Lexington Herald-Leader from Lexington, Kentucky • 19

fridij B5 Dow -1514 1045014 Market Day Page 137 March 2001 Oracle US Airways warn of lower quarterly performances than expected Page B6 Commodities Foreign Exchange Mutual Funds 83 8 Buxinew Editor Jacalyn Carfagno Phone (850) 231-1468 To report a newt tip: Call 231-3200 or toll-free at (800) 9506397 hlbusiness herald-leadercom Lexlngton Herald-Leader Online: wwwkMituckycun 'em A i w- 1 bSl-lW m- (Short take? WBdnson ro AGRICULTURE Ruling in Lexington might imperil loan for book firms process including a $40 million loan from IBJ Whitehall Financial Group a subsidiary of the International Bank of Japan The loan had been scheduled to be closed today after a hearing in U5 Bankruptcy Court in Wilmington Del Yesterday during an emergency hearing in Lexington attorneys told (toward that IBJ required the Delaware filing as a condition for die 60day loan IBJ thinks the Wilkinson com- See WILKINSON back page declaring debts of $522 million But die move was challenged yesterday by The United Co of Bristol Va United the hugest secured creditor in personal Chapter 11 case filed a motion asking that the cases be transferred to Lexington where the Wilkinson companies have their headquarters Lawyers said the filing temporarily freezes the bankruptcy US Banksuptcy Judge William Howard inn Lexington Meanwhile Bookstores announced the layoffs of 60 employees as part of its bankruptcy recovery plan additional layoffs are planned or the company said We deeply regret such action is The Wilkinson companies filed Chapter 11 bankruptcy petitions in Delaware mi Wednesday By Jim Jordan HERMJMEAOERBOSMESS WRITER A legal maneuver and a bankruptcy judge's ruling raised doubts yesterday about die survival of two Lexington companies owned by former Gov Wal-laoe Wilkinson The actions may have endangered a $40 million loan needed to keep alive Bookstores and Book Co attorneys fir companies told Wallace Wilkinson's bankruptcy process began In From building to spending Reports offer a mixed picture on US economy i 1 'a -c J'v Construction spending continues increase As result of mild weather1 spending on construction projects rose to its biggest increase in 10 months TSeacooaHya4utad 33- $840 billion -Jr -820 Racing panel seeks tighter drug testing Proposed contract would require that laboratory document its work By Janet Patton HERAUHEWER BOSMESS WMIER The Kentucky Racing Commission has proposed changes to its horse drug-testing program that in elude greater monitoring and accountability as well as more stringent testing The new testing contract a draft of which was released yesterday to the racing industry for comment has been rewritten to require explicit of die performance during the term of die contract" something that racing industry experts said Kentucky needed in a special Herald-Leader report last year on die ebrug program -Increased accountability one of the improvements we were hoping far" said Nick Nicholson pres ident of Keeneland The racetracks which pay far the! testing were squarely behind die upgrade he said are very serious about the end Nicholson said want Kentucky to have the best drug testing program in die nation" The testing lab now would be required to submit a monthly assessment of performance de-t tails at corrective action (dans if needed accord--ing to the proposed contract Commission intends to assess the efficacy' of the testing program through an aggressive and! rigorous blind-sample testing the contract! says See RACING back page X' i 800 t78Q 1 740 Change from prewoue month Jan 16 Dec 10 Now 05 111111 720 I top ag man to lead national group Kentucky Agriculture Commissioner Billy Ray Smith has been elected president of the National Association of State Departments of Agriculture die first Kentuckian elected to the post Smith will take office in September in time to help steer policy as Congress Billy Ray takes up the six-year farm bill Smith in 2002 INTERNET Amazon expands music downloads: Music fens wanting new music but feeling guilty about getting it free can leave a tip for musicians they like on Amazoncom The Seattle-based online retailer is offering free music downloads from independent labels and unsigned artists Surfers who like die music can leaving a tip of between $1 and $50 in a virtual tip jar Amazon gets a 30 percent cut Amazon hopes that the new feature will drive CD sales from its Web site and that independent record labels see the honor system tip jar as a way to compensate independent and unsigned artists LENDING Mortgage rates drop: The average interest rate on 30-year fixed-rate mortgages fell to 7X3 percent down from 712 percent last week according to Freddie Mac die mortgage company A year ago 30-year mortgages averaged 827 percent and were rising Fifteen-year mortgages a popular option for refinancing declined to percent last week down from 669 percent tie previous week A year ago 15-year mortgages averaged 7M percent On one-year adjustable-rate mortgages lenders were asking an average initial rate of 6J39 percent compared with 643 percent' the week before Last year one-year ARMs averaged 668 percent OPTICAL COMPONENTS Coming to cut 825 In Pennsylvania: Corning Inc stung by a slowdown in the telecommunications industry is eliminating 825 jobs at its optical components plants near ing and Scranton Pa The cuts announced yesterday amount to about 15 percent of the 5500 jobs in its photonic technologies business and come two vreda after Corning reduced growth forecasts for that unit But die company said demand remains strong for optical fiber and cable and no job cuts were anticipated in its biggest division WALL STREET Earnhardt held seats on NYSE Amex: Dale Earnhardt who recently died in a car crash at die Daytona 500 race was a member of the New York Stock Exchange He also bought a seat on the American Stock Exchange in July 1998 far $440X00 Earnhardt becamea member of die NYSE in January 2000 said a spokesman for the exchange He owned one of the 1366 seats at die 208-year-old Big Board But Earnhardt didn't make direct use of his seats as he was one of die members who opted to lease them to others said the NYSE spokesman A NYSE seat last sold on Feb 2 for $2 million AIRLINES Northwest KLM axe Web site fees: The fourth-Iargest airline will no longer pay commissions to Internet travel rites selling tickets in the United States and Canada leading industry analysts to speculate that other major carriers could soon follow Northwest Airlines and partner KLM Royal Dutch Airlines said yesterday they would eliminate payments to Web rites such as Travelocity Ex-pedia OneTravel and Hotwire which had commanded a 5 percent commission per ticket up to a maximum of $10 There was no word whether other major earners would match the move PERSONAL COMPUTERS Gateway shares fall 8 percent: Shares of personal computer maker Gateway Inc fell more than 8 percent on news the company will restate its revenue and earnings fir all of 2000 and sharply cut its earnings projections fir the first half of this year Slums of Gateway (GTWl NYSE) were down $145 to close at $1575 COMPILED FROM STAFF WIRE REPORTS 700 A A 0 2000 as purchasing makes modest gain For the second straight month manufacturing activity showed that the economy contracted An index above 50 signifies growth in manufacturing Here is a look at the Purchasing Index which tracks the overall business activity of more than 350 industrial companies MAMJJASONDJF 2000 ASSOCIATED PRESS FRJE PHOTOS SOURCE: Department of Commerce Nat'l Ann Pwchaiin Msmt House passes bankruptcy bill previously vetoed Critics say stronger debt legislation will be harder on working families Americans spending more as manufacturing dips upturn may indicate the decline has readied its tow point Still must caution that it takes more than one month's data to make that said Norbert Ore who oversees the monthly survey for the NAPM He noted that an important component at the index new orders showed a slower rate of decline a more positive sign for manufacturers' business But David Resler said there was no way to see the repeat as good news Instead it shows only that the manufacturing sector continues to struggle posing a great risk to the overall economy A slowing in the downturn does not equate to a bottoming out he said See ECONOMY back page these together it suggests to me that die economy actually is still slow but it wasn't as stow as in the first quarter So 1 think we hit bottom in the fourth The National Association of Purchasing Management an organization of corporate purchasing executives said its index of business activity rose to 419 in February from 412 in January An index above 50 signifies growth in manufacturing while a figure below 50 means contraction A level below 427 also generally indicates a contraction in the overall economy The new figure marked the seventh straight decline in the manufacturing sector And while the NAPM said the February rending indicated a second contraction in as many months the By Usl de Bourbon ASSOCIATED PRESS NEW YORK A series of economic reports released yesterday provided mixed messages about the direction of the economy While construction spending rose and Americans made more money and spent even more a survey at manufacturing activity showed the economy contracted for the second straight month But die rate of decline was slower than in recent months A fourth study charted a rise in first-time claims for unemployment insurance not slowing down as said Dan Laufenbcrg chief USi economist fir American Express Financial Advisers in Minneapolis if we put all of By Many Gordon ASSOCIATED PRESS 4 WASHINGTON Helped along by anticipated approval from President Bush legislation that would make it harder for people to erase credit card andj other debts in bankruptcy court passed the House yesterday The vote was 306-108 with the majority Republic cans solidly supporting the bipartisan bill and De-! mocrats split All six members of Kentucky's ItoustS delegation voted for the bill Momentum for passage of the measure came de- spite new government data showing that personal bankruptcies in this country have declined in recent! years I The Legislation which has been pushed by thej banking and retail credit industries and opposed by? consumer groups and unions is expected to be signed by Bush if it gets through Congress It wa passed overwhelmingly last year then was vetoed December by then-lYesklent Ginton on grounds it would hurt ordinary people and working families See BILL B6 "If we put all of these together it suggests to me that the economy actually Is still slow but it as slow as in the first quarter Dan Laufenberg chief US economist for American Express Financial Advisers South Park theater wraps up its last picture show Nicholasville Road location is one of 112 being closed by Loews Cineplex an $12 billion Earlier this week Loews Kentucky Business Snapshot nminced it will raise ticket prices across the country In Manhattan adult moviegoers will have to shell! (Hit $10 a ticket Loews spokes! woman Mindy Tucker said the prict increase was determined by rising costs and not by the company's fi nancial woes Hot Ideas cool places to work hot spots for development Who came who wont and what's tocome Look for our onnual snapshot of Kentucky business Monday theaters amid competition from new theater complexes Loews announced the closings in late January It did not announce which theaters would be affected In mid February a group of investors that includes Onex Corp of Toronto announced plans to buy Loews which is in bankruptcy for that Loews Cineplex Entertainment Corp intends to shut down in the United States and Canada Kinico Lexington which owns the stowing center said it is actively seeking a tenant to take over the Ixw space in South IYirk While battling decreasing attendance and the costs of xYnting oklcr By Karla Dooley HERNJUEADER BUSINESS MMTER With the rkc of last showing of The Wedding llanner the six screens nt Loews movie tliealer in Si Kith I 'ark shoii)ing center were to go dark fie good The tlicnlcr behind thr Nicholasville Rood centit is one of 1 12 1 See LOEWS B6-.