Abilene Reporter-News from Abilene, Texas • 33

the call nne been 'waiting for will you hear it? Section Qu I I BjiiaTOrm-rBaTiigigmgKa am -1 Whrw Mw Cm Ttauf What Mw Htmtt m-i 490 tl BCHMO-Wa!) wwvWMJeftvbxc) Saturday September 28 2002 wwwreporternewscom gbilene jRrporter-ilrtaS $EC pushes for disclosure votes ON THE NET For more information about Peerless visit: Mtp www pwartwaanifg mmh ket to determine what we might do with this business unit in file A day earlier the parent company had reported an increase in earnings in its annual report to the Securities and RwiangB fVwnrnfaninn In its filing to the SEC on Thursday Feeriess reported that fir the fiscal year Hiding June 30 earnings increased 419 percent from fiie same period a year ago to $44 million Fewhare earnings were up 43 cents a 4L3 percent increase PBeriess trades on the Nasdaq under the symbol Its share price dosed Friday at $792 pH- share up 17 cents from Thursday's dosing price of $7175 perahare The Abilene facility will be used as a production site fir such systems once current in-house contracts are completed Dallas manufacturing fiacil ityis dated fir dosing next month In a statement chief executive officer Sherrill Stone said the action announced Friday was a continuation of file cost-cutting measures beguninJuly general the demand for boiler products has not materialized to file level we believe is necessary fir fills business unit to be competitive and produce fiie returns file company would he said such we fid that the suspension of our boiler business is warranted at this time We will continue to monitor the status of fire boiler mar Parent company official says low demand caused suspension By Steel Semrad Reporter-News Staff Writer Feeriess Manufacturing Co plans to suspend the sale and manufacturing of its boiler product lines produced at its ABCO Industries subsidiary in Abilene the company announced Friday Officials with Peerless and ABCO could not be readied for comment Fridas so it is undear bow Abilene workers will be affected by themove Surrounded by media Dennis Kozlowski former CEO of Tyco International arrives at criminal Now York on Friday Kozlowski was charged with avoiding more than $1 million In sales tax on lion In art hn purchased -Portfolio disdosure on die table yet but it will be after die Securities and Exchange Commission passes its current proposal to require mutual llmds to disclose proxy votes For tbe fond industry which has fought against making additional disclosures to investors ifs a shock ing outcome dial probably cant be' derailed Takeaknkat die proxy proposal die market environ- mentandthe attitude at die SEC and ifs clear diat fond investors are about to dance a wonderfol disdosure two-stepi portfolio transparency that investors have wanted from fond companies for years Now it could be just months away Th see why you have to start with die prosy proposal The SEC on Sept 19 proposed that fonds be required to disclose their prosy voting policies and procedures firms like Fidelity and -Vanguard recently put onto their Web sites as well as their actual votes Proxy disclosure never should have required SEC action Funds represent their owners in proxy votes as said fir years firms should have made this Information public to investors simply because it was the right thing to da But fond management had a litany of reasons to do die wrong thing Most were bogus (Management would claim fir example that proxy votes might tip a hand an odd assertion considering that managers sit on proxy-voting committees for most large fond families) The one true downside to proxy disdosure is its potential to politicize management so that a firm squares off with public interest groups depending on how it votes (indeed the AFIrCIO was one of die groups pushing for disclosure) The reason most fiind executives never thought the SEC would require disclosure however was different Proxy details an investor anything that makes fir better investment decisions It may help someone decide that a fund is living up to sociopolitical expectations or trying to push smart management policies on die companies it owns but it is not the same as showing investors management fees Few investors are likely to even look at the data yet estimates are that it couM cost fond firms as much as $160 million combined to provide it Voice those negatives all you want as critics of proxy disclosure will 'do over die SECs GOday comment period and you still are left with One inescapable conclusion: The SEC listening to the arguments because in a market as flooded with hirmoil as this one transparency is more important than anything Barry Barbash of Shearman and Steriing in Washington Eld the for-riier head of the Division of Investment Management (which oversees ftmdsX compares die situar tlon to a MasterCard commercial "The SEC has gotten to die point where it is thinking Cost of sure: Millions Getting to see bow ybur fond is being run: said Barbash (2eaiix any firm suggesting in a market spooked by scandal that more 1 disdosure is bad will be shouted down by critics So fen if any fond companies will speak upr Which leads directly to die next wave in disclosure namely more reg-Idar portfolio updates Chairman Harvey Pitt Pleas see JAFFE Page SD ABCO laid off 48 employees or 40 percent of its work force two months aga Sixty-five workers were retained at that tima Peerless which designs manufactures and sells environmental-cleanup equipment in August received a $L5 million txmtract to supply two catalytic systems for an expanskm of acogeneration facility ina major metropolitan city In the Northeast 1 1 Out of Jail ex- rash posted by ex-wife Angia was part of their divorce settlement He noted that Kozlowski had worked fix- Tyro for 26 years and had significant assets apart from any he is accused of stealing The judge however rejected bond for Swartz saying bis lawyers bad not proven the stocks Swartz intended to use for bail were unrelated to any criminal activity lawyer Charles Stillman said his client received the stock when he first joined Tyca He was given until Oct 11 to offer more conclusive proof that the money is not tainted Kozlowski was ordered to appear Digital tdevision gives viewers dearer pictures and sound without static or other interference er pictures and sound without static or other interference: It is fire next step toward emerging technology called highdefinition television which can broadcast a picture up to 10 times sharper than analog TV Jackie Ritledge KTXS general manager said fiie difference between analog TV and digital TV is like file difference listening to music a cassette and on a compact disc I can listen to musk: an cassette and enjoy it but I like the CD It sounds For now viewers may continue watching all of TV stations on regular TVscn the established By Samuel Maul Associated Press Please see BOILER Page 3D Radio stations switch formats By Brien Murphy Reporter-News Staff Writer Big Country residents may find Eminem and Diddy where they once heard John Denver and the Carpenters KDRQ-FM (961) debuted its new" contemporary music format Thursday night heavy on urban hip hop and rap sounds It is the second Doud Media Group station to debut a different format this week Doud Media recently purchased KORQfrom Dove Media and is buying the 951 frequency firmer home of Southern Gospel station KAGT-FM from Cowboys Broadcasting pending Federal Communications Commission approval is now Top station owner Richard Doud said Rapper Diddy singer Angie Stone and pop-singer Christina Aguilera were among musicians played Friday morning Doud said KORQ is aiming for a-mass audience of adults ages 1834 and teenagers "We tested the music and this is what Abilene told us they wanted Doud said KORQ previously broadcast soft pop hits from the 1960s to the 1980s by such artists as Barbra Streisand Bread and Kenny Rogers Doud previously announced that 951 would become an adult cantern-' porary music station The station had been off the air about a week KNCE-FM debuted Wednesday on 951 with musk from the 1960s 1990s and today by artists like Phil Collins Faith Hill tbe Pointer Sisters and Enya 1 KNCE Is aiming fin: female listeners ages 2554 and promises to play popular music with no vulgar or violent lyrics Doud Media operations manager Mark McGill said KNCE alms to be family-friendliest station There will be no blue The station will also feature syndt cated radio host Delilah whose pro- gram features love songs Both stations plan to feature live local announcers throughout most' of tire day and news and weather! Information KNCE win debut a noon newscast soon Southern Gospel station KAGT will return to the airwaves at new borne at 905 FM in about two' months Contact Maura writer Brian Mupty a 676--6760 or murphytereportemewixom S5T 0 court In $13 mH- for a status hearing Nov 7 Prosecutors filed the criminal charges against fire men after fire Securities and Exdiange Commission accused them of hiding huge loans and other money they allegedly took out of Tyca a conglomerate that mdses- everything from coat hangers to security systems The SEC said Kozlowski used million from an employee loan program established to help workers buy Tyco stock to pay for yachts fine art jewelry luxury apartments and vacations He already had pleaded Innocent to charges of evading New York sales taxes on $13 million in art to go digital channels Viewers whowant to see digital signal cm channel 20 must either hook up a converter box to their regular TV similar to hocking up a video-cassette recorder that costs several hundred denars or purchase a new TV set with a built-in digital tuner (listing for $1500 to $2JXX) by various national retailers) Before spending money make sure any TV set labeled TV" or as an HDTV set has a built-in digital tuner Some digital sets lack tbe tuner required to receive digital signals other TV stations are in various stages of putting digital signals on the air In a few years all Big Country stations win broadcast in digital only making traditional TV sets obsolete Contact Maura witter Brian Muphy at 6760760 or mutfybOraportamewscofn NEW YORK A judge accepted the $10 million cash bail of former Tyro chief Dennis Kozlowski on Friday rejecting government challenges that the money was proceeds 'from illegal activity Kozlowski and former Tyro Chief Financial Officer -Mark Swartz were charged two weeks ago with enterprise corruption and grand larceny for allegedly stealing some $G00 million from the company The men free up to 25 years in prison on each charge if convicted Supreme Court Judge Michael Obus said he was satisfied that the KTXS-TV first area station By Brian Murphy Repdrter-News Staff Writer ABCaffiliatemS-TVisbrpadcast-ing the first digital TV signaL Tbe signal is carried on cfaannel20 Few Big Country residents can receive file sharper dearer signal and KTXS wm continue its broadcasts an diannd 12 for several more years 1 But digital TV is tbe government-mandated wave of the future To free more broadcasting bandwidth fir emergency and law enforcement communications the Federal Communications Commission wants all TV stations to switch from broad- casting traditional analog signals to dig ltal signals within a few years Digital signals require less bandwidth than analog signals and even allow TV stations to broadcast more than one program an the same channel Digital television gives viewers dear- HV.