Money - The Salt Lake Tribune

Big press for big industry makes Salt Lake City debut

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 21:18:18 MDT

Big press for big industry makes Salt Lake City debut

by Vince Horiuchi The Salt Lake Tribune

Published Jun 19, 2013 09:18PM MDT

At a news conference Wednesday at KP Corp. in Salt Lake City, there were blue and silver balloons, banners that read “The Future is Here,” and a catered reception afterward with grilled shish kabobs. Even Gov. Gary Herbert was there. It was a lot of pomp and circumstance for the introduction of — a new printing press. A multimillion-dollar printing press But this is no ordinary printer. The Heidelberg Speedmaster XL 106 is a 60-plus-ton machine that looks more like the HAL 9000 from “2001: A Sp...

Copyright 2013 The Salt Lake Tribune. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Microsoft removes restrictions on Xbox One

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 21:18:18 MDT

Microsoft removes restrictions on Xbox One

by Vince Horiuchi The Salt Lake Tribune

Published Jun 19, 2013 09:18PM MDT

The makers of the Xbox 360 just made a big 180. Microsoft, which landed in hot water with potential customers earlier this month when it announced that the Xbox One next-generation video game console would require an always-online Internet connection and not support used games, has reversed its position on those restrictions. The new game system, which will be released in November for $499, won’t have to be connected to the Internet at least once every 24 hours. And users will be able to play us...

Copyright 2013 The Salt Lake Tribune. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Savvy Consumer: For thrifty summer, make plans, follow them

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 21:18:18 MDT

Savvy Consumer: For thrifty summer, make plans, follow them

good Housekeeping Reports

Published Jun 19, 2013 09:18PM MDT

In the summer, sunny days boost serotonin levels, which can make you feel sunnier, too. But be sure to make it a point to plan activities and commit to them. Otherwise, you risk getting caught up in your usual routine, instead of appreciating what makes the season special. “When you look at the months stretching before you, it seems like there’s more than enough time to do everything,” said Bernadette Noll, author of Slow Family Living. To ensure that not a single summer day is wasted — and th...

Copyright 2013 The Salt Lake Tribune. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

A Ponzi or not, that’s the question in Utah case

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 21:18:18 MDT

A Ponzi or not, that’s the question in Utah case

by Tom Harvey The Salt Lake Tribune

Published Jun 19, 2013 09:18PM MDT

A Fountain Green real estate investment company touted by regulators as one of the biggest financial frauds in Utah history didn’t operate like a Ponzi scheme, an accountant representing investors testified Wednesday. In a case that has taken an unusual direction, a federal judge heard testimony that supports arguments from alleged victims who are at odds with regulators and a receiver over whether Management Solutions Inc. operated as a Ponzi scheme beginning in at least 2008. Mark Hashimoto, a...

Copyright 2013 The Salt Lake Tribune. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

City Creek not just snatching taxable sales from Gateway

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 21:18:18 MDT

City Creek not just snatching taxable sales from Gateway

by Steven Oberbeck The Salt Lake Tribune

Published Jun 19, 2013 09:18PM MDT

City Creek Center is having a positive economic impact on downtown Salt Lake City, but its success is not without a cost. New data from the Utah State Tax Commission estimates the high-profile shopping center generated $200 million in taxable sales during the nine-month period from its opening in March 2012 to the end of last year. About $40 million of that total appears to have come at the expense of The Gateway, its rival to the west that saw its taxable sales decline from $190 million during...

Copyright 2013 The Salt Lake Tribune. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Business news briefs

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 19:28:02 MDT

Business news briefs

staff And News Services

Published Jun 19, 2013 07:28PM MDT

Car quality dinged by tech glitches Just when automakers had reached their highest-ever levels of quality — as they did in J.D. Power’s 2012 survey — technology glitches are dragging their scores down. In its latest survey, J.D. Powers said buyers increasingly want high-tech features such as voice recognition and navigation. But they’re not very forgiving of the car company when those systems fail. FedEX 4Q profit off 45 percent FedEx Corp., often viewed as an economic bellwether because of...

Copyright 2013 The Salt Lake Tribune. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Last segment of Big Cottonwood Trail complete

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 15:58:02 MDT

Last segment of Big Cottonwood Trail complete

by Paul Beebe The Salt Lake Tribune

Published Jun 19, 2013 03:58PM MDT

Big Cottonwood Trail, constructed in phases over several years, is virtually complete. Workers will be wrapping a few odds and ends for a while, but the last segment — a 1,600-foot asphalt path that climbs a steep slope, explores the underside of Wasatch Boulevard and ends at the park-and-ride lot inside Big Cottonwood Canyon — is open to the public. Only a small piece of the trail remains to be built if the city of Cottonwood Heights can win easements from two property owners. Otherwise, it’s d...

Copyright 2013 The Salt Lake Tribune. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Italian fashion icons Dolce and Gabbana convicted of tax evasion

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 14:12:02 MDT

Italian fashion icons Dolce and Gabbana convicted of tax evasion

by Colleen Barry The Associated Press

Published Jun 19, 2013 02:12PM MDT

MILAN • A Milan court has convicted the designers Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana of tax evasion. The pair were found guilty Wednesday of failing to declare euros 1 billion ($1.3 billion) in income to authorities. The court sentenced them both to one year and eight months in jail. Prosecutors argued that the pair had evaded taxes on income of 416 million euros each and 200 million euros through a Luxembourg-based company. The statute of limitations ran out on a charge of misrepresenting incom...

Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Fed outlines timeline for winding down its stimulus

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 13:34:03 MDT

Fed outlines timeline for winding down its stimulus

by Martin Crutsinger The Associated Press

Published Jun 19, 2013 01:34PM MDT

Washington • Chairman Ben Bernanke ended weeks of speculation Wednesday by saying the Federal Reserve will likely slow its bond-buying program this year and end it next year because the economy is strengthening. The Fed’s purchases of Treasury and mortgage bonds have helped keep long-term interest rates at record lows. A pullback in its extraordinary $85 billion-a-month program would likely mean higher rates on mortgages and other consumer and business loans. Anticipating higher rates, investor...

Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Federal Reserve suggests it’s closer to slowing bond purchases

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 12:10:02 MDT

Federal Reserve suggests it’s closer to slowing bond purchases

by Martin Crutsinger The Associated Press

Published Jun 19, 2013 12:10PM MDT

WASHINGTON • Chairman Ben Bernanke ended weeks of speculation Wednesday by saying the Federal Reserve will likely slow its bond-buying program later this year and end it next year if the economy continues to improve. The Fed’s bond purchases have helped keep long-term interest rates at record lows. Bernanke said the reductions would occur in “measured steps” and that the purchases could end by the middle of next year. By then, he said he thought unemployment would be around 7 percent. Bernanke l...

Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Recalls for IKEA LYDA jumbo cups, 2012-2013 Jeep Wranglers

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 11:47:02 MDT

Recalls for IKEA LYDA jumbo cups, 2012-2013 Jeep Wranglers

the Salt Lake Tribune

Published Jun 19, 2013 11:47AM MDT

The following products and vehicles were recalled by the Consumer Product Safety Commission or the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Unless otherwise indicated, discontinue use of the products immediately and return them to the store where purchased for a refund. For more information about the products, call the manufacturer or CPSC’s toll-free hotline, 800-638-2772. Only some cars or trucks recalled are affected. Contact a dealer for your model to see if it is included in the reca...

Copyright 2013 The Salt Lake Tribune. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Kolcraft recalls baby strollers due to wheel blowouts

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 10:58:03 MDT

Kolcraft recalls baby strollers due to wheel blowouts

the Associated Press

Published Jun 19, 2013 10:58AM MDT

NEW YORK • Kolcraft is recalling more than 96,000 Jeep Liberty strollers after at least 18 people were injured by tire blowouts, the Consumer Product Safety Commission said Wednesday. The government watchdog group said there have been 39 reports of inner tube ruptures that have caused the wheel rim to break off and become a projectile. The incidents took place mostly when the tires were being inflated, causing cuts and bruises to arms, legs, torso and head or face. Two of the injured were childr...

Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Founder, pitchman Zimmer out at Men’s Wearhouse

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 09:56:03 MDT

Founder, pitchman Zimmer out at Men’s Wearhouse

by Anne D’innocenzio The Associated Press

Published Jun 19, 2013 09:56AM MDT

New York • Men’s Wearhouse’s board on Wednesday fired George Zimmer, the founder and public face of the company, as executive chairman without saying why and delayed its annual shareholder meeting. Zimmer, who appeared in many of its TV commercials with the slogan “You’re going to like the way you look. I guarantee it,” told CNBC that the board had “silenced his concerns” about the company’s direction. In a terse release issued Wednesday, Men’s Wearhouse gave no reason for the abrupt firing of ...

Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Stocks edge lower as investors wait on Fed update

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 09:55:02 MDT

Stocks edge lower as investors wait on Fed update

by Steve Rothwell The Associated Press

Published Jun 19, 2013 09:55AM MDT

NEW YORK • The stock market is waiting on the Fed. Major indexes drifted lower in afternoon trading Wednesday as traders wondered what the Federal Reserve will say about the U.S. economy and the central bank’s huge stimulus program this afternoon. The U.S. central bank will release its latest policy update at 2 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time and Bernanke will speak at a press conference thirty minutes later. Comments by Bernanke last month suggesting the central bank may soon ease that support unset...

As sales slow, Utah’s Skullcandy retrenches

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 09:38:53 MDT

As sales slow, Utah’s Skullcandy retrenches

by Vince Horiuchi The Salt Lake Tribune

Published Jun 19, 2013 09:38AM MDT

Park City-based audio accessories manufacturer Skullcandy announced Tuesday it is closing its San Clemente, Calif., office and restructuring its management team amid slowing sales and a fading stock. The company, which produces headphones for mobile devices and also sells active apparel, said it is moving its marketing, creative and business development and legal departments to its Park City headquarters from California, as well as certain sales and international personnel, according to a statem...

Inflation in the U.S. and Utah tame in May

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 09:37:24 MDT

Inflation in the U.S. and Utah tame in May

the Associated Press

Published Jun 19, 2013 09:37AM MDT

U.S. consumer prices rose slightly last month, as higher energy costs partly offset cheaper food. The small increase is further evidence that consumers are benefiting from mild inflation. The consumer price index ticked up a seasonally adjusted 0.1 percent in May from April, the Labor Department said, with a similar index for the Wasatch Front doing likewise. Over the past 12 months, prices have risen just 1.4 percent. Excluding volatile food and gas costs, core prices are up just 1.7 percent o...

Two Utah community banks set merger for 4Q

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 09:00:50 MDT

Two Utah community banks set merger for 4Q

by Paul Beebe The Salt Lake Tribune

Published Jun 19, 2013 09:00AM MDT

The holding companies of two Utah community banks have agreed to merge later this year, but the names of their respective branches won’t change. People’s Utah Bancorp, which owns Bank of American Fork, and Lewiston Bancorp, whose subsidiary is Lewiston State Bank, will combine in the fourth quarter, creating a single holding company with more than $1 billion in assets, the companies have announced. Terms weren’t disclosed. The boards of both companies have approved the deal, which still must be ...

Business Insight: Consumers now have way to take on abusive lenders

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 08:59:25 MDT

Business Insight: Consumers now have way to take on abusive lenders

by Dawn House The Salt Lake Tribune

Published Jun 19, 2013 08:59AM MDT

Robert Nathan Mayer, a professor in Family Consumer Studies at the University of Utah and co-author of Financial Justice, The People’s Campaign to Stop Lender Abuse, contends that an alliance of consumer, civil rights, labor and fair-lending advocates is effectively challenging Wall Street with the creation of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. What are some of the abuses the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFBP) may prevent? Most people view the bureau as a response to the l...

Businessman, activist had life lived in full

Tue, 18 Jun 2013 21:56:46 MDT

Businessman, activist had life lived in full

the Salt Lake Tribune

Published Jun 18, 2013 09:56PM MDT

Longtime Utah businessman and community activist Marvin L. Arent, who died last week at the age of 95, loved to talk about life, and about the love of his life. Arent and wife Lynn founded Arent’s Doorway to Fashion, a women’s clothing and fur store that operated for decades on South Temple in downtown Salt Lake City. Marvin Arent was a member of the Rotary Club of Salt Lake City for 47 years, where he served as treasurer. He was named a Paul Harris Fellow and a Richard L. Evans Fellow in recogn...

Lower fees, new options in store for Utah’s college savings plan

Tue, 18 Jun 2013 21:56:46 MDT

Lower fees, new options in store for Utah’s college savings plan

by Jennifer Napier-pearce The Salt Lake Tribune

Published Jun 18, 2013 09:56PM MDT

Utah’s official 529 college savings plan is announcing new investment choices and lower fees effective June 21. The Utah Educational Savings Plan (UESP) is dropping its annual administrative asset fees on age-based and five of six static investments by an average of 10 percent to between 0.14 and 0.18 percent. (Fees for customized investment options will remain at 0.20 percent and the Public Treasurers’ Investment Fund option will stay fee-free). The nonprofit, which manages more than $5.9 bill...