Arizona Daily Star from Tucson, Arizona • Page 29

BEST AVAILABLE COPY Editor: Tiffany Kjos Telephone 520-573-4224 Fax 573-4144 E-mail businessazstarnet.com 1 Wednesday August 3, 2005 SECTION ARIZONA DAILY STAR SERVING TUCSON SINCE 1877 MARKETS August 2, 2005 settlement in Enron scandal DOW 30 Canadian bank resolves claims it helped energy firm hide debt NASDAQ RUSSELL 2000 Settlements July 2002. $40 million, by Andersen Worldwide S.C., former Enron auditor Arthur Andersen LLP's former international umbrella organization. July 2003, $69 million, by Bank of America Corp. October 2004, $222.5 million, by Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. January 2005, $168 million, by 18 former Enron directors.

Ten of the former directors agreed to pay $13 million of the $168 million out-of-pocket; none admitted any wrongdoing. June 2005, $2 billion, by Citigroup Inc. June 2005, $2.2 billion, by JPMorgan ChaseS Co. August 2005, $2.4 billion, by Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce. -The Associated Press said in an e-mailed statement.

The accord tops the $2.2 billion JPMorgan Chase Co. paid in June to settle its part of the case. "The longer you wait to settle in a case like this, the more you end up paying," Robert Zito, a New York lawyer who defends companies facing securities suits, said before the agreement was announced. "That's why, SEE ENRON D5 largest fraud settlement stemming from the energy trader's 2001 collapse. CBC, Canada's fifth-largest bank by assets, will make the payment as part of a $30 billion class-action lawsuit, William Lerach, investors' lead attorney, By Jef Feeley and Sean B.

Pasternak BLOOMBERG NEWS Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce agreed to pay investors $2.4 billion to resolve claims it helped Enron Corp. inflate revenue by hiding debt, the I i I tzi rfr w. News Notes Wal-Mart foes bigger and better organized TUCSON I Bright Future Business Consultants is sponsoring a "showcase breakfast" with guest speakers who will talk about home-building issues. Pat Mulroy, general manager of the Las Vegas Valley Water District, will talk about how to manage water resources and growth. Elliot Elsenberg, an economist with the National Association of Home Builders, will present findings from a study about impact fees in Pima County.

The breakfast is set for 8 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. Aug. 24 at Westin La Paloma, 3800 E. Sunrise Drive.

Cost is $35 and will include a continental breakfast. For reservations, e-mail chuckorangereports.com. For more information, call 751-0676. I New Horizons Computer Learning Center in Tucson was recently named a Microsoft Small Business Specialist. To attain the designation, the Anaheim-based New Horizons had to demonstrate its expertise in designing and implementing information technology solutions for small businesses.

The company will receive training from Microsoft specific to the small business industry and specialized marketing materials. New Horizons is located at 6377 E. Tanque Verde Road, Suite 200, and can be reached at 290-5600. Its Web site is www.newhorizons.com. jik On StarNet: Track your investments at a glance or in-depth with Starnet's MarketBrowser, a small PC desktop utility you can download.

www.azstamet.com marketbrowser By Anne D'lnnocenzlo THE ASSOCIATED PRESS WASHINGTON The battle over Wal-Mart Stores Inc. has long been waged in towns and cities, with opponents using zoning ordinances and referendums to block the "big-box" retailer from their neighborhoods. Now the two sides are taking their fight straight to Washington. Working out of offices that resemble political war rooms, two groups, Wake Up Wal-Mart and Wal-Mart Watch, are running campaigns to pressure the world's largest retailer to be a better employer and corporate citizen. Run by veterans of political campaigns, these groups are aligning themselves with lawmakers in hopes of passing laws that are aimed at Wal-Mart.

They also hope to make the company a political campaign issue for 2006. Their efforts extend beyond the Beltway. Wake Up Wal-Mart, supported by the United Food and Commercial Workers Union, and Wal-Mart Watch, which draws support from a wider network, have also recruited thousands of volunteers around the country to help then-cause. Wal-Mart, meanwhile, has increased its own Washington presence. Since early spring, its representatives have visited with and written to lawmakers, particularly Democrats who have been most critical of the company.

It also plans to bolster its lobbying team, which has already more than doubled to 10 over the past year. China's Cnooc, stung in Unocal tug of war with Chevron, may look to get even later tunes are becoming increasingly intertwined despite their vast cultural, economic and governmental differences. Chevron prevailed with a big helping hand from U.S. lawmakers. Their apprehensions about a U.S.

oil company falling into the hands of a company controlled by China's Communist government prompted Cnooc (pronounced SEA-nook) to withdraw its all-cash bid of $18.4 billion. But it could turn into a By Michael Lledtke THE ASSOCIATED PRESS By the time it was resolved Tuesday, the battle to buy Unocal Corp. had become more than a takeover tussle pitting Chevron the second-largest U.S. oil company, against Cnooc China's third-largest oil concern. The showdown came to underscore the stewing tensions between the United States and China, a pair of international powers, countries whose for Pyrrhic victory for Chevron and perhaps even the United States if China decides to use its increasing financial clout to retaliate for the political bashing of Cnooc.

"China is probably already thinking, 'We don't know how and we don't know when, but we will get (Chevron) for said Oppenheimer Co. analyst Fadel Gheit. "This will go down in the history books in China." SEE UNOCAL D5 NATIONAL I Consumers rediscovered their appetite for shopping in June, boosting spending by a strong 0.8 percent. It was fresh testament to the economy's momentum as it headed into the third quarter. The monthly increase in spending, reported by the Commerce Department on Tuesday, came after consumers tightened their belts in May, leaving spending flat.

I Shares of Kinder Morgan which operates more than 35,000 miles of U.S. pipelines including one through Tucson, posted their biggest one-day gain in three years Tuesday after the company said it would buy Terasen Inc. Shares of Houston-based Kinder Morgan rose $6.13, or 6.9 percent, to $94.73 in New York Stock Exchange composite trading. Kinder Morgan said Monday it will buy Vancouver-based Terasen, Canada's No. 3 pipeline operator, for $3.1 billion in cash and stock and also assume $2.5 billion of Terasen's debt.

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 by e-mail to businessazstarnet.com. SEE WAL-MART I D5 Chevron Retail politics Wal-Mart's political action committee has bumped up its contributions in recent years. Wal-Mart Stores Inc.

PAC for Responsible Government Contributions to candidates, PACs and party committees $2.5 million $2.2 million 1 UflOCAL CNOOC Limited TAKEOVER TUG OF WAR: Chevron the second-largest U.S. oil company, reached an early April deal to buy its longtime Southern California rival, Unocal for $62 per share, but Cnooc China's third-largest oil company, threw a monkey-wrench into the agreement six weeks ago by offering $67 per share. THE FALLOUT: Chevron wins Unocal's prized oil and natural-gas supplies in Asia and the Gulf of Mexico but faces possible retribution if China holds a grudge about the political attacks on Cnooc. The Associated Press 2.0 15 1.0 0.5 I srz THE REACTION: U.S. lawmakers threatened to block a Cnooc takeover because the company is controlled by China's Communist government a connection that raised fears about the United States' economic and national security.

Prompted by Unocal's board two weeks ago, Chevron sweetened its bid, now valued at $64.41 per share. 1998 2000 2002 2004 Election cycles SOURCE: PoliticalMoneyLine.com AP Asarco strike: dailyjipdate Days on strike: 33. Number of striking workers: About 1,500. Developments: Asarco showed a net profit of $11.1 million after the first six months of 2005, compared to $7.1 million for the first six months of 2004, according to quarterly results released by parent company Grupo Mexico. Asarco's break-even cost for copper during the second quarter of 2005 was 113.5 cents per pound, up from 95.4 cents for the same quarter of 2004, attributed to higher labor costs, the report states.

Where they're striking: Ray Mine near Kearny, Hayden Mill, Hayden Smelter, Mission Mine near Sahuarita, Silver Bell Mine near Marana, refinery in Amarillo, Texas. Latest spot price for copper: $1.70 per pound. When the strike started, copper was at $1.54 a pound. Increased IRS scrutiny targets terrorists, netdes casinos I Using other patrons to cash out chips. I Supplying other patrons with cash to purchase chips.

I Using identification that appears to be altered or forged. "Inspecting IDs doesn't always protect a casino from liability if the patron has a well-made fake ID," said Tohono O'odham Gaming Enterprise CEO Joe Calabrese. To detect clever fakes, Desert Diamond casinos are Blackjack dealers, poker rooms and ringing slot machines may seem an unlikely al-Qaida magnet. But casino operators at a tribal gaming summit at Desert Diamond Casino last week said IRS anti-money-laundering tactics could make gambling harder for honest players. The days when casinos simply checked security tapes for cheaters are long gone.

Since 2003, casinos are required to file a "Suspicious Activity Reporting by Casinos," or SARC, form within 30 days of observing the suspect behavior. The IRS lists examples of suspicious activity on its Web site for casino workers as: I Exchanging many small bills for large ones. I Purchasing chips and then, after minimal gambling, redeeming the chips for a check. By Lynda Edwards ARIZONA DAILY STAR American Indian casinos contributed a record-breaking $21.8 million to the state in the second quarter of 2005. But soaring revenues are bringing tribal casinos unexpected headaches the Internal Revenue Service views cash-loaded casinos as potential money-laundering conduits for terrorists or other evildoers.

installing scanners, which cost $1,200 each, that read the magnetic strip on the back of any driver's license. The device can confirm that the license is valid. But Arizona's IRS agents often broaden the idea of "suspicious activity" until it becomes nebulous, said Daniel Quigley, general counsel for the Tohono O'odham Gaming SEE CASINOS D5 On StarNet Findallthe Star's recent reporting on the Asarco strike at go.azstametcomstrike.