Denver Business Journal articles from September 1998

Denver Business Journal archives from September 1998

Jones job cuts signal telecom shift. (Jones Intercable Inc.)
September 4, 1998... Mergers may slow metro job growth The roughly 250 people who run Jones Intercable Inc.'s corporate headquarters in Englewood are mulling severance packages and scanning the want ads instead of plotting the future of the company. Most of the...

Wall St. batters Colorado. (decline in stock market)
September 4, 1998... $35B in market cap lost since mid-July Nearly $35 billion worth of Colorado equity went up in smoke in the stock market's recent six-week slide. Colorado's 50 largest public companies lost more than $34.78 billion worth of market value...

Hensel Phelps erects launch pad. (Hensel Phelps Construction Co.)
September 4, 1998... Canaveral revamp speeds EELV program A Greeley company expects to play a big role in helping the federal government launch more rockets into space faster - and possibly cut the astronomical cost of those liftoffs by half. Colorado-based...

New software product combines technologies.
September 4, 1998... Datria employs voice-recognition system Any Star Trek fan has already mastered the basics of the latest software from Datria Systems Inc. Just as the crew of the Starship Enterprise spoke commands to the ship's computer, voice recognition...

IHS ends microfilm products. (IHS Group Inc.)
September 4, 1998... The Web takes over as distribution tool Don't be surprised to hear the faint sound of "Taps" echoing through the halls of IHS Group Inc. this November. After nearly 40 years, IHS Engineering is phasing out microfilm production, its flagship...

Regulators question U S West phone ploy.
September 4, 1998... U S West Inc.'s strike may be just a bad memory, but regulators are smarting over the phone company's tactics during the work stoppage. The Colorado Public Utilities Commission complained that U S West turned the long waits for repairs and new...

Navigant stays course despite stock slump. (Navigant International Inc.)
September 4, 1998... Travel group hopes economy of scale will weather storm The stock market storms have shaken Colorado's newest public company, Navigant International Inc., hard. Navigant spun off from U.S. Office Products at $9 a share on June 10. Its stock...

Small biz vs. big banks. (Denver, Colorado)(includes list of banks that left Denver)
September 4, 1998... Keeping relationships amidst merger-mania Change is nothing new. But small-business owners have found changes galore in one of their most crucial relationships, that with their banks. A quick survey found nearly 50 banks and bank holding...

J.D. Edwards buys back its HQ. (J.D. Edwards & Co.)
September 11, 1998... J.D. Edwards & Co., a Denver-based software developer, has bought back the headquarters building it sold a couple of years ago. The company is also looking at putting up a high rise of some 14 stories in order to accommodate strong recent...

Ads raise the Rapids' watermark; promotional campaign helps build attendance. (Colorado Rapids)
September 11, 1998... Promotional campaign helps build attendance If you bill it, they will come. Promising quirky celebrities from the Village People to a parachuting Elvis - or rather a squadron of "Flying Elvi" - the Colorado Rapids soccer team is boosting...

Malik's next move: managed-care magnate looks forward. (resignation of Malik Hasan as CEO of Foundation Health Systems)
September 11, 1998... Malik Hasan, one of Colorado's most notorious health-care executives and a staunch defender of market-driven health care, resigned as CEO of Foundation Health Systems Aug. 7 and rumors abound as to what the managed-care magnate will do next....

MegaBank changes charter to thrift. (MegaBank Financial Corp.)
September 11, 1998... After 15 years as a bank, MegaBank Financial Corp. has decided to try life as a thrift. The Englewood-based holding company, one of Colorado's largest remaining independents, switched its charter from a state bank to a federal savings bank on...

Slowdown for Colo. around the corner; but state economy will remain healthy.
September 11, 1998... But state economy will remain healthy In the first of a series of economic forecasts to be released this fall, U.S. Bank economist Tucker Hart Adams predicts a slower growing but still healthy economy for the balance of the decade. Her...

Legal setback derails U S West service plan; appeals court says no to long distance.
September 11, 1998... U S West Inc. and two other Baby Bells lost a legal bid to allow them into the long-distance business. The Denver phone company, along with SBC Communications and Bell Atlantic Corp., had successfully argued that a rule prohibiting them from...

Broncos cashing in on Super Bowl win; sponsorship revenue soars this season. (Denver Broncos)
September 11, 1998... The Denver Broncos have parlayed their Super Bowl victory into seven-figure gains in sponsorship revenue, adding five new high-profile sponsors and a variety of other companies through smaller packages. The soft-drink and restaurant categories...

Colorado companies buying back stocks; Wall Street woes spur repurchase trend.
September 11, 1998... Several Colorado companies are using cash on hand and a few even borrowing funds at low interest rates to repurchase their downtrodden stocks. If good investment options abound, companies usually prefer to invest in a way that will increase...

Startups fall behind in training; DBJ survey reveals small-business lags. (Denver Business Journal)(Small Business Strategies)
September 11, 1998... Survival is the name of the small-business training game. While 90 percent of small businesses offer some type of employer-sponsored training, the efforts are concentrated on the skills necessary to stay in business. According to a...

Smaller ski resorts find niche. (marketing efforts of ski resorts in Colorado)(includes related articles)
September 18, 1998... Colorado's small ski areas have always banked on having an edge over big resorts when it comes to price. Affordable small resorts, though, stand to get hurt in the crossfire in this ski season's unprecedented price war between the large ski...

Firm's failure ripples. (service and financial problems of North American Digicom Corp.)
September 18, 1998... AT&T unplugs ex-KidZtime owner North American Digicom bragged it would beat the Baby Bells at creating a one-stop shop for telecommunications services. Now, most of its phones are disconnected. North American Digicom Corp. sold prepaid phone...

Judgment stuns Precedent. (case against Precedent Health Partners filed by Columbia/HCA Healthcare Corp. and its Denver, Colorado partner, HealthOne)
September 18, 1998... Precedent Health Partners, the physician-owned organization that has struggled to compete with corporate hospital giant Columbia/HCA Healthcare Corp. and its Denver partner HealthOne, has been blindsided by a $477,618 judgment obtained by...

Is the microbrewing industry tapped out? (Colorado)(Industry Overview)
September 18, 1998... Beer sales climb, but at a slower pace The Tabernash Brewing Co. grabbed a fistful of awards for its craft beers in 1998, earning a gold-medal accolade during the recent World Beer Cup and garnering praise from Malt Advocate magazine for...

Energy lab awaits new manager. (management contract for the National Renewable Energy Laboratory in Jefferson County, Colorado)
September 18, 1998... Bidders compete for NREL contract A management contract for the National Renewable Energy Laboratory in Jefferson County could be awarded shortly, industry insiders said. Three firms are vying for the contract, including Midwest Research...

Second-home sales explode in state. (Colorado)
September 18, 1998... With the stock market experiencing more ups and downs than a yo-yo, people are looking for other places to invest. Many are joining the growing number who own second homes in Colorado's high country. "I am working with baby boomers who will...

How IP services stack up. (Internet service providers in Colorado)(Industry Overview)
September 18, 1998... Companies offer different range of quality Sprint Corp. has the Dime Lady and AT&T Corp. uses Paul Reiser to pitch its new simplified billing system, but a trio of local companies are offering services that don't need celebrity spokespeople....

MegaBank, Makepeace going public. (initial public offerings of MegaBank and Makepeace)
September 18, 1998... But market gyrations could delay IPOs Two Denver area financial companies plan to step out into a blustery stock market with initial public offerings this fall. Megabank Financial Corp. filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission Sept....

Jacor's golden parachute filing hints at possible sale. (golden parachute agreements of Jacor Communications)
September 18, 1998... Jacor Communications has set up new agreements that would pay CEO Randy Michaels and his top managers if the firm is sold, fanning speculation the broadcaster is preparing to be acquired. While Jacor officials say the timing of the so-called...