El Paso Times from El Paso, Texas • 28

El Paso Times Jan. 24, 1995 Pago SI 6D Stocks Business desk, 546-6145 a Lv A I Dow Jones Industrials Close: 3,867.41 alternate Volume: 325.84 million A i 4000 39S0 i i CMimtoe ta 3850 3800 3750 3700 3650 3600 Dec. 27 TWTFM NYSE 0.09 at 253.47 AMEX 0.73 at 436.91 By Plana Washington Valdez El Paso Times Today's State of the Union message likely wrll be filled with financial implications for every taxpayer's pocketbook, experts said. 1.03 at 465.81 NASDAQ 9 2.54 at 759.51 Market ummary: Stocks end 4 ed lower Monday, but significant Some of the I Si 71 ly aoove tneir lows tor the ses sion, amid weakness on foreign A markets and concern about in terest rates. 1 I El Paso Times ss c- areas analysts expect the president to address in-clude the U.S.

loan guarantees for Mexico, welfare reform, income tax credits Salazar State of the Union: President i talks to nation tonight 1A port in Congress for said Tim Roth, chairman of Universi-; ty of Texas at El Paso's econom- ics department. Under a current proposal some welfare recipients will be taken off welfare aften two years, Roth said. "One of the questions will be who will be re-' sponsible for providing employment opportunities to these people Taxpayers will want to-know how expensive the (joDEs) training will be and what will happen at the end of the" two years. If anything, welfare rer form should reduce the tax burden, not increase it." '3 Tax proposals: Possibilities include a $500-a-child tax Cedit, middle class tax cuts and capital gains strategies. "These (proposals) woujd be very good for us because w6 have more of a middle class in EL Paso than in great many other cities," said Paul Whitely, district manager of Block in El Paso.

i Help for Mexico's peso cri-; sis: Will offering Mexico $4Q btf- lion in taxpayer-subsidized oan guarantees stimulate jobs? "We should see it as an investment. If we don't take care of tt now we will pay for it with our jobs and our economy," sai At Fierro, president of the El Paso Hispanic Chamber of-Commferce. BORDERLAND Channel 7's new owner: A Missouri company officially became the owner Monday of El Paso's Channel 7 KVIA (cable Channel 6). Gazzette of St. Joseph, paid $19.9 million to buy the station from Marsh Media of El Paso.

The purchase was announced last year but needed approval of federal regulators before becoming final. Dave Bradley president of KVIA's new parent company, said no changes are Top sales producer: El Pasoan Jim Lattimer has been recognized as one of Oakwood Homes Top 20 Sales Producers, said Gwen Scott, spokeswoman for the firm based in Greensboro, N.C. and interest rates. Here is what some our experts had to say about these issues: Interest rates: Will the speech have any impact? "The biggest concern of investors is interest rates," El Paso broker Barbara Salazar said. There's been discussion that the Federal Reserve plans again to raise short-term interest rates, prompting a tightening effect.

People will put less money in savings and will purchase less as interest on credit cards goes up. "But it's hard to say whether (Clinton's) speech will have an effect on interest rates," Salazar said. Welfare reform: Will it really make any difference for the average taxpayer? "Without question something in this area is going to happen, because there is bipartisan sup- vr "-w i ik mui tnmiP --Hawk Grace Saenz Dickson El Paso Times Michael Hernandez, president of Congdon Machine Works, Is using the Small Business Administration's 504 loan program to finance a new building. The top 20 are the company's best sales producers out of more than 800 salespeople in Oakwood's n. Ll Energy-saving building sizes down electric costs Maximum loan guarantee lower SBA program offers merchants hope The U.S.

Small Business' Administration provides long-term financing for acquiring land, buildings and equipment, as well as for renovations through its 504 program. It's one of 10 SBA programs available. Information: SBA, 540-5155; or Upper Rio Grande Development 533-0998. Paso Electric Company offers its customers brochures on how to perform 'm a home do-it-yourself energy audit The information can be mailed directly to the consumer. I Information: By Slto Negron El Paso Times For an initial investment of about $300,000 in cutting-edge technology, the owner of an East Side office building is saving thousands of dollars in energy costs each month and helping the environment by using less energy.

The two-story building at Hawkins and Montana, which opened about six months ago and is used by the Immigration and Naturalization Service, uses new technology to tightly control the heating and cooling systems and the electrical outlets. The result is big savings for building owner David Bingham, who said the investment was made because the 15-year lease with the federal agency calls for full-service that is, the owner pays the utility bills. "With a 15-year government lease, we didn't want to get trapped into something that was inefficient," Bingham said. "We're averaging about a $1.26 available through another Small Business Administration loan program. National demand for loan guarantees caused the agency to reconsider how much money it could guarantee through its 7(a) program it's most popular loan program.

On Jan. 1, the maximum guarantee was reduced to $500,000 from $750,000. But the new limit does not apply to the agency's 504 program, which allows long-term financing through a certified development company. The program is aimed at those seeking loans for land, building and equipment acquisition and building renovations. Michael Hernandez, president of Congdon Machine Works, said he chose the 504 By Yvette Armendarlz El Paso Times The U.S.

Small Business Administration has lowered the maximum loan it will guarantee through its most popular program, but another little-used program offers business owners an alternative, coordinators say. "People didn't know enough about it (the agency's 504 loan program), and the banks were hesitant about using it. But now SBA is very eager (to push it), and banks are pushing it," said Homero Galicia, 504 coordinator for the Uppet Rio Grande Development Co. Calicia said he's pushing the program as an alternative for businesses seeking buildings, land and equipment because of the recent reduction of funds program because of the loan terras and down payment But Hernandez thinks some small businesses might be put off by the program. "It takes an awful long time to use it (because of the time it takes for paperwork to clear)," he said.

Rene Parra, a commercial loan officer at Bank of the West, said the typical 504 loan Please see Loan 5D 14 per square foot in total electrical use, which includes lighting, computers and cooling. Buildings this size in El Paso pay -up to three times this." V. The building is 55,000 square feet, and the yearly electrical bill adds up to about $69,000, Bingham said it generally costs about $200,000 to install heating, cooling and electrical systems in buildings of compare ble size. The building itself j. Please see Energy 50 1 1L Lattimer jner has been with the company since October 199.1 He was inducted into the company's Quota Club and Hall of Fame.

Oakwood, with operations in 20 states, is the nation's No. 1 retailer of manufactured homes. Task force to meet: SAFE 2000 Community Partnership Program is having its BASTA (Business Against Substance arid.Tobacco Abuse) task force meeting from 7:30 to 9 ajn. Wednesday at the Holiday Inn Airport, 6655 Gateway West. The topic will be "Drug Free Wprkplaces: Steps to set up your Drug Free Workplace." Joe Provencio will be the presenter.

The seminar is free for business ownersmanagers. Information: 778-5336. Investment seminar set: Learn about mutual fund investing basics and about choosing mutual funds that can.Jelfiyou meet your objectives at a seminar by Charles 1 Schwab Co. from 6 to 7 p.m. 3lat the El Paso Wsuide Library, 125 Belvi-, dere.

"'Please call to R.S.V.P. at 585-8681. Juarez site of seminar: U.S. I businesses are invited to at-; tend a global sales seminar Feb. 29 in Juarez, spon- i sored by SCEDE (Center for Economic Development Stud- Topics will include increas- ing sales, motivating sales personnel, perfecting sales techniques and excellence in customer Bervice.

Information and registration: In Juarez (0115216) 70, 16-70-71 or by FAX fl3W9. Advertising targeted: React- by the fly- ing public, the Transportation Department said it will tighten its control over airline ad- TPrtising, scheduling, and fre- qucnt flier practices. Jhete will be extensive erotiny of two-for-one and 60- perccnt-off price promotions. i Umaa ttaff, wtra raporta Tmi Hackers 'hijack' computer systems linked to Internet Hackers have discovered a new way to "hijack" computer systems linked to the Internet, threatening security to millions of computers in the global network. Many systems that were thought to be protected by sophisticated hardware and software "firewalls" are now vulnerable to theft and eavesdropping, said an official at the Loans vital to Mexico's recovery Associated Press MEXICO CITY Treasury Secretary Guillermo Ortiz Monday outlined the government's plan to stabilize the Mexican economy, Baying U.S.

loan guarantees would help relieve the country of its crushing debt burden. "The economic strategy we are proposing incorporates the difficult lessons we have learned from this and other crises we have overcome," Ortiz said in an address to Mexican lawmakers. Mexico City plans to use foreign loans to help ease the country through the crisis that erupted with the collapse of the peso. The government also would sharply curtail spending to control inflation, and plans deregulation measures and the sale of state-owned assets to make the economy more competitive. The peso has plunged 39 per- Associated Press Guillermo Ortiz, Mexican treasury secretary, talked to opposition party members Monday before outlining a recovery plan to the Mexican Congress in Mexico City.

government-financed Computer Emergency Response Team, said. I' The Intruders fool computers into believing that a i message is coming from a trusted source, using a method -known as Internet protocol spoofing. By posing as a familiar computer, an attacker can get access to protected computer resources and seize control of what was considered a well-guarded system. Then the Intruders can use a "hijacking tool" to take over connections from any user on the system. Intruders using the new technique can copy or de- i stroy documents or do other damage by masquerading as an authorized user, CERT said in an advisory distributed Mon- day on the Internet.

About 20 million people use the global Internet, and', in coming months it's expected to continue growing rapidly as a medium for commerce. Peso: Juarez markets struggle with devaluation 1A Clinton administration's proposed $40 billion loan-guarantee package, which is under fire in the U.S. Congress. The loans would back new debt securities that the Mexican government would issue to foreign investors to replace $28 billion in dollar-linked bonds coming due this year. cent against the dollar since Dec.

20. Ensuing investor flight sent the Mexican stock and bond markets hurtling downward. Central to the plan is the 4.