Star-Phoenix from Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada • 39

Saturday, December 19, 1998 Saskatoon, Saskatchewan The StarPhoenix BUSINESS B19, marts ng online Baton changes name to CTV Inc. Hazards of shopping over the Internet Top 10 tips for eybershopping I. Use the same precautions when doing eleo: tronic transactions that you would with an other transaction. Internet commerce is no more prone to fraud than any other payment option, 1 Know who you are dealing with. 3.

Ensure the company has a privacy policy and pay attention to what information they gather, By Gillian Shaw Southam Newspapers VANCOUVER If your Christmas cheer is fast disappearing in the face of road rage in your local mall's parking lot perhaps it's time to switch your shopping to online. While at its best cyber-shopping can be efficient civilized and enormously rewarding considering it takes no more effort than punching a few computer keys at its worst it can be a security nightmare and a disappointment. You may end up setting your heart on an item, sending money out and in return, getting tattered old merchandise or nothing at all. Or you could discover your credit card has been used for someone else's shopping spree and you have only bills to show for your foray into cyber shopping. Cyberspace, like real life, has no shortage of con artists and surly servers (human ones, not the computer kind).

You have to know what you're doing and avoid the "too-good-to-be-true," offers that wouldn't tempt you if some shyster was flogging them out of the back of a van in your local mall parking lot "If the store didn't look trustworthy you wouldn't shop there anyway. Why would you shop on the Internet if you didn't know where a store was located or if you couldn't call them?" said Bob Gold, a chartered accountant and managing partner with Bennett Gold Chartered Accountants in Toronto, Canada's first licensee for Web-Trust, an electronic commerce-based seal of approval. WebTrust is one of several initiatives that have emerged to deal with issues of security and privacy in on-line commerce. Started in the U.S. by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, Web-Trust relies on trained and licensed CPAs in the states and CAs in Canada to review and audit electronic commerce sites.

The criteria used in the audit include: Business practices and disclosures, which covers how a Website does its business, takes orders, fills them, ships them and deals with such issues as returns. Transaction integrity to ensure customers get what they ordered at the price and in the time they expect I Information protection and privacy to ensure that personal information is transmitted securely and confidential information is kept that way. "With e-commerce, it's all evolving to third party assurance," said Gold. "Without some level of consumer assurance and trust the transaction numbers for e-commerce are going to stall." IBM, which is currently running TV ads showing a hacker e-mailing a company's executive salary list to all employees, has its own e-commerce solutions. "We have a secure e-business mark we will put on a merchant's site after we do some security testing on the site," said Marilyn Beaton, a market manager for IBM North America in e-commerce.

debt usually costs somewhat more than debt issued in the public market for companies with Comparable risk profiles. CTV will be focusing on improving its financial performance in the coming year now that it has largely assembled the assets it believes are necessary to compete more effectively, Fecan said. "If last year was a year of consolidation, this year and next must be years of (cash flow) growth," he said. CTV's cash flow rose 25 per cent to $47.3 million in the first quarter of 1999 ended Nov. 30., compared with the same period last year.

The issue is even more critical now because without cash flow growth, the company, which now has no controlling shareholder, will be vulnerable to a takeover. Anticipating that possibility, shareholders approved a motion to adopt a shareholders rights plan, or poison pill, that would give the company more time to fend off an unwelcome takeover. Instead of the 21 days required under securities law for a takeover bid to be open, the rights plan passed Friday sets a minimum of 60 days for a bid to be open, to give other potential bidders time to assess the situation and come forward. Since early October, more than 18 million of Baton's 42.7 million shares have traded on the exchanges, starting speculation that someone might be working toward assembling a takeover position. TORONTO (CP) The last few hairs on chair Allan Beattie's head were brushed up by a staff makeup person Friday and then Baton Broadcasting annual meeting, held on the company's new talk show set in Toronto's Masonic Temple this year, rolled.

Symbolically, directors Doug Bas-sett and Fred Eaton, whose families founded Baton 38 years ago, moved and seconded a motion to rename the company CTV Inc. Chief executive Ivan Fecan said the company's plans for 1999 include replacing some of its $248 million in bank debt "In the new year, we will be exploring opportunities to term some of our debt out with a public market debt issue," Fecan said. To aid that process, two Canadian debt rating agencies completed their first assessment of the company and awarded it low investment grade ratings Friday, he said. "It's early days yet," he said. "But we wanted to let our shareholders know that in the new year we'll explore terming some of that debt out" Dominion Bond Rating Service gave the company a triple-B rating while Canadian Bond Rating Service had it one notch lower at B-double-plus (low), just above the line dividing investment grade ratings from non-investment grade, or junk bond status.

CTV's current bank debt carries interest rates that range between 5.18 per cent and 6.45 per cent according to the company's annual report. Bank now iney use ana wno uiey sridie it wwi, 4. Check to see if the website has an policy, which allows you to prevent sharing of personal informauon with third parties. 5. Always ensure that you are in a secure environment when entering credit card numbers and other sensitive data.

If you don't see the unbroken-key or closed padlock or if you see a broken-key or open-padlock your transaction is not being securely transmitted and could be intercepted by a third party. 6. Be familiar with the encryption abilities of your Internet browser and what it means to your privacy. I 7. Gear the cache of your browser after visiting secure sites.This will ensure that nobody else can view any confidential information you may have 8.

Use common sense and be aware of potential security 9. Check to see if the Web site has been given a seal of approval, so you know the site and product are credible 10. If you have children, instruct them never to give out their name or other personal information online without your permission. Source: Canadian Bankers Association's publication, Commerce Enters a New Age Livent fires employees who started controversy Christmas Wish Marathon Thank-You Friendship Inn would like to thank the donors and sponsors that made this event successful: Pepsi-Cola Canada Beverages Prairie Mobile Communications Robin's Donuts 2nd Avenue Rockey Mountain Imprinted Sportswear Saskatoon Fire Department Saskatoon Police Service Star Phoenix Tim Horton's Donuts founders Garth Drabinsky and Myron Gottlieb. Drabinsky and Gottlieb deny the allegations and have countersued.

The SEC has allowed the five Messina, Chris Craib, Tony Fiorino, Grant Malcolm and Diane Winkfein to work as consultants until Jan. 8 to help with Livent's restructuring, Webster said. However, they aren't allowed to work at Livent's office. RCMP officers began seizing documents from Livent's head office on Wednesday. About 750 boxes of documents had been removed by Thursday.

Livent one of Canada's biggest live-theatre producers, filed for bankruptcy protection in November and nearly folded before being bailed out with a $5-million pledge from directors. An Ontario Court judge ruled Thursday that people who hold tickets to cancelled Livent shows have the right to a refund but will have to line up along with other unsecured creditors. Ontario Court Judge Jack Ground said the public has the right to get its money back. But he rejected an argument by lawyers that they should jump the queue of creditors under the Consumer Protection Act BBS- CFQC Big Sisters of Saskatoon Boston Pizza 51 st Street Brainsport Athletics Ltd. CBC Saskatoon Ecol Direct Mail Global Television M.D.

Ambulance Meewasin Valley Authority TORONTO (CP) The five employees of Livent Inc. who blew the whistle on alleged accounting irregularities at the Toronto-based theatre company have been fired as part of Livent's settlement with U.S. securities regulators. Livent's chief financial officer, Maria Messina, was the most senior of five financial staff who received pink slips from Livent on Monday. The U.S.

Securities and Exchange Commission was expected to file civil charges as early as Friday against former senior mangers of Livent. The SEC told Livent Inc. to fire the five employees because they are expected to be among those facing civil charges. Robert Webster, Livent's executive vice-president, said in an affidavit filed in a New York court on Wednesday the terminations were needed if Livent wanted to "resolve consensual-ly charges which may be brought against (the company) by the SEC." The same five individuals were among the first to raise concerns about suspicious accounting at Livent to Webster in August. Their information led the company to suspend, fire and then sue co- Our special thanks to all the donors, volunteers, and runners for their support and commitment.

Classified Ads on hs Infernal! ybu are Cordially Invited to Attend ThtCMHA Teddy ear affair http:ZAvww.saskstar.sk.ca The world of StarPhoenix Classifieds got a whole lot bigger! Advertisers in our dally Classified section get their advertisements' placed on the World Wide Web, at no extra charge. Whether you're appealing for someone to buy your mechanic's or carpenter's special, tune your piano, or rent your basement your target audience now includes browsers, surfers and chatters. Click into The StarPhoenix Internet Classifieds every day! Word ads only sorry, no display ads. french Provincial Picnic fantasy Ruction The StarPhoenix, .3 653-2100 CanadiHrideTol Free: 1-80O667-6979 Si Selectable Taste of Summer to Chase JZzvay the January 'Blues njir 0 Ramada Hotel Saturday, January 23, 1999 Octets $50 -MJ Tables of 6 ($275) 8 ($350) Available Catt 683-3669 (o -mr iir.ilTiiTTnMnrilW latter Proceeds benefit i 'ine canaaian wimiui siwim Association in Saskatchewan The StarPhoenix is proud to sponsor Saskatoon's Own Alicia Popoff: Lost In The Garden Mendel Art Gallery 950 Spadina Cres Free Admission 9:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m.

This Sunday: Sfimf thing on Sumluy'n present kVfinrra Fire Choir from 2 to 4 p.m. Supporting Teople with Mental Illness in 'your Community rm mm 3 Mb5del ttAdUUJUtUttHI Sg- FM102 i.