Austin American-Statesman from Austin, Texas • 32

D2 Austin American-Statesman BUSINESS Thursday, February 23, 2006 GROCERY: H-E-B says it will follow growth patterns in region Continued from Dl has tied up land in Kyle and Round Rock for possible future stores. H-E-B's Hutto land is part of the Star Ranch master planned community, which will eventually include 3,500 homes. Owner and developer Tim Timmerman owns between 2,500 and 3,000 acres in the Round Rock-Hutto-Pflugerville area. Timmerman said he had tried to lure H-E-B to his property for years and credits a strategic partnership agreement reached with the city last year with giving Star Ranch a leg up. Under the agreement, Hutto will do a limited annexation of the 40-acre commercial part of Star Ranch, and part of the sales taxes will be diverted to help pay for a new road that will provide less congested access to Texas 130 than the planned frontage road.

H-E-B and its frequent development partner, Barshop Oles, recently bought 38 acres at the northwest corner of Interstate 35 and FM 1626 in Kyle, where they plan to build a grocery store with 60,000 square feet of additional retail space. The site replaced a 51-acre parcel at the northeast corner of Interstate 35 and RM 150 where the company had long advertised a future store. Lockett said the company likes to remain flexible. "If the growth pattern changes, wn'll move with the growth pattern," Lockett said. "(Texas) 130 is a brand new entrance into Central Texas, and we'll have to watch and see how this develops." H-E-B's desire for flexibility also stems from constant adjusting of its store design.

The company recently has favored larger stores such as the new Round Rock H-E-B Plus, which includes electronics, power tools and furniture in addition to an expanded grocery selection. Health screening company In-terFit Health will open a Redi-Clinic in the store today. H-E-B isn't the only retailer looking to position itself along Texas 130, a highway many expect to generate a residential development boom. "We've never really seen this type of growth we're going to see over the next five to 10 years over on the east side of 1-35, so all the retailers are circling around (Texas) 130 and trying to determine where they are going to be and where are the intersections that are going to house the larger retail developments," said Staubach Co. Senior Vice President Todd Wallace, who is marketing nearly 80 acres at Texas 130, Texas 45 and FM 685.

kmortonstatesman.com; 445-3641 TRIAL: Former executive testifies Inflation on the rise, but weekly earnings aren't keeping pace outside Enron directors including 10 who put up $13 million from their own pockets after they had sold inflated stock. Other banking and brokerage heavyweights that have not struck settlements and remain defendants in the action include Merrill Lynch Barclays PLC, Toronto-Dominion Bank, Royal Bank of Canada, Deutsche Bank AG and the Royal Bank of Scotland Group PLC. About 50,000 Enron stock and bond holders led by the university's board of regents filed claims in the action. Approximate damages reach $47 billion, but Lerach has said the actual awards will be pennies on the dollar. In the criminal case, defense attorneys questioned Paula Rieker, a former Enron vice president who has directly challenged Lay's claim that he thought Enron was strong in the months before the company crashed into bankruptcy.

She said he knew bad news was brewing when he painted a rosy picture for Wall Street. TECH: Grant is called vital to recruiting Continued from Dl about 70 people. Last May, Bayer Crop-Science and the Texas Tech regents created a $500,000 endowed professorship for work in the genetic enhancement of crops. Cepica said Texas Tech is investing $1 million in equipment and support personnel for Wilkins' team over three years. He said the state grant was "absolutely" essential in persuading Wilkins to consider and eventually choose Texas Tech.

"No question, this was instrumental in bringing this genomics team together," Cepica said. The Legislature created the emerging tech fund last year at Perry's request. The fund is intended to increase collaboration between public entities and private businesses and to attract top researchers to the state. relderstatesman.com; 445-3671 talent pool likely shrinking The main culprits behind January's higher CPI reading were rising energy and food prices. Excluding those costs, so-called core inflation rose by a modest 0.2 percent in January after a 0.1 percent increase in December.

Federal Reserve officials are especially interested in the core inflation readings. By excluding energy and food prices, which can swing wide- ly, the core inflation gauge gives economists a better sense of how other prices are acting. From an economic point of view, core inflation isn't overly worrisome, but it is "generating some angst within the Fed," said Sherry Cooper, chief economist at BMO Nesbitt Burns. "The risks remain skewed to a mild up-creep in core inflation during the months ahead," and that will keep the Fed on a rate-raising path, she predicted. Other economists said the Fed is on track for another rate increase March 27 and 28 and may bump up rates again at the next meeting May 10.

NCSoft has had 12 highly paid positions open for about a year, Garriott said. The company recently opened a Beijing office of 25 artists because it wasn't able to find local talent. All those who spoke to the council called for the city to conduct an economic-impact study to get a sense of the industry's size. They also pushed for developing higher-education curriculum centered on game development and more actively promoting Austin throughout the video game industry. rrayasamstatesman.com; 912-2942 BUSINESS CENTRAL TEXAS DIGEST By Jeannine Aversa ASMX'IATOM'KKSS WASHINGTON People are feeling the pinch from rising inflation.

"It's tough out there for most households," economist Joel Naroff said after the government reported Wednesday that consumer prices rose in January at the fastest pace in four months. The Consumer Price Index advanced by 0.7 percent, compared with a 0.1 percent dip in December. The seesaw pattern mostly reflects gyrating energy prices. "Consumers continue to be battered by rising costs," said Naroff, president of Naroff Economic Advisers. With overall inflation gaining momentum, families' budgets were strained.

A separate report from the Labor Department showed that average weekly earnings, adjusted for inflation, dropped by 0.4 percent in January compared with a year earlier. For most workers last year, paychecks didn't keep pace with inflation. BRIEFING $9.77. They have gained 14.7 percent over the past 12 months. Brigham million, or 26 cents a share, for the quarter that ended Dec.

31, on revenue of $36.6 million. Analysts surveyed by Thomson First Call expected earnings of 28 cents a share. In the year-earlier quarter, Brigham reported net income of $5 million, or 12 cents a share, on revenue of $20.2 million. For the full year 2005, the company earned $27.4 million, or 63 cents a share, on revenue of $97 million. That compares with net income of $19.7 million, or 47 cents a share, on revenue of $72.2 million in 2004.

Brigham forecast revenue in the current quarter between $27.4 million and $29 million, below the $32.5 million average forecast of analysts. MOVE officer for Agere Systems Inc. and previously spent 20 years at IBM Corp. Bryan Hastings has been named national sales manager for KNVA, Austin's WB Television Network station. Hastings previously was an account executive at the station for nearly five years.

Brandon Arnold has been named vice president of the Attention: Computer Resellers! Axms has a huge Inventory Desktops Laptops Monitor Peripherals and much more! Call Mike at Axiess for more Why Walltech? High quality. At WaUtech quality begins and ends with the customer. We help you do it right, and do it right the first time. HermanMillerPreowned.com 512-835-9506 10519 Buyer Blvd. LAi Walltech Office furniture solution, better than new.

proliferating here, recently, game publishers Microsoft Corp. and Acclaim Entertainment Inc. pulled up stakes in Austin. Meanwhile, other cities are using incentives to lure video game business and "steal our thunder," Gibbs said. Big publishers, which finance game development, act like anchor retail tenants at a mall, pulling in talents and creating spin-off companies.

Their loss shakes the industry perception of Austin as a place to develop games, making it harder to recruit talent. ADVERTISING Austin agency gets Teen Mania portfolio Tocquigny, an Austin marketing firm, was named agency of record for Teen Mania Ministries. The agency will develop a campaign that includes a Web site, text messaging and pod-casts to reach teenagers on issues including teen pregnancy, alcohol abuse and suicide. Because of the unique goals, "It's a very exciting, inspiring campaign," said Yvonne Tocquigny, CEO of the agency. The agency will work in tandem with Teen Mania's plans for a series of multiday events that will include Christian bands performing in cities such as San Francisco, Detroit and Philadelphia.

"We chose to work with David Laird Tom Linton Dividends Period Rate Record Payable WEDNESDAY DIVIDENDS DECLARED Ex-vice president: Lay knew news was bad, said otherwise Continued from Dl combined $6.6 billion has risen to $6.7 billion with interest. Before those agreements, some $500 million in settlements had been reached with Lehman Brothers Holdings Bank of America Andersen Worldwide, and 18 former GAME: Local Jobs go unfilled as big studios leave, other cities lure business Continued from Dl At the same time, game budgets and complexities are growing. The budget price tag of "Tabula Rasa," an online game South Korea-based NCSoft is developing, is $25 million, Garriott said. Austin is poised to grab a piece of that business, but it faces some hurdles. Even though small studios are Attention Is your company upgrading? DiscountEloctronics com Is buying Dell computers and laptops, Mac G3G4 iHacs and tower i aa well as HP laser printers, memory CPUs hard drives.

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shares fell 8.5 percent Wednesday, the day after the Austin-based oil and gas producer reported lower-than-expected earnings for the fourth quarter and issued a tepid forecast for the current quarter. Shares lost 91 cents to close at ON THE David Laird returns to the Heart Hospital of Austin as president and CEO. He previously was regional chief financial officer for MedCath Inc. and before that was CFO of Heart Hospital of Austin. Tom Linton has been named vice president, chief procurement officer for Austin-based Freescale Semiconductor Inc.

He had been chief procurement Call Inside Line, 416-5700, enter category S-T-O-K (7865). Updated every 15 minutes during the trading day. I'ISIDEllllE FREE PHONE INFORMATION $12. 416.5700 For help on using Stock Quote Hotline enter 7860. MEDICAL DEVICES Slowing sales trim HealthTronics stock HealthTronics Inc.

warned Wednesday that fourth-quarter profit will be lower than previously forecast, and its stock fell 8 percent to $7.26 a share. The Austin-based maker of medical devices related to urology and specialty medical vehicles said it now expects earnings of 7 cents to 10 cents a share, compared with earlier estimates of 12 cents to 13 cents a share. It will report earnings March 8. The main reason is lower sales of devices. But interim CEO John Barnidge said the company's urology services and specialty vehicles performed well.

Compiled from staff reports truckload division for Round Rock-based Intelligent Logistics LLC. He previously was vice president of operations. Phyllis Barham succeeds Arnold at Intelligent Logistics. She previously was general manager for Action Freight Services. Send submissions to business statesman.com; call 445-3835 Period Rate Record Payable United Univest Cp of PA U-Store-ltTr Valspar Corp Xcel Energy Inc .12 3-1 .19 3-6 .29 4-10 .11 4-3 .215 3-30 .225 3-3 3- 15 4- 3 4-24 4-14 4-20 3-15 xenum Techs MUTUAL FUNDSETFJ ACM GovtOpportun .037 3-3 .0515 3-3 .0175 3-3 3-17 3-17 317 3-17 3-17 3-17 3-17 3-17 3-17 3-22 3-22 3-22 3-22 3-22 3- 22 4- 28 5- 31 6- 30 4- 28 5- 31 6- 30 3-22 3-20 return of 3-22 3-15 ACM MngdDollarinco ACM Mngdlnco ACM MuniSecslnco Alliance CAMunilnc Alliance Nat'l Mun Alliance NV Munlnc Alliance WldDIGv2 Alliance WldDIGv Amer Inco Fund Amer Muni Inco Amer Select Port Amer Strtgc Incl Amer Strtgc Incll Amer Strtgc Inclll Cornerstone StrVal Cornerstone StrVal Cornerstone StrVal Cornerstone TtlRtn Cornerstone TtlRtn Cornerstone TtlRtn Fst Amer MN Muni .054 3-3 .08 3-3 .083 3-3 .064 3-3 .0745 3-3 .069 3-3 .0425 3-3 .072 3-3 .07 3-3 .06 3-3 .08 3-3 .065 3-3 .087 4-13 .087 5-15 .087 6-15 .176 4-13 .176 5-15 .176 6-15 .056 3-3 Liberty All-Star Eq .23 3-3 x- Includes .01 income, .10 cap gain and .12 cap gain.

MN Muni Inco .067 3-3 Realty Income .1163 3-1 g- payable in Canadian funds. The Chart shows characters and the phone button numbers to press. (For most letters the first digit is the number of the phone button containing the character. The second digit indicates that the letter is the first, second or third 6 letter on that button.) 'H MORTGAGE RATE Call Inside Line, 416-5700, and below to hear the most recent mortgage rates for individual lenders. LENDERS AAXA Discount Mortgage .2045 A.

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FREE PHONE I 1 4 1 Kathy Warbdow, executive business editor, 445-3662, kwarbelowstatesman.com John Pletz, terminology news, 445-3601, jpletzstatesman.com Denis Becker, development and real estate news, 445-3931, dbeckerstatesman.com Send information to businessstatesman.com, fax to 445-3971 or mail to Business Desk, Austin American-Statesman, P.O. Box 670, Austin, TX 78767.