Denver Business Journal articles from December 1998

Denver Business Journal archives from December 1998

1999 economic forecast: health giants try to refocus.
December 25, 1998... Health care is a business no one likes to admit is a business, especially people who run hospitals. But whether nonprofit, for-profit or a combination of the two, hospitals are big business. It's no secret that managed care has sent...

Caution signs light the way.(1999 economic forecast)
December 25, 1998... Anyone who hikes the Rocky Mountains knows the dangers of getting caught unprepared at "altitude." After eight years of climbing, the Colorado economy may have to move lower next year because of storms rolling in from distant lands. ...

Critics attack emergency system.(American Medical Pathways)
December 25, 1998... AMR draws fire from paramedics, doctors An emergency response system pioneered by American Medical Response and piloted by Kaiser Permanente of Colorado, is drawing fire from Denver-area paramedics, physicians, labor unions and public...

Korean carmaker moves in.(Daewoo Motors Co.)
December 25, 1998... Daewoo Motors plans to open in Englewood Korean carmaker Daewoo Motors Co. plans to open a factory-owned dealership in Englewood as it rolls across the United States. The maker of low-priced "global" cars plans to hire from 17 to 28...

Decline in capital reins in developers.(Economic Forecast: Real Estate)(real estate developers)
December 25, 1998... Market wild ride should be tamer in '99 The missteps and corrections commercial real estate survived this year, especially related to oscillating capital markets, should make it more cautious but still strong in 1999. The wild ride...

Tech firms predict continued growth curve.(Economic Forecast: Technology)(Denver, Colorado)
December 25, 1998... Expect the technology sector to further flex its muscle in the Denver market during 1999, even though there's no relief in sight for the current labor crunch. "Growth, growth and more growth is what I'm expecting for 1999," said Richard...

Women biz owners worry about 'balance.'.(Economic Forecast: Small Business)
December 25, 1998... Women small-business owners, like their male counterparts, are entering the new year with renewed determination to see their market expand, their work force improve, their profit margin grow. They're also struggling with issues like...

'Help wanted' signs aren't going to vanish.(Economic Forecast: Retail)(Colorado)
December 25, 1998... Colorado's strong economy and low unemployment rate has kept the cash registers ringing for Colorado's retail and hospitality industry, but the combination has proved to be a double-edged sword. The population growth and strong economy...

Optimism fading for oil, gas industry.(Economic Forecast: Natural Resources)(Colorado)
December 25, 1998... Colorado farmers also face tough times Colorado's natural resource industries have been brutalized by low commodity prices, supply/demand problems and the Asian economic flu. And, according to industry insiders, the situation isn't...

Qwest takes chance on 'cyber center' in Washington.(Qwest Communications International Inc.)
December 25, 1998... WASHINGTON - When Bernstein Cos. and Union Realty Partners said in August they planned to lure high-profile technology companies to a redeveloped warehouse off New York Avenue NE, doubters could be heard snickering in the background. ...

1999 economic forecast: health giants try to refocus.(Industry Overview)
December 25, 1998... Health care is a business no one likes to admit is a business, especially people who run hospitals. But whether nonprofit, for-profit or a combination of the two, hospitals are big business. It's no secret that managed care has sent...

Decline in capital reins in developers.(Economic Forecast: Real Estate)(real estate developers)(Industry Overview)
December 25, 1998... Market wild ride should be tamer in '99 The missteps and corrections commercial real estate survived this year, especially related to oscillating capital markets, should make it more cautious but still strong in 1999. The wild ride...

Tech firms predict continued growth curve.(Economic Forecast: Technology)(Denver, Colorado)(Industry Overview)
December 25, 1998... Expect the technology sector to further flex its muscle in the Denver market during 1999, even though there's no relief in sight for the current labor crunch. "Growth, growth and more growth is what I'm expecting for 1999," said Richard...

Telecom players: deals to continue.(Economic Forecast: Telecommunications)(Colorado)(Industry Overview)
December 25, 1998... Baby Bell U S West vows to go it alone Mergers and acquisition activity reached a fevered pitch in 1998, continually reshaping Colorado's compelling telecommunications landscape. Indeed, it would be difficult to top the changes that...

Women biz owners worry about 'balance.'.(Economic Forecast: Small Business)(Industry Overview)
December 25, 1998... Women small-business owners, like their male counterparts, are entering the new year with renewed determination to see their market expand, their work force improve, their profit margin grow. They're also struggling with issues like...

Optimism fading for oil, gas industry.(Economic Forecast: Natural Resources)(Colorado)(Industry Overview)
December 25, 1998... Colorado farmers also face tough times Colorado's natural resource industries have been brutalized by low commodity prices, supply/demand problems and the Asian economic flu. And, according to industry insiders, the situation isn't...

Gas drilling soars in Powder River.(Wyoming's Powder River Basin)
December 11, 1998... Nimble firms profit in price collapse A big blue light should be flashing over the coalbeds of Wyoming's Powder River Basin. Like shoppers swarming to the day-after-Christmas sales at K-mart, Denver-based oil and gas companies are...

Software's newest guru.(profile on Global Chairman of Software Industry Practice at PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP)
December 11, 1998... Thanks to Don Keller, Broomfield has become the center of the software universe. That is, as far as Pricewaterhouse-Coopers LLP is concerned. Recently bestowed with a new title, Global Chairman of Software Industry Practice, Don...

North suburbs plot I-25's future.(Denver's north suburbs; Interstate 25)
December 11, 1998... Mayors arm-wrestle over interchanges Unable to choose a single favorite, the metro cities along northern Interstate 25 have agreed to eventually build three interchanges at 128th, 136th and 144th avenues. Westminster, Thornton and...

FlatIron plans local look: mall's strategy includes space for metro-area retailers.(Westcor Partners' plan for FlatIron Crossing mall)
December 11, 1998... FlatIron Crossing may add another Nordstrom and Crate & Barrel to the metro area when it opens in 2000, but the mall's developer hopes Colorado-owned stores will give the 1.5 million-square-foot project local appeal. "We feel it is...

Is Pepsi Center area next for PSCo chiller?(Public Service Company of Colorado Inc.)
December 11, 1998... In order to fully saturate downtown Denver with chilled water for air conditioning, Public Service Company of Colorado Inc. may build one or more chiller plants like the one it recently opened near the Denver Pavilions mall. "We would...

AutoNation wants stake in gasoline biz.
December 11, 1998... Republic Industries wants to hook car buyers for life, and isn't above offering cheaper gasoline and money-back service guarantees to do it. Starting Dec. 26, Denver will turn into an auto industry laboratory stretched across 17 "stores"...

EchoStar reaches out to interactive viewers.(EchoStar Communications Corp. plans to announce interactive viewing products)
December 11, 1998... EchoStar Communications Corp. hopes to provide another outlet for those that like to talk back to the television. In addition to something for less vocal viewers. The Littleton-based satellite broadcaster plans to announce a series of...

Internet rivals carry on.(Rocky Mountain Internet; Internet Communications Corp.)
December 11, 1998... Almost two months after the collapse of the merger that would've married Rocky Mountain Internet to Internet Communications Corp., both companies are moving forward - albeit on different paths, at different speeds and bearing the weight of...

Denver's real estate market strong in 1999.
December 11, 1998... The Denver area's commercial real estate market generally looks muscular going into 1999, according to a recent survey by Cushman & Wakefield of Colorado Inc. Its Achilles' heel, though, is the potential for overbuilding, particularly in...

Westmoreland Coal digs out from Chapter 11 filing.
December 11, 1998... Westmoreland Coal Co., once one of Philadelphia's venerable institutions, could soon be out of Chapter 11 bankruptcy, if a deal with creditors holds. A bankruptcy judge in Colorado may order dismissal of the bankruptcy reorganization as...

Fit product finally moves beyond Denver.(Procter & Gamble's Fit vegetable and fruit rinse)
December 11, 1998... After already spending a record four years in test-marketing, Procter & Gamble's Fit vegetable and fruit rinse has been added to two additional cities for further study. The consumer products giant also has launched a Web site for the...

Qwest vice chairman ready to hit the road: Thompson leaves with $80M in stock.(H. Brian Thompson)
December 11, 1998... WASHINGTON - When LCI International Inc. built its new headquarters in Arlington, Va., in 1996, CEO H. Brian Thompson was involved in some of the tiniest details. He personally helped the architects design the angled window and the...

Corporate Y2K tab soars past $600M.(Colorado's 25 largest public companies budgeting $661 million for Y2K compliance)
December 4, 1998... Colo. companies reveal computer costs Colorado's 25 largest public companies, are ready to rack up a $600 million bill just to make sure they can still do business come the Year 2000. The upper tier of Colorado companies is budgeting...

Stadium gets city scrutiny.(Mile High Stadium, Denver, Colorado)
December 4, 1998... Mile High design underwhelms some The city and county of Denver just waded into the design process for the new Mile High Stadium, and some officials think the early look of the place is somewhat soggy. Some city insiders fear that...

Eating their own cooking: homegrown restaurant chains find success.(Denver, Colorado)
December 4, 1998... Homegrown restaurant chains find success In the shadows of the Boston Chicken disaster, some plucky Denver entrepreneurs are building successful restaurant chains. Although the Golden-based restaurant filed for bankruptcy protection...

Arvada, Westminster join forces; suburban cities explore county option.
December 4, 1998... Suburban cities explore county option Arvada is looking to hitch a ride with Westminster as it heads down the road toward forming a new county. "We are interested in looking into it with them. In a lot of ways, it is an issue of...

TIAA-CREF builds presence in Denver.(Teachers Insurance and Annuity Association; College Retirement Equities Fund)
December 4, 1998... One of America's largest pension-fund managers plans to double its work force in Denver as it pushes to become a household name in financial services. Most Denverites probably have never heard of Teachers Insurance and Annuity...

Rivals race to sell DSL early next year.(digital subscriber line)
December 4, 1998... The race to provide competitive high-speed data services through common copper wires is prepping for a sprint to market in the early months of 1999. The first half of next year promises to bring a host of new entrants to the metro area...

Deadline nears for specialists; PacifiCare could lose key doctors.
December 4, 1998... PacifiCare could lose key doctors PacifiCare of Colorado may be scrambling to find anesthesiologists and radiologists if the health plan's dispute with specialist physicians in the south metro area is not resolved by Dec. 7. Nearly...

Residential Systems wires affluent homes.(electronics systems)
December 4, 1998... Company connects electronics for the rich Residential Systems Inc. recently had a customer that asked to have a camera installed on a slope-side vacation house in Steamboat Springs so the family could monitor the ski run from their...

Post reporters strike, yank bylines for day.(The Denver Post)
December 4, 1998... Readers who opened their Nov. 25 edition of The Denver Post may have noticed a little more white space than usual and some familiar names missing. Most probably didn't realize they were witnessing a rarely used byline strike. ...

New Montana law hurts Denver miners.
December 4, 1998... Grant Reserve decides to switch industries A Montana ballot initiative passed by voters last month is making it difficult for two Denver-based gold mining companies to go about business as usual. Initiative 137 placed a ban on new or...

TCI, BankAmerica deal falls apart.
December 4, 1998... BankAmerica's widely heralded deal to offer cable TV-based home banking appears to have fallen through. The joint venture - announced with great fanfare last March - linked BankAmerica with cable giant TeleCommunications Inc., along with...

As Y2K nears, problems surface for fix-it firm.(Ravel Software Corp.)
December 4, 1998... SAN JOSE, Calif. - Y2K fix-it company Ravel Software Corp. may live up to its product and Internet domain names by unraveling before the year 2000. The San Jose-based firm - whose Y2K software is called Unravel 2000 and Web site address...