stopping the sale of a Seattle aircraft parts manufacturer to China in February 1990. The three lawmakers urged the administration to investigate the proposed sale by IBM The lockout has cost fans and businesses more than 700 of 1,230 regular-season games in 30 U.S.

and Canadian cities. It has hit people like Troy Johnston, co-owner of Brauns Bar and Grill, a long slapshot from the Pepsi Center, home of the Avalanche. In a typical season, the restaurant is packed with 800 to 1,000 patrons on hockey nights. Johnson has filled some of those nights with holiday parties and other events but crowds vary and he expects a six-figure drop in business by the end of what would have been the NHL season. "We definitely rely on events that happen next door because you've got a large, captive audience," he said.

"Hockey is a good draw. It rivals the Broncos. Well, not now." U.S. retail sales of NHL merchandise plunged by about 55 percent last year due to the lockout, said Neil Schwartz of West Palm Beach, Fla. -based SportScanlnfo, which tracks weekly sales -data from sporting goods stores, excluding team-owned and venue stores.

Holiday sales were just a quarter of the same period in 2003. The four most popular NHL categories jerseys, headwear, T-shirts and sweatshirts totaled $64.4 million in calendar year 2004 a sharp drop from $140 million in 2003, he said. 1 1 1 Defense conglomerate General Dynamics fourth-quarter earnings surged 20 percent, buoyed by a particularly strong performance in its aerospace business, the company said. Two major newspaper publishers reported higher fourth-quarter earnings, but industry leader Gannett Co. noted that the gain was driven by election-season advertising at its broadcast properties, and Knight Ridder Inc.

cautioned that its first quarter would be "challenging." Online retail giant Amazon.com Inc. is trying to become a bigger player in the Internet's crowded search engine market with a local business directory that supplements address and phone number listings with a photographic map covering 10 major U.S. cities. Eastman Kodak digital sales, which surged 40 percent in the fourth quarter, look poised to eclipse revenues from film, paper and other iconic chemical-based businesses for the first time this year. A stock analyst testified that former WorldCom chief Bernard Ebbers addressed some of his concerns about the company's accounting procedures "in a reasonable amount of detail." the Associated Press Richard Scrushy and his wife, Leslie, walk out of the Hugo Black Federal Courthouse in Birmingham, on Wednesday.

Fired HealthSouth CEO Richard Scrushy told his staff to "fix the numbers" to conceal a potential earnings shortfall in-mid 1996 when a massive accounting scandal was just beginning, the company's first chief financial officer testified. Prosecutors opened the larceny retrial of two former top Tyco executives with a leaner, more focused list of alleged thefts that seem to encompass less than the $600 million they were origi- nally accused of stealing. are unusual. Last year, the committee conducted only one such probe out of nearly 50 cases, according to John 3. Reynolds III, a lawyer for Wi7 ley, Rein Fielding who specializes in these deals.

In more, than 1,500 deals submitted to the committee for approval since its inception, it has con-, ducted formal investigations only 22 times, Reynolds said. The committee was expected to decide whether to. approve IBM's sale as early as Friday. "Contemporary Christian is up-and-coming, but it's still a really, really small -target." Matt Grasso, WBTZ operations manager; the station's marketing strategy- "Contemporary Christian is up-and-coming," Grasso said, "but it's still a really, really small target." Paul S. Goldman, owner of WXXX-FM 95.5 in Colchester, said there is unlikely to be much overlap between Christian rock listeners and fans of top 40, which WXXX plays.

"My guess is that the Christian rock audience is not listening to 'Triple X' or BTZ," Goldman said. I Ross said the line be1 tween Christian rock and other genres is blurring. "Ironically, there's a lot of spiritually themed music in the pop mainstream right now," he said. Religious music has been gaining popularity in recent years, according to the Gos pel Music Association in Nashville, Tenn. From 1998 to 2003, for example, gospel music album sales increased by 10 percent, the associa-i tion reported.

Overall albuni sales decreased by 9.9 percent from $728 million in 1998 to $656 million in 2003 according to research! group Nielsen Last year, overall album sales were up 3.8 percent to $681 million, the first gain since 2000. i The programming or! WAVX is important, McClary said. "I think it's fulfilling a need in that there is a higheri purpose," McClary said of the format. "There is a purpose to life. There is no prej-udice in this music." Contact Shawn Turner at 660-1852 or sturnerbfp.burlingtonfreepress INCORPORATIONS Lake Champlain Men's Resource Center social, Christopher Sloane, Richmond, Dec.

3. Estey Foundation charitable, Philip Stimmel, Brattleboro, Dec. 6. Pathos Dance Theatre charitable, Sophia Morris-Pittman, Lincoln, Dec. 6.

Opera Company of Middle-bury charitable, Marian Wright, Middlebury, Dec. 6. Creative Minds Children's Center Newport, Dec. 7. Vermont Society of the Sons of the American Revolution, patriotic, Charles A.

Foell II, Bellows Falls, Dec. 8. By Shawn Turner Free Press Staff Writer A contemporary Christian radio station is transmitting its signal through the Champlain Valley, and station officials are hoping the emerging popularity of Christian rock will help the young station catch the attention of listeners. WAVX-FM 90.9 in Essex Junction began broadcasting its signal in November, said Ric McClary, general manager and vice president of opera-. tions.

The station is run by nonprofit Christian Ministries Inc. of Essex Junction, which oversees five Vermont stations and a total of nine signals. California-based Air One Radio Network is already playing a contemporary Christian format in Vermont, but that signal is not as strong as Christian Ministries', McClary said. The WAVX signal can be heard from Canada to Ticonde-roga, N.Y., and Plattsburgh, N.Y., to Newport. "We've been hearing from people saying they like the station and they're happy there's a strong signal broadcasting this format," McClary said.

Air One officials could not be reached for comment Wednesday. In addition to some advertising and word-of-mouth, McClary hopes the bands that are played on the station such as Audio Adrenaline, Barlow Girl and Switchfoot bring in listeners in the 18-to-34-year-old market. "The music itself is designed for that," he said. Contemporary Christian has been gradually gaining fans, said Sean Ross, vice president of music and programming at Edison Media Research in New Jersey. "It's a slow build across, the country," Ross said.

WBTZ-FM 99.9 in Burlington, which plays alternative music, is also targeting the young adult market. WBTZ Operations Manager Matt Grasso said the added competition won't change p.m., 346 Shelburne Road, Burlington. Semester-long course for business owners in writing a completed business plan and testing the financial and market feasibility of their business. 846-7338. Lake Champlain Chamber of Commerce: business after hours, p.m., Champlain Valley Exposition, Essex Junction.

2005 Ambassadors Silent Auction and Taste of the Chamber. $6 registered day of event; $15 guests. Registration: 863-1538 or www.vermont.orgstore By Sandy Shore The Associated Press DENVER Inside a tiny sports apparel store on the 16th Street Mall are racks of jerseys, from the dark blue of the Denver to the golden tinge of basketball's hometown Nuggets. Tucked in a back corner are the crimson jerseys of the Colorado Avalanche, largely forgotten in a lost National Hockey League season. Sales have gone cold since the hometown hockey team stopped playing, Sportsfan manager Chastity Cannon said.

Overall business is down by one-fourth and holiday sales were off by half. "Without hockey, it's been just a horrible year," she said. "I've noticed that a lot of the hard-core, die-hard fans continue to look, but when there's no season, we don't get the new merchandise they're looking for." The dispute that has kept NHL players locked out for 133 days as of Wednesday has meant millions of dollars in losses for stores, restaurants and businesses across North America that rely at least in part on a professional hockey team for their livelihood. Even if the season is saved, few expect a big rebound in business. Bob Phillips, a salesman for East Side Sporting Goods in suburban Detroit, said sales of PEOPLE Citizens Bank, doing business in Vermont as Charter One Bank, named Rob LaClair team leader for the company's Business Banking division in Vermont.

LaClair has more than 20 years of experience in business development and commercial loan management. Prior to Citizens, he worked as an account manager for Systems Software in Colchester and as a business development and commercial loan officer at Key Bank and Bank a VERMONT BUSINESS HIGHLIGHTS CALENDAR SAP AG, the world's largest maker of business software, announced a 29 percent jump In fourth-quarter earnings and said it plans to hire 3,000 employees this year. Nintendo earnings nearly doubled for the first nine months of the year on the back of the success of its new handheld video game player, which has two screens. Production of a generic version of a very widely used combination of AIDS drugs that will sell for less than half brand-name prices could begin as early as March or April and expand treatment for patients in 13 African countries, the medicines' manufacturer said. From wire reports TODAY Vermont Venture Network: 8-10 a.m., Wyndham Burlington.

Speakers: Wind Works LLC. Dermot McGuigan, Brian KillKelley and Gordon MacFarland, CPA. $15 for non-members. 658-7830, or www.Ver-montVentureNetwork.org 2005 Baldrige Criteria Update and Vermont Examiner Re-Certification: 8-10 JO a.m., 480 Hercules Drive, Colchester. Presented by Vermont Council for Quality.

Presented by Anne O'Brien, MSA, curriculum developer for continuing education at UVM. Registration: 655-1910, or Kiwanis Club of Chittenden County: 12:15 p.m. Thursdays, Ethan Allen Club, Burlington. $12 lunch. 660-2082.

South End Arts and Business Association: 5:30 p.m., The Waiting Room, Burlington. Featured artist: Scott Campbell. Featured business: The Waiting Room. New executive director: Keith Brown. 865-7179, or Start-Up: Women's Small Business Program, 5:30 Vermont National in Burlington, He is graduate of the University of Vermont..