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PROTECTING WESTERN PROSPERITY
WITH MINING LAW REFORM
(Source: Thomas Michael Power, Salt Lake Tribune, 4/1/08)

The federal law that currently governs mining on federal land was passed when Ulysses S. Grant was president and the nation was offering inducements to populate the vastness of the American West and to extract its raw materials to support industrialization.

For minerals on public land, we adopted a "finders keepers" rule: Anyone who found valuable minerals could claim them free and clear. For a nominal price under the law that made mineral development a priority use of the public estate, they could also take title to land around the deposit.

Fast-forward 136 years to the post-industrial 21st century. After more than a century of rapid growth, the West has been transformed from its frontier origins of mining, ranching and logging. This "New West" of modern, diversified economies has been fueled by a constant influx of new people and businesses seeking the amenities and quality of life associated with the region's young cities and its spectacular natural landscapes.

In my home state of Montana, this economic shift has been dramatic. The "bumper-sticker" moniker for Montana during the first half of the 20th century was the "Treasure State," reflecting the dominant role mining once played. The state flag has the phrase "gold and silver" (in Spanish!) on it along with a crossed pick and shovel. But that is not how Montana now presents itself to the world. We are now "Big Sky Country" and "The Last Best Place."

In recent years, Montana voters have twice shocked the mining industry by approving initiatives banning cyanide heap-leach mining, the primary technology currently used in gold mining. In 1972 we replaced the state constitution written for us by mining interests in the 19th century with one that declares Montanans have a constitutional right to a "clean and healthy environment."

This political shift simply mirrored the change in the Montana economy. Since 1970 two-thirds of the thousands of metal mining and smelting jobs have disappeared due to international market forces. Rather than crippling the Montana economy, the demise of mining led to creation of 340,000 new jobs.

Now only about one out of every 300 Montana jobs and one out of every 600 Western-state jobs is in metal mining. In these diverse, modern and dynamic economies, it makes no economic sense to give metal mining priority in the use of public lands that make up almost half of the Western landscape.

In fact, mining is increasingly a threat to local economies in a region where charismatic natural landscapes play such an important role in attracting new people and economic activity and in supporting recreational activities that are vital to the regional economy.

The ravaged mountains, the yawning open pits, the pollution produced by the use of toxic chemicals, and the acid mine drainage that is often a byproduct of mining undercut the very basis of Western prosperity.

Recognizing this threat, the people and political leaders of the West frequently battle to modify or block the worst of the proposed new mines, those sited in the most sensitive and unique natural areas, those most likely to cause nearly permanent pollution problems and those using the most destructive technologies.

Unfortunately, those efforts to protect our prosperity and quality of life are often frustrated by the 1872 Mining Law that continues to give mining precedence over all other community values.

The U.S. House last year moved to end this destructive bias by passing comprehensive reform legislation that would finally end the mid-19th century privilege that metal mining has enjoyed.

Under this badly needed mining law reform, local communities could petition the federal government to close environmentally sensitive areas to metal mining claims. Federal land managers could finally block mines that pose unacceptable environmental threats. Prized federal lands such as national monuments and national parks would be closed to metal mining. And reclamation would be required of all mines.

For Westerners this legislation promises to protect our 21st century economies. For all Americans, it would shield from degradation some of our most cherished natural wonders.

The House has taken an important first step. Now it's time for the Senate to act.

-- Thomas Michael Power is research professor and professor emeritus in the economics department at the University of Montana.

IMPORTING NUCLEAR WASTE FROM OTHER NATIONS
IS NOT IN AMERICA'S BEST INTEREST
(Source: Bart Gordon and Jim Matheson, Salt Lake Tribune, 4/5/08)

Sixteen years ago, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission was warned that if it allowed nuclear waste to be imported into the United States, this country could turn into the world's nuclear dumping ground. That warning went unheeded, and now, if the Congress doesn't act, it could prove true.

In 1992, the Environmental Coalition on Nuclear Powers told the NRC that its proposed rule to license imports of low-level radioactive waste into the United States would allow "an essentially unrestricted flow . . . of radioactive wastes generated abroad into this country for 'disposal,' thereby turning our nation into an unlimited dumping ground for radioactive wastes produced worldwide."

The NRC chose not to tighten its rule or to ban the importation of waste. Instead, it assured the public that no one would ever try to dump foreign low-level waste here. And for more than 10 years, that was almost true. Small shipments were allowed in and sometimes disposed of in U.S. sites, but the licenses were infrequent.

But today, it is happening. EnergySolutions, the owner of a disposal site in Clive, Utah, has applied for a license to import 20,000 tons of low-level radioactive waste, or LLRW, from Italy's decommissioned nuclear reactors for processing in Tennessee and ultimate disposal in Utah. Italy, like many other countries, has no place to go with this radioactive waste. In fact, many European nuclear plants are slated to be decommissioned in the coming years. This is just the tip of the iceberg.

It isn't surprising that EnergySolutions sees a business opportunity, and it is difficult to imagine any country in the world that wouldn't be delighted to send its radioactive waste to the United States and be rid of it forever. There is a worldwide shortage of disposal space, and the company has publicly stated that it is looking for more decommissioning and disposal business around the world. In the prospectus issued when it went public last fall, EnergySolutions promoted the disposal site in Clive as one of its "competitive strengths."

We don't fault EnergySolutions for being creative and aggressive in its business plan. But when Congress passed the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1980, it wasn't trying to solve the nuclear waste problems of the world; it wanted to make sure the United States has a place to dispose of its own nuclear waste.

Nothing has changed that goal. The NRC, however, seems to want to go in another direction. It seems to think that if there is a site willing to take the waste, we can't stop it. That is why we introduced our legislation to ban imports of LLRW into the United States unless the president determines that it is necessary to meet an important national or international policy goal.

EnergySolutions says it has enough room to take all U.S. waste for the next 19 years. But that projection was based on unusually low waste shipments and did not include any foreign waste. And, according to the Government Accountability Office, the U.S. doesn't even know how much LLRW it has. If more nuclear plants are licensed, the equation will also change.

Low-level radioactive waste may not sound dangerous, but all nuclear waste disposal sites must be monitored for hundreds of years to protect the public's health. We have our hands full right here at home. We don't need to take on that responsibility for anyone else.

-- Jim Matheson, D-Utah, and Bart Gordon, D-Tenn., are members of the House Energy and Commerce Committee

MATERIAL MOST HAZARDOUS RIDE
ON SAFEST ROUTE
(Source: Associated Press, 4/17/08)

Railroads will be required to haul the most hazardous materials on their most secure routes under a new Transportation Department rule aimed at reducing risks of derailments and terrorist attacks.

The rule limits transportation materials like chlorine, which fall in the "poison inhalation hazard" category, to routes determined to be the most secure and safest. It also requires rail carriers to annually assess risks on their routes. In addition to chlorine, which is used to purify water, another material in the category is anhydrous ammonia, used as fertilizer.

The Federal Railroad Administration estimated carriers will spend $20 million over 20 years to comply with the requirements.

But at least one environmental group was critical of the rule, saying it was not clear if the requirements were enough to protect residents along the routes.

The rule, announced by Transportation Secretary Mary Peters during a visit to Pueblo about 100 miles south of Denver, is effective June 1 but contains several steps. The first step will require railroads to collect six months of data to access routes beginning July 1.

The new rule lists 27 factors carriers should consider in risk assessments such as population densities along routes, trip lengths, track types and maintenance schedules, and past accidents.

BUSH PROPOSES NEW
CLIMATE CHANGE STRATEGY
(Source: H. Josef Hebert, Associated Press Writer, 4/16/08)

WASHINGTON (AP) -- President Bush called for a halt in the growth of greenhouse gases by 2025, acknowledging the need to head off serious climate change.

The plan came under fire immediately from environmentalists and congressional Democrats who favor mandatory emission cuts, a position also held by all three presidential contenders.

Bush in a Rose Garden address for the first time set a specific target date for U.S. climate pollution reductions and said he was ready to commit to a binding international agreement on long-term reductions as long as other countries such as China do the same.

"There is a wrong way and a right way to approach reducing greenhouse gas emissions," Bush said, making clear that he opposes a Senate measure that would impose mandatory limits on greenhouse gases beginning in five years, followed by annual reductions

"Bad legislation would impose tremendous costs on our economy and American families without accomplishing the important climate change goals we share," the president said.

He said he envisions a "comprehensive blend of market incentives and regulations" that would encourage clean and efficient energy technologies. And he singled out the electric utility industry, saying power plants need to stabilize carbon dioxide pollution within 15 years and reduce them after that.

While characterized by the White House as a fresh strategy to attack climate change, the president gave no new proposals for achieving these pollution reductions.

He cited, instead, measures already enacted such as a 40 percent increase in auto fuel economy, a requirement for a huge increase in use of ethanol and other biofuels, and some efficiency standards, as well as a push for developing clean energy technologies.

GROUP URGES INTERIOR
TO PROTECT UTAH LANDS
(Source: Matt Canham, Salt Lake Tribune, 4/18/08)

WASHINGTON - Nearly 100 members of Congress signed on to a letter circulated by the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance that urges the federal government to protect remote areas in its ongoing land use plans.

The letter, sent to Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne, was signed by 87 House members and eight senators, most of them Democrats. It is a follow-up to a similar letter sent in October. None of Utah's federal office holders signed either letter and Rep. Chris Cannon, R-Utah, has previously criticized other members of Congress for "trying to protect Utah from Utahns."

Richard Peterson-Creamer, who represents SUWA in Washington, countered by saying: "These are federal public lands, so it is a national issue."

The Bureau of Land Management is expected to complete six travel management plans this summer that will control the use on about 11 million acres.

SUWA and its supporters say the "preferred alternatives" mentioned in the draft plans lack the necessary wilderness protection and allow too much off-road vehicle use, mining and drilling.

"One of the most important legacies we will leave to future generations is the preservation of our nation's vital natural resources," said Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., who along with Rep. Maurice Hinchey, D-NY, were the main congressional backers of the letters.

Cannon, a member of the House Natural Resources committee, said: "Congressman Hinchey and friends continue to try to help us to death here in Utah, and it's growing more than a little tiresome."

Rep. Rob Bishop's chief of staff Scott Parker said: "Maybe these folks should think more about their own states and districts, rather than assuming they know what's best for us in Utah."

Many of the same members of Congress asked Kempthorne in October to block off-highway vehicle use in these remote lands because of the cultural and archaeological treasures that could be damaged.

They received a response in December from the BLM saying that the bureau has decided that designating available routes in these lands will allow for better management. SUWA criticized the bureau for "institutionalizing the status quo" by designating nearly every road as available to off-highway vehicles and much of the land as available to miners.

The latest letter asks the BLM to accept the "conservation alternative" in the draft plans, which would provide some wilderness protections to 1,000 miles of off-road vehicle routes.

CORN FOR CARS: FUEL PEOPLE,
NOT AUTOMOBILES
(Source: Tribune Editorial, Salt Lake Tribune, 4/21/08)

Corn should be used to feed people, not cars.

There's a bushel of reasons why.

First, corn ethanol, the liquid fuel derived from corn, requires almost as much energy from oil to produce as it yields. So, if you are distilling corn ethanol as a substitute for Middle Eastern oil, as the United States is doing now, you are making a fool's bargain.

Second, when you grow corn to make and burn ethanol, you are actually making global warming worse, because the corn ethanol fuel cycle produces huge quantities of carbon dioxide, a major greenhouse gas.

Third, the diversion of U.S. corn from food to ethanol is contributing to skyrocketing international grain prices. That makes food more expensive, especially for the world's poorest people. According to the World Bank, the price of staples has jumped 80 percent since 2005.

In Haiti and Egypt, Ivory Coast and Uzbekistan, Yemen and Thailand, there have been food protests, some of them violent.

It would be a gross exaggeration to blame the current world food crisis solely on the American corn ethanol. But the U.S. fixation with corn ethanol definitely has caused the price of one of the world's most important food grains to rise significantly.

Other factors that have caused world grain prices to rise include the sustained drought in Australia, which has dried up international export supplies of both wheat and rice. The historically high price of oil has caused production and transportation costs for most foods to inflate. Rapid economic growth in China and India also has created new demand for food.

The resulting global food supply crisis is focusing new attention on the need for affordable grains versus the need for renewable energy in the form of biofuels. The biofuels debate is, in turn, part of a larger concern for the environmental sustainability of world agriculture as climate change, soil erosion and dwindling supplies of clean water place ever greater stress on ecosystems.

A report last week from the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization called for major agricultural nations to change their policies to better feed the poor, save the environment and head off social chaos.

The United States could begin by ending its ill-considered subsidies for corn ethanol.

BREAKING THE PUBLIC LANDS IMPASSE IN WASHINGTON COUNTY
(Source: Bob Bennett and Jim Matheson, Salt Lake Tribune, 4/26/08)

The debate over how to manage growth and preserve public lands in Utah has been wedged in a stalemate for decades. The Washington County Growth and Conservation Act of 2008 is the compromise that breaks the impasse and strikes a balance between conservation and growth.

The wilderness debate in Utah is characterized by a lot of rhetoric but very little progress. With this bill, conservation groups that once opposed our efforts are now endorsing the 2008 legislation recognizing the great strides taken to protect wilderness.

William Meadows, president of The Wilderness Society, said it best when testifying that this bill "represents a breakthrough in what has been a long polarized debate in Utah over land protection."

The bill designates 264,394 acres of public land as wilderness, which means one out of every five acres, or 20 percent, in Washington County will be wilderness.

Other conservation provisions include the first Wild and Scenic River designation in Utah spanning 165.5 miles of the Virgin River, the creation of two National Conservation Areas to protect the desert tortoise on nearly 140,000 acres and enhanced management of off-highway vehicles. We also have prohibited motorized travel in national conservation areas except on designated roads.

Some have raised concerns with the sale and proceeds of non-environmentally sensitive public lands. The lands directed for sale represent less than three-tenths of 1 percent of all land in the county.

Why are public lands for sale in the first place? The Bureau of Land Management has identified lands to dispose of, which will happen with or without this legislation. The proceeds from the sale of these low-priority lands will be used to acquire other environmentally significant lands in the county, including the private inholdings in Zion National Park and the Red Cliffs Desert Reserve.

This will reconfigure federal ownership in a way that makes sense. This framework ensures that 100 percent of the money stays in Washington County rather than being spent elsewhere or sent back to the U.S. Treasury.

The rapid growth and high concentration of public lands create an incredible amount of pressure on the county. To ensure the county is equipped to handle the pressure, the bill authorizes the BLM to identify up to 5,000 additional acres for disposal through a restrictive land sale process. This number is a cap and not a target.

These lands can only be considered for sale once they are identified in the resource management plan and in accordance with Vision Dixie, the locally driven planning effort.

The land sale proceeds will benefit both the county and conservation efforts. Eighty-five percent of the proceeds will go toward land acquisition, conservation projects and enforcement of wilderness. Five percent will support Utahschoolchildren and 10 percent will help the county manage growth and continue the implementation of Vision Dixie.

County funds can only be used for limited purposes such as fire protection, flood control, public safety and transportation needs, and parks and conservation efforts.

The remarkable lands we protect in this legislation are the same lands that attract residents to southern Utah each year. Continued unbridled growth in Washington County, without these protections, will be devastating to our public lands and natural resources.

We have reached an unprecedented consensus in the Utah public lands debate. We must take advantage of this opportunity before it's too late.

– Sen. Bob Bennett and Rep. Jim Matheson represent Utah in Congress.

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DUE FOR AN OVERHAUL
(Source: Steven Oberbeck, Salt Lake Tribune, 4/1/08)

A far-reaching proposal by the Bush administration to overhaul the nation's financial regulatory system is being called dead on arrival by many in Washington, but at least it's on life support in Utah, where it is receiving mixed reviews.

The plan, which many in the national media and in politics are pointing out was developed by a lame-duck Republican administration facing a Democratic Congress, would change how the government regulates banks, stock brokerages, and insurance and mortgage brokers - businesses that handle consumer dollars on a daily basis.

It would give the Federal Reserve more power to protect the stability of the entire financial system, while merging day-to-day bank supervision into one agency instead of the existing five and consolidate federal agencies that regulate the nation's securities and commodities futures markets. It also would create a super agency to oversee business conduct and consumer protection, while eliminating the Office of Thrift Supervision, which was created during the savings and loan debacle of the late 1980s to oversee that industry.

Although some in Utah said that it was high time for the federal government to take a hard look at overhauling its regulatory systems, others described the wide-ranging proposal as an unnecessary power grab because it would pre-empt existing state regulations.

"It is an affront to state regulation," said Scott Simpson, president of the Utah League of Credit Unions. "It appears to do away with the dual [state and federal] regulatory system that's served consumers well."

The proposed overhaul comes at a time when the financial system faces its most severe credit crisis in two
decades, one that has resulted in billions of dollars of losses for big banks and investment houses, and the near-collapse of Bear Stearns, the country's fifth-largest investment bank. The rising tide of bad debt has made it harder for consumers and businesses to get credit, further weighing on an economy struggling with a prolonged housing slump.

Howard Headlee, president of the Utah Bankers Association, said the 218-page plan unveiled by Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson has its good and bad points.

"Anything that minimizes the role of states [in the regulatory process] would be bad," Headlee said, arguing that a viable dual state and federal regulatory system creates a dynamic within the industry that fosters innovation.

On the other hand, Headlee said there appears to be a need for increased federal oversight of those companies that originate mortgages outside of the banking industry - companies that contributed to today's mortgage crisis, which is threatening millions of Americans with the loss of their homes.

It is too early in the process to determine what overhaul measures, if any, might ultimately get approved by Congress, Headlee said, although senior lawmakers and lobbyists in Washington from an array of industries opposed to the plan are predicting its quick demise.

In the short term, though, Headlee anticipates that issues dealing with the mortgage and credit crisis will take precedent over any "broad, structural" issues surrounding the regulation of the nation's financial services industry.

Attorney George Sutton, a former commissioner of the Utah Department of Financial Institutions now in private practice in Salt Lake City who counts mortgage and securities firms among his clients, said many in those industries consider it time for the government to take a look at overhauling the regulatory system. "This has been a topic of conversation [within the financial services industry] for a number of years," Sutton said. "And when it started there weren't too many people saying, 'Let's leave well enough alone.' "

Sutton pointed to Great Britain's revamping of its financial regulatory structure in 1997, with the establishment of the Financial Service Authority, which was given oversight over that nation's insurance, securities and banking industries. It has been viewed by many as a big success to the point that some of the world's largest financial services companies have contemplated abandoning New York for London. It also has sparked a new rivalry over which city can claim the status as the world's financial capital.

The Paulson plan would also ask Congress to establish a federal Mortgage Origination Commission to set recommended minimum licensing standards for mortgage brokers, many of whom now operate outside of federal regulations. It would also take a step toward federal regulation of the insurance industry by asking Congress to establish an Office of Insurance Oversight inside the Treasury Department.

Paulson acknowledged in his remarks that most of the changes will not occur until after a lengthy debate in Congress, leaving it to the next administration to deal with the biggest changes proposed by the report. He also said the Bush administration's focus would remain on getting through the current severe credit crisis, which has roiled financial markets since last August.

– The New York Times and the Associated Press contributed to this story.

UTAH HIGH-TECH INDUSTRY SURGES AS
THE SECTOR TAKES CENTER STAGE
(Source: Tom Harvey, Salt Lake Tribune, 4/1/08)

The job growth rate in the high-tech industry in Utah has surged to the third-highest percentage in the country, according to a report being released today.

Utah's 6.4 percent rate trailed only New Mexico's 15.5 percent and South Caro- lina's 8.3 percent from 2005 to 2006, the latest figures available, according to the report by the American Electronics Association.

"Cyberstates 2008" points to the growing importance in Utah of electronics and information-technology companies that over the past few decades have greatly diversified the state's economy beyond its former dependence on natural resource-based companies, said Jack Brittain, vice president of technology venture development at the University of Utah.

"But what's happened in the last few years is we've really caught fire," Brittain said.

Utah also ranked 14th among states and the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico for the number of high-tech workers per 1,000 private-sector jobs, indicating that sector's importance to the state's economy.

"Utah has a very vibrant sector in terms of job growth. This is the third straight year you've seen growth," said Josh James, senior research manager for the American Electronics Association, a technology industry trade group.

California had the biggest number of high-tech jobs in 2006, followed by Texas, with Utah weighing in at 26th, or 45,377 workers. But California and Texas were first and second in the July 1, 2007, Census Bureau population estimates, while Utah was 34th. Comparing Utah's 26th ranking in high-tech jobs to its 34th spot by population again points to the sector's importance to the state.

Utah also ranks 26th in the number of companies (4,172) in that industry.

"If you convert it to a per-capita basis, then we're off the charts," said Richard Nelson, president and CEO of the Utah Technology Council, a technology industry trade group.

Utah's average high-tech wage in 2006 was $58,681, compared with $34,727 in the state's entire private business sector, or 69 percent more.

But other American Electronics Association figures were troubling for Utah, particularly in comparing wages nationwide.

The state ranked 37th in average high-tech wages, and wages actually dropped $1,035 from 2005 to 2006, or 1.73 percent, in numbers adjusted for inflation.

James said it appears the decline came in the software sector but he couldn't point to a reason why, speculating it might have something to do with the loss of stock options.

In general, though, the software sector is robust in Utah, James said, its 321 companies ranking 12th-highest in the study. "It's actually a pretty big industry in Utah," he said.

Brittain and Nelson said the tech industry's health has helped Utah's economy continue to perform well, even as the national economy has gone into a skid.

But Nelson said the industry's strength also has led to a shortage of high-tech workers in Utah.

"Our critical need is attracting and holding sufficiently qualified talent to fill our wealth of available high-paying jobs," he said.

Brittain also said the state's robust economy creates challenges because of the rising cost of living and in managing growth.

"We don't want to turn into a gridlocked San Jose," he said. "The lifestyle has been ruined there."

RECESSION FEARS
(Source: Combined News Services, 4/2/08)

WASHINGTON - For the first time, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke acknowledged the U.S. could reel into recession from the powerful punches of housing, credit and financial crises. Yet, he was coy about the Fed's next move.

With home foreclosures swelling to record highs and job losses mounting, Bernanke offered Congress an unflinching - and more pessimistic - assessment of potential damage to the national economy.

''A recession is possible,'' said Bernanke, who is under immense political and public pressure to turn things around. Under one rule of thumb, six straight months of a shrinking economy would constitute a recession, but Bernanke wasn't getting into that. ''A recession is a technical term,'' he said.

Whether the economy already has fallen into its first recession since 2001 - and many economists believe it has - the housing debacle and other economic woes are a major concern for homeowners, job losers and investors. That means they're a concern to Congress and the presidential contenders, too.

The Fed and the White House have been thrust into crisis-management mode.

Hoping to limit damage, the Federal Reserve has been slashing interest rates since the start of the year in an effort to get people and companies spending again. But Bernanke didn't offer a clear signal about the Fed's interest-rate intentions from here on. On Wall Street, stocks initially dropped after the Fed chief's remarks, then fluctuated through the day before ending moderately lower.

In other economic news:

* Employers slashed jobs in January and February, and the report for March could show more losses. The nation's unemployment rate, now at 4.8 percent, probably will move higher.

* A bipartisan Senate bill designed to ease the slumping housing market won tepid reviews, and even its top sponsor acknowledged that much more is needed to help millions of families threatened with foreclosure.

The scaled-back proposal unveiled by Senate Banking Committee Chairman Christopher Dodd, D-Conn., contains an amalgam of ideas aimed at boosting demand for housing and helping homeowners saddled with subprime mortgages avoid foreclosure.

The plan contains $4 billion in grants to local governments to buy and refurbish foreclosed homes, new authority for states to issue bonds to be used to refinance subprime mortgages and a temporary $7,000 tax credit for people buying new homes or properties in foreclosure.

On the hot seat, Bernanke was grilled by senators about the Fed's moves to aid the once mighty Wall Street firm Bear Stearns, and about additional actions Congress and the White House should take to provide relief to struggling homeowners.

''Addressing the housing crisis head-on will do as much to instill confidence in the markets" as helping wayward mortgage lenders and financial institutions, said committee chairman Charles Schumer, D-N.Y.

In a controversial move, the Fed backed a $29 billion lifeline as part of JPMorgan's deal to take over the troubled Bear Stearns, the nation's fifth largest investment house, which had invested heavily in risky mortgage-backed securities that eventually soured with the collapse of the housing market.

That brought criticism from Democrats and others who contend the Fed is bailing out Wall Street and putting billions of taxpayer dollars at potential risk.

Bernanke defended the move as necessary to avert Chapter 11 bankruptcy for Bear and a meltdown in the entire financial system.

DEMAND HIGH, SUPPLY LOW;
PUMP PRICES SURELY TO RISE
(Source: Salt Lake Tribune, 4/4/08)

Gasoline and oil futures rose sharply after the Energy Department reported an unexpected jump in gasoline demand and a big drop in supplies. Prices at the pump returned to record levels, and appeared poised to extend their march higher.

In its weekly inventory report, the Energy Information Administration said gasoline supplies fell by 4.5 million barrels last week, twice the decline forecast by analysts surveyed by Dow Jones Newswires. The EIA data also showed that demand for gas rose by nearly 1 percent when compared to the same week last year. That reverses a pattern in which demand had been falling.

Falling gasoline inventories and rising demand suggest supplies are tightening as the peak summer driving season approaches.

That could boost gas prices further, and keep oil prices elevated.

NEW WORRIES: TRADE DEFICIT UP AGAIN
(Source: Associated Press, 4/10/08)

WASHINGTON - The U.S. trade deficit unexpectedly increased for a second straight month in February, raising concerns that the economy's one standout performer could be starting to flag.

The Commerce Department reported that the deficit between what the U.S. imports and what it sells abroad rose 5.7 percent to $63.2 billion in February, the highest level since November.

Imports of goods and services shot up 3.1 percent to an all-time high of $213.7 billion, reflecting a big surge in imports of foreign cars. Exports also set a record, rising by 2 percent to $151.4 billion, reflecting strong gains in the sale of American-made heavy machinery, computers and farm goods.

Critics claimed that the sharp rise in the trade deficit showed the continued failure of President Bush's policies emphasizing negotiating free trade agreements as a way to promote U.S. jobs by boosting exports.

With businesses cutting 80,000 jobs last month, the most in five years, and the country likely in a recession, the debate over trade is expected to intensify in this election year. Republicans contend that Bush's policies reflect the reality of the new global economy, while Democrats argue that the president has contributed to the loss of more than 3 million manufacturing jobs since he took office.

''Wages are falling and the middle class is shrinking because of trade deficits,'' James Hoffa, president of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, said at the end of a three-day convoy across Pennsylvania aimed at highlighting the failings of Bush's trade policies. Trade is shaping up as a key issue in the presidential campaign and in the fight for control of Congress. In an early showdown, the Democratic-led House voted 224-195 to reject Bush's effort to force Congress to vote within the next 90 legislative days on a free trade agreement with Colombia.

The administration charged that Democrats were forsaking a key South American ally while Democrats said Colombia needed to do more to halt the violence against union organizers before they would consider the trade pact. The vote also calls into question pending free trade deals with South Korea and Panama.

REPORT SAYS WORST ISN'T OVER AS FORECLOSURES CONTINUE
(Source: Salt Lake Tribune, 4/15/08)

The onslaught of homes facing foreclosures has yet to ebb, a research report showed, with bank repossessions skyrocketing last month as more troubled homeowners mailed in their keys and walked away.

And the worst isn't over: The wave of adjustable-rate loans resetting to higher rates will crest in May and June. And that's expected to push more homeowners into default and foreclosure in the third and fourth quarters of this year, according to RealtyTrac Inc. of Irvine, Calif.

The number of U.S. homes receiving at least one foreclosure filing jumped 57 percent in March to 234,685, compared with 149,150 properties a year earlier. Filings include default notices, auction-sale notices and bank repossessions.

The overall foreclosure rate is 5 percent higher than in February.

UTAH UNEMPLOYMENT RISE NO NEED TO PANIC
(Source: Lesley Mitchell, Salt Lake Tribune, 4/15/08)

Utah's unemployment rate rose to 3.3 percent in March, the highest level in more than two years, a new report shows.

The share of unemployed Utahns, however, remains significantly lower than the national average of 5.1 percent, the Utah Department of Workforce Services reported. About 46,200 Utahns were considered unemployed last month, up from 33,000 in March 2007.

"Historically, 3.3 percent is still low - it's a reflection of a very strong economy. There's a lot of room for it to go higher before we consider this to be an economy that's stressed," said Mark Knold, chief economist for the department.

Pushing unemployment higher is a slowdown in the state's ability to create jobs. Utah's job growth in the year that ended in March slipped to 2.1 percent, the state said.

That means the state created 26,200 jobs over that one-year period. Utah's job creation rate is down slightly from 2.3 percent in February and sharply from a peak nearly two years ago, when in the period that ended June 30, 2006, the state's economy added 54,000 jobs for an employment growth rate of 5.4 percent.

"Job growth could easily get down to 1 percent by the end of this year or early next year," Knold said. "I see the bottom somewhere around 1 percent."

But 1 percent job growth would not mean the state's economy is in recession, he said. "We're still adding jobs. But it means we're not adding jobs fast enough to absorb the growth in the labor force. And that means that our unemployment rate will go up."

Even with the slowdown, though, job growth in Utah remains higher than the U.S. rate of 0.4 percent. But economist Jeff Thredgold, a consultant for Zions Bank in Salt Lake City, also sees a slowing.

"The fact we're still growing at a moderate pace is still good news," Thredgold said. "There are a whole lot of states that would like to see 2.1 percent job growth and 26,200 more people working this year than before."

Knold said there's one key industry driving down job growth and pushing up the state's unemployment rate - construction, specifically residential construction.

"The housing market is the central problem right now."

As home sales have declined in recent months, people working for home builders, mortgage and title companies, and other companies related to real estate have lost jobs.

That's why the timing couldn't be better for projects such as City Creek Center and the numerous high-rise construction projects in Salt Lake City and the suburbs.

"If you're losing strength in the residential side, you want to see strength in commercial construction - and that's what we're seeing," Knold said.

Marty Plunkett, vice president of office properties at the Salt Lake City offices of CB Richard Ellis, said all the new commercial construction either under way or planned in the next several years is sure to create "tons of construction jobs."

According to CB Richard Ellis, 190,441 square feet of office space was absorbed by tenants in the first quarter, up 84 percent from the 103,639 square feet absorbed in the fourth quarter 2007.

Plunkett said the industrial market, made up mainly of distribution and warehouse facilities, as well as the market for retail space, are robust.

"We haven't felt the crunch yet like some of the other cities have," he said.

ECONOMY: THE BAD NEWS IS THERE IS
NO GOOD NEWS
(Souce: Associated Press, 4/17/08)

NEW YORK - Higher unemployment claims and weak readings from two economic indexes reinforced recession worries.

The Labor Department said that applications for unemployment benefits rose to 372,000, an increase of 17,000 from the previous week.

Separately, the New York-based Conference Board's gauge of future economic activity rose 0.1 percent for March, reversing five months of decline. But the private business group's indicator has shown a 3.3 percent annual rate of decline since March 2007.

That's ''the kind of result, that whenever we've seen it in the past, the U.S. economy has been heading into a recession,'' Michael Gregory, senior economist for BMO Nesbitt Burns, a Toronto investment bank. ''The recession signal here is clear and unequivocal.''

The Conference Board index is designed to forecast economic activity in the next three to six months based on 10 economic components, including stock prices, building permits and initial claims for unemployment benefits.

The board said another of its indexes, which measures current economic activity, has also deteriorated in recent months, with weakness becoming more widespread among the components of both.

The readings suggest ''economic weakness is likely to continue in the near term,'' Ken Goldstein, labor economist at the Conference Board, said in a statement accompanying the report.

The jobless numbers told the same story. The four-week average for jobless claims was 376,000, down only slightly from 376,750, the previous week.

Claims have been unusually volatile in recent weeks.

COPPER PRICES HIT RECORD,
THEN FALL TO $3.91 A POUND
(Source: Salt Lake Tribune, 4/18/08)

Copper fell from a record in New York after a report showed manufacturing in the Philadelphia region this month contracted more than forecast, renewing concern that a slumping U.S. economy may stifle metals demand.

The metal earlier jumped to a record $4.045 a pound as labor unrest threatened mine output in Chile, the world's largest source of the metal. Most-active futures reached a previous high of $4.04 a pound on May 11, 2006.

The Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia reported its general economic index fell to minus 24.9, the lowest since 2001. A negative number signals a contraction. Copper fell as much as 1.6 percent after the report, erasing earlier gains of as much as 2.3 percent.

Copper futures for July delivery fell 4.05 cents, or 1 percent, to $3.9145 a pound on the Comex in New York.

KENNECOTT OWNER'S
Q1 PRODUCTION DISAPPOINTS
(Source: Bloomberg News, 4/16/08)

Rio Tinto Group, which owns Kennecott Utah Copper and Kennecott Land, reported a drop in production of steelmaking coal, copper, diamonds, zinc and lead as the industry struggles to grow at a time of record-high prices.

First-quarter coking coal output fell 27 percent after weather disrupted supplies from Australia and mined copper dropped 6 percent, the company said in a statement. CEO Tom Albanese is fighting off a hostile $158 billion bid from BHP Billiton Ltd.

Miners are battling power shortages, bad weather, surging costs and digging out lower quality deposits as they attempt to exploit the global boom in demand for metals. Prices for coking coal and iron ore have surged to a record this year because of supply constraints and rising demand from steelmakers.

R