Corpus Christi Caller-Times from Corpus Christi, Texas • 23

a EMhh Yukos to drop US bankruptcy case Russian oil company Ybkos dropped its case in US courts saying it had no prospect of obtaining relief under US bankruptcy law The company had sought US protection from Russian government-ordered selloffs of its assets "We will now focus our efforts elsewhere to survive as a going concern and obtain compensation for assets that have been improperly expropriated from us" Yukos chief executive officer Steven Thieede said AIRLINES Most airlines boost round trips by $10 IBM settles with Compuware A day after retreating on fare hikes most major US airlines with the exception United Airlines on Ihesday revived increases of $10 per round trip on many domestic flights to cover the rising cost of jet ftiel Section CalleMKme I Wednesday March 23 2005 KRIS 6 News tops February ratings NIELSEN RATINGS Ratings points: The percentage of the 19390 television-equipped homes (designated market area) that were tuned to a given show Share points: The percentage of in-use televisions tuned Hi to a given show FEBRUARY SWEEPS (FEB 3 TO MARCH 2) SPJULMOHPAY-nHDAV SFJyLMOHPAVfRIPAY PAtMQNDAYflttPAY Hntkm Rating stun KRIS 18 33 Kill 15 26 KZTV 4 6 fcxjrcK NMnn Mdl tenth Kill KZTV remain 2nd 3rd for news MARY ANN CAVAZDi CaUer-Tlme For the second ratings season in a row KRIS 6 News has maintained the title of rated local news in town while Kill pulls in a dose second think what people are seeing is consistency an overall effort of giving viewers die daily stories they KRIS 6 news director Sandra Forero-Richards said Ratings for the February sweeps season for the 5 pm spot stayed rela- tively the same for all three stations KRIS had a 12 rating 26 share Kill had a 11 rating 24 share KZTV trailed with a 1 rating 3 share Compared with last season KRIS (17 rating 29 share) received two more rating points in the 6 pm time slot and 4 more share points think the staff is a seasoned group of journalists and part of what makes us the best in town" said Forero-Richards She also credits the variety of consumer-interest stories including updates on area construe tion work and the airing of the "Pump segments KRIS 6 News has a cross-marketing partnership with the Caller-Times providing on-air promos of upcoming and exclusive stories in the newspaper KZTV general manager Dale Remy said the ratings showed progress by his station the longtime third-ranked among the three He said KZTV is in the early stages of a new marketing approach "We went into a new branding method with Action 10 News and we still dominate the market in prime livan were unavailable for comment he said KIII-TV news eirector Richard Lon- Contact Mary Ann Cavazos at 886-3667 goria and executive producer Ken Sul- oreavazom9caUercom Motionless farm equipment dots farmland aionp County toad 67 near Robstown on Monday Several farmers met Tuesday at Violet to discuss the effect qf roadwork being done in Nueces County on their land They Jear the roadwork is adding to their flooding problems Farmers worry about Nueces roadwork Fed ups rates for 7th time Further gradual hikes expected BY JEAHMNEAVERSA Associated Press WASHINGTON The Federal Reserve concerned that soaring energy prices could stoke broader inflation boosted short-term interest rates Tuesday and signaled rates would probably keep on rising in the months ahead Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan and his colleagues sticking to a course of gradually raising rates bumped up the federal funds rate by one-quarter percentage point to 275 percent That marked the seventh increase of that size since the Fed began tightening credit in June 2004 In a brief statement after their meeting the Fed policymakers drew more attention to rising prices than they have in previous assessments noting that "pressures on Inflation have picked up in recent Still they said the increases in energy prices fed through to consumer prices those for a variety of goods other than food and energy And they said "longer-term inflation expectations remain well Economists viewed the overall comments on inflation as slightly more hawkish and believed that suggested further interest-rate increases well into the year "The central bank has more work to do to combat possible inflation in the said Sung Won Sohn president and chief economist of Hanmi Bank In response to the Fed action commercial banks began lifting their prime lending rates by one-quarter point to 575 percent This rate used for many short-term consumer and business loans moves in lockstep with the funds rate licase see FED 60 FED FUND RATE RISING The Federal Reserve Board has more than doubled short-term interest rates since June 2004 Federal Raids Rate montWy Not seasonally adjusted They says land looks like lakes BY NANCY MARTINEZ Caller-Times Dark rain clouds and a rain shower provided a coincidental backdrop for an informal gathering of 14 Violet-area farmers Monday morning Usually farmers pray for rain They also like smooth new roads But as they leaned on their pickup trucks in the parking lot of St Anthonyh Catholic Church in Violet these farmers talked about how their farmlands look like lakes after it rains They have drainage problems with fields staying soaked too long keeping them from their work and causing erosion And they think the large volume of roadwork in rural Nueces County is adding to the problem County and construction offi- adding some 6 inches of base on the roadway under a surface treatment Some of the farmers say they pay taxes to a drainage district but receive services They are skeptical that a county wide drainage district proposed last month to Nueces County commissioners would solve their problems Other farmers whose land is not in one of two area drainage districts welcome the proposal know the importance of having rain but they also know if you get too much of a good thing you have problems on your said Harvey Buehring Nueces County agriculture extension agent "They lose production by having their crop flooded out or prevented from planting on time In the long run inadequate drainage can really Bill Bemsen a farmer in the Violet area tries to keep a sense of humor through it all "Itn trying to be afarmer but Please see FARMERS 3D and cut off service more quickly in some situations The company new chief executive John Wilder in turn has capitalized cm opportunities to disconnect late-paying customers while offering special perks to those who pay on time TXU is pioneering this kind ofhardball marketing in the traditionally staid retail-electricity industry As Texas and other states move further toward freeing power Please see TXU 3D Farmers discussing drainage problems on their land Jeron Hodscber (lqfl) and Saraphine Skoruppa Tuesday included Fred Burkhardt (at right) dais say made some ority and no accommodations for the farm- plaining ers but the road project is a pri- The $58 one else is com- County Road Rehabilitation Project will rehabilitate 280 million Nueces miles of road and 39 bridges by TXU goes from to strict with late-paying customers provider with backup duty in Dallas TXU was obliged to pick him up But Lucas says he never received notice about the missed payment or transfer lb reconnect him TXU now demanded $545 more than three times his average monthly bill This included $16499 that was past due for electricity a $270 deposit $8 disconnect fee $89 reconnect fee $529 transfer fee $338 Isase customer" fee and taxes Lucas paid TXU the foil amount and a week later received the companyh wel come packet cold" he says The quick disconnect and expensive reconnect are emblematic of how TXU the largest power company in Tbxas is aggressively responding to a deregulated energy market The company confirms much of Lucask account but says it sent him timely notice of the transfer and a warning that he was about to lose power Electricity deregulation which has swept the nation has allowed TXU to charge certain fees prohibited in the past BY REBECCA SMITH The Wall Street Journal DALLAS Last summer Donald Lucas found a technician from electricity provider TXU Corp in his suburban yard "Ftn here to shut off your the man said That wasasurprise to Lucas who know he was aTXU customer Moments later the lights went off Lucas soon learned his former power company had dropped him because he foiled to make a payment on time As the 5.