Finance and Commerce Daily Newspaper, MN articles from March 2003

Finance and Commerce Daily Newspaper, MN archives from March 2003

GMAC-Residential Funding Corp. aims for an edge.
March 1, 2003... Byline: Mark Anderson GMAC-Residential Funding Corp. performed at a record clip in 2002 -- just like many of its companions in the mortgage industry. But the quiet giant in Twin Cities residential funding -- RFC employs more than 1,600...

Omaha-based architectural firm merges with Minneapolis firm.(Leo A. Daly and Setter Leach & Lindstrom merge)
March 4, 2003... Byline: Brian Johnson When Leo A Daly was looking to expand in the Twin Cities area, it wasn't surprising that the Omaha-based architectural, planning and interior design firm took a liking to Minneapolis-based Setter Leach & Lindstrom....

More than 2,700 talking ATMs now offer Spanish audio.(Brief Article)
March 4, 2003... Byline: F&C Staff For more than 15 years, Wells Fargo customers have been able to do their ATM transactions in Spanish. Now they'll be able to hear their transactions privately in Spanish on more than 40 percent of Wells Fargo's ATM...

MN investment firm's focus on telecom, infrastructure pays off.(Jundt Associates)
March 5, 2003... Byline: Dave Price A little change -- and a few well-timed stock picks -- are starting to connect at Jundt Associates. Managers at the local investment advisers this week packed up their former digs in St. Louis Park and moved the...

Hill library online service offers information 'gold mine' for small businesses.(James J. Hill Reference Library)
March 5, 2003... Byline: Jessica Griffith Spenser Segal's finely honed research skills help him tap into business databases and organize information for his consulting clients. But while Segal is perfectly capable of working in a library, he would just as...

Twin Cities banks join effort against predatory lending.
March 6, 2003... Byline: Mark Anderson Twin Cities lenders, eager to protect the region's most vulnerable borrowers and to avoid more legislative efforts to add new regulations on home lending, joined with housing advocates and public agencies Wednesday to...

MN accounting firm sold to workers under employee stock ownership plan.(HLB Tautges Redpath Ltd.)
March 7, 2003... Byline: Monte Hanson At age 46, Jim Redpath isn't ready for the rocking chair yet. But when he and his mostly 40-something business partners began thinking about what would happen to their White Bear Lake accounting firm when they...

CNS Inc. chief financial officer David Byrd dies at 49.(Obituary)
March 7, 2003... Byline: F&C Staff David J. Byrd, the chief financial officer at Eden Prairie-based CNS Inc., has died following surgery for a brain tumor. CNS President and CEO Marti Morfitt said Thursday that company workers were saddened to hear...

Stonehaven Realty finds a way out of growing financial troubles.(Stonehaven Realty Trust to merge with Paragon Real Estate Development)
March 8, 2003... Byline: Dave Price An investor group bounced five years ago in a nasty fight with a hedge fund for control of a real estate company in Ohio is positioning for a new national expansion, starting with its acquisition this week of...

Centex Homes tops residential construction list.(Brief Article)
March 11, 2003... Byline: F&C Staff Centex Homes was the top residential builder in dollar volume within the Twin Cities area last year, according to the Builders Association of the Twin Cities. The Rottlund Company and D.R. Horton, Inc. rounded out the...

RBC Dain Rauscher acquires First Institutional Securities.(Brief Article)
March 11, 2003... Byline: F&C Staff RBC Dain Rauscher Inc. announced on Monday it has closed on the acquisition of certain assets of West Paterson, N.J. - based First Institutional Securities LLC, a privately held investment banking firm that serves...

Graco Inc. plans to purchase stock from founding family.(Brief Article)
March 11, 2003... Byline: F&C Staff Minneapolis-based Graco Inc. plans to buy 2.2 million shares of the company's common stock from the firm's founding family. Graco officials said Monday that they will pay $24.89 a share, or a total of $54.8...

Simplicity Mortgage completes merger, plans expansion.(merges with DMI Mortgage)(Brief Article)
March 11, 2003... Byline: F&C Staff Minnetonka-based Simplicity Mortgage Corp. has completed its merger with DMI Mortgage of Des Moines, Iowa, and will begin expanding in the Midwest. The company said Monday that it plans to add nine state licenses...

PW Eagle making bid for Denver company.(close to acquiring Uponor ETI)
March 11, 2003... Byline: Dave Price PW Eagle Inc. on Monday said it was in advanced talks to acquire Uponor ETI -- a deal with the potential to boost sales for the Minneapolis-based manufacturer of plastic pipe by nearly 50 percent. In a statement, PW...

Varde Partners sees opportunity managing troubled debt.
March 11, 2003... Byline: Mark Anderson In the midst of an otherwise gloomy economy, investors with a savvy eye for underlying value and risk are still finding opportunities. Among them is Minneapolis-based Varde Partners, which last week signed a new...

New course offers study of the role a co.'s board of directors.(William Mitchell College of Law )
March 12, 2003... Byline: Liz Wolf As news of the Enron Corp. scandal broke last year, Cary Tutelman and Larry Hause were launching The Board School, a seven-week course at William Mitchell College of Law in St. Paul that offers an in-depth study of the...

IBM's dispute with Florida firm threatens Digital Angel.
March 12, 2003... Byline: Dave Price An ongoing dispute between IBM and a Florida company over implantable microchips is starting to get under the skin of Digital Angel Corp. South St. Paul-based Digital Angel was spun out from Applied Digital...

Allete scraps sale of Florida water-service subsidiary.(Brief Article)
March 12, 2003... Byline: Dave Price Duluth-based Allete Inc. has called off a $500 million sale of its water-service subsidiary in Florida after a Florida court approved an indefinite injunction last week blocking the proposed transaction. Allete has...

Nash Finch rallies after SEC ruling on books.(Nash Finch Co.'s stock price increases by 58%)(Brief Article)
March 13, 2003... Byline: Dave Price Shares of Nash Finch Co. jumped 58 percent Wednesday after the Edina-based food distributor won a preliminary victory with regulators over its accounting of certain revenues paid by vendors for preferential shelf space...

Swedish retailer hopes to expand in Bloomington.(IKEA will open a location in Bloomington as part of the planned Mall of America expansion)(Brief Article)
March 13, 2003... Byline: F&C Staff IKEA, a Swedish home furnishings retailer, announced plans Wednesday to open a new location in Bloomington as part of the proposed Mall of America expansion. The 330,000-square-foot store would be IKEA's first...

Multifamily housing stocks outperformed S&P 500.(but struggled in their third and fourth quarters)(Brief Article)
March 13, 2003... Byline: F&C Staff Multifamily housing stocks struggled in the third and fourth quarters of 2002 but still outperformed the S&P 500 for the year, according to the National Association of Home Builders' Multifamily Stock Index. The...

Winter chilling Buca Inc. first quarter results and forecasts.(Brief Article)
March 13, 2003... Byline: F&C Staff Cold and snow are causing tough sledding for Buca Inc., with the Minneapolis-based chain of southern Italian restaurants reporting Wednesday that it expects a big drop in projected earnings during the three months ending...

Career Gear helps men dress for success.(nonprofit provides clothing to disadvantaged men for job interviews)
March 13, 2003... Byline: Lee Ann Owens Not only do clothes make the man, but those same clothes can make or break a job interview. Career Gear Twin Cities -- an offshoot of a New York-based nonprofit group that began in 1998 -- provides clothing to men...

Prevailing wage gets another airing at Capitol.(bill would exempt school construction projects from Minnesota wage law)
March 13, 2003... Byline: Brian Johnson A bill that would exempt school construction projects from the state's prevailing wage law is making its way through the Legislature, despite opposition from union officials. The legislation, House file 365, is...

Banks should weather economic chill among nonprofit clients.
March 14, 2003... Byline: Mark Anderson As lawmakers from Minneapolis and St. Paul to Washington D.C. grapple with fiscal woes, the recently flourishing nonprofit business sector is waiting to see what degree of financial trauma will eventually hit their...

Nanotechnology industry trying to avoid fate similar to dot.com boom.
March 15, 2003... Byline: Dave Price Perhaps the biggest challenge ahead for nanotechnology is not getting too big for its britches. Broadly defined as the science of objects less than 100 nanometers -- or 1 billionth of a centimeter -- nanotechnology...

PW Eagle buys Denver-based pipe-maker, Uponor ETI.(Brief Article)
March 15, 2003... Byline: Dave Price PW Eagle Inc. on Friday finalized its acquisition of Uponor ETI in a deal adding about $90 million in yearly sales -- an increase of nearly 50 percent -- for the Minneapolis-based manufacturer of plastic pipe. The...

CEO of MN Bankers Assn. announces resignation.(Bill Bond resigns)
March 15, 2003... Byline: Monte Hanson Bill Bond, executive vice president and CEO of the Minnesota Bankers Association for nearly three years, announced Friday that he is resigning from the group to explore other career opportunities. Bond has already...

Chaska-based FSI International to close plant in Texas, laying off 292.(Brief Article)
March 18, 2003... Byline: F&C Staff Chaska-based FSI International said Monday it plans to discontinue its microlithography business and will close the company's facility in Allen, Texas, idling 292 employees. The microlithography division -- which...

West Coast Mafia Entertainment deal boosts New Hope-based Navarre's rap catalog.(Brief Article)
March 18, 2003... Byline: F&C Staff New Hope-based Navarre Corp. is staking out new territory, signing a deal on Monday with West Coast Mafia Entertainment for North American distribution rights for the rap/urban music label. West Coast Mafia was...

Elk River parade home showcases 'universal design' features.
March 18, 2003... Byline: Brian Johnson As America's population ages, senior-friendly amenities such as bathroom grab-bars and slip-resistant flooring are becoming more popular in residential construction, not just with older folks but also with younger...

Eden Prairie-based Stellent acquires Active IQ assets for $650,000.(Stellent Inc. acquires some of Active IQ Technologies' assets)(Brief Article)
March 18, 2003... Byline: F&C Staff Eden Prairie-based Stellent Inc. has acquired selected assets of Active IQ Technologies for $650,000 in cash -- a sum that is roughly equivalent to the current annual revenue of the Minnetonka-based company. ...

Edina-based Regis Corp. switching to New York Stock Exchange.(Brief Article)
March 18, 2003... Byline: F&C Staff Regis Corp. will switch its stock listing from Nasdaq to the New York Stock Exchange, effective March 27. The Edina-based franchiser of hair-care salons said its stock will trade under the ticker symbol of RGS. ...

Once-promising MedicalCV facing 'tough choices'.
March 19, 2003... Byline: Dave Price One of the last Minnesota companies to complete an initial public offering could soon go under unless the small medical-device manufacturer is able to refinance its bank loan and raise at least $2 million in new equity...

Selvaggio selected as first recipient of philanthropic fellowship.
March 19, 2003... Byline: Mark Anderson When Joe Selvaggio talks people generally listen, but it's not because he's giving advice on how to build a fortune. Selvaggio instead has spent much of his life urging people - unpretentiously but relentlessly -...

Twin Cities executives advise firms to follow prudent course.
March 20, 2003... Byline: Mark Anderson Companies that want to be market leaders when the economy picks up again had better keep spending -- carefully, but steadily -- according to a panel of Twin Cities executives who participated in a business roundtable...

Construction training program for youth faces budget ax.(Minnesota Youthbuild Program)
March 20, 2003... Byline: Brian Johnson A state program that trains at-risk young people for jobs in construction is facing a $394,000 cut in state funding as part of Gov. Tim Pawlenty's proposed 2004-05 budget. The Minnesota Youthbuild Program, which...

Georgia track tractor manufacturer moving to Minnesota.(AGCO Corp.)(Brief Article)
March 21, 2003... Byline: Monte Hanson AGCO Corp. of Duluth, Ga., the third largest maker of farm equipment in the country, said Thursday that it will move production of its Challenger track tractor to Jackson in southwestern Minnesota. AGCO officials...

Verret to retire as president of The Saint Paul Foundation.(Paul Verret)(Brief Article)
March 21, 2003... Byline: F&C Staff Paul Verret is retiring as president of The Saint Paul Foundation. Verret, who has led The Saint Paul Foundation since 1975, will shift to the role of president emeritus when his successor is named. As president emeritus,...

Wall Street's war rally lifts Minnesota companies.
March 21, 2003... Byline: Dave Price Maybe buying duct tape -- or at least the stock of a company that makes it -- was a good idea after all. Shares of 3M have jumped better than 6 percent during the "war rally" that began on Wall Street early last...

Construction halted on Eden Prairie library.
March 22, 2003... Byline: Brian Johnson Construction of a new Hennepin County library in Eden Prairie has hit a snag because of financing problems related to the project's general contractor, according to county officials. The adaptive reuse project,...

Construction training program faces budget ax.
March 25, 2003... Byline: Brian Johnson A state program that trains at-risk young people for jobs in construction is facing a $394,000 cut in state funding as part of Gov. Tim Pawlenty's proposed 2004-05 budget. The Minnesota Youthbuild Program, which...

ADC Telecommunication opts for options swap.
March 25, 2003... Byline: Dave Price ADC Telecommunication employees are getting a second chance at cashing in if the company's stock ever takes off again. Following a long, hard slide in its share price, ADC is moving ahead with plans to let about...

Excelsior Boulevard reconstruction to begin April 1.(Brief Article)
March 26, 2003... Byline: F&C Staff A $5.5 million Excelsior Boulevard reconstruction project will begin April 1, according to the Hennepin County Transportation Department. The project, which extends from a block east of Blake Road to Highway 169...

Gov. Pawlenty sticks to no-new-taxes pledge.
March 26, 2003... Byline: David Knutson Addressing hundreds of business people in downtown St. Paul on Tuesday, Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty reiterated his promise to clean up Minnesota's economic problems without raising taxes. Once the state's fiscal...

NRG Energy settlement with former execs on hold.
March 26, 2003... Byline: Dave Price NRG Energy's efforts to reorganize outside of bankruptcy court are getting delayed for at least another few weeks while attorneys try to resolve a simmering turf battle. The financially struggling power-merchant...

Highland Bank owners sell shares to their children.(Brief Article)
March 26, 2003... Byline: F&C Staff Fred and Alice Wall, the owners of St. Paul-based Highland Bank, have sold about 25 percent of the bank to their three children. Rick, John and Liz Wall bought equal shares of the bank in the first step of what...

Xcel Energy ready to cut NRG loose.
March 27, 2003... Byline: Dave Price Xcel Energy will walk away from the power-merchant business a little wiser and a whole lot poorer. The Minneapolis-based utility holding company on Wednesday announced a tentative deal with note-holders and bank...

Metro Council's new chairman expects no shift in focus.
March 27, 2003... Byline: Brian Johnson Countering speculation that the new Metropolitan Council might significantly change its focus, the new chairman of the regional planning body told a business gathering Wednesday not to expect any major shakeups. ...

Alliant Techsystems' shares showing signs of recovery.(Brief Article)
March 28, 2003... Byline: Brian Johnson Judging Alliant Techsystems' wartime performance is largely a matter of perspective. After dipping to its lowest price in nearly two years earlier this month, shares of the Edina-based munitions and aerospace...

American Bank adds lease financing to product line.
March 29, 2003... Byline: Mark Anderson American Bank of St. Paul has added another tool for its growing portfolio of commercial borrowers. American, the $600 million product of last year's merger between Mendota Heights-based Dakota Bank and St. Paul's...

New building codes could lead to more multifamily housing.
March 29, 2003... Byline: Brian Johnson A local residential construction expert predicted that Minnesota's adoption of the international building codes -- scheduled to become effective next week -- could have a positive impact on multifamily construction in...