Arizona Daily Star from Tucson, Arizona • Page 45

Editor: Jill Jorden Spitz Telephone 520-573-4177 Fax 573-4144 E-mail businessazstarnet.com Saturday Apr 5,2003 SECTION ARIZONA DAILY STAR SERVING TUCSON SINCE 1877 MARKETS April 4, 2003 Unemployment Here is a look at the change in non-farm, payroll employment Recession creeps closer DOW 30 SM run i i Job losses continue; 108.000 in March for work, who are considered to be outside the labor force. "Job creation is the engine of the economy," said Richard Yamarone, an economist at Argus Research in New York, "and that engine is running out of steam." Two years have now passed since the nation's payrolls peaked, and employment has fallen by almost 2.4 million jobs over that span, according to the Labor Department's recently revised numbers. The loss 1.8 percent of employment is much worse than it was during the so-called jobless recovery of the early 1990s, when employment never fell by more than 1.3 percent during a two-year The nation employs fewer people than it has at any point since late 1999, its longest stretch without job growth in 20 years. Last month's job losses cut across almost every sector of the economy. Manufacturers reduced employment for the 36th consecutive month.

The vast service industry, usually a source of stability, has cut 121,000 jobs in the last six months, with department stores, restaurants, airlines and hotels all paring their payrolls in March. After adding jobs through last year, local and state governments have also begun to make cuts, to close budget deficits. But the economy still does not seem to SEE JOBS LOST D6 By David Leonhardt THE NEW YORK TIMES The job market continued to deteriorate in March as the economy lost 108,000 jobs, raising worries that the United States is closer to slipping into a recession than it has been for more than a year. The unemployment rate remained at 5.8 percent last month, the government reported on Friday, largely because of a rise in the number of people not looking. N.Y.

WEIGH REGULATION Recording industry in for new fight 5. 4 By Jim Wasserman THE ASSOCIATED PRESS SACRAMENTO, Calif. Record companies already plagued by steadily declining sales now face the return of aggressive bills in California and New York that will attack the industry's contract and accounting practices. Last year, California legislators convened a flurry of hearings that pitted disgruntled recording artists, who said their record companies had cheated them, against record executives, who complained about spoiled superstars. Stars including Carole King, Montel Jordan, Fleetwood Mac's Stevie Nicks and the Backstreet Boys' Kevin Richardson complained of short earnings and long contracts.

Country singer Clint Black said he owes his label money despite selling millions of records. Country star Merle Haggard has made similar charges of un-derreported royalties. No laws were passed in California, and two major music firms pledged to reform their dealings with artists. But state Sen. Kevin Murray, a former music agent who led last year's attack, is introducing four bills this year that would change how the industry signs and pays its recording artists.

"I still think a lot of this is ripe for discussions with the companies and the artists," Murray said of the industry that employs 28,000 Californi-ans. Murray's bills aim generally to toughen penalties for companies that underpay recording artists, and the bills also provide greater access to labels' internal accounting. Murray would also modernize and simplify royalty accounting meth- SEE ARTISTS D6 Don i Associated Press photos Henley and Courtney Love told a California i AMJ JASONDJFM 2002 2003 SOURCE: Department of Labor AP i companies unfairly control their careers. Kevin Richardson is among those citing short earnings and long contracts. Stevie Nicks is among the artists who say their record companies are not dealing with them fairly.

UA research adds $246M to AZ wages; By Tim Steller ARIZONA DAILY STAR University of Arizona officials argued Friday that research funding attracted by the UA constitutes an economic engine of its own, worth $246 million in wages statewide. That conclusion was one result of an economic-impact study carried out by UA researchers Vera Pavlakovich-Kochi and Alberta Charney. They investigated how much money came to the university for research in fiscal year 2002 and how it reverberated in Arl; zona's economy. And, yes, UA President Peter Likins said at a press conference held to release the study, he is planning to share their conclusions with the Legislature. "If we don't explain to the Legis- SEE RESEARCH D6 -i ESI- NASDAQ RUSSELL 2000 TUCSON I Tucson's Luby's restaurant, at 7140 E.

Rosewood St, closed Thursday. The move was part of a nationwide plan by Luby's Inc. to close about 50 restaurants in order to return the company to profitability. The San Antonio-based company, which still has about 140 restaurants, will focus on its Texas markets and close underperforming stores. The company reported it lost $3.4 million, or 15 cents per share, for the second quarter that ended Feb.

12, in contrast to a loss of $2.2 million, or 9 cents a share, a year earlier. Sales declined about 3.3 percent to $88.3 million from $91.3 million a year earlier primarily due to earlier store closures. Sales at stores open a year declined 0.6 percent I The University of Arizona College of Science's next lecture on nanoscience and nanotechnology is Monday at 5:30 p.m. in the Integrated Learning Center, Room 150. Professor James R.

Heath of UCLA will speak about progress made toward making a molecular electronic computing machine. The lecture is free and open to the public. At the pump average gas prices TUCSON DATA $1.83 REGULAR S2.03A PREMIUM tim $2 031 PtuUmi Lowttt pricw lii nifwy Iflf pun wwefc 1.77lffe(M 1.18 Prwnwm Fnr NATIONAL I The Dow Jones industrial average closed up 36.77, or 0.5 percent at 8,277.15, having declined 44 points Thursday. The Nasdaq composite index dropped 13.07, or 0.9 percent to 1,383.51. The Standard Poor's 500 index rose 2.40, or 0.3 percent, to 878.85.

I UAL Corp. chief executive Glenn F. Tllton will be taking another salary cut due to bankrupt United Airlines' continued financial woes, the company announced Friday. In December, Tilton cut his annual salary and those of 36 other executives by 11 percent. The action came at a time when the airline an-, nounced the layoff of about 350 pilots and other cost-cutting measures.

Tilton's salary will be reduced by an additional 14 percent effective April 1. The net effect is a 25 percent reduction in his annual salary, or a reduction of $237,500, to $712,500. Shares of PeopleSoft which makes software that manages payroll and tracks inventory, fell 9 percent after first-quarter profit and sales declined more than forecast the company said. The report dragged down other software stocks. Siebel Systems Inc.

shares fell 5 percent and Oracle Corp. fell 2.2 percent SAP AG declined 2.2 percent in Germany. I Fleming the largest U.S. grocery distributor, won a bankruptcy judge's approval of $50 million in financing to help the company pay suppliers while it reorganizes. I National briefs compiled from wire reports.

I Send notices for Tucson Industry News Notes to Business, Arizona Daily Star, P.O. Box 26807, Tucson, AZ 85726; by fax to 573-4144; or bye-mail to businessazstarnet.com. Coming Sunday Medicare patients can expect premiums and co-payments to go up again in 2004, as the federal government continues to underfund the "Collectively, industry artists and labels alike are seeing layoffs, retail stores closing and double-digit sales declines, and that impacts the economics of everybody. Cary Sherman, president of the Recording Industry Association of America legislative committee in 2001 that record Knight Ridder plant in Aurora, III now turn up their noses at manufacturing jobs that were once highly coveted SEE FACTORIES D7 Manufactming jobs go begging Young people shun field, so few are skilled By Melissa Allison CHICAGO TRIBUNE When Jason Baker landed a machine tool programming job seven years ago, he thought his career was set The son of a toolmaker, Baker was 19 and already making good money using skills his father taught him as a youngster. Then a couple of years ago, B.A.

Die Mold Inc. in Aurora, EL, suffering under the weight of recession and global competition, slashed Baker's schedule from 50 hours to 20 hours a week. Now he is lucky to work a 40-hour week. "I had to deliver pizzas Mike and repair on the and Moore mills a part at the BA. Die Mold Inc.

work in a friend's auto shop just to put food table for my fiancee myself," Baker said. Baker's father, James, has not been able to find toolmaking work in more than two years. Stories like Jason's are a big reason young people.