Albuquerque Journal from Albuquerque, New Mexico • 19

ALBUQUERQUE JOURNAL WESTAR ENERGY Feds are investigating PNM's former suitor Bu DOW NASDAQ 1,189.16 27 8 NYSE 450.03 Bl SECTION' 7,701.45 C4 Wants leeMck for To Start Tests N.M. Maker Seeks Fed OK "The Lasette is already FDA-approved. What we've done is modify the Lasette for use with infants. We 're pretty confident about how the heelstick will wort" ARV OPPIDAHI, CELL ROBOTICS PRESIDENT Health System conducts approximately 200 clinical trials per year. Oppedahl said Cell Robotics would begin production of the heelstick device as soon as FDA approval is granted.

That could occur as early as next year, he said. In related developments, Cell Robotics has received clearance from the FDA for a new cosmetic laser that is used to rejuvenate skin. That device, called the Ultra Light Laser, was developed with Sandstone Medical Technologies of Alabama. Lasette uses a laser to pierce a finger's skin so that blood can be drawn for various tests. The device has been marketed to diabetics, who currently use steel needles to draw blood.

The Lasette, and the infant heelstick device, are designed to be cleaner because they, don't use needles. The devices are also relatively painless for the user, according to the company. "That's one of the reasons we're adapting the technology for infant heelsticks," Oppedahl said. St. Mary's Duluth Clinic Duluth, to perform the trials.

The device is called a "heel-stick." because it uses a laser beam to draw blood from the heel of an infant or newborn. The trials will take about eight weeks. If the clinical trials go well, Cell Robotics could win approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to begin selling the heelstick to hospitals and health clinics. The heelstick was made by modifying existing technology.

Company officials say they anticipate few if any problems By Aaron Baca Journal Staff Writer Clinical trials are scheduled to begin Monday on a new laser-based lancet for use with infants, Cell Robotics of Albuquerque has announced. Cell Robotics, which developed the device, says it has contracted with St. Mary's Duluth Clinic Health System, of during the trials. "We're using the same lasers we use in the Lasette; they're set at the same said Cell Robotics president and CEO Gary Oppedahl. "The Lasette is already FDA-approved.

What we've done is modify the Lasette for use with infants. We're pretjy confident about how the heelstick will work," he said. Cell Robotics is a developer of laser-based medical devices and scientific workstations for cell research. The company's RATTLER'S FIRST RIDER AROUND THE NATION x. 'L Recovery May Be Perkier A Higher Third Quarter Expected From Wire Reports Kozlowskl's Money Is Good NEW YORK A judge on Friday accepted Ha 1 the bail posted last week by former Tyco International Ltd.

chief executive Dennis i Kozlowski. The decision followed a hearing to determine whether the money came from proceeds of alleged crimes against the company. Manhattan State Supreme Court Justice Michael Obus, KOZLOWSKI DAVID ROCHKINDJOURNAL The New Mexico Rattler, the state's first full-size roller coaster, will open at 11 a.m. today at Cliff's Amusement Park on San Mateo. The 80-foot-tall ride, under construction since early May, underwent final testing Friday.

Crash dummies were used during some of the test runs to measure neck and back By Jeannine Aversa The Associated Press WASHINGTON The economic recovery lost momentum in the spring, but many analysts believe it picked up some speed in the current quarter as free-financing deals and record-low mortgage rates enticed people to. buy cars and nouses. The Commerce Department reported Friday that the econo-' my grew at an annual rate of 1.3 percent in the April-June quarter. The latest reading on gross domestic product, considered the best barometer of the nation's economic health, represented a stronger performance during the quarter than the 1.1 percent growth rate previously thought. It still was a dramatic slow-, down from the sizzling 5 percent pace posted during the first quarter, as consumers turned more cautious during the second quarter amid a wave of accounting scandals and a stock market slide.

Many analysts believe the GOP, which measures the total value of goods and services produced in the United States, grew at a rate of 3 percent or 4 percent in the July-September quarter. Much of that pickup is expected to reflect a more energized consumer, economists said. The rate will be announced Oct. 31, The seesaw pattern of quarterly economic growth largely reflects consumers' behavior. The Bankruptcy Advantage ANALYSIS Survivor Is Free of Debt He is "fire-engine-red mad" that some telecom rivals By Brian Bergstein The Associated Press however, re jected the bond secured with shares of Tyco stock posted by former chief financial officer Mark Swartz.

Obus said he was satisfied that the $10 million cash posted by Kozlowski's ex-wife, Angie, on his $100 million bond was part of their divorce settlement. In Swartz's case, the judge said: "The court is not satisfied that the stock offered here is acceptable." Xerox Transfers Treasurer STAMFORD, Conn. Xerox which is facing a criminal investigation of its accounting practices, announced Friday that its treasurer is being reassigned to a position in Canada. Earlier this week, Xerox said it learned that the U.S. Attorney's Office in Connecticut was investigating its accounting practices.

The world's largest copier company paid a $10 million fine and restated four years of its financial statements in a settlement in April with the Securities and Exchange Commission. GM Raising 401(k) Match DETROIT General Motors Corp. will increase the 401(k) match for nearly 45,000 U.S. salaried employees, company officials said Friday, Currently, GM matches 20 cents for every dollar an employee contributes up to 6 percent of his or her salary. The move comes after the company twice cut its match since March 2001.

First, the match fell from 80 cents to 60 cents. And then in January, it went from 60 cents to 20 cents. Ford Modifying Police Cars SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. Ford Motor Co. -t agreed Friday to install shields around the gas tanks on 350,000 Crown Victoria police cars across the country after at least a dozen officers were killed in fiery crashes.

Ford's agreement to pay for the modifications and to study ways to make the cars safer came police departments charged that the vehicles are likely to burst into flames in high- -speed, rear-end crashes. Approximately 80 percent of police cars on the road in the United States are Ford Crown Victorias. Delta Expands Loss Forecast ATLANTA Delta Air Lines said its third-quarter losses will be nearly twice as much as previously expected, sending its stock tumbling along with others in the airline sector. Delta expects to lose about $350 million in the third quarter because of sluggish revenue and demand, the carrier said Friday. "think they go I ffi YORK To most peo-' nla Kantrvninf-mr moanc I SyV) UUtUXl ItiV UAWMAAtf 1UU ure, hitting the bottom and having no way out and they will come but of the process in different shape." IVAN SEIDCNBERO, VERIZON CHIEF EXECUTIVE GDP GROWTH Percent HJIJI1HE I change from 4.

previous -v 1 ft quarter, 3 ments in order to compete. That greatly exaggerates the advantage telecoms develop if they wipe out debts in bankruptcy. "Right ho we have a one-size-fits-all bankruptcy system and perhaps we need to think about having two or more sizes," said Todd Zy wield, a bankruptcy expert at George Mason University who believes capital-intensive industries like telecommunications might need stricter bankruptcy rules. "There are real concerns here that we haven't thought of previously," he said. So far, the recent spate of telecom bankruptcies has slashed the value of surviving players' assets but does not appear to have by itself worsened price wars.

But the full effects may be felt down the road, as more companies that vaporized billions of dollars get back on track after taking cover in court. That includes Global Crossing, a fiber-optic network company that is under federal investigation for accounting fraud and filed for bank- ruptcy protection with debts of $12.4 billion. Two Asian companies that bought 61 percent of Global Crossing for just $250 million say its reshaped successor can be profitable as soon as next year. Communications, a seller of high-speed Internet access that wiped out $1.4 billion in debt during bankruptcy Restructuring last year, is aggressively pushing digital subscriber line service to consumers nationwide again with a $15 million ad campaign. seasonaiiy adjusted: 92 '01 10- 8 7i.

For companies, it often spells the beginning of the end, and those that make it through bankruptcy court are often stigmatized, shrunken and saddled with huge legal bills. Even so, corporate bankruptcy survivors have some big advantages. After selling off unprofitable divisions, once reeling companies can head back onto the field virtually debt-free giving them new power ta keep prices low and make their competitors miserable. In fact, is bankruptcy too good a deal? Ivan Seidenberg, chief executive of Verizon, raised that question recently. He complained he was "on fire, fire-engine-red that some rivals in the staggering telecommunications industry "think they go into bankruptcy and they will come out of the process in different shape." Seidenber whose company carries $59 billion in debt, called on the federal government to close some failed phone companies rather than let them wipe their slates clean in bankruptcy court "Fundamentally, what you have is companies using bankruptcy arbi- trage to fund their business model," Verizon spokesman Eric Rabe i added.

"For those of us who pay our debts, that's grotesquely unfair." With telecom giant WorldCom in bankruptcy after a startling accounting fraud, it seems inevitable that questions Would arise over whether it's fair for some companies to be allowed to come back. But many observers share a deeper worry: that each time a debt-burdened telecom company reorganizes under bankruptcy protection, the odds increase that still solvent players will have no choice but to follow suit Such ripple effects crippled the airline industry in the 1980s. like airlines, telecom companies must make extremely expensive invest 13 '99 '01' TtM traki kidleator o( U.S. tconomk: (rowtti, 0ow Domett Product It Uta total value of Joodi and MficM produoed by U.S. SOURCE; U.S.

dunmitCcenomiefmrttt "A KNIGHT RIDOER TRIBUNE tiwwj "ir "ir i Sparlde Maintenance Wins a National Award Chain Wal-Mart Kmart ill I l''M million i Barnes Noble Cafe Hl million Target Stores stores with the highest annual sales at their irvstore eateries, 2001: clean and maintain the clean rooms of Sandia National Laboratories around the clock. Other New Mexico companies honored this week included Contract Associates Inc. of Albu-queroue, Integrity Networking Systems Inc. of Albuc siue 1 and United Drilling Inc. of RoswelL T.

were selected as the U.S. Department of Commerce's Dallas Regional Minority Businesses of the Year. In addition, Deborah Valenzuela Baxter, president of Integrity Networking Systems," was named National Minority Female Entrepreneur of the Year. and pledge to excellence. It is an honor to have them represent New Mexico," McMahon said, according to A press release.

Also at the ceremony Friday, Betty Chao, president of Westech International Inc. in Albuquerque, was honored as the New Mexico Minority Small Business Person of the Year. The 8(a) Graduate Firm of the Year and the Minority Small Business Person of the Year. Awards are presented to minority small-business entrepreneurs that exemplify minority entrepreneurship. 1 In April, Sparkle was awarded a one-year contract, with an option for a four-year extension, to Joumal Staff Report Sparkle Maintenance Inc.

of Albuquerque has been named the National 8(a) Graduate Firm of. the Year Award by the Small Business Administration in Washington, D.C., on Regional SBA director Joseph Montes and New Mexico SBA director Anthony McMahon presented the award to company president Carlo Lucero and vice president Paul Lucero during the National Minority Enterprise Development Week Celebration. "We commend Carlo and Paul Lucero of Sparkle Maintenance Inc. for their commitment 'SS2Sk liLJmiaioii. TRtBUNE ii 1 1 5.