St. Cloud Times from Saint Cloud, Minnesota • Page 6

www.sctimes.combusiness "Busimiess Friday's Market Watch Nasdaq I Stocks Today's listings on Pages 7-10A Dow Close: 10.195.01 Up: 21.60 St. Cloud Times Saturday, Aug. 28, 2004 Business reporter, Sue Halena, 255-8743 Consumer group seeks refund from Xcel ed that Xcel customers put up money for income taxes that Xcel never had to pay because of losses associated with its failed investment in its former NRG Energy subsidiary. "It's an issue of fairness. We all had to pay the taxes (of Xcel) as ratepayers, but they didn't have to pay," MINNEAPOLIS (AP) -A group of consumers asked state regulators to order Xcel Energy to refund about $300 million it claims the utility overcharged its Minnesota customers during the past two years.

With backing from state Attorney General Mike Hatch, the group contend Disney princess culture enters its Golden Age ij xf ji $ff I MOM Close: 1.862.09 Up: 9.17 Close: Up: benefit when there are many types of expenses that we can't immediately recover," spokesman Ed Legge said. "We're paying for new steam generators (at the Prairie Island nuclear plant) and higher health-care costs, yet we're not asking our customers to pay for that." Modest increase is slightly higher than economists predicted WASHINGTON (AP) -The U.S. economy, struggling under the weight of a bloated trade deficit, grew at a relatively modest 2.8 percent annual rate in the second quarter, a slower pace of expansion than previously thought The new reading on gross domestic product (GDP) issued by the Commerce Department Friday furnished fresh evidence that the business recovery hit a rut in the spring and early summer. The growth rate was weaker than the 3 percent figure first estimated a month ago and showed that the economy, which had been moving along at a decent clip, lost considerable momentum in the April-to-June quarter. The economy had grown at a brisk 4.5 percent pace in the first three months of 2004.

Gross domestic product measures the value of all goods and services produced within the United States and is considered the broadest barometer of the economy's fitness. The revised GDP figure for the second quarter, however, is slightly better than the 2.7 percent growth rate that some economists had far w. i' C'JS A V. ffij Briefly Compiled from Tunes staff and news services Sugar workers to vote on contract MOORHEAD About 1,400 workers at American Crystal Sugar Co. will vote Wednesday on a new contract.

The tentative agreement is for longer than normal and doesn't include healthcare cost increases for workers or copays for premiums, said Daniel Gust, international representative for the Bakery, Confectionery, Tobacco Workers and Grain Millers International Union. The contract would cover about 950 full-time and 400 seasonal workers at seven locations in Minnesota, North Dakota and Iowa, Gust said. Court vacates Ford judgment FRANKFORT, Ky. -The Kentucky Supreme Court vacated a 15 million judgment against Ford Motor Co. in the case of a man who was crushed by his pickup.

In a ruling Thursday, justices ordered a new trial in light of a U.S. Supreme Court ruling in a similar case that damage awards should be related to the degree of actual harm to the victim. Ford had already paid almost $5.6 million in compensatory damages, plus interest. Compensatory damages were not at issue in the ruling. The victim in the case, coal miner Tommy Smith, was killed in 1993 when a parked Ford pickup slipped into reverse and crushed him.

Rock-Tenn to close St. Paul plant ST. PAUL Rock-Tenn a maker of packaging for consumer products, will close one of its St. Paul plants in December. The closure will put 170 people out of work.

The facility at 2250 Wabash Ave. manufactures folding cartons primarily used to package food and other products. It's one of several St. Paul operations owned by Rock-Tenn, based in Norcross, Ga. Rock-Tenn reported annual sales of $800 million and has more than 8,500 employees worldwide.

For the year ended July 31, the carton facility in St Paul lost about $2 million on sales of $46 million, Rock-Tenn said in a statement Alliant introduces radiation detector EDINA-Alliant Tech-systems hopes to sell a powerful but compact device that can detect the presence of radiation 25 feet from a stationary or moving source to police departments and the federal government Alliant claims its new D-tech System can detect radioactive threats even if the source is moving on a highway, shielded inside a container or in the trunk of a car. A dozen police departments, including law enforcement agencies in Washington, D.C.; Las Vegas; and Florida, have bought the pager-sized devices, which cost around $1,500. HP releases its own iPod clone SAN JOSE, Calif. -Hewlett-Packard Co. unveiled its own version of the iPod portable music player Friday, showing the fruits of a groundbreaking partnership it had previously announced with Apple Computer.

i HP is now taking orders for the player, which it has dubbed the "Apple iPod from HP." The product is a replica of Apple's latest models of the popular white 20-gigabyte and 40-giga-byte iPods but carries the HP brand instead, The licensing deal is a break from Apple's usual isolationist stance and should help it capitalize on the broad retail reach of HP, the world's largest computer printer maker and second largest PC maker. 1.107.77 2.68 6A Energy At a hearing Thursday, the Public Utilities Commission declined to investigate the matter, saying instead that it may consider the issue the next time Xcel seeks a rate increase. Xcel has told the PUC that it may petition for an increase in its natural-gas base rate as early as next month. forecast "Economic growth was below par temporarily we think but the expansion is still continuing," said Lynn Reaser, chief economist at Banc of America Capital Management On Wall Street, stocks rose. The Dow Jones industrials gained 15 points and the Nasdaq was up 11 points in morning trading.

The latest snapshot of the economic activity comes as President Bush gets geared up for the Republican convention, and the presidential election is just over two months away. The economy's health and the availability of jobs have been key sparring issues between Bush and his Democratic opponent, John Kerry. Bush says that making his tax cuts permanent will strengthen the economy and spur more job growth. Kerry, pointing to the sluggish labor market and the loss of 1.1 million jobs since Bush took office, says the president's tax cuts have mainly helped the wealthy and squeezed the middle class. Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan has described the economy as hitting a "soft patch" in June.

Even so, the Fed policy-makers on Aug. 10 raised short-term interest rates for the second time this year in a bid to keep future inflation under control. against getting too worked up about the increased gap, noting last year could have been an aberration. "The numbers do fluctuate a lot year-to-year, so I wouldn't call it a trend until I saw one more year," said Joyce Jacobsen, economics professor at Wesleyan University in Middletown, Conn. Jacobsen said the numbers were "discouraging," noting it would have been better if women's pay had at least stayed unchanged.

Vicky Lovell, study director for the Institute for Women's Policy Research, called the decline in women's incomes "very worrisome," particularly in light of the increased dependence on women as breadwinners. "It does suggest that some of the gains women had been making relative to men, they are now losing," she said. "The recession may be officially over, but women are still feeling the effects of the economic slowdown." company gets a break. Xcel, they added, has absorbed some business costs. It has not sought an increase in its natural gas base rate since 1998, despite rising costs.

"We believe it sets a dangerous precedent to pluck out one part of our expenses that gives us a temporary "The Princess Diaries 2" include tapes and personal viding the items necessary for a modern princess. "As a feminist, I think, "Of course they're obsessed with princesses because princesses are being crammed down their throat and not just from Disney, but from all these tweener But then I remember as a little girl just craving really pretty things too." Louise A. Mehr of Century 21 First Realty, Waite Park, was a speaker and assisted at the eight-day Jack Canfield Living Your Highest Vision training seminar in Las Vegas. "In Business" is a Thursday and Saturday column. Items can be mailed to St Cloud Times, P.O.

Box 768, St Cloud, MN 56302. Or, you may e-mail them to newsroomstcloudtimes.co m. Photos must include names and addresses on the back and must specify whether they are to be Hatch said. "So we ought to have that money back." Xcel officials insist the money belongs to the Minneapolis-based utility. Xcel passes along certain expenses, including income taxes, to its customers, they said, but that doesn't mean customers should get a windfall every time the if ft Disney's princess products care items.

She is perplexed about how her daughter became so princess-centric. "I am certainly not a princess type. Maybe that's it. Maybe they see all the moms working so hard and want a happily-ever-after in a castle. Maybe that's why moms buy into it too." Schickel has mixed feel- ings about her role in pro- The association serves lawyers working in the defense and trial of civil disputes.

Christmas Decor by Valley Green, a Sartell holiday decorating company, earned the Brightest Star Award at the 2004 Christmas Decor Conference in Baltimore. Christmas Decor is a holiday and event decorating franchise system in 47 states and Canada. Valley Green has operated a franchise in Central Minnesota since 2000. vr. i L.A.

TimesWashington Post photos It's tiaras and tea sandwiches at a tea party offered with at the El Capitan Theater in Los Angeles. Merchandise sales climb to $2 billion last year LA. TimesWashington Post Where once they stood alone, now they are united, their faces smiling up from T-shirts and backpacks in small groups like particularly well-coifed members of the Justice League. They have their own color scheme including a signature paint available at Home Depot. Their influence over fashion is incalculable their clothing and accessories coveted by and reproduced for millions of fans.

They are about to launch their own line of personal care products. They are the Disney Princesses and their goal is world domination. In 2004, 23 years since the publication of "The Cinderella Complex: Women's Hidden Fear of Independence," princess culture is entering what can only be considered its Golden Age. Sweeping trend In the three years since Disney executives decided to consolidate Cinderella, Snow White, Sleeping Beauty, Ariel Little Belle and the and Jasmine into one brand, princess merchandise sales have skyrocketed from $200 million in 2000 to $2 billion last year. In Los Angeles, Disney Princess teas held in conjunction with the release of "Princess Diaries 2" at the El Capitan Theater sold out weeks before the movie premiered.

Those teas and other princess-themed events have become popular additions to Walt Disney World attractions. In Japan, princess classes, which began in Tokyo three years ago as an attempt to introduce the new princess brand, have spread to five cities last year, more than 15,000 girls paid $150 a pop to learn how to love animals from Snow White. Not just Disney And princesses don't just rule the Disney kingdom. Princess costumes remain top sellers at toy stores everywhere. Barbie and her many full-size accessories are available in fairy tale and international princess form.

Recent movies such as "Ella En- Gary Meyer of Central Minnesota Federal Credit Union, Melrose, was among seven people from Minnesota to graduate from the Credit Union National Association Management School in Madison, Wis. The college program includes two weeks of classes each summer in Madison. University of Wisconsin professors, industry experts and credit union personnel conduct classes in management, human relations, leadership, credit and collections, market research, budgeting and auditing. chanted," "The Prince Me," "A Cinderella Story" and now "Princess Diaries 2" have hauled out all the time-honored symbols of the mythology the jewels, the dresses, the handsome boyfriend and, of course, all that dancing. "Whether feminists like it or not," said Gary Foster, spokesman for Disney consumer products, "at some point in their lives, most girls want to be a princess." "The princess brand is all about fantasy," added Mary Beech, director of franchise management for Disney Princess.

Mixed feelings For 6-year-old Georgia Freeman, the clothes trump the prince every time. "For her, it's all about the silky, swishy dresses," said Erika Schickel, a writer in Los Angeles. Women's pay falls against men's for 1st time since 1999 In business Gannett News Service The disparity in pay between men and women widened in 2003 for the first time in four years as women saw their incomes fall, the government said Thursday. For every dollar a man made in 2003, women made 75.5 cents, the Census Bureau said in its annual report on income. That was down from the record 76.6 cents that women earned versus men's $1 in 2002.

The median income for men in 2003 was $40,668, not significantly different from the prior year, while the median income for women was $30,724, down 0.6 percent from 2002. The median is the point at which half of the numbers fall above and half fall below. The numbers account for inflation. The widening pay disparity came as a surprise, and analysts had few explanations for what sparked the change. But they cautioned Steven Louise Schwegman Mehr Third-year students do an in-depth study of their own credit union operations.

Steven R. Schwegman of Quinlivan and Hughes was elected president of the Minnesota Defense Lawyers Association..