Lincoln Journal Star from Lincoln, Nebraska • 37

TELEVIS.Q?IF3 www.JoufnalStar.comnewa Business Journal Star Friday, June 5, 2009 Comments? Questions? Call Richard Piersol, 473-7241 MARKET WATCH 6. DMllMi MIT sdy I. Jones Industrials Assurity's results compare favorably to other insurance firms, despite its hiccups. Dow Standard Poor's 500 NASDAQ Russell 2000 1 Henning said. "Our capital levels and financial strength have positioned us to withstand the current recessionary climate, just as we have for the past 119 years." In a letter to policyholders included in Assurity's annual report, Henning said the company avoided investing in subprime mortgages, collateralized debt obligations and other "alphabet -soup" securities.

But, he said, "although we didn't invest in any exotic instruments like many other compa-. nies, we did buy bonds from organizations that had, and we have experienced some bond issues." Despite its hiccups, Assurity's results compare favorably to other insurance companies. UNIFI Companies, the mutual holding company that includes Ameritas Life Insurance posted a net loss of nearly $274 million in 2008, compared with a net profit of nearly $158 million in 2007. Mutual of Omaha's 2008 net income fell to $47 million, down from $217 million in 2007. Assurity is planning to start construction in late summer or early fall on a new five-story, headquarters near 21st and streets to house its more than 400 Lincoln employees.

Assurity Chief Financial Officer Marvin Ehly said the $53 million project is on schedule. Assurity is hoping to start demolition work later this month, with construction slated to begin in September or October, he said. Assurity plans to move into the building sometime in 2011. Reach Matt Olberding at 473-2647 or molberdin2journalstar.com. more than $26 million on its small position in equities last year, the Lincoln-based insurer reported Thursday after its annual meeting.

That reduced its net profit to just $1.9 million, down sharply from the $14.6 million it earned in 2007, The company reported its overall assets fell by $28 million and its capital reserve dropped by $36 million. "Assurity posted excellent operating earnings in 2008," Chairman, President and CEO Tom Henning said in a statement. "While no company is immune to market turmoil, our overall conservative investment philosophy and risk-management practices have held us in good stead," BY MATT OLBERDING Lincoln Journal Star If you leave out its investment portfolio, Assurity Life Insurance Co. had a phenomenal year in 2008. The company increased its operating profit more than 40 percent from $13.2 million to $18.4 million, brought in slightly more in insurance premiums and paid out slightly more in dividends than in 2007.

Unfortunately, though, an insurance company relies heavily on investments, and Assurity, like nearly every other company in the world, saw the value of its portfolio decline last year. The company lost $13 million on its fixed-income holdings and 7i ill BUSINESS AT A GLANCE Financial regulators fine firm $350,000 OMAHA Financial-industry regulators have fined an Omaha company $350,000 for failing to adequately monitor suspicious penny-stock trades that could have been used for money laundering. The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority said Thursday that it had fined Legent Clearing for failing to implement reasonable money-laundering detection programs. Regulators say Legent processed trades of cheap stocks for some firms with a history of disciplinary problems without fully considering the risks. And Legent failed to report some suspicious trades.

Legent Co-President Ray Maratea said the conduct the company was fined for happened several years ago, and the firm has improved its procedures since then. Oil prices continue rising to 2009 high NEW YORK Oil prices on Thursday set another new high for the year, buoyed by a weaker dollar and the first drop in unemployment claims since January. Benchmark crude for July delivery was up $2.69 to settle at $68.81 a on the New York Mercantile climbed as high as $69.60 earlier in the day. Oil prices, which have rallied for three months, soared this week to their highest levels since November. Crude now fetches nearly twice its February price, mostly on the expectation that the dismal U.S.

economy could be stabilizing. A government report provided some evidence of that Thursday, saying the nation's unemployment rolls fell for the first time in 20 weeks. The Labor Department said the number of people filing for unemployment benefits dropped by 15,000 to 6.7 million. The dollar also fell against the euro and the yen, a move that tends to push oil prices higher since the benchmark contract is traded in U.S. currency.

Turbine Flats presents art, music this evening Turbine Flats Project at 2124 St. will have a First Friday Open House and arVmusic showing by entrepreneur-tenants, their chil-. dren and local bands today from 5:30 to 10 p.m. "Turbine Flats was created as a space for entrepreneurs to create their own businesses and Attack' was our way to show that there is more than business creativity at work here," said Matthew Wegener, iSoft Data Systems CEO and founder of the Turbine Flats Project, in a news release. The Turbine Rats Project's stated mission is to create a robust, self-sustaining, collaborative environment for small and start-up businesses to bring their products and ideas to market, while decreasing "brain-drain" from Lincoln.

More information can be found at www.turbineflats.org or by calling (402) 438-3850. From staff and wire reports Most Active ($1 or more) Most Active ($1 or Name Vol (00) Last Name Vol (00) Last ERIN OUERRLincoln Journal Star A Delta aircraft, the first to fly from Lincoln to Atlanta, is refueled by a Duncan Aviation employee at Lincoln Airport on Thursday. First Delta day has good omens Station switches to Fox BY JEFF KORBELIK Lincoln Journal Star Lincoln will lose a CW af -filiate but will gain a Fox station when the digital televk sion conversion occurs next week. In conjunction with the nationwide digital TV switch, KCWL will cease broadcasting Tuesday morning and return June 12 as KFXL, a Fox network affiliate. KCWL is owned by the Omaha World-Herald and managed by Pappas Telecasting Companies.

It currently airs on Time Warner Cable channel 18 in Lincoln and over the air on channel 51. The move means there will be no CW affiliate in the LincolnKearneyHastings designated market area. KFXL programming will be identical to Pappas -managed KSNBKTVG (over -the -air channels 4 and 17). KFXL Station Manager Steve Harry said the move was made to increase view-ership on cable and over the air. He said viewers often chose Omaha CW affiliate KXVO (Time Warner channel 15) over KCWL.

The new station also will provide Lincoln a Fox affiliate with a better over-the -air signal than KSNB (Supe-rior) or KPTM (Omaha). Harry said he expects Time Warner Cable will drop KSNB (channel 4) in favor of KFXL since the pro -gramming is the same, but wasn't sure if it will air on 4 or 18. Time Warner interim General Manager Mike Kennedy said the cable company is looking into it Harry said KFXL also is waiting to hear from satellite companies DISH Network and DirecTV whether or not they will carry both KFXL and KSNB. Reach Jeff Korbelik at 473-7213 or jkorbelikjournalstar.com. 'Atlanta's huge, because it opens up a whole new segment of the country with one stop that we didn't have Wendy Birdsall, Chamber of Commerce president Thursday's passenger numbers certainly weren't a first-day home run the Atlanta flight was two-thirds full and the Salt Lake City flight was half full but Executive Director John Wood said he'll take those numbers.

"We 're pretty excited about that, and we hope it continues to grow as we go along," he said. One of the passengers for the inaugural Atlanta flight was Derek Deger of Lincoln, who was traveling with his 2-year-old son, Drake, to see his mother in Nashville. Deger said the trip from Lincoln would actually take about an hour longer going through Atlanta than if he flew through Minneapolis or Chicago, but the fare was cheaper. Mayor Beutler orders-city workers to fly from Lincoln. BY MATT OLBERDING Lincoln Journal Star The Lincoln Airport got a couple of good omens Thursday, the first day of new Delta Air Lines service to Atlanta and Salt Lake City.

At a news conference to kick off the service, Mayor Chris Beutler said he was issuing an executive order to city employees requiring them to fly out of the Lincoln Airport on city business as long as the fare is less than $100 more than from any alternative airport, "I believe flying from our home airport whenever possible is an investment in the community," Beutler said, encouraging private businesses to adopt a similar policy. Shortly after Beutler's remarks, the first Delta plane landed in Lincoln -15 minutes early. The airport can use any help it can get, as it seeks to get and keep new air service to help reverse a years-long trend of declining passenger counts. He said as long as the fare is lower, he'll continue to fly to Nashville through Atlanta. Fares are less important to business travelers, who will probably be the deciding factor as to whether the new once -daily flights are successful or not.

Chamber of Commerce President Wendy Birdsall called the new flights "a tremendous opportunity" for economic development. "Atlanta's huge, because it opens up a whole new segment of the country with one stop that we didn't have before," she said, She also pointed put that Salt Lake City gives Lincoln another westbound option besides Denver, something it hasn't had for several years. In numerous chamber surveys, businesses have requested a southern air destination from Lincoln, although the last time they got one Northwest flights to Memphis in 2005 the service failed miserably and ended after'only eight months. Local officials don't want to see that happen again. "This really is a 'use it or lose it' proposition," Birdsall said.

Reach Matt Olberding at 473-2647 or molberdingjournalstar.com. more) 52-Week Net YTD 52-wk High Low Name last Chg Chg Chg Chg 12,638.08 6.469.95 Dow Jones industrials 8,750,24: ..86 2.134.21. Dow Jones Transportation ...3,3 38.74 ..54.38 l.66 -39 528.07 288.66 Dcwlones Utilities 344.88 .2.72 ..79 9,408.76 4,181.75 NYSE Composite 6,110.76 .76.86, U7 6.14 2.379.19 1 1.130,47 Ame Index 1.627.00 .11.05, ..68 .16.42 2.549.94 1,265.52 Nasdaq Composite 1350.02 .24.10 1.32 1,404.05 666.79 5SP500 942.46 14.359.97 6.772.29 Wilshire 5000 9,675.21 '11626 1.22 .647 764 38 342.59 Russell 2000 531.67 '645 Expiration Open High Low Settle Chg CATTLE Jun 09 79.82 80.30 79.25 80 02 Aug 09 80.85 81.37 80.27 81.00 .,23 Oct 09 86.00 86.65 85.82 86.50 ..65 Dec 09 87.75 88.40 87.75 88.32 Feb 10 90.00 90.35 89.80 90.30 '10 Apr 10 91.75 92.50 91,47 92.40 Wrrl's sales 12670 FEEDER CATTLE Aug 09 96.55 97.17 95.62 96.60' Set) 09 9700 97.55 96.07 96.82 ..42 Oct 09 9702 97.95 96.40 97.35 NOV09 9750 98.17 96.75 97.50 ..55 Ian 10 96.30 96.65 95.70 96,10 ..43 Mar 10 95.60 95.70 95.40 95.50 Weifs sales 5814 HOOS-Lean )un09 56.85 58.00 56.17 57.27 lul 09 59.97 61.27 59.80 60.57 Aug 09' 61.80 62.90 61.52 62.45 Oct 09 60.10 61 70 59.40 61.22 1.12 Dec 09 62 80 64 40 62.80 64.17 ..72 Feb 10 6790 68.77 67.65 68.77 .32 3E Thursday, Light Sweet Crude (Pw Barrel) Delmy Opal Low Settle Chg LIGHT SWEET CRUDE Jul 09 68.90 69.60 65.92 68.81 Wed's sales 667283 Bniish pound is valued in U.S. dollars, others are expressed in units per U.S. dollar.

Yesterday PvsDay Australia 12471 12570 Britain 1.6192 11276 Canada 1.0969 LI087 China 63359 63319 Yesterday PvsDay Euro 2053 2 08 lapan 9637 9535 Memo 132235 131765 Russia 303128 303156 yesterday PvsDay Gold (troy 02., spot) Silver (troy spot) Copper (pound) S981.20 $964.50 $15,883 $15,300 $2.3015 $2.2115 WKl'ssalrMvms Btota 3050810 11,87 FifthThird 988949 7.00 Ciligrp 2258824 .157 HunlBnk 880019 4.05 ..09 DiriflnBearl956386 4.41 PwShsQOO 829318 36.74 ..41 SPOfl 1945153 94,53 '38 JetBlue 47828 4.42 ..13 DiriFinBull 1788643 10.52 34 Intel 471656 16.13 ..19 Gainers ($2 or more) Gainers ($2 or more) Name Last Chg Chg Name last Chg Chg FsllnIT 5.74 'IS .37 Novavai 3.26 'IJ9 SlralHfrt 5.51 .1.45 -357 WindRvf 11.76. .176 StratHpffl 5.74 449 SotCV-B 200 ..60 FWTlpfK 12.83 .293 .296 CowenGp 659 L8 362 kiFH pf! 1278 2A3 "25.9 OtuluS 4.40 L04 3L0 Losers ($2 or more) Losers ($2 or more) Name Last Chg Chg Name Last Chg Chg Salysm 2JJ6 45.4 OdysMar 221 42.9 Prime 3,00 JO 443 AtlBcGp 4.59 -215 AberfitC 27,95 -175 -113 SiewnNip 9.15 ClayMSS 17.79 NoresIB 9.00 H.55 LWinBear 4.41 -M 47 MlyFinl 4.15 -30 -124 Diary Diary AdwantPd 2361 Advanced 1,941 Declined 693 Declined 765 Unchanged. 103 Unchanged 149 Totalissues. 1154 Total iisues New Higtts .17 New Highs 40 Newlows 3 Newlorn '3 Volume v. 1125,070.373 .2,380.925,477 jin.tciiimtti 52 Wook YTD 52-Week YTD Name' Orv High Low Last Chg Chg Name Dtv High Low Last Chg Chg Mswe J80 51.30 U77 25.80 '09 -212 HaWesh 64 35.58 19.00 2610 .13 -99 Man i6 4028 U.53 28.38 58 i6 Wnet 19.79 4.06 8.35 J7 -4U Bertt 147000.00 70050.02- 90200 .700 -66 NoratiS I72e 61.30 13.34 40.04 "34 -HU BerkB 470100 2241.00 2913 -87.

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Wheat NO. 2: 6.25. 6 55 Corn No. 2: 4.06. 4,09 Milo No.

2: 3.59. 3 81 Soybeans: 11.83, 11.88 Ian 10 Mar ID Wed's On the Web Stock and mutual fund quotes, company and mutual fund profiles and expanded business and financial news are available at (oumalstar.com newsbojJnesg. Or Kill 1-800-555-8355 lor free 'telephone stock quotes. sales 146014 dividends and earnings In Canadian dollars OMdtndii I Extra dividends were paid, but are not included, Amount declared or paid in last 12 months, Current annual rate, which was increased by most recent dtvklend announcement, Stocks: II stock was anew issue the last year -the 52-week high and km ligures are Mutated Irom their start date. i-historKal prices have be.