Waco Tribune-Herald from Waco, Texas • 12

1 0 I PAGE4B I IWACOJJRIBUNQHERALD Ji VEDNESDAYIMAYI2820Qai Report: Faith in economy growing The Associated Press NEW YORK Consumers remain wary about current eco- -nomic conditions but are confident a turnaround is only months away, according to the latest consumer confidence survey released Tuesday. The Conference Board index tracking consumer confidence in the economy rose to 83.8 in May from 81 the previous month, the highest level since November's reading of 84.9. One area in which consumers remain upbeat is the housing market. The Commerce Department reported Tuesday that of "new single-family-homes rose by 1.7 percent from March to April to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.03 million the best since December. Also, sales of previously owned homes rose by 5.6 percent in April to a rate of 5.

84 million. The Conference Board's report found consumers' faith in the economy right now is deteriorating. The Present Situation Index, a component of the confidence index and a measure of sentiment, fell to 67.9 this month from 75.2 in April, as people struggle to find work in the challenging job market. However, the Conference board's Expectations Index, a gauge of consumer sentiment about the next six months, rose to 94.4 in May from 84.9 in ApriL The Conference Board's indexes are derived from responses received through May 20 to a survey mailed to 5,000 households. Staff photo Ksfly lemons Jerry Pursley, general manager of KXXV-TV, Channel 25, urges viewers to watch for more changes at Wacos ABC affiliate.

ABC affiliate gets a makeover 2003 Chamber Award Winners Bush's Chicken -First City Financial Corp. Hobbs Bonded Fibors Hoize Music Co. KXXV-TV, Channel 25 On In a series on businesses winning 2003 Greater Waco Chamber of Commerce awards BRIEFING From wire reports TEXAS Seven former executives from Enron Corpus failed broadband unit will go to trial no earlier than next April on charges they inflated the company's stock price by faking' earnings and touting capabilities the unit didnt have, a federal judge ruled. Prosecutor John Kroger said more allegations could be unearthed "because the grand jury investigation is ongoing. Daniel Cogdell, attorney for former Enron Broadband chief Kenneth Rice; also said "superseding" indictments could add more charges or defendants.

The former executives are defendants in a 218-count indictment alleging they participated in schemes to make the unit appear successful when it never got off the ground. The broad-. band uniUiizzled 2001-and -went bankrupt along with Enron Corp. in December that year. Crude oil ftitures for July delivery rose 19 cents to $29.35 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

NATION The World Trade Organization has ruled that the United States erred in approving stiff tariffs on imports of Canadian softwood lumber used to build homes, Canada's trade minister said. International Trade Minister Pierre Pettigrew said the interim ruling by a panel of the world trade body supports Canada's claim that its logging practices which include charging fees for use of government-owned forests are not subsidies. A U.S. trade official called the confidential ruling mixed. A technology banker who rose to stardom during the dotcom boom pleaded innocent to charges that he.

encouraged employees to destroy documents sought by investigators. Frank (Juattmne, 47, of Menlo Park, was highly influen-. tial at Credit Suisse First Boston during the tech bubble. He is accused of approving a December 2000 e-mail that urgdd CSFB workers to catch up on file cleaning" for the holidays. WORLD The euro soared to a record high against the dollar in a.

major boost for many U.S. exporters but only deepened the pain for the continent's strug--glingecrmoIny. The euro reached a high iff $1.1932 in trading in Europe, the old high of $1.1884 Jan. 4, 1999, a few days the euro began to Circulate as the shared currency of 12 Euro-. pean countries.

1 Winner? include the many U.S. companies that sell over--seasTTnany-bfmyhtchliaye-. reported fatter earnings. i'n recent weeks due to the weaker dollar. Losers include Europe's export-fueled economy, whose pricing edge over U.S.

competi-. tors is vanishing. Mexican President Vicente Fox inaugurated a new, pri: vately built electricity generating plant and called on Congress to reform Mexico's laws to loosen the constitutional monopoly on electricity generation. However, Fox promised once again not to privatize the state-run Federal Electricity Commission. Do you have a local business news Hem or a story Idea? Call business editor Mike Copeland at 757-9736; writs to Business, Weco Tribune-Henkt, P.O.

Box 2585, Waco 76702-2588; or use our tax number, 757-0302. Manager freshens station with new staff, advertisers By MIKE COPELAND Tribune-Herald business editor Jerry Pursley had a challenge lacing him when he arrived in Waco last October. My task was to evaluate our position in the marketplace, and to make recommendations as to how we could improve, said Pursley, who became general manager at KXXV-TV, Channel 25. after leaving sister station KSWO-TV in Lawton, Okla. He thought KXXV, Waco's ABC affiliate, had lost its focus.

1 felt two departments were understaffed: sales and production, said Pursley, 63. I've hired five people in ad sales, and I'm still hiring. I've also hired seven people in production." Iursley said he has seen an improvement in morale and a jump, in revenue that has surpassed our expectations. As for ratings, Well never overtake KWTX-TV because of old habits and a lot of loyalty. But we want to be the strongest No.

2 we can be. Newscasts on CBS affiliate KWTX-TV, Channel .10, historically dominate their time slots. Nielsen ratings for the most recent ratings period available, show that. KXXV trails both KWTX and NBC affiliate KCEN-TV, Channel 6, in the 6 and 10 p.m. time slots among viewers ages 25 to 54.

However, its ratings had im proved from the previous year at both times. Pursley said he has more tinkering up his sleeve that will unfold between now and next spring. Without giving away details, he would say only that the changes will produce a fresh look." like what they have seen of his game plan. Ive known Jerry Pursley a long time, and he's provided some excellent leadership at-that station when it was needed," said Bob Bunch, advertising director at KWTX-TV. I see some new advertisers to television on their, and that's great.

It'? showing people the power of our medium. This year, the station was named a Greater Waco Chamber of Commerce business award winner. Ambitious moves KXXV-TV is owned by Drewry Communications, which bought the station in 1994 from Shamrock Broadcasting. Drewry also owns the CBS affiliate in. Amarillo, the NBC affiliate in Midland-Odessa, the ABC affiliate in Bryan-College Station and the ABC affiliate that -serves both Lawton, and Wichita Falls, Texas.

R.H. Drewry, the founder, is a man of varied, investments, including car dealerships, banks and hotels. Broadcasting is one of his favorites, Pursley said. "Our company is family owned, and we try to function as a family. We believe la our' panic audiences.

"We're already doing news and weather cut-ins on the Telemundo programming, but Id like to do a fUll newscast in Spanish, said Pursley, adding he'd need 10 staff members to pull that off, including on-camera and production talent. The station now employs 89 full- and part-timers. KXXV-TV also is going digital, and should have its full-power digital transmitter in place by late June. Viewers will need a digital TV set or a digital converter to notice a difference in their Mike Copeland can ba roachad at 757-5736 or at mcopoiandOwacetrihcom. re Yr Motorola VI 20 With 2 Yaars New Service Or Renewel Vf0 tffWV Alf vffii people, and we encourage an open dialogue." Pursley has worked for the company 40 years, and served as general sales manager at KSWO-TV in Lawton before leaving for Waco.

The Waco assignment has been challenging for Pursley on personal and professional levels. He suffers from kidney failure and undergoes dialysis four hours a day, three days a week. He consulted with his doctor and the companys ownership, and they expressed faith in him and his ability to get the job done. Pursley said the' move has proved a "blessing, as he has found medical care superior to that available to him in Lawton. Professionally, Pursley said hes prepared to move forward with ideas that dance in his head.

KXXV-TV carries Telemundo broadcasts that cater to His 2.1 percent, to 8,781.35, having fallen 0.9 percent last week to snap a three-week winning streak. That was the best seen since Jan. 14, when the blue chips finished at 8,842.62. Gainers included biotech companies Genentech, which advanced $2.92: to $63.85, and Biogen, which rose $2.38 to $4248. Consolidated volume came to 1.99 billion shares, up from 1.54 billion traded Friday.

TOLL FREE l-(800)-359-4940 Local 772-6383 Brent Mattson, Brill' Rlaka MaRara Signal Securities, Inc. 5400 Bosque, 4th Floor Waco, IX 76710 Serving Customer! All Over Dexai" AU CD. an lannS la SIN, IN paa laatUaUaa ASC-P-j an VCINIIm ainm-MM. WIC Accepted Encouraging reports buoy market HEART OF TEXAS FARMERS MARKET Locally Grown Fresh Fruits A Vegetables Open Sat. 7 am 2 pm percent to end a five-week winning streak.

That was the highest level seen since June 5, 2002, when the tech-focused index closed at 1,595.26. The Standard Poors 500 index advanced 18.26, or 2 cent, to 951.48, having dropped 1.2 percent last week to also end five weeks of gains. It was the highest level since Aug. 22, 2002, when the index closed at 962.70. And the Dow rose 179.97, or HOT Coliseum Parking Lot 4601 Boaque Blvd.

Open thru September 30th -ttWSu The Associated Press NEW YORK A pair iff encouraging economic reports one on consumer confidence, the other on home sales gave Wall Street a shot of adrenaline Tuesday, sending the Nasdaq composite to its best level in nearly a year. The Dow. Jones industrials also soared, moving up nearly 180 points. Trading was somewhat heavy following the long holiday weekend. U.S.

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