Albuquerque Journal from Albuquerque, New Mexico • 21

Albuquerque journal DbW NASDAQ SKP COCA-COLA New label will look familiar but cleaner NYSE Stocks 2 Miction 8,778.06 16.C0 $28.77 -LAS' 439.17 C4 BJUSItiGSS UNFINISHED COASTER Did Street See Bottom In July Analysts Are Cheered By a 2nd Week of Gains By Amy Baldwin The Associated Press NEW YORK Turning cautious after Wall Street's big two-day rally, investors left stocks mixed Friday, taking some profits in blue-chip issues and doing some buying in the tech sector. Still, the major stock indicators all scored their second straight weekly advance, an achievement not seen in five months. "The bottoming process is in hand," said Larry Wach- ,4 tel, market analyst at Prudential Securities, of the market's two-week gains. The Dow Jones industrial average closed 40.08 at 8,778.06. The; loss was attributable largely to profit rtaking after the Dow's two-day gain of 335.75.

Watch AROUND NEW MEXICO Staff and Wire Reports Richardson Will Spoak on Safety New Mexico Council 18 of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees is sponsoring a one-day Occupational Safety and Health Conference from 10 a.m.-S p.m. today at the Albuquerque Hilton Hotel, 1901 University NE. New Mexico gubernatorial candidate Bill Richardson will speak on strengthening state OSHA laws during the 10 a.m. session. Sessions will include back injuries, infectious diseases, toxic chemicals and workplace violence.

For more information, call '830-6000. Carlsbad Hospital Expanding Its ER The Carlsbad Medical -Center will spend $2.8 million to renovate and expand its emergency room. The center said the expansion will double the size of its emergency room by 2004. The project will begin before the end of the year. The emergency department will expand from seven curtained bays and three specialty rooms to 12 general treatment rooms, plus four specialty rooms designed for major trauma, casting, obstetrics and pediatrics.

Mesa Lowers Fare From Carlsbad Mesa Airlines hopes it can attract more customers for its Carlsbad-to-Albuquerque flights by offering a lower fare. From now until the end of October, the airline is offering a one-way rate of $79 for tickets purchased 21 days in advance. Mesa hopes to keep flying between the two cities. Scott Lyon, vice president of community affairs, said the company eliminated its Saturday stay-over requirement for advance ticket purchases effective Thursday. ROBERTO E.

ROSALESJOURNAL Custom Coasters, which Cliff's Amusement Park hired to build the Rattler, filed for Chapter 7 In July. Cliffs has hired the contractor's workers to finish the wooden coaster on Its own. Cliff's Takes Over Rattler CoestracMom Contractor Went Out of Business in July "We're hoping to have it open by state) fair time." Broader market indexes finished mixed. The Nasdaq composite index rose 16 points, or 1.2 percent, to 1,361.01, having advanced 75.73 in the previous two sessions. The Standard Poor's 500 index fell 1.48 to 928.77, after a two-day gain of 46.04." The market's three major gauges claimed their second straight weekly advance, a feat they last accomplished in the period ended March 8.

The Nasdaq was the week's biggest winner, surging 4.2 percent. The had a weekly advance of 2.2 percent, while the Dow gained 0.4 percent. Market observers attributed the two-week winning streak to signs that the market found a bottom in late July. Among Friday's winners, Target rose 50 cents to $35.54, the day after reporting a 27 percent increase in second-quarter profits. Technology got a lift from Texas Instruments, rising $1.69 to $21.99 after reconfirming its third-quarter earnings outlook.

As for detliners, American Eagle Outfitters tumbled 98 cents to $14.79 after Morgan Stanley downgraded the stock. Advancing issues outnumbered decliners nearly 5 to 4 on the New York Stock Exchange. Consolidated volume: was light at 1.55 billion shares, below 1.82 billion on Thursday. A HAYS, CO-OWNER OF CLIFF'S ers to build its roller coaster because of the company's "outstanding reputation," Hays said. Custom Coasters, which specialized in wooden roller coasters, has built a total 40 worldwide, including such top-rated rides as the Ghostrider at Knott's Berry Farm in Buena Park, Calif.

But industry watchers say ride manufacturing is a precarious business. "There's no manufacturer that's doing really well right now," said Tim O'Brien, senior editor of Amusement Business magazine, which tracks the amusement park industry. Between 1995 and 2000, ride manufacturers' business flourished as amusement park owners rushed to build coasters to draw bigger crowds, O'Brien said. In the past two years, however, coaster manufacturing dried up as the market became saturated, he said. Crews from Custom Coaster began to install concrete foundations for the Rattler in February.

By Rosalie Rayblrn Journal Staff Writer Cliff Amusement Park is going ahead with construction of its roller coaster after the company hired to do the job went out of business. The park hopes to open the ride, called the New Mexico Rattler, by early September. Cliffs hired 17 Custom Coaster employees and an additional eight workers to finish the 80-foot-tall Rattler New Mexico's first full-size roller coast-'er. "We needed to finish the project and they were willing to do it," said Gary Hays, who owns Cliff's Amusement Park, with his wife, Linda. The West Chester, Ohio-based coaster manufacturer abruptly ceased operations in mid-July.

Cliffs originally hoped to open the roller coaster June 21, but equipment deliveries caused repeated delays. "We're hoping to have it open by (state) fair time," Hays told the Journal on Thursday. The New Mexico State Fair opens Sept. 6 in Albuquerque. There was no indication that Custom Coaster was in financial trouble before the company's founder and president, Denise Linn, told Cliffs in mid-July that she was closing her company, Hays said.

"It was like lightning out of the sky," he said. Hays said he learned later that Custom Coasters had filed for Chapter 7 in bankruptcy court, which means the company shuts down and liquidates its assets. Custom Coasters' bankruptcy filing caused some delays and some additional costs for the $2 million Cliff project, Hays said. "We don't know the full amount yet, but it's not a lot," he said. Cliff had picked Custom Coast Stromberg's Inc.

Files Chapter 7 NATION By Charles D. Brunt Journal Staff Writer Men's clothier Stromberg's part of Albuquerque's fashion scene for nearly seven decades before" closing this has filed a Chapter 7 bankruptcy petition. Chapter 7 of the U.S. Bank Consumer Inflation Still Docile lis Housing Dip Says the Recovery Is Slowing CONSUMER PRICES ruptcy Code provides for liquidation, or the sale of a debtor's nonexempt property and the distribution of the proceeds to creditors. In the bankruptcy petition filed Tuesday in Albuquerque, Stromberg's lists $822,683 in unsecured debts and $58,141 in assets.

The largest creditors are Gretchen Stromberg, owner of Stromberg's for loans of New Mexico Tax and iMF-" 1 4- 2.9 Percent by month, seasonally adjusted: 2 STROMBERG: Owner Is the largest 1.6 Andersen Loses Its Texas License AUSTIN, Texas -Accounting firm Arthur Andersen on Friday lost its license to practice in Texas, the home state of its former client Enron. The Texas State Board of Public Accountancy, which regulates the Texas accounting prof ession, voted unanimously to revoke the irm's license because of the company's obstruction of justice conviction. Charter Cable Firm Investigated ST. LOUIS -Federal prosecutors are investigating Charter Communications the nation's fourth-largest cable television company, for how it accounts for some expenses, Charter officials said Friday. The company, controlled by billionaire Paul Allen, received a grand jury subpoena from the U.S.

Attorney's office in St. Louis on Thursday, seeking documents related to how the company accounts for costs for current and disconnected cable TV subscribers. 92 1 '01 0.6 0.4 id: decided to hold interest rates steady but opened the door to future reductions if economic conditions worsen. In a fresh sign of the slowing recovery, the Commerce Department said housing construction in July fell by 2.7 percent for the second straight month. Though weaker than many analysts expected, July's decline left the level of housing units under construction at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.65 million, a respectable pace.

"I think the weakness of the economic recovery and the weakness of the stock market had dampening effects," said Michael Carliner, economist at the National Association of Home Builders. Consumers are still jittery. A preliminary reading from the University of Michigan showed that its consumer sentiment index for August edged down to 87.9 from 88.1 in July, economists said. By Jeannine Aversa The Associated Press WASHINGTON Consumer inflation inched up in July, with lower prices providing some bargains for clothes horses and air passengers, but rising prices hitting the wallets of motorists and Americans needing medical care. The Labor Department reported Friday that its Consumer Price Index, the government's most closely watched inflation gauge, rose by a seasonally adjusted 0.1 percent for the second month in a row.

The latest reading on the CPI was better than the 0.2 percent rise many analysts were expecting. "Inflation looks good. It is not even flashing yellow on the Fed's radar screen," said Richard Yamarone, an economist with Argus Research Corp. The Federal Reserve on Tuesday Revenue Department, seeking an estimated and Forall USA seeking $34,187. Gretchen Stromberg, granddaughter of store founder Anton Bernhardt "Ben" Stromberg, announced in April that the upscale men's store at 6640 Indian School Road NE was closing.

"Times have Stromberg said in an April interview. "The clothing culture has changed. And Albuquerque has grown so much. The old Albuquerque knows us, but the new Albuquerque doesn't." The family owned the business for three' generations. During its heyday, Stromberg's had three Albuquerque stores and a Santa Fe store.

IT ASONDJFMAMJJ. 2001 2002 Known as 'coniumar Dries lnd; than monthly inflation prices SOURCE: US. Bureau of Labor Statistic KNKSIff WOOER TO9UNE DIZFACT Home Improvement Adding bathrooms is the most popular renovation Americans make to their homes. Other statistics: Stock Analyst Quits, Blames Second-Guessing Annual number of homeowners who improve their homes 26 million (25) Annual spending on home improvement er and an adviser on mergers and other deals that generated millions of dollars in investment banking fees for Salomon. "I did my work as an industry analyst within a widely understood framework consistent with industry practice that is now being extensively second-guessed," Grubman said in his resignation letter, i Under the terms of Grub- $180 billion 1 A $15 million loan given to Grubman in 1998 which now totals $19 million in principal and interest was forgiven, said the source.

'Grubman, whose annual pay reportedly topped $20 million in recent years, was unwavering in his recommendations of many high-flying companies that were also Salomon Smith Barney clients. i The most notable of those companies were i WorldCom Inc. and Global Crossing, on which he remained bullish almost up until the time that1 those companies landed in bankruptcy, scandalized by disclosures of deceptive accounting. Grubman' has been targeted by at least 46 consumer complaints and lawsuits, many of them related to the WorldCom collapse. 1 Grubman was accused of conflicts of interest over WorldCom, Global Crossing By Bruce Meyerson i The Associated Press i NEW YORK One of the most influential stock analysts and power brokers of the technology boom is leaving Salomon Smith Barney amid investigations into his alleged conflicts of interest 1 Jack Grubman, who submitted his resignation reiterated his frustration with the mounting attacks on his dual role as a stock pick GRUBMAN: A tar analyst at Salomon SOURCE: Rurutieimer man's departure agreement, he will receive $13.2 million $1.2 million in severance pay and $12 million the firm paid to buy out the current value of bis stock and options, said a source familiar with the package.

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