The Gazette from Cedar Rapids, Iowa • 20

MoneyAgribusiness The Gazette. Julv 27. 2000 3 E3500 HcMfe uulGDQITmi Cj iji 1 JU C-4 Briefs Resources Efficient Appliance Act offers incentives to makers i By James Q. Lynch Gazette staff writer In a move they say will create jobs in Iowa, benefit consumers and protect the environment, two members of the states congressional delegation have introduced a tax incentive to encourage the production of super energy-efficient washing machines and refrigerators. The Resources Efficient Appliance Incentives Act, introduced by Republicans Sea Chuck Grassley and 2nd District Rep.

Jim Nussle, would provide a tax credit of $50 to $100 for The tax incentive would result in an additional 13 million super energy-efficient clothes washers and refrigerators produced in Iowa over the next six years by Amana, Maytag and Fngi-daire, according to Notini. That would create up to 405 additional production jobs a year. The companies would have an additional $300 million in combined gross revalue through the production of the hew models, she said. Grassley and Nussle are working with Sen. John Rockefeller, and Rep.

John Tanner, D-Tenk, on the legislation. Given its support in Congress and from the White House as well as endorsements from environmental groups, including the Sierra Club, Notk ni is optimistic the bill will be approved later this year. every super energy-efficient washing machine or refrigerator produced that exceeds federal minimum efficiency requirement and offers water savings, too. New standards for file next 12 years are being set by the federal Department of Energy, which has been negotiating with manufacturers and environmental groups. i The new washing machine would cut water and electricity usage by half, said Jill Notini of the Association of Home Appliance Manufacturers.

Existing washers use an average of 21528 gallons of water and 1510 kilowatt hours of electricity per year, Notini said. The new models would use as little as 11,232 gallons of water and 765 kilowatt hours of electricity per year, she said. The amount of electricity saved by use of the sups efficient appliances would be equal to the production of six coal-fired power plants and removing L5 million cars from U.S. roads for a year, Grassley said -Wednesday. Use of the super energy-efficient units could result in savings of $100 a year per household or $1,400 over the expected life of a clothes washer or refrigerator, according to Grassley.

The savings in water and electricity costs would pay the difference in five to six years, Notini said. The water savings would be equivalent to Iowas drinking water supply for 30 years, Grassley added. Nussle and Grassley are interested in the tax incentive, which they estimate would cost $295 million over 10 years, because Iowa is No. 1 in home appliance manufacturing. Stocks plummet on earnings Another batch of disappointing earnings reports pushed stock prices Iowa: Wednesday and left worried investors mulling the 1 possibility of shrinking profits in the second half of 2000.

The Dow Jones industrial average dosed down 183.49 at 10,518.48. The Nasdaq composite index rebounded from a loss of more than 100 points early in the session to end down 41.85 at 3387.72. Declining issues outnumbered advancers by a margin on the New York Stock Exchange, where volume came to 1.47 billion shares, up from Tuesdays pace of 1.17 billion shares. Among stocks of Eastern Iowa interest, 11 posted gains, 32 recorded losses and three were unchanged. National Computer Systems rose 4.69 to 58 and RF Micro Devices fell 525 to 79.50.

Kmart makes management changes Kmart new chairman and chief executive officer announced more changes at the retail giant Wednesday, just one day after announcing 72 stores will dose. Andy Giancamilli was promoted to the newly created position of president and chief operating officer, CEO Charles Conaway said in a statement Giancamilli will be responsible for all aspects of merchandising, store operations, marketing and logistics. Kmart also said that Donald W. Keeble, president of store operations, will retire. Keeble, a 29-year Kmart veteran, previously had responsibility for all aspects of store operations, real estate, facilities management design and construction and corporate purchasing.

Natural gas prices Ignite Natural gas prices zoomed upward Wednesday on the New York Mercantile Exchange after new industry figures renewed concerns about tight market supplies. Natural gas had rocketed higher earlier this year based on dwindling supplies and the anticipation of heavy use of air-conditioners this summer. But prices drifted lower as summer proceeded and temperatures were cooler than last year. That trend was at least temporarily reversed Wednesday when the American Gas Association reported lower-than-expected injections for last week of 54 billion cubic feet at a time when storage supplies still need to be replenished for the high-use winter heating season ahead. Natural gas for August delivery rose 10.3 cents to $3,763 per 1,000 cubic feet Unilever try detergent tablets Unilever announced Wednesday that it will introduce a new tablet form of Wisk to the U.S.

market The announcement came a day after industry rhtal Procter Gamble Co. of Cincinnati said it would reintroduce the first tablet laundry detergent in the U.S. since 1978, when discontinued Salvo. Wisk Dual Action Laundry Tablets will be marketed in the United States in the fall by the Greenwich-based Unilever Home Personal Care division. The new tablets by both companies are designed to dissolve immediately in the washer.

The Tide Tablet has a special coating. was the first to market a tablet laundry detergent Salvo was discontinued because the tablets didnt always dissolve. FERC approves energy merger NiSource Inc. and Columbia Energy Group have received merger approval from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. The merger now requires the approval of the U.S.

Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in order to complete the $6 billion transaction announced Feb. 28. Columbia Energy acquired National Propane of Cedar Rapids in May 1999. The FERC concluded that the NiSource-Columbia merger satisfies Federal Power Act requirements and the standards defined in the FERCs merger policy statement, in that it will not adversely affect competition, impair the effectiveness of regulation or result in rate increases for wholesale electric or transmission customers. Mortgage alliance announced In an unusual alliance, a big mortgage company has joined with a community group that recently denounced it and is providing $360 million in home loans for thousands of low-income families in 10 cities.

Officials of Ameriquest Mortgage Co. and the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now, a combative group known as ACORN, announced ffie three-year pilot program on Wednesday. It offers home borrowers protection from lending practices considered by policy-makers to be abusive, such as excessive interest rates and fees, prepayment penalties and balloon payments. Borrowers, in turn, must participate in ACORNS financial counseling and education program. Microsoft asks Supreme Court to send case to appeals court WASHINGTON (AP) Microsoft Corp.

asked the Supreme Court on Wednesday to let a federal appeals court take the next crack at a titanic antitrust fight that threatens to break the computer software giant in two. The importance of these cases will not lie in how quickly they are resolved but in their long-term effects on consumers and this nations economy, Microsofts lawyers told the justices in an appeal' The 30-page appeal filed Wednesday with a 312-page appendix, urged the court to avoid the task of sifting through a large and complex record and forgoing nIne jces are 1 the many benefits of intermediate appellate not expected to say review. XT. until September at the number arilest of and nature of the me aniesi wnexner-r errors below militate they will grant direct' strongly in favor of revew or send the review by the court of appeals, the appeal Microsoft case to said. the appeals court Microsoft contends in the appeal that U.S.

District Judge Thomas Penfield Jackson wrongly concluded that it engaged in illegally anticompetitive conduct The company also complains about Jacksons contacts with reporters, saying he should be disqualified if the case ever returned to the trial court leveL The Justice Department, under an expediting agreement with Microsoft, has until Aug. 15 to respond to the companys Supreme Court appeal Government lawyers want the nations highest court to tackle the case directly, without first sending it to the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia. The nine justices are not expected to say until September at the earliest whether they will grant direct review or send the case to the appeals court. A federal law allows major antitrust disputes ta skip the appeals court step and move from a trial court to the Supreme Court, but the justices make the decision, If the court chooses to grant direct review, Microsoft's lawyers said, it should consider eight separate questions.

Among them is whether Microsofts design of its Windows 95 and Windows 98 operating systems to include Web browsing functions constituted a tie-in violation of federal and state antitrust laws. Gazette photos by Marlene Lucas Elizabeth Baridon (left) and Klrstin Riggs, both 11 and from Cedar Falls, are dressed In their jSouth American costumes as they wait for the final segment of the llama show Wednesday at the Black Hawk. County Fair In Waterloo. All entrants In the costume contest received purple ribbons because the judge could not say how any of them could Improve. 4Her knows trial, triumph of llamashow at county, fair if 1 i By Marlene Lucas Gazette rural affairs writer WATERLOO Everything didnt go right for Kirstin Riggs, 11, during the Hama show at Black Hawk County Fair Wednesday.

During the obstacle course judging, her llama Sebastian chose to pull a snack from the bales of hay rather than step over the horizontal pole that the bales supported. The audience approved, although the judge deducted points. A high point in the show was when Judge Bill Rector of Denver, Iowa, awarded puiple ribbons to every one of the dozen entrants in the costume contest The 4-Hers had dressed in South Arneri- WATERLOO can clothes and coordinated their llamas backpacks and tassels with their own outfits. All went to so much work. I dont know how they could do better, Rector said.

Riggs wore a goucho-style vest which she wove on a neighbors loom. She also made Sebastians matching pack, which held red peppers, flowers and skeins of yam made from Sebastians shorn fiber. Riggs and Sebastian wore straw hats with blue and white bands. The show was a first for the Black Hawk County Fair and Riggs, although she had participated in a llama exhibition at the fair last year. Becky Wilihite was superintendent of the show and is co-leader, along with Alice Buffers, of the Llamamigos 4-H Club in Cedar Falls.

They hope the popularity of llamas will grow among 4-Hers so a state show can be held at the Iowa State Fair. Only a handful of llama 4-H clubs exist in Iowa at this time. Riggs can be counted on to continue participating in 4-H llama events. Shes so dedicated to her four Hamas that she does her homework at a desk in their bam. Theyre lovable, she said.

While Riggs combed Sebastian before the show, her mother Janice Riggs of Cedar Faffs, talked about how she never worries for her daughters safety around the llamas. Relatives of camels, llamas have soft, two-toed feet, which make them sure-footed in mountains. A bruise is probably the worst a child will suffer if kicked by a llama, but McLeodUSA revenues jump, EBITDA declines Sebastian, the llama shown by Klrstin Riggs, 11, of Cedar Falls, was nervous and distracted by horses exerclsing nearby during the llama show Wednesday at the Black Hawk County Fair in Waterloo. Riggs received Sebastian for her 10th birthday from her parents, Janice and Steve generally, the animals are gentle and curious. One habit of llamas that Kirstin Riggs appreciates is their neatness.

They go to the bathroom in the same place. You dont have to worry where youre stepping, she said. Club members to the place as the berry The fair continues today at the National Cattle Congress Expo grounds with a dog show at 8 pet show at 10 a.m.; dub carnival at 11:30 and 4-H dance at 8 pjn. BizFacts i By George C. Ford Gazette financial editor CEDAR RAPIDS McLeodUSA Inc.

on Wednesday reported lower second-quarter earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization on sharply higher revenues. The Cedar Rapids-based telecommunications provider posted second-quarter revenues of $331.8 million, up 49 percent from $222.7 million in the same period a year ago. Competitive telecommunications revenues grew 72 percent over the second quarter of 1999. i Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) for the quarter was $1.1 million, down from $11.1 million in the second quarter of 1999. McLeodUSA posted a net loss of $125.7 million for the quarter, compared wifi) a net loss of $61.4 million in the second quarter of 1999.

The company said it continued to expand the number of local lines in service to 823,800 on June 30, an increase of 73,400 competitive local lines during the quarter. McLeodUSA has increased the number of competitive lines in sendee by about 60 percent from June 30, 1999. Steve Gray, president of McLeodUSA, said the company has continued to transfer customers from competitors networks and switches to its own, noting that the number of customers on McLeod- USAs equipment grew from 185,400 on June 30, 1999, to 320,800 on the same date this year. With the normal growth of 108 cities served, and the inclusion of cities connected by the recent addition of file Splitrock network, McLeodUSA more than doubled the number of cities it serves to in the second quarter from 696 in the first quarter. Contact Financial Editor George Ford at (349) 398S366 or georgeftfjiowa com Best store catalogs for browsing and shopping, according to a recent poll.

--'v C.R..D.M. stations will team up for 9 p.ni. newscast KDSM-TV of Des Moines will use studio end staff of KGAN-TV In Cedar Rapids, Gazette staff report A Des Moines television station is launching Central Iowas first prime television newscast using the studio and staff of its Cedar Rapids sister station. KDSM-TV in Des Moines, a Fox network affiliate, will launch a 35-minute prime-time local newscast from 9 to 9.35 p.m. beginning in December'.

KDSM has never had a newscast, and lacks full studio facilities. General Manager Ted Stephens said a partial solution was found by producing the cast in conjunction with Cedar Rapids CBS affiliate KGAN-TV, which is also owned by Sinclair Broadcast Group of Baltimore. Stephens said the content produced in the Cedar Rapidsjstudio before KGANs 10 pan. TV( cast End LJ3.6 ILBeaa U2.5X VMorlat Secnt ft U2JX SOURCE Nationwide poll oM, 264 at jm reported in Catalog AaeWeeWy RosaarctVPAT CAPR, GraptacRAUL TRAP C2G00KRT goes into production will be transmitted via fiberoptic connections to Des Moines. Beyond efficiency, he said, the arrangement wiff provide Des Moines area viewers with an opportunity to receive some Eastern Iowa news developed by the KGAN news team.

KDSM is able to launch the prime time newscast because Foxs prime time programming ends at 9 p.m., Stephens said. hr.